The best Linux server distros are the ones that make the setup and management of server hosting easy. We know Windows is the world's most popular operating system (OS) for desktop PCs, however, Linux is arguably the go-to for web server OS.
The choice of which Linux distro your business uses on its servers will be down to either the head of IT or the person in the organization who makes the purchasing decision. However, this is not a simple process as different distros offer different capabilities and security protocols.
The best server distros
For production servers, it's important to prioritize both stability - you want your server to remain solid with as little maintenance as possible. Unless you have specific hardware or software requirements, having the very latest versions of everything in the repositories is generally less of a priority, but the availability of long-term security updates - including for any repo packages you use - is critical.
For these reasons, it's generally best practice to use distros that offer stable Long Term Support versions, responsive security updates, and that are familiar enough to make it easy to troubleshoot. Right now, Ubuntu and Red Hat derivatives are particularly popular choices.
Ubuntu Server
Canonical has positioned Ubuntu as the enterprise-ready server distro for all kinds of businesses and budgets. It's incredibly easy to roll out a wide range of secure and fully functional servers from its packages.
It's also free and conspicuously quick when it comes to security updates. Long Term Support versions get five-year security, an extra five years of extended security maintenance (ESM) guarantees for Ubuntu Pro subscribers, plus an extra couple of years of legacy support.
Ubuntu remains free for everyone, but you'll notice adverts in your package manager for Ubuntu Pro. As well as ESM, Ubuntu Pro, which is free for up to five systems, adds extra repositories to Ubuntu. These include Ubuntu Security confirmed fixes for packages in the broad universe repository (all main and restricted packages for Ubuntu already get this for all users).
Ubuntu Pro is intended for server use, and while many admins will be happy to periodically upgrade versions, this 10-12-year lifespan makes it a useful alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux's maintenance and extended life phase periods.
Canonical also offers commercial support contracts. The distro's popularity means that it's widely supported by third-party support firms and community forums, and the Personal Package Archive (PPA) system means that developers are able to easily ship the latest versions of their software to the platform.
Not that, although Ubuntu PPAs can't be used with Debian, from which Ubuntu is forked, they will work with most downstream distros based on Ubuntu.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is synonymous with big business, not least because it comes with a significant subscription cost. For your money, you get rigorous testing, fast security updates, and 10+ years of extended support.
Although RHEL's source code is technically open, the company uses significant non-free, trademarked, and proprietary elements, as well as restricting customers from distributing its source code in a move that's been heavily criticized by the open source community.
You need a subscription to access RHEL repositories and updates. Red Hat emphasizes security, hands-on subscriber support, and regulatory-compliant technologies and certification. Its developers also put a lot of effort into its enterprise-grade GUI, which can be more comfortable for those who'd rather not do all their configuration at the command line.
The now-discontinued point release version of CentOS, a community distro sponsored by and affiliated with Red Hat, used to be the first choice for consumers seeking a free and fully open alternative to RHEL. However, it's been discontinued, and Red Hat's increased restriction of access to its source code means that proposed alternatives such as Rocky Linux and Alma Linux face challenges in maintaining feature equivalence with RHEL.
The nearest free alternative is now Red Hate blessed CentOS stream, a "midstream" distro that takes features from Fedora, upstream of it, and feeds them into RHEL, downstream of it. However, it's a rolling release rather than an LTS point release distro, which has adverse implications for long-term consistency and stability in production environments.
All this leaves RHEL itself as the best option for consistent, long-term stability for anyone who requires a Red Hat-based Linux distribution for business use. Fortunately for SMBs, the no-cost version of RHEL has been expanded to compensate for the loss of traditional CentOS, allowing individual developers and small teams with up to 16 production systems to get a free subscription, providing access to the distro's update repositories. However, that's a hard limit, that growing businesses should bear in mind.
Amazon Linux
Amazon's own Amazon Linux – the version at the time of writing, in mid-2024, is Amazon Linux 2023, is designed to work optimally on the cloud service provider's platform. It supports all features of Amazon's EC2 instances and its repositories include packages designed to seamlessly integrate with AWS's many other services. Long Term Support versions are available, making it an appealing CentOS replacement, as long as you're happy moving your machines to the AWS cloud.
The previous LTS version, Amazon Linux 2, remains available for compatibility with existing deployments, although some comparatively outdated features and characteristics, including a hard dependency on Python 2.7, mean that you should use the latest version of AL2023 wherever possible.
Although its VM image and containerized versions are designed first and foremost for deployment on AWS, you can download VM images for on-premises use if you want them.
While the first generation of Amazon Linux was based on CentOS, current versions are now built on Fedora but respecced as a server distro.
Best security distros
Some people use Linux because it's free, or because it's fun to tinker with, or because they don't like being beholden to a large corporate entity. Others use Linux for security: either to maintain it or to test it. There are a number of distros designed for those who want to lock down their privacy and security at all costs, as well as distros built for infosec professionals who need to make use of more specialized tools.
Kali Linux
Built for penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and other red-team-oriented security tasks, Kali is definitely not an appropriate choice for an everyday desktop distro. That doesn't mean it lacks quality-of-life features, though. It's based on Debian and includes the lightweight Kali Linux Desktop environment (based on the Xfce window manager) by default, with GNOME and KDE Plasma versions also available.
Nice though the UX is, it's the ready-to-go security tools that Kali's users are here for. A wide range of 32- and 64-bit images for a range of platforms and use cases are available, from password cracking to VoIP research and RFID exploitation. Kali ships with up to 600 security tools, but there are vanishingly few use cases that will call for all of them. Specialist hardware support includes Kali NetHunter for Android devices and a range of ARM images.
There's a guide to help you work out which you need, and storage requirements range from 2GB to 20GB. If you opt for a minimal install, you can use metapackages to pull down exactly the toolkit you require. Paid-for customer support is also available from developer Offensive Security, which also provides courses and technical certification.
How we test
Our expert reviewers immerse themselves in each review they undertake to assess the quality of each product fully. For a desktop distro, this means a full installation of the software and a specific period of use. Only then can we arrive at a comprehensive assessment of quality. When reviewing a distro, we look at installation and setup, design, features, pricing, and comparisons with similar products.
FAQs
What is the best Linux Distro for Enterprise?
It's generally best practice to use distros that offer stable Long Term Support versions, and responsive security updates, and that are familiar enough to make it easy to troubleshoot. Right now, Ubuntu and Red Hat derivatives are particularly popular choices.
