Our technical support is often being asked which OS to choose. Let us leave aside the most obvious answer, and let’s see what OS is preferable. We note that we will focus on the operating system for i386 processors and over, without taking any exotic hosting RISC-systems into account.
Let’s start with FreeBSD. Among many modern operating systems, this one has the largest history, since the first release of BSD, back in 1997. In the 1990s, operating systems based on BSD, were probably the most popular for servers and successfully competed with the OS family SysV, such as SCO UNIX. For example, many providers of the time used BSDi (commercial branch of the family) and the early versions of the FreeBSD.
Today FreeBSD has grown to 10th version. It runs on a variety of processor architectures and, with appropriate knowledge, makes it possible to fine-tune the kernel. The obvious advantages of FreeBSD include an excellent implementation of memory, network, and system input-output – that is why FreeBSD is often used for the loaded and complicated projects. Unfortunately, there are also disadvantages: non-convenient package manager and smaller amounts of required documentation.
Family of Linux-based systems is more numerous, but we are interested in the most popular distributions. In the first place – Centos, which belongs to the branch of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This is a free version of the commercial RedHat Linux, which is deservedly considered one of the most stable for server applications. The undoubted advantages of Centos include a very convenient and fast package manager yum. However, the relative disadvantage is the lack of the latest versions of related software in the standard package repositories for Centos.
The second most popular distribution Linux kit is Debian. The main difference in this system from Centos is the usage of 100% open, license-clean code in the operating system. In some cases, especially on the new equipment, it led to the need to integrate the drivers. Debian initial package doesn’t include drivers due to legal technicalities. However, Debian is also very popular, has an excellent documentation, and is developing steadily.
We also want to note Ubuntu – a distribution that is widely used in many user workstations. Those, who need the most recent version of the kernel and applications, often choose Ubuntu Server. Although, be careful, because the most recent releases can be unstable. By many parameters, this distribution is similar to Debian, which is not surprising – after all, this OS is based and uses a lot of code and tools from Debian.
Let’s summarize. “The best” operating system does not exist. Each OS has its own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is best to use the OS, which you’ve been working with, because you have the experience. If you do not want to make any manual configurations and want to use the server control panel, as well as our technical support service for certain tasks – choose Centos. The reasons for this choice are simple – Centos is the fastest and stable installer. We have a lot of developments and utilities, focused on this distribution, and we are pleased with the stability of the servers running Centos. At the same time, our technical support is able to assist you with any operating systems and distributions. Rest assured, we will always help if needed.
Finally, look at the statistics. We did a little research and found that users prefer our SSD VDS:
