I have made a decision to start a Linux server for some projects (files, media, etc.). However, I don’t know what would be a good server for me to use. Is there any good choices for me to use? I use EndeavourOS for my laptop and my desktop, if that matters.
Server specs: 2GB RAM 240GB SSD
(This is my first server, hopefully I will be able to upgrade after some time)
Ger more RAM if you can.
Use Debian. It’s super stable and the deb format is the most popular.
Don’t use Ubuntu because Snaps will eat all your space and RAM. Avoid like the plague!
+1 for Debian
Can’t go wrong with Debian on servers. Stable, secure and long term support. Very minimal install also.
Maybe also look into Alpine. It might be a bit lighter, if that’s an issue.
You will need a pretty light distro since you only have 2GB of Ram. Normally I would recommend containerized workloads, but 2GB RAM are just a bit too small.
Your distro choice should also be made based on the frequency of maintainance and package availability.
In the server space you have some contenders.
Release based distros: Ubuntu is your beginner friendly go to recommended distro. Very well documented and with automatic security updates. In my opinion its okay but a tad bloated. Ubuntu has yearly release cycles but the LTS versions have longer support so you don’t have to upgrade your whole distro. Ubuntu uses apt package management.
Debian would be the next normal choice. Also apt based with almost yearly releases. No bloat, but also no auto features. You are more on your own. Similar to Ubuntu.
Fedora server is also a more beginner friendly got it all distro with better modularity and very recent packaging. Fedora uses dnf. Be aware that fedora has tight release cycles on which you have to upgrade every time. Fedora has virtually only a small grace period between releases.
Centos/AlmaLinux/RockyLinux are all RedHat Linux clones without the enterprise support but with the same packages. Rock solid distro used in the enterprise server industry. Very well documented and known. Due to enterprise world also a bit outdated. But I found packages that are newer here than in the Debian repos. Those distros also use dnf/yum.
OpenSuse Leap is also a Good distro. I can’t say much to it because I didn’t use it so much. Opensuse is well known and has a good knowledge base. There is also opensuse Tumbleweed wich is a rolling release distribution.
Rolling releases: Rolling releases are distros wich don’t have real release cycles but are more or less “rolling” no big upgrades needed but more of a once a mont maintenance type distro.
There is centos, archlinux, nixos, opensuse Leap and probably a lot more. Nixos is pretty special and I don’t really recommend it so much for beginners.
Last category auto updating, immutable micro distros wich are mostly used for container hosts. This distros are made for only hosting containers. You have to take care of the right storage setup and be aware of all the special quirks it comes with. Best ones are Fedora CoreOS, Flarcar Linux and Opensuse MicroOS. Those are “low maintaince” but only if you really know what you are doing. Steep learning curve and non standard procedures.
Hope this helps a bit.
Feel free to correct me :)
My server is 2 GB, and for self hosted stuff it’s good enough. Granted, I use Gentoo, but I wouldn’t expect debian would be much higher unless you’re running something.
I run postgres and a file server on mine. I’ve previously ran NextCloud. It was a liiittle slow, but I think I was CPU bound (raspberry pi).
Tbh all modern mainstream distros are lightweight I give you that. But there are always exceptions. Something like PopOS (I know not a server distro) can hog a lot of resources, so those are not suited.
Alpine stable
I have openSUSE MicroOS on my server as it comes with great (for me) defaults and has grrat SELinux base without much config.
MicroOS has been great for me as well. Run essentially everything as a docker container, manage it using portainer, use caddy as the server/proxy, and everything is easy peasy now. It restarts every night for an update but you can adjust that if needed. Rock solid.
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Debian. left ubuntu behind. If you can use Ubuntu, better use Alma/RHEL/Fedora
I recommend Debian for a server, if you value stability and stuff just working. Plus, a lot a guides are written with Debian/*buntu in mind!
I think the key here is to favor stability than latest features as you don’t want your server stopping due to bugs.
So the systems being recommended here, like Debian and Ubuntu LTS are good.
I use DietPi which is Debian with nice installers that set things up for you for a lot of things you would want in a server. You can run it on a ton of devices including an x86 desktop.
Slackware, Debian, NixOS/GUIX
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I would not suggest alpine to someone who has to ask about a distro for a server. Not being glibc based can cause pain, especially for running items that may not be open source.
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Ok go run Virtualbox on an alpine distro and let me know how that goes for you.
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Go install systemd then. Last I checked that doesn’t work without glibc.
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