Advise the Linux distribution [closed]

When choosing a distribution kit for a newbie, things like:

1. Having a powerful community
2. Availability of various documentation
3. The simplicity and convenience of the interface,
4. Excellent job with default settings

There was a time when RedHat was the leader among Linux, now Canonical is taking its place. In fact, its Ubuntu distribution is now the most popular and satisfies all the above features. It is worth choosing.

The choice between Debian and Ubuntu is uncritical, it's almost the same.

In fact, for your purposes any Linux distribution kit, not heavy with unwieldy DE, unnecessary modules in the kernel or other * nix, for example, FreeBSD ... Use what your soul is

If you have experience, d. B. and preferences, but no, so appear in the process of work. Take whatever is available and suitable for you according to the criteria brought by John Brown and alienrom, put a LiveCD, on a VM or a screw and check for compliance with your preferences, goals and objectives. IMHO, probably any distribution can be finished to the desired state, the question is how much time and effort it will take specifically from you.

If for a web developer and sysadmin I can recommend OpenSuse. The criteria by which she approached me:

1. -Linux programs are also in linux Africa, most programs work equally well on all versions, there is a big one. But with packages, I got the impression that rpm is easier to get than deb. A point in favor of OpenSuse, her zypper package manager runs on rpm.
2. Configuring - trash Linux users will bang themselves with their heels in their chest and shout that Yast (an excellent configuration utility from OpenSuse) is not correct, it's like in Windows, etc. I will tell everyone my own: the combat server - console, desktop kde or gnome . Yast is something that many linux distributions lack, why it was not done in bubunt, despite the multimillion-dollar investments that fell on its head - it is not clear. Mark Shutlvork knows the answer)). And yet - no one in OpenSuse has canceled the console, flexibility is not lost.
3. Documentation - maybe the community in bubunt is really great, but I didn’t see anything good with the docks (perhaps that’s why the community has grown), take a look at the OpenSuse documentation, it describes the theory and practice of solving a specific sysadmin task. And again, the docks: most of the information is taken from primary sources, for example, the man page, and they are always and everywhere, regardless of distr.

The best Debian is Kubuntu.

If in Orakle you will stir up the DB, no bubunt will tinker, see the list of its recommended OS in Quicinstall Guide.

fedora, will be the latest software without connecting any repositories, immediately out of the box. and the community will help; there is a jabber-conference fedora@conference.jabber.ru

For the system administrator, IMHO, the best choice is FreeBSD. The most important thing is an exhaustive handbook, where you can find 90% of the answers to the questions regarding tuning + a considerable amount of thematic resources. The software is almost the same as on Linux - after FreeBSD you can easily figure out how to configure X in ubuntu, and configure cron in some Linux router. In X-ray wizards, the configuration of all the same good old text configs occurs, only when you click the "Finish" button, the correct saving is not always performed. Once you have accumulated enough in these configs with pens to find and correct errors after the X-ray wizards you will have no difficulty. FREEBSD is not the best operating system in the world, but after it you can easily navigate in ANY niksovom distribution. So if you want to become not just another Linux user, but a system administrator, then FreeBSD is the way of a real Jedi.

"The most important thing is an exhaustive handbook, where you can find 90% of the answers to questions about setting" A maximum of 5 percent can be there.

"FREEBSD is NOT the best OS in the world" It is the best.