Re: [PhillyOnRails] Which Linux distro?

On 8/20/07, Justin W. Reagor <justinwr@gmail.com> wrote:

Wow... that was a whole lot of linux fan-boy FUD if you ask me! (^_^)

I feel that you really answered his linux hosting question when you made the on-topic recommendations as to why ServerBeach/Rackspace, and the like, run those distros (RHEL/Fedora, Debian, CentOS). Well, other then their deals with those distro companies ( http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/linux/story/0,10801,82826,00.html ). RHEL/Fedora would be my picks since their techs seem to know the most about that (incase of some emergency).

Back to the FUD: I've learned that anyone that runs their own server is going to run whatever they feel the most comfortable with. Any true linux user is going to do that, and if they're good, they'll be running the most optimal configuration and performance for that hardware (not distro choice). Linux distro doesn't matter, if your good. I have personally run or worked on Rails (in production) on Ubuntu, Gentoo, FreeBSD, and Fedora. Oh, and I'm not saying I'm linux god or anything... I just like to run hardware myself.

I have always felt that I've learned the most and had the best flexibility running a tuned Gentoo machine. I would not run that on some remote paid hosted/slice machine though. Ubuntu seems to keep my setups and application installs clean, never had a problem with the kernel (that I couldn't compile/fix myself?).

:: Justin Reagor
:: justinwr@gmail.com

On Aug 20, 2007, at 11:24 AM, Cassius Rosenthal wrote:

We've been an all-gnu/Linux shop (servers and workstations) since ~'03. On a server, you want either Debian or CentOS. RHEL is also fine, but CentOS has slightly better packages for rails-related deployment (subversion, etc). Make sure CentOS is 5.0 or above.

I see many people here recommending Ubuntu. Knock it off. (^_^) If you like the taste of Ubuntu on your workstation, just upgrade to a Mac. If you want a stable apt-based distribution to use as a server, stick with Debian. There is no compelling reason to use Ubuntu. None. Whatsoever.

If you look at top-tier server providers, like ServerBeach, you'll see that they offer REHL, CentOS, Debian, and Fedora -- in that order. No Ubuntu. Rackspace only offers RHEL. Debian and CentOS are two different takes on server OS, and both are very good at it. Ubuntu is optimized for desktop usage, and does not belong on a serious server.

* Yes, I am aware that Ubuntu has a 'server edition.' Hogwash -- it's the same kernel, just a different set of packages.

And as for gentoo -- are you nuts?!? On a development machine, sure. On a workstation, maybe. On a production server? That's bad practice.

Thanks!
-Casey

Nick Romanowski wrote:

i'm looking to grit my teeth into the world of Linux at the same time i'm learning Rails... i've been developing apps using Locomotive on my Mac to learn Rails and now i'm looking to get a "slice" on SliceHost to work on deployment and such.

What is the best distro of Linux to use for Rails (and non-Rails) hosting? Any opinions are appreciated.

Nick
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