Hey everyone,
i recently aquired a server and i want to mess around with it as a hobby.

I have been reading that freeBSD is better for server use and unbuntu is better for destkop use.

For now i will only be using my server for a simple website and maby some storage.

I am mostly concerned about security. I do not want people accsessing my things(whether it be important or not).

So i here are my questions.

1. Will unbuntu allow me to securly lock down my website?
2. If i decide i want my server to be more than just a "hobby" will i be restricted in what i can or cannot do with unbuntu?


I hear unbuntu is easyer to use but i am not to worryed. I hear FreeBSD documentation is very good.

They are about as different as two operating systems can be. It is a bit hard to answer your question since there is really no way to even compare the two.

Ubuntu is not a good choice for a server, it is certainly designed for the desktop. FreeBSD is good for a server, but is is also completely different than Linux. If you know Linux, it won't help you a whole lot on BSD and vice-versa.

I think it really comes down to whether you want to learn Linux or BSD. Both can be very good for servers and both have very good security. With BSD: OpenBSD I think is more secure than FreeBSD, but FreeBSD is very secure. In Linux, I would look at a distro like CentOS or one of the other server grade Linux distros.

EDIT: I use FreeBSD and CentOS (Linux). Personally, I would choose Linux.

Thanks for your advice,

I do not really know either and i have heard documentation on BSD is very good.

Documentation and tutorials are very good in Debian (a linux 'distro'-short for distribution). Take a look here. Also, Debian won the LQ poll for Server Distribution of the Year. Debian is used by many people (myself included, if you couldn't already tell ) in a desktop environment.

EDIT: I'm posting this from Slackware (also a good choice for servers and desktops) but mostly use Debian.

Why not consider slackware.... it is the most BSD like linux system.
I played around with the BSDs and was surprised at how different the base structure is, to a linux system. The file systems and partitioning are not compatible. I suppose you could argue that this would make it more secure. Slackware has good documentation, emulated on BSD and for me (while not as easy as ubuntu) has been the best learning experience.

I've used both as servers and desktops...each has their pro's and con's. I'd try not to limit yourself. There are many distros dedicated to what you are trying to do. ClearOS is one, and there are dozens of others. (I use ClearOS for one server....sidux (debian) for another)

BSD is used on a lot of servers — Yahoo uses it — but so is Linux! The important thing for a server is stability, so the basic Ubuntu would not be a good idea. The Long Term Support version would be OK, though; just confine updates to security fixes and removing any bugs that have actually troubled you. Debian Stable would be very good, and closer to Ubuntu than CentOS.