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Linux.com Announces The Best Linux Distros for 2017 (linux.com)
Friday Linux.com published their list of "what might well be the best Linux distributions to be found from the ever-expanding crop of possibilities... according to task." Here's their winners (as chosen by Jack Wallen), along with a short excerpt of his analysis.
- Best distro for sysadmins : Parrot Linux. "Based on Debian and offers nearly every penetration testing tool you could possibly want. You will also find tools for cryptography, cloud, anonymity, digital forensics, programming, and even productivity."
- Best lightweight distribution: LXLE. "Manages to combine a perfect blend of small footprint with large productivity."
- Best desktop distribution: Elementary OS "I'm certain Elementary OS Loki will do the impossible and usurp Linux Mint from the coveted 'best desktop distribution' for 2017."
- Best Linux for IoT: Snappy Ubuntu Core "Can already be found in the likes of various hacker boards (such as the Raspberry Pi) as well as Erle-Copter drones, Dell Edge Gateways, Nextcloud Box, and LimeSDR."
- Best non-enterprise server distribution: CentOS. "Since 2004, CentOS has enjoyed a massive community-driven support system."
- Best enterprise server distribution: SUSE. "Don't be surprised if, by the end of 2017, SUSE further chips away at the current Red Hat market share."
Wallen also chose Gentoo for "Best distribution for those with something to prove," saying "This is for those who know Linux better than most and want a distribution built specifically to their needs... a source-based Linux distribution that starts out as a live instance and requires you to then build everything you need from source." And surprisingly, he didn't mention his own favorite Linux distro, Bodhi Linux, which he describes elsewhere as "a melding of Ubuntu and Enlightenment".
year of the distro! what's a distro?
"Old man yells at systemd"
Parrot Linux and *buntu are based on Debian, so why not use the original ?
European Linux user, living in Antwerp
I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you’re referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux”, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use.
Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.
2% folks! Just 2%!
SUSE - never forget GROKLAW.NET
That's the desktop market share. On servers, Linux is market leader, and in IOT, its > 90%.
So is milk. What's your point? We're just talking about tools to get work done.
CentOS is a clone of Red Hat Enterprise Linux without Red Hat support contract. You still get the same updates from RHEL, though usually 2-3 weeks later. A lot of big companies don't care for support (since they can deal with it in-house) and use CentOS which is free.
Best Linux Distro for people who just want to get stuff done: Linux Mint
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
The Website seems fairly low on information - essentially there's a (front) page of marketing which gives no sense as to what the environment is like, and then it's support/buy/involve yourself links.
I moved from Ubuntu to Mint last year and I'm on the verge of going back, partly because Cinnamon is now well supported within Ubuntu, and partly because Mint has some horrible design decisions, from being unable to upgrade in place, to the fact core UI components run Webkit under root (including the login) (I'm not kidding about that, and they don't disable plugins either, so I regularly get to confirm I accept the Adobe Acrobat license on the lockscreen login page because I haven't accepted it under root yet and because the login page loaded Webkit which loaded the Acrobat plugin.)
But... hey, if I'm going to change distro anyway, I'd be curious to know what the distro-of-the-year is like...
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
you'd be doing a ton of work to add in parrots stuffs me thinks
I'm surprised it didn't make it into the top distro list.
I wouldn't be bragging about IOT running linux considering absolute terrible security they almost universally have.
IOT, the concept and the implementation, is a joke.
But I use Gentoo. How does this affect me? (Since I'm not running systemd.)
all of them are using that systemd shit from pootering
Is it the number of users or the power they have? The people with half the money in the world have a smaller percentage "market share".
I come here for the love
When I switched to Mint several years ago, I didn't like that they didn't support "upgrading in place". However, one of the reasons I switched to Mint (from Ubuntu) was because I had upgraded so many times in place (7 or 8) that my system wasn't stable and was slowing down. So I made the decision to change my partitions and go with the idea of keeping my base install small, my home directory on a separate partition, etc. My upgrades since then have been very painless and faster!
However, they DO now support upgrading in place, it's called their Package Upgrade. I haven't done it yet, but am on 18 and may upgrade to 18.1 that way. Although I used to be a KDE person (back on Redhat, then SuSE, then Kubuntu) I switched to XFCE many years ago and haven't looked back.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
I'm certain Elementary OS Loki will do the impossible and usurp Linux Mint from the coveted 'best desktop distribution' for 2017.
Really? Because it's got some stiff competition from MacOS, the OS it copies its design from.
2% market share, >1% power.
...Ninnle Linux does *all* these things, and so much more...
Try Ninnle today!
