Which operating system do you use on your servers?

I run Unraid on my old HP N40L which is only powered on when I want to access it or backup files to it. I prefer keeping Unraid on its own dedicated server so the NAS is independent of anything else I might be fiddling with.

I run Proxmox on a small low power Dell Wyse 5070 to try other tools I might want to host. The 5070 is very low power when idling so I don't mind leaving it on 24/7. I've recently removed all guests apart from running a Nextcloud container on Debian (Debian simply because Proxmox had a ready made Nextcloud template on it). I will be setting up some other services and will probably use Ubuntu Server or Debian again. I love Proxmox because it is very easy to log into it and manage guests.

I was tempted to run a VPN endpoint on the same Proxmox server. But it was cheap and easy to simply add a GL.iNet router as that VPN endpoint, and it has the benefit that I can leave the endpoint on if I ever fiddle with the Proxmox server or NAS.

So my setup is:

VPN endpoint on a GL.iNet AXT1800.
Separate Unraid NAS on my N40L.
Separate Proxmox host on the Wyse 5070 for hosting Nextcloud on Debian (and other things when I get around to it, probably Ubuntu Server or Debian).


If you are referring to what OS my company runs its servers on then we are mostly a Microsoft shop although almost everything is in the cloud now.
 
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Showshen said:
Choosing an operating system for servers can feel like picking the right tool for a job—lots of options with different strengths! Personally, I've had good experiences with Linux distros like Ubuntu and CentOS for their stability and community support.
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That is true. I've pretty much concentrated on three server operating systems. AlmaLinux, Fedora and FreeBSD. AlmaLinux is great as you can use all the RHEL documentation of which there is plenty. Fedora is good for servers that do multiple things and FreeBSD is just a really pleasant environment to use.
 
Nice to see so much *BSD love here. I use whatever the job demands, so it's quite varied tbh. My go-to choices are generally Alpine (musl & busybox, no systemd), Rocky or FreeBSD. I do like Debian too - I have a Proxmox box running various LXCs and my ROCK 5B runs Bookworm. That said, generally Alpine will do it faster and lighter, or Rocky will do it with the benefits of selinux and 10 years support, so Debian gets less love from me lately. Even my Raspberry Pi runs Rocky.
 
Historically Ubuntu remotely, but circumstances changed so now it's unRAID or TrueNAS depending on the job for storage, that may be bare metal or under Proxmox, but I still prefer to move services off to a NUC/uSFF running Ubuntu.
 
Rainmaker said:
Nice to see so much *BSD love here. I use whatever the job demands, so it's quite varied tbh. My go-to choices are generally Alpine (musl & busybox, no systemd), Rocky or FreeBSD. I do like Debian too - I have a Proxmox box running various LXCs and my ROCK 5B runs Bookworm. That said, generally Alpine will do it faster and lighter, or Rocky will do it with the benefits of selinux and 10 years support, so Debian gets less love from me lately. Even my Raspberry Pi runs Rocky.
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What made you choose Rocky over Alma? :)
 
Scott C said:
What made you choose Rocky over Alma? :)
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Honestly, originally I was 'team Alma' and ran everything on it. They're the fastest to update and always consistent. After IBM/RH messed everything up (again), and Alma decided to go ABI compatible only instead of '1:1', I decided to move over to Rocky. For home use there's really not much in it, but since I'm running a mix of public servers also it was easier to keep everything under one roof, so to speak.
 
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