CentOS vs OpenSuse
 

We are currently using SLES for our critical production class servers and Gentoo Linux for a couple of our non-critical production servers.

Beside these we are planning on adding a few more non-critical production servers, and do not want to go with Gentoo for various reasons.

At this point we are juggling between CentOS vs OpenSuse, any input from users will be greatly appreciated.

-Shashi

Do you want to use a stable-based distro or a testing-based distro?

And directly related to the first question...

...do you mind potentially needing to reoptimize the servers after each version update or do you want a set-it-and-forget-it situation?

...is long term update support important to you?

Do you want to try a no/low-cost stable-based distro for potential use on your production systems?


That may sound like a pitch for CentOS, but it really isn’t.

I run Fedora on non-critical servers and CentOS on critical servers. The major reason I do this is so that I can see/learn in advance what features will be incorporated into future updates/releases of CentOS. One minor reason is to facilitate the incorporation of any exceptionally useful new features into CentOS for use now.

So if I were in your situation, I would run OpenSuse on non-critical servers, but you may not want to spend the extra time needed to support a testing-based distro.

The choice really depends on how you wish to spend your time and on your long term goals.