[Wolves] advice on version of Linux to install

[Adam Sweet]

On 07/01/2014 09:12, Dave Morley wrote:
> On 07/01/14 05:44, Andy Smith wrote:

>> So for example if you intend to stick with Ubuntu, use Ubuntu as a
>> desktop and run CentOS as a server either on another machine or
>> inside a virtual machine.

>> Or Fedora as a desktop and Debian/Ubuntu as a server.

> and others.  However if you go for the more advanced lpic stuff, then I
> would start using Ubuntu as a base for knowledge because you are used to
> it and then add a vm and in the vm install centos (RHEL free clone) and
> pure debian.

I'd concur with this advice. I've been a Linux sysadmin for about 9 
years and almost all of my employment has been working on CentOS with a 
small amount of Debian and Ubuntu.

These days I run an Open Source software support company and all but one 
of our customers runs RHEL. As discussed previously, CentOS is basically 
the RHEL source code built by the CentOS people with the Red Hat 
branding exchanged for CentOS. They are so close that the release notes 
for CentOS are able to list what is different from RHEL:

http://wiki.centos.org/Manuals/ReleaseNotes/CentOS6.5

Fedora is Red Hat's community distribution, it's a testing ground for 
new RHEL features and from a cynical point of view, ensures that Red 
Hat's non-paying desktop users didn't feel abandoned when they moved to 
RHEL being paid only.

My personal preference is for Ubuntu on the desktop and Debian on the 
server. In some cases having Ubuntu on the server makes life easier as 
the software is newer and certain things are more tailored to your needs 
out of the box. Debian is a bit more of a choose your own adventure in 
that respect, it leaves you to configure things as you choose without 
making assumptions for you as Ubuntu does. The thing to remember with 
Ubuntu is that all of the software available for it outside of that 
looked after by Canonical, is simply from Debian.

I understand that SUSE (and the free version OpenSUSE) are pretty good 
for PostgreSQL and Linux HA stuff, while I know people who swear by 
Arch, Gentoo and Mageia. Some smart arse is sure to come up with other 
distros worth a mention at the cost of ever decreasing interest.

So, in short, if I were you I'd run an Ubuntu desktop, and Debian and 
CentOS servers. You'll learn the Debian way and the Red Hat way. 
Familiarity with all three will serve you well personally and 
professionally, after which you may find yourself branching out and 
finding something that matches your personal preference better.

Regards,

Adam Sweet

-- 

http://blog.adamsweet.org/