CentOS Vs Ubuntu Server – The Unending Duel

Feb 17,2021 by Nishant Nath

Posted by Nishant Nath

Choosing an Operating System for server is not anywhere as easy as it seems at first. Thus, in this blog, we are going to stack CentOS vs Ubuntu server distros right next to each other. We aim to help you decide which distro is better for your Linux VPS.

CentOS vs Ubuntu Server Comparison

CentOS Server – at a glance

Typically, CentOS users are big organizations that are well equipped to not require any external commercial support. CentOS’s is a community of users that frequently contribute to open source projects. It is a rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Taj of all commercial Linux. RHEL is employed by various enterprise to run their dedicated servers.

CentOS, being based on RHEL’s source code, has gained some popularity, especially among mid-enterprise level Virtual Private Servers. Most VPS that run Linux, run CentOS.

People also ask…Shoould I use CentOS?
CentOS is great for any application but might present users with some obstacles, especially to those who have only recently started with Linux.
Its close association to RHEL allows easy tweaking of security features, making it safe for both home and corporate level implementation.

Also watch –

Top 5 Linux distributions for your VPS.

Release Announcements –

CentOS Server Version	Release Date
8.1.1911	2020-01-16
8.0.1905	2019-09-24
7.7.1908	2019-09-17
7-1810	2018-12-04
6.10	2018-07-03
7-1804	2018-05-10

DistroWatch Reader Rating for CentOS Server

Does CentOS have a GUI?Even though CentOS has powerful features to fire up a Web Server, it lacks an intuitive GUI. However, the GUI can be setup using compatible graphical desktop environment like KDE or Gnome.

8.3 / 10

Average Rating from 77 Reviews

Ubuntu – at a glance

Of all Linux distros Ubuntu gets most frequent updates. More updates then translate to a faster elimination of bugs. Perhaps the most heard-of Linux Distro, Ubuntu, has the largest collection of applications ever made for any Linux OS. Ubuntu would have been the undisputed winner in its battle against CentOS had ease-of-use and accessibility been the deciding factor.

Over the years Ubuntu’s GUI has also become more intuitive than ever. As a result there are more desktops with Ubuntu now than there were once.

Is Fedora better than Ubuntu?Fedora is based on Red Hat and shares its source code with CentOS. Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distro and is best for desktops.

From hosting viewpoint, Ubuntu’s GUI could trouble some administrators, despite the fact that it comes with professional support.

Release Announcements

Ubuntu Version	Release Date
2020-02-12	18.04.4
2019-10-17	19.10
2019-09-27	19.10 Beta
2019-08-08	18.04.3
2019-04-18	19.04
2019-03-29	19.04 Beta

Where can I download Linux Distros? Which distro should I download?Since the distros are licensed as free, you can find it throughout the web. But make sure you only download from a trusted source. Anonymous download sources may hide malicious programs within the distribution.Following are the distros you can use –Mint, Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE, Fedora, Zorin, ClearOS, CentOS

DistroWatch Reader Rating for Ubuntu

7.6 / 10

Average rating from 506 Reviews

CentOS vs Ubuntu Server – Difference

Having had an idea about both the distros, we now take a closer look at the main difference between CentOS and Ubuntu.

*Underlying Architecture

Ubuntu is based on Debian (formerly Debian GNU/Linux), while CentOS has been pronged from Red Hat Linux Enterprise (RHEL).

Red Hat releases commercial distributions while Debian is known for free-licence versions.

*Parsing Extractable files and packages

Ubuntu run Deb package the same way Windows run .exe

Package parsing in Windows is almost fully automatic. In Ubuntu, however, you need APT Package Manager.

CentOS, on the other hand works quite differently. The OS allows parsing packages from its central repository using yum command.

Types of setup (installer) files on Windows –msimsmmspmst

*Stability

CentOS has less frequent updates than Ubuntu. The longer the release cycle, the more stable is the OS, generally. However, longer release cycles can also pose problems, especially for administrators that yearn latest features on their OS. In CentOS, admins either work with older applications or manually install software.

CentOS vs Ubuntu Server – the Catch

Go with Ubuntu Desktop if –

You have used Ubuntu in a desktop in the past. You will note little difference while running it on your server. Though past experience will certainly help, you would not find any learning curve even if you have never used Ubuntu before.
You constantly need support. Owing to its large userbase, support for Ubuntu is much easier and cheaper to find than for CentOS.
Your areas of focus is container and cloud deployments. Apart from the mainstream support, Ubuntu has an immensely rich community for cloud services.

People also ask…Is CentOS and Redhat the same?No. though the former shares the source code of the latter, the two are not the same and correspond to different flavors of Linux distros.

Also Read: How to Set Up Multiple WordPress Sites on a Single Ubuntu VPS

Go with CentOS Server if –

1) You are proficient using it. For advanced users we don’t see a reason why you should shy away from CentOS.

2) You are a web hosting company intending to offer web hosting services. CentOS will offer you the compatibility you will need. In fact, hosting control panels like cPanel have always been designed keeping in mind their compatibility with RHEL and its derivatives.

3) Installing program is not an issue as such. CentOS, because of longer release periods, is less prone to receiving buggy updates. With Ubuntu, I have personally seen people reverting to some previous version, owing to a glitch in the recent updates.

CentOS vs Ubuntu Desktop – Brief

Parameter	CentOS	Ubuntu
Source Code based on	Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)	Debian
Updates	Not frequent	Frequently Updated
Control Panel	cPanel/WHM	cPanel not supported
Support	Community support not so intensive	Intensive support available
Ease of Use	Recommended for advanced and proficient admins	Recommended for novice and beginners
Package Installer	.rpm format. Installed using yum	.deb package. Installed using apt-get