Hi all;

as a growing company we feel that we should standardize on a Linux OS so we can move toward standard methods of doing things like setup of a web server vs setup of a database server, how to manage security updates, configure servers for security, etc...

I've heard that debian is so much better at security but my thought is hey they're both Linux right? so is this really a legitimate arguement or is it simply a configuration issue?


Thoughts?


Thanks in advance

I think the bigger issue for a company is the support you can purchase. Red Hat has lots of commercial support while Debian has much less since it is a community distro.

The other issue is frequency of upgrade. Debian supports it's stable branch for one year following the next stable release. Releases are typically ~2 years apart, so you would have security updates for about 3 years total before you'd want to upgrade. Red Hat has a roughly 7 year life cycle (though I think the production 1 & 2 phase are equivalent to Debian's support).

As for security, it's probably a wash as long as you're applying patches and sticking with Red Hat Enterprise or Debian's stable branch.

The real difference between the two in terms of management are the tools available. They have different package managers and different underlying helper applications for configuring hardware, networks, etc.

If you have the expertise in house, either CentOS (RHEL clone) or Debian will be fine. If you want a paid subscription where you know someone will help you setup and maintain the system, you probably want Red Hat.

I agree with pljvaldez's comments on RHEL vs. Debian. (I work regularly with the former and dabble in the latter.)

Philosophical and design differences aside, IMO they're both enterprise-quality operating systems in the sense that they are stable, well supported, and widely deployed.

Frankly, that is BS. If you have some specific points to substantiate that idea, I (or someone) can speak more directly to them.

Don't forget Slackware, which is just as stable as the other two and gets bug fixes for as long as Red Hat. No support, though.

On the subject of whether you need support, it's not just a matter of staff competence: I have heard of insurance policies that expect you to have commercial support if you are covered for consequential loss from computer problems.