Logo
  • PHP
    • HipHop / HHVM
    • Modern PHP
    • PHPStorm
    • LAMP
    • Laravel
    • Composer
    • PDO
  • JavaScript
    • node.js
    • AngularJS
  • CSS
    • SASS
    • “CSS4” (CSS level 4)
  • HTML
  • Git
  • LAMP
  • Vagrant
  • UI / UX
  • Architecture of …
  • Off-Topic
With ♥ from Berlin
January 18, 2014
Chris
Debian, Linux, Security, Server, Ubuntu
1

Which server OS version to choose ? Some EOL lists of Debian, Ubuntu and CentOS

PreviousNext
mod-rewrite-ubuntu-14-04-lts

Moving running projects (especially smaller ones that you’ve made for clients years ago) from an outdated and not-supported linux version can be a huge pain in the ass, and will quite often kill you (and your client). When PHP 5.2 reached its End of Life, millions of websites had to migrate to newer versions of PHP, and usually also to newer versions of the underlaying operating system. Beside the fact that PHP 5.3 introduced lots of breaking changes, a much stricter error reporting (e_notices shown by default afaik) and many “deprecated warnings” that even broke “professional” software like WordPress, several CMS etc., it’s also nearly impossible to upgrade a five year old operating system without harming the software, the running system and your client unless you are a system administrator or an advanced devop – but most of us developers aren’t. To prevent this (and to protect us from ourselves), it’s useful to have a look on the lifetimes of mainstream server operating systems.

 

Debian

Looks like Debian 6 (which is definitly some kind of standard and extremely widely used, most VPS providers don’t even offer Debian 7) only has 4 months from now until there will be no updates anymore.

debian eol

 

CentOS

CentOS looks much better, the long-term support for CentOS 5 and 6 looks promising. However, the PHP-packages of CentOS are usually really old (but not outdated!). CentOS might not be suitable for mainstream usage, as most tutorials only work with Debian/Ubuntu, CentOS works a little bit different.

centos eol

 

Ubuntu

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS does exactly what it says: Long Term Service. While most versions are oudated already 18 months after release, LTS versions are supported for full 5 years. 12.04 seems to be the ultimate choice for everybody who needs reliable, future-proof and stressless servers. Most tutorials make use of simple classic apt-get installations, which is perfect for going with Ubuntu. Unless you know what you do, Ubuntu 12.04 LTS should be your choice. 12.04 LTS installs an older (but not outdated, and always very stable) PHP 5.3 version by default, but PHP 5.4 and PHP 5.5 are installabe easily too. As 12.04 LTS is maintained until April 2017, you can run applications/sites for more than 3 years from now without making your hands dirty.

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS looks promising and will introduce PHP 5.5 by default. Keep an eye on that!

ubuntu lts versions 2017

 

This article was written quite a while ago (9 years), please keep this in mind when using the information written here. Links, code and commands might be outdated or broken.

Random articles

  • EOL lists of Ubuntu, Debian and CentOS for your server planningsEOL lists of Ubuntu, Debian and CentOS for your server plannings
  • A list of downloadable Vagrant boxes (CentOS 5.9 / 6.4, Ubuntu 12 / 13, Debian 6 / 7 / 7.1 / 7.2)A list of downloadable Vagrant boxes (CentOS 5.9 / 6.4, Ubuntu 12 / 13, Debian 6 / 7 / 7.1 / 7.2)
  • A quick guideline on how to fix the Hearthbleed bug (and update OpenSSL) on UbuntuA quick guideline on how to fix the Hearthbleed bug (and update OpenSSL) on Ubuntu
  • Free $10 coupon for DigitalOcean SSD cloud