CentOS Linux vs. Ubuntu

I have been a CentOS user for over 10 years and remain loyal to the core OS. When it comes to stability and speed, there's no other OS I'd recommend over it. I base this recommendation on my personal experience, as I have multiple development and production servers running the CentOS software today. It's running on newer and older hardware with ease, and the price is right!

Incentivized

For a regular not tech savvy user, Ubuntu [Linux] is a piece of cake once installed, and for the tech savvy, super simple to install. And even for the not as tech savvy it is easy.

Server specs don't need to be great, it'll run on anything, though what cpu/memory you'll need depends on your use case.

Incentivized

• First of all, CentOS is one of the most secure and stable OSes straits from the box.
• High performance on the average hardware.
• In most of my scenarios—easy and quick deployment.
• Huge KB community that helps to build and support different services on CentOS.
• Versions lifecycle.

Incentivized

• Ubuntu Linux allows interfaces on desktop machines that are relatively easy for former Windows users to adapt to.
• Ubuntu allows smooth updates, usually with little down time.
• The user base for Ubuntu is large, which means help is easy to find.

Incentivized

• It's not as intuitive as it could be
• Some packages can be quite old compared with other distributions
• Breaking changes appear often when packages are obsoleted usually with no supported transition path (this is a general *NIX problem, but it's more accentuated in CentOS)

Incentivized

• I'd like to see Canonical REALLY betting on desktop Linux and move one step forward with innovation in that area to improve user adoption.
• Desktop UI decisions have been not-so-happy in the past. The ability to move back and forth with Unity has pushed a lot of users in favor of options. Having REAL desktop environment options is something to improve as well.
• Improvements in interoperability with other OSes would be very welcome. Sometimes it's just hard to communicate with MacOS or Windows across some protocols. Maybe it's due to the private nature of these protocols, but alternatives are around, we just need to compile and improve them.

Incentivized

While it works, we're finding that SNAP is getting more and more annoying, so we're probably going to migrate to Debian.

Incentivized

I gave it 10 out of 10 because it allows me to do the work I need on a server, such as running a website and database, and making developments. In addition, thanks to its easy and useful interface during installation, it can be easily installed. In addition, thanks to its easily accessible documents, when a problem occurs, it can be solved easily and quickly.

Incentivized

Again, written documentation is excellent, even on the older versions. The support community is the best. It is comprehensive and I would say that it global because it transcends national boundaries. Also, you find all types of people using CentOS to do all sorts of things so you are bound to find someone to talk to if there are problems.

Incentivized

We did not use the managed commercial support, but instead relied on community forums and official documentation. Ubuntu is very well documented across both instructional documentation from the developers themselves as well as informal support forums [ServerFault, YCombinator, Reddit]. It's easy enough to find an answer to any question you may have

Incentivized

It was all pretty much automatic for our use cases. It integrates nicely with Laravel Forge, which is our primary use case.

Incentivized

Ubuntu Linux is another candidate that we've evaluated. It stacks up well against CentOS Linux, however it does have some quirks we need to deal with such as package management and stability. For the most part, the server version of Ubuntu is stable, but we stick with CentOS Linux because it seems to have a slight edge over Ubuntu in that realm as well. I have colleagues at other firms that are wholesale Ubuntu server infrastructure, and they are very happy with it and Ubuntu is favorable there. With the changes that have occurred or may still yet occur at CentOS Linux, we may go down the path towards Ubuntu. But for now, CentOS Linux is where we are parked and will remain for the foreseeable future.

Incentivized

A viable, free, widely used alternative to any modern operating systems on the market. Ubuntu [Linux] is constantly improved, has an enormous user base, a very good community. It's one of the most advanced Linux distributions of today, and can be highly customized to the point that almost any requirement can be filled with it.

Incentivized

• Since CentOS is free, our developers and engineers can use it without regard for dipping into project budgets.
• We can spin up a CentOS VM, use it and then destroy it without having to worry about licensing headaches.
• CentOS can run on just about any hardware platform: server, laptop, old hardware, etc. so that makes it less expensive in that we don't have to buy specialized hardware for it.

Incentivized

• Positive impact 1: The great feeling of using quality software, free, completely updated and within the law.
• Positive impact 2: The culture of using Ubuntu Linux encourages information security within the company.
• Positive impact 3: The system has many more customization options, which can make its use more pleasant and personal even in the business environment.
• Negative impact 1: A steeper and more challenging learning curve.

Incentivized