New Server Time, Ubuntu 10 vs CentOS 5.5?

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Hello all,

I'm in the process of preparing to replace the one main hosting server I have which is a dual P3 933mhz with maxed out hard drives and ram running CentOS 3.3 with the latest DirectAdmin and updated packages.

Because my business is small enough and hosting is a part of that business that isn't very large, I'm looking to move to in-house hosting. Which for now will allow me to cut back on overhead costs and have greater access than hosting at a co-lo center which a friend owns. However their co-lo business looks like it may tank and I want to make sure I'm out before then. Secondly, it *IS* time to replace the server in general because many of the packages that were included are old and unable to be updated with newer packages found in newer CentOS versions, etc.

Anyway with that said, I'm looking at Using Ubuntu 10.04 (10.10 probably once it's out) or going with CentOS 5.5. (Both 64bit of course!) My question here is, has anyone had experience with these two OS's in particular with DirectAdmin? Any issues? Anything different when managing, installing, or handling packages or scripts with DA?

Thanks!
 
Warning: we use ubuntu & kubuntu in our office but we do NOT use ubuntu for hosting. So I'm only referring to things I feel I know about.

1) You should stick with an OS Distribution with which you're familiar. There are differences, including in how packages are managed, that could cause you management issues. If you're very familiar with CentOS, I'd stay stick with it; if not, then Ubuntu has a lot of support, though more as a desktop project than a server project.

2) If you go with Ubuntu you'd probably be better served by 10.04 than 10.10, because 10.04 is a LTS (Long Term Support) release. There's a good explanation of what that means in terms of support, including a graphic, Here.

Jeff
 
Thanks for that info Jeff. I'm quite familiar with the Ubuntu LTS and their lifespan history. Along with desktop usage and support I am pretty familiar with that end of things.

Currently I am very familiar with CentOS having done server management on it since 2004. I was primarily wondering in the hosting context what is difference from the Debian branch vs the RedHat branches in terms of DirectAdmin and what would be different from that perspective?

While I'm not wanting to spend long periods of time testing, I just did setup an Ubuntu 10.04 server in the lab on a non use hosting server and am finding some management differences, but nothing that can be overcome learning wise.
 
The only thing I'm going to add that I didn't mention before is that DirectAdmin is developed on CentOS, and everything else is a port.

However, that's not nearly as important as your familiarity.

Considering your familiarity with CentOS, why are you considering Ubuntu?

Jeff
 
I never knew that DirectAdmin was developed on CentOS primarily with the rest being ports. Thanks for that info.

In regards to Ubuntu, I'm definitely not feeling inclined to goto it because it's the latest or greatest Linux distro. I thought with this point in time, it'd be a good time to just look at it to see whether it is an alternative option. I always like to be open and willing to research for an OS that is better, but definitely not jumping on the most hyped or popular boat either. For the most part I'm sticking with CentOS ... but just looking, researching, and considering Ubuntu is all.

Quick question. I have seen several posts in regards to the x64 installations of OS's and DirectAdmin having some minor issues. When reading those threads it appears as if it's a matter of having additional packages installed? In your hosting experience, do you all use x64 and have there been any issues pertaining to that?

Thanks for all your opinions and thoughts.
 
Personally I use 64-bit CentOS on 64-bit hardware and 32-bit CentOS on 32-bit hardware, and I'm happy with that. I don't remember any problems with libraries from recent installs.

Anyone else care to comment?

Jeff
 
jlasman said:
Personally I use 64-bit CentOS on 64-bit hardware and 32-bit CentOS on 32-bit hardware, and I'm happy with that. I don't remember any problems with libraries from recent installs.

Anyone else care to comment?

Jeff
Click to expand...

I haven't had any issues on recent CentOS installs. I tried DA on Debian once a year or two ago and it was a mess.
 
@scsi:

You're welcome to visit either our office or our datacenter (which is in a green datacenter, by appointment at any time. Just give me a shout.

Jeff
 
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