Hi

Looking to get a server for a website that will have in the near future many visitors/transactions carried out on it.

I will be using apache, php and MySQL/MariaDB.

What flavour of Linux should I use for stability etc for a web server. I have been recommended CentOS?

I have other questions regarding running a high available server but I will ask these in a different thread.

Thanks in advance

I have used CentOS, RHEL, and Debian (stable) for this. Debian is very different than the other two in many ways, but they all served very well. My co-workers at another site used SUSE and claimed it was just as good. Just go for a long-term-support version of about anything that is a SERVER without all of the DESKTOP/WORKSTATION cruft! You do not need X-Windows chewing up CPU cycles when the point is to serve data and web, nor do you need the vulnerabilities implied by all of those extra packages. Keep it trim, simple, and fast.

If you are running a cluster with load-balancing and rapid fail-over, running thin and fast is even MORE important!
Consider running in containers. Failover at the kernel based container level is faster than at the OS level, and harder to break than at the application level.

Thanks, I am just learning Linux and how to create a highly available setup, I have a bit of understanding with Debian/ubuntu so was tempted with using Ubuntu Server, is there anything to watch out for when using Ubuntu over say CentOS?

Also quick question - what method would you recommend on installing apache etc; using the install files from the software websites or to always use the built in repos?

it shouldn't really matter because you are using Apache; php and MySQL/MariaDB. which works in all Linux/GNU - so I'd just pick one distro I like to use then add all of that to it then off to the races.

to not get flamed i'm required to say debian or centos. i personally however would have zero fear of using ubuntu myself. if it's good enough for companies like walmart and tmobile it's good enough for me. also lxd containers is tough to beat. my personal experience with ubuntu over the last couple years has been near perfect, only real problems i've had have been my fault from excessive tinkering.