These types of lists are always biased in a "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" kind of way. I've been using linux for 20 years now and don't really agree with most of their choices. These lists might get someone new started with Linux, but people eventually gravitate towards what works for them once they get their sea legs.
In the beginning, God created Debian. And He saw that it was good. But even good can be improved upon, so God created a help mate for Debian and He named that creature Ubuntu. And Ubuntu was fertile and multiplied and brought forth upon the Earth every distribution that crawled upon the land and swam in the sea below and flew in the air above. And God saw that it was good. Because people like to have choices and Linux is for people... and not just for corporations.
"He took a duck in the face at 250 knots." -- William Gibson, Pattern Recognition
Unfeasible. I chose a desktop distro some years ago and still stick to it. Same for servers. Same for embedded boxes. This ranking makes no sense to me.
Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
Just wait for the october revulution
2% folks! Just 2%!
I supposed you have not heard of the Microsoft Tax? Most people stick with what they purchase and it is usually those with a few extra smarts that make the switch. Still, 2% for the desktop does translate to tens of millions at least there is hope for this world.
There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
Gentoo defaults to OpenRC, but nice try with the trolling. Good thing you didn't attach your account to it.
Found the one Devuan user!
Mint is obviously the most popular and I think that is because of its very high quality.
systemd has not taken over everything in the Linux OS yet?
Glad to see Gentoo is still in the running, if you are building a small fast lightweight OS, Gentoo is a good. I avoid using it on my desktop since recompiling X for an update is painful.....
Self Defense - A Human Right www.a-human-right.com
That this has to exist is a prime example of the problem with "linux" and its fractured nature.
elementary OS can't be the best desktop distro if it doesn't have a 32-bit flavour available.
Currently downloading so I can try on my ibm thinkpad with 512M ram. Gotta say I'm pretty suspicious 1.2G is considered lightweight these days? I suspect if you want lightweight youd use something like debian dog the iso is 159M.
This article certainly does not reflect what I perceive are the best distros and certainly does not elaborate or go far enough to compare the different capabilities with an extended list of other distros in a matrix.
For me, the proposed comparison criteria would be:
-user able to create customized live thumb image with a reasonable amount of time
-user able to update the packages quickly and easily
-user able to find packages of interest quickly and easily
-user able to create own packages quickly and easily
-desktop agnostic. No default desktop. Users must choose themselves which one they want.
-user documentation up-to-date enough to most relevant and trending Linux Distros issues: security configuration for server and non-server alike, desktop, printer, network, filesystems, media player softwares, peer-to-peer softwares, digital-freedom and anonymity.
Arch IMHO is the best. It covers the above with archiso, pacman, yaourt, kde/gnome/other desktops, archwiki covers how to make packages easily and make them available through "Arch User Repositories"(AUR) and installing them through yaourt.
b2im tool for manjaro was the closest and fastest way to customize a thumb-image, but lacked support for customizing an image with AUR packages. archiso can be customized with AUR packages.
http://www.xcfa.tuxfamily.org/...
Debian Sid is equivalent, but I have classified it as second-best because it takes more time to create & customize a live thumb image especially with an extra persistent partition on the thumb itself. It should be straightforward to do and yet it still is not straightforward to do. live-build takes more than a couple of weeks to customize and it is complex procedure to succeed with both bios and uefi.
Antergos and Manjaro were inspired from Arch. Parrot, Backtrack, Kali, Ubuntu were inspired from Debian BUT ARE NOT DEBIAN. Dare I say a LINUX DISTRO is like a food to be prepared and consumed. If that is the case, which would you prefer depends on your personality. If you prefer to prepare your food yourself, you will go to a grocery store with fresh, unprocessed food products(i.e. Arch/Debian/Fedora), but if you are in a hurry/tired then you could possibly prefer something prepared for you(i.e. Redhat, Ubuntu, Parrot, Kali, Manjaro, Antergos.)
I wouldn't impose my opinion on others to use a particular distro, but I am of the opinion everyone would be healthier by preparing/using the fresh produce and straight from the source: Arch, Debian, Fedora. When you go with the faster food(i.e. Redhat, Ubuntu, Parrot, Kali, Manjaro, Antergos) there are always consequences/constraints, less-recent packages, vendor-lock-in/"take or leave it".
Last time I used SUSE, it felt like I had jumped through a time warp to about 5 years earlier.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Thet's way more than windows phone.
I really, really like Funtoo Linux. I've posted about it in the past.
It's a lot like Gentoo, as its based on Gentoo, built by the original founder of Gentoo. But it has a few subtle differences: - Portage uses git to sync the portage tree instead of rsync (though I think Gentoo back ported this feature). /boot. No mucking about with grub2-mkconfig.
- boot-update. Gentoo lacks this program. It handles updating grub2 and lilo configuration based on the presence of kernels and initrd files in
- systemd is unsupported, though its there if you want to use it. If it breaks, its on you.
I find myself using ArchLinux's wiki more and more these days. It seems like it is almost a binary version of Gentoo/Funtoo in many ways. I've been trying it out in a VM. Not having to compile everything is nice, but lacks tuning dependencies that I am so used to with Funtoo/Gentoo.
T2 SDE - "Best distribution for those with something to prove," and people can later use their learned skills for their embedded projects ;-)
I've seen Elementary OS mentioned several times in discussions among unhappy Apple users as a good bail-out option. Those of us who moved from Linux to OS X in the early 2000s, back when OS X did indeed "just work" (particularly compared to the Linux desktop) are now tired of rushed/botched software upgrades and increasingly poor HW offerings. I want a system I can depend on rather than one I can (or have to) fiddle with so I can focus on the things I want/need to be doing with the computer. That's why I'm not looking at a hackintosh solution. Any Elementary OS users want to comment on how this distro is working for them? I'll probably want to install Gnome, which I think is not the out-of-the-box configuration.
Disappointed not to see ninnle linux Cowboy Neal edition.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
On mobile, Linux (the kernel) is 80% and that is 3 or 4 times the size of the desktop market.
Say WHAT about 2% ? Saying 2% market share sezzz nothing has improved since RedHat-6. It sezzz Linux SUXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX and every person working a computer appliance knows that!
But what about those of us who build PCs and install OSes to impress ladies? I mean when they come over I always direct them to my computer. Come to think of it I haven't been laid in awhile
http://saveie6.com/
manages to *get stuff done* with Windows ?
And they don't spend a lot of *time* on their OS, they just somehow, god alone knows how, manage to live with the defaults in the OS ?
and it doesn't bother them cause the have like, say, 50,000 things that are more important then worrying about some minor problem in an OS ?
reminds me of joel on software: the real expert always leaves the OS/software at default as the real expert uses a lot of diff computers, and the default is the only thing that makes sense .....
must be a corally for OS: the real expert uses windows cause a real expert is dealing with a lot of other people, and most of them are using windows, so it makes sense to learn what people are using.....
course, you have nothing bettter to do then configure your os, cause god knows, RAM is so $ that it is worth hours of your time to make the OS run on less ram, hey, more power to you; most of you who do this, probably a lot better for society that you are doing this then , say, thinking about firearms and the people who you imagine have harmed you
I've been bashing Linux for 15 years and some of these distributions are baffling.
3% now by PornHub metrics, get current shill.
Started with Gentoo - awesome learning experience. Harder to maintain in a production environment especially if you're lazy like me.
On the desktop went thru various distros - Ubuntu, SolydXK, Mint, Manjaro/Arch and am now using Korora/Fedora. Have been very surprised at how well Korora works - always avoided Fedora for whatever reason.
Tried Elementary OS a few years ago and liked the look but the packages just weren't there and some things were broken. No doubt things are better but I've moved on.
LXLE looks cool especially for older tech - I like the LXDE and LXQT DEs a lot - simple and old school windows-like.
CentOS seems a little outdated for my tastes but it works well enough especially in environments that are fragile. Using Ubuntu LTS for most of my server stuff - for me it has been the easiest to maintain and keep current with a great range of compatible devices and packages.
Haven't tried Parrot Linux yet but will check it out - have used Kali & BackBox.
For one thing systemD is not a file system
Don't forget about embedded systems where the Linux kernel is a major player, such as Android smartphones, home WiFi routers, TiVo set-top cable TV boxes, automotive systems, flat screen TVs, ..
Also don't forget super-computers as Linux is the main player there.
I bet there are more CPUs in the world running the Linux kernel than Microsoft's Windows.
Mint with Cinnamon is arguable the best Linux Desktop distro.
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
linux.com is still a thing?
Linux blows ... Trump loves Linux
For one thing systemD is not a file system
...yet.
i moved to a\manjaro thats based on arch and never looked back everything is faster then anything Ubuntu based and never a issue with being stable.
For one thing systemD is not a file system
Not yet, so shut up and don't give them any ideas.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
The best "Linux distro" is FreeBSD.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Fuck the market. On this site we are interested in powerful and customizable operating systems that we want to use. And those are available, mostly even for free, so we are happy. And when we stop being happy, we will come up with something new with even lower market share but with the features we want.
Agree. Everybody who knows anything knows Arch is the best for desktop, but I wouldn't use it for server.
