this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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The big choice here is: do you want rolling release or stable? Most servers are stable, but endeavour is rolling.
Stable release means your distro's repository's packages rarely change behavior. This is because they lock the versions and only bring in security updates. Pros: things will almost never change when you update, which means you won't have to be fixing things when updating (unless updating major version of your distro). Cons: you're stuck with frozen versions. Those can be years old sometimes. As long as you're okay with not using new versions of what you're using, you should be fine.
If you like stable, go with debian stable for 5 year release / update cycles, debian testing for 2 (or Ubuntu server), or the red hat one for 6 months (I forgot its name).
Rolling release means you have to update frequently and you always get the latest version, remaining very close to upstream. This is unpopular for servers as it means an update might bring changes you don't expect, and you might have to change a configuration or maybe even more. If you like this, OpenSUSE tumble weed is a good choice, or good old Arch.
You also have Gentoo and NixOS, but I don't know if you'll be wanting those.