Published: Monday, 18 August 2008
Many enhancements made for one distribution eventually make their way into the others
The vast array of different Linux distributions can be rather bewildering to those new to the operating system. Whilst the range of choice is what's great about Open Source software, sometimes it seems like there's too much choice.
With this in mind, we've compiled this comparison of the major Linux distributions. Initially, we're only going to look at Linux distributions for the server. This is by far the largest part of the Linux marketplace, and where the vast majority of our work is targeted. We have selected five distributions to compare - Red Hat Enterprise, CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu and SuSE Enterprise. We've deliberately left out other well known distributions such as Fedora Core and Gentoo because of their poor suitability for server use, primarily due to their lack of long-term security support.
Before comparing distributions, it's probably a good idea to emphasise the similarities. All the distributions compared work in very similar ways, and someone who is familiar with one shouldn't find it too difficult to pick up another. Many enhancements made for one distribution eventually make their way into the others.
There's a handy command-line comparison guide at the Ubuntu wiki, useful for those switching to or from Ubuntu/Debian.
At a glance Overview
| Distribution | Year started | Based on | Package format | Vendor support available? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | 1993 | - | DEB |  |
| Ubuntu | 2004 | Debian | DEB |  |
| Red Hat Enterprise | 1994 | - | RPM | |
| CentOS | 2004 | Red Hat Enterprise | RPM | |
| SuSE | 1994 | Slackware/RedHat | RPM | |
Debian
The oldest of the distributions here, Debian was started in 1993 by Ian Murdock. It is unique amongst the varieties here in that there is no company behind it; the distribution is controlled entirely by volunteers bound by the Debian social contract. A leader is elected annually from and by members of the Debian project.
Ubuntu
The newest and fastest growing distribution here, Ubuntu is a distribution based upon Debian, and managed by Canonical. Whilst much of the emphasis for the distribution is on the desktop, there is also a server version, and Canonical have been attracting support from more traditional commercial UNIX players such as Oracle.
Red Hat Enterprise
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is probably the best known Linux distribution, as well as being one of the oldest. It has contributed a great number of applications to the Open Source community of the years, including the Red Hat cluster suite and the GFS clustered file system. Whilst not mandatory, access to support and security updates requires customers to pay a per server 'entitlement' fee.
CentOS
CentOS (short for Community Enterprise Operating System) is a freely available version of Red Hat Enterprise which does not charge for access to security updates. This is possible because of the free license under which Red Hat is released. Because it is an almost exact clone of RHEL, with only logos and trademarked terms altered, it is 100% binary compatible, meaning commercial applications designed for Red Hat will run without modification.
SuSE Enterprise
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) is a distribution which borrows much from Red Hat - its package management, configuration file layout and business model. Originally created in Germany by a group of UNIX consultants, SuSE stood for 'Software- und System-Entwicklung' (Software and system development). SuSE was acquired in 2003 by Novell, who have made the distribution the base of their offerings.