Tried Elementary OS, don't agree that the desktop is "elegant" at all. I disagree with the walled garden paradigm as well. Currently on MX Linux. Debian based. Sysvinit. Runs wonderfully with Cinnamon.
I am using FreeBSD 10.3 - it's not bad. I am thinking about moving to slackware.
Mint 17.3
Slackware 14.2
Gentoo
CentOS 6.5
Calculate Linux
FreeBSD 10.3
Something else?
Why not? I've been using it for my production server setup just fine. It works great and does the job pretty well. I don't recommend it for everyone, but the LTS and rolling updates doesn't hurt me. If it breaks something, that's why I have a backup to take over so I can figure it out.
To be honest, I haven't had anything break for my business for years on Arch. It's been running my machines, connecting to PLC's for data, running my database, all the good things just fine. I think probably the worst thing was just the python 2 to python 3 move, but it turned out to be a non-issue, since 90% of my stuff ran fine on python 3, and Arch (Along with all the major distributions) offered python 2 to stick around for a long time until I moved over.
I don't know why Arch isn't on this list either. It has a great package manager, a comprehensive wiki and if you want the latest and greatest, it's not a problem to get it.
Elementary ships with Epiphany instead of Firefox, such a cute little kid's web browser!
So what would you use for IoT? Minix? OpenBSD? Minix w/ PF?
But if distributions aren't for u and i, then what are they good for?
I'm holding out for the one true OS before dealing with this newfangled. I sent this post to a special posting center on postcards.
Just joking. But that's what this oneupsmanship makes me feel like is in order.
That's funny, because I was just about to call Windows, Doors!
Some bloat is a bit useful, like all these font for korean, arabic, chinese and many others that still give you something to look at even if you don't understand anything of the language. In Windows 98 I believe, you could install them : took a couple hundred megs or more.
Might have other crap like Bluetooth, media players that all add up but make the computer useful.
And on mobile, it's non-existent.
No, Android doesn't count.
I want a system I can depend on rather than one I can (or have to) fiddle with so I can focus on the things I want/need to be doing with the computer. That's why I'm not looking at a hack-in-tosh solution. Any Elementary OS users want to comment on how this distro is working for them? I'll probably want to install Gnome, which I think is not the out-of-the-box configuration. Also we at Noavard use Linux as our web server, in Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP architecture.
I write about technoloty and advanced computing in Noavard, I place for pros.
And on mobile, it's non-existent.
No, Android doesn't count.
Oh yeah, it must be so because you said so.
I am detecting a major Butthurt.
Linux is the dominant operating system on this planet. Just deal with it.
Anyone ever heard of Slackware? Systemd free since '93.
Pat for President :)
Still relying on OpenBSD, and sometimes also on a trimmed-down FreeBSD with Capsicum for security-related work; but I'm wondering what the most hardened (minimalist) Linux distro you guys are recommending? I understand that the less software, the smaller the attack surface, but I'm also thinking along the lines of SELinux-by-default, settable access policies (not just discretionary access policies but also rules-based access policies), etc...
cpghost at Cordula's Web.
I tried Arch. I found the communiity hostile and toxic. Almost every question asked on the forums seemed to draw at least one accusation of being a freeloader - usually from the rule-lawyer-happy admins. I've never regretted leaving Arch.
What is the security environment for yaourt packages? Are they vetted in any way? Is this different from mainstream distros such as Debian, Redhat and their progeny?
With Arch you're expected to figure things out for yourself, and yes, that can be a pain, but its the best way to learn... Also odd to read about all the security tools in Parrot OS. Last time I looked they had somewhere around 100 tools. Blackarch currently has 1312 tools and you can easily install any or all of them on any Arch dist of your choice.
For a machine like that you'd be better off with AntiX (Debian based), or if you need Ubuntu repos use Bodhi or Peppermint.
Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Straight debian with lxde is also pretty easy, I had wheezy and lxde running on some Vortex86 MX computer (not even i686) with 512MB RAM, one 8GB SD card and no swap. An old PC with 512MB DDR1 might be easier : you can swap on hard drive.
Perhaps a fun project would be to install something on a really old PC with / on SD card or USB stick ; /var, /home and swap on HDD. Or perhaps / on HDD and /usr on SD. Low latency of even the worst flash is pretty awesome but write throughput is bad.
Why not? I've been using it for my production server setup just fine..
I noticed you typed "production server" in singular. This is probably why it works for you. If you try to maintain hundreds of servers you'll very quickly find out why people don't use Arch Linux in production.
Where is Debian with Raspbian Pixel?
What we need are drivers, apps, and hardware that doesn't have Windows but costs the same (or less). To do that we need bigger market share. There's a sweet spot between getting the stuff we need and getting the malware that is now targeted at Windows.