Best Linux Distro for Web Server: If you are planning to build a web hosting company, small business servers, or simply host your own website at home, then it is best to use Linux as your operating system. Linux servers have been known to be extremely reliable and rarely crashes so there's less downtime. Linus Torvalds has once been quoted as saying "How do you power off this machine?" when upgrading the site "linux.cs.helsinki.fi", and after using the machine for several months.Around 60% of all web servers ran Linux, but we don't have any data that could tell which among the Linux distributions are widely used or preferred. If you ask me, here are some of the best and perhaps popular distro for web servers:
Slackware
Slackware is the oldest surviving Linux distribution so there are no doubts about its reliability. It aspires for design stability and simplicity, using plain text files for configuration and making as few modifications to software packages as possible from upstream. As they say, there is no better, more customizable, standard distro than Slackware.Gentoo
Gentoo is a highly flexible and fast distro that is built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It describes itself as a metadistribution, "because of its near-unlimited adaptability". Unlike a standard software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen configuration in Gentoo. Its package management is designed to be versatile, modular, portable, easy to maintain, and optimized for the user's machine.Debian
Debian is a strict advocate of the free and open source philosophies. It is known for amplitude of options like its support for a wide range of computer architectures that ranges from the Intel/AMD 32-bit/64-bit to the ARM architecture. Some of the others notable features of Debian are the APT package management system, repositories with large numbers of packages, and the high quality of releases.RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux)
When we talk about Linux web servers, we shouldn't fail to include RHEL. It is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z. Though it's proprietary, it costs less than Microsoft's web server software. RHEL is also known for its excellent technical support and service.CentOS
If you want to get all the goodness of Red Hat Enterprise Linux but don't want to spend a dime, then CentOS is for you. CentOS is based on RHEL and aims to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution. Technical support is mainly provided by the community through its official mailing lists, web forums, and chat rooms.But don't just limit your choices from my list, as there are other distros that are as capable as the above mentioned.
How about you? What do you think is the best Linux distro for web server?
SMEserver, based on CentOS (based on RHEL) is configured just to be an internet server (and gateway). Hardened en safe from unauthorized config changes it is also easy to manage.
http://www.contribs.org
This front end portal really does great injustice to smeserver, pity, but it includes a lot of knowledge, howto's to enable you to expand on the server.
Gentoo - Lighttpd - Spawn-FCGI
For one webserver, I would probably go with debian, stable.
For hundreds of webservers I would probably go with gentoo.
The only reason I use CentOS is because I have a semi commercial app that I am supporting (zimbra) that insists on it.
The big issue with RHEL based distributions, and ubuntu is that you spend a lot of time uninstalling things that you don't need, and if you don't need it it needs uninstalled from the webserver.
I am with meneer on this sme is the way to go
easy setup and rock solid
Debian or CentOS because they have easily-available updates. RHEL is the same as CentOS but its a headache to get it set up to install new software and updates, and then it requires online (web-based) management to set up the repos and the Channels and the Entitlements and a bunch of nonsensical stuff.
But, Debian always just works, and upgrades from one Stable release to the next without issues. Its also my preferred desktop distro (in Testing or Sid, with KDE4 of course).
I usually go with Debian, just for the ease of applying updates to the system.
For all of my Web Servers, Database Servers, and Devel Servers I run Debian Stable. It is just that, rock solid. I have never had an OS related issue, although I did have a hard drive controller start flaking out a month ago, but that is because of old hardware.
Mandriva, Easy, Works, Affordable, Solid, Easy Updates....
Debian -THE Operating System of the Univers(al)
Slack.
I like ClearOS, which used to be ClarkConnect. It's based on RHEL and has one of the easiest setup processes I think I've ever seen. Security it built right in. I have two servers that haven't been down in 4-5 years, except when the power goes off.
Uncle Ed
We're using OpenSUSE on our web servers. Works great.
My option is Debian Lenny.
Cheers!
Debian.
Beginners buying a VPS for fun or personal web hosting - Ubuntu for ease of use on top of rock solid Debian. I've heard from a VPS hosting company owner that CentOS/Yum is not good for smaller VPS servers (<=256 MB). I prefer Debian's APT anyway.
No one match stability of CentOS on Webserver.
Centos + Apache = Perfect Webserver
Ubuntu server does it all for me. Plus there is a solid support community.
Slackware, Gentoo, or FreeBSD (I know it is not linux) or maybe Arh too, but debian is for little girls :P has not yet seen the light... and not decided whether to use Windows or GNU/Linux hahhaha xDD... and *BSD never crossed their mind...
Debian stable, I just goes and goes, and I love apt, good to see other opinions here, I'm looking at maybe trying another distro for a large project I'm about to start, although I'll probably just stick to Debian
How about Oracle's Unbreakable? RHEL based, and fixing bugs faster than RH - (kind of like ubuntu is "better" than debian?)
I think my home dns/hosting server will probably run slack though (if I can summon the courage to stay away from Ubuntu - apt just calls to me, I can't help it)
I run Gentoo at home (on this laptop in fact), but even I wouldn't want to run it as a commercial web server. I love Gentoo, but putting aside playing around on my free time, I wouldn't want a production server running it.
I use Gentoo for my production server. it's been on with very little downtime for almost 3 years.
in fact, onces i've recompiled the kernel last year, added to the rest of the binaries, i must say that no other distros can match the performance you get when you install a custom tailored GENTOO. think of it as this. Compiling all your binaries for your specific machine will optimize every process, and save much CPU time all over. I usually can run 30% more load with the similar machine when recopiling everything.
Ubuntu if you don't have time and want something really easy. Slackware for reliability and speed. Gentoo if you have a lot of time on your hand to learn how to use and keep compiling and want to get the maximum speed and efficiency out of your hardware.
FreeBSD a lot like Slackware in terms of pros and cons. Finally Arh Linux if you like the idea of Gentoo but don't have the time and are using x86 architectures