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Centos vs Fedora vs Ubuntu: What are the differences?
Key differences between Centos, Fedora, and Ubuntu
CentOS, Fedora, and Ubuntu are three popular Linux distributions, each with its own unique features and characteristics. Understanding the key differences between these distributions can help users make an informed decision about which one to choose for their specific needs.
Package Management: CentOS and Fedora utilize the RPM package manager, while Ubuntu uses the Debian package manager. This difference in package management systems affects the way software is installed, updated, and removed on each distribution.
Release Schedule: CentOS is known for its long-term stability and is based on the corresponding Enterprise Linux distribution. Its releases are infrequent but have long-term support. Fedora, on the other hand, follows a rapid development cycle and provides regular updates and new features. Ubuntu falls somewhere in between, with both LTS (Long-Term Support) and non-LTS versions available, offering a balance between stability and timely updates.
Community Involvement: Fedora and Ubuntu are community-driven distributions with active communities contributing to their development and support. CentOS, on the other hand, is primarily backed by a commercial entity, focusing on stability and security while relying on the upstream development of its Enterprise Linux counterpart.
Desktop Environments: Fedora and Ubuntu come in different flavors supporting various desktop environments, such as GNOME, KDE, Xfce, and others. CentOS, on the other hand, is typically used as a server distribution and does not provide official spins or support for specific desktop environments.
Out-of-the-Box Software: Ubuntu stands out for its focus on user-friendliness, providing a wide range of pre-installed software and drivers to enhance the out-of-the-box experience for users. CentOS and Fedora, being more server-oriented distributions, offer a more minimal installation and require additional setup for software and codec support.
Security Updates: Ubuntu is often praised for its prompt security updates, with a dedicated security team that focuses on keeping the system secure and protected. CentOS and Fedora also provide security updates, but the frequency and release schedule may vary compared to Ubuntu.
In summary, CentOS emphasizes stability and long-term support, Fedora offers a bleeding-edge experience with frequent updates and new features, while Ubuntu strikes a balance between stability and regular updates. The choice between these distributions ultimately depends on the specific requirements and preferences of the user.
Ubuntu always let people do what they want to do, it pushes its users to know what they are doing, what they want and helps them learn what they ignore.
Ubuntu is simple, works out-of-the-box after installation and has a incredibly huge community behind.
Ubuntu is lightweight and open, in the way, that the user has access to free AND efficient applications (most of the time, without ads) and, even if learning its folder structure is challenging, once done, you are really able to call yourself "someone who knows what is in your computer".
Windows, in comparison, is heavy, tends to make decision for you and always enable tracking application by default. grr
It has a simple user interface, of course, but on the stability point of view, it is hard to compete with something simpler (even with less features).
Personal preference : I prefer something simple that works 99% of the time, than a full-featured auto-magical system that works 50% of the time (and ask if the good version of the driver is really installed...)
Coming from a Debian-based Linux background, using the Ubuntu base image for my Docker containers was a natural choice. However, the overhead, even on the impressively-slimmed Hub images, was hard to justify. Seeking to create images that were "just right" in size, without unused packages or dependencies, I made the switch to Alpine.
Alpine's modified BusyBox has a surprising amount of functionality, and the package repository contains plenty of muslc-safe versions of commonly-used packages. It's been a valuable exercise in doing more with less, and, as Alpine is keen to point out, an image with fewer packages makes for a more sustainable environment with a smaller attack surface.
My only regret is that Alpine's documentation leaves a lot to be desired.
I have used libvirt in every Linux hypervisor deployment I do. I frequently deploy RHEL or CentOS hypervisor servers with libvirt as the VMM of choice. It's installable via the guided setup for EL-based Linux distros, it uses minimal resources and overhead, integrates seamlessly with KVM and Qemu, and provides powerful CLI for advanced users and experts looking for automated deployments, or via VirtManager in your favorite Linux desktop environment. Best used with Linux VMs, it allows KVM and QEMU direct hardware virtualization access.
Using Arch Linux for our systems and servers means getting the latest technology and fixes early, as well as early warnings for potential future breakage in other (slower) distributions. It's been easy to maintain, easy to automate, and most importantly: easy to debug.
While our software target is every recent Linux distribution, using Arch internally ensured that everyone understands the full system without any knowledge gaps.
Ubuntu is much more faster over Windows and helps to get software and other utilities easier and within a short span of time compared to Windows.
Ubuntu helps to get robustness and resiliency over Windows. Ubuntu runs faster than Windows on every computer that I have ever tested. LibreOffice (Ubuntu's default office suite) runs much faster than Microsoft Office on every computer that I have ever tested.
Global familiarity, free, widely used, and as a debian distro feels more comfortable when rapidly switching between local macOS and remote command lines.
CentOS does boast quite a few security/stability improvements, however as a RHEL-based distro, differs quite significantly in the command line and suffers from slightly less frequent package updates. (Could be a good or bad thing depending on your use-case and if it is public facing)
At the moment of the decision, my desktop was the primary place I did work. Due to this, I can't have it blow up on me while I work. While Arch is interesting and powerful, Ubuntu offers (at least for me) a lot more stability and lets me focus on other things than maintaining my own OS installation.
Pros of CentOS
- Stable16
- Free to use9
- Reliable9
- Has epel packages6
- Good support6
- Great Community5
- I've moved from gentoo to centos2
Pros of Fedora
- Great for developers23
- Represents the future of rhel/centos10
- Great integration with system tools10
- Good release schedule10
- Reliable8
- Fast6
- Has SeLinux5
- Docker integration5
- Awesome community4
- Updated with Bleeding-edge software4
- Latest packages4
- Great for ops teams3
- Python distribution2
- Complies with International Standard2
Pros of Ubuntu
- Free to use230
- Easy setup for testing discord bot96
- Gateway Linux Distro57
- Simple interface54
- Don't need driver installation in most cases9
- Open Source6
- Many active communities6
- Software Availability3
- Easy to custom3
- Many flavors/distros based on ubuntu2
- Lightweight container base OS1
- Great OotB Linux Shell Experience1
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Cons of CentOS
- Yum is a horrible package manager1
Cons of Fedora
- Bugs get fixed slowly from kernel side3
- Much less support from Wiki2
- Systemd2
- Boring2
- Less packages in official repository1
- A bit complicated1
- Learning curve for new users1
- Slightly difficult to install for beginners0
Cons of Ubuntu
- Demanding system requirements5
- Adds overhead and unnecessary complexity over Debian4
- Snapd installed by default2
- Systemd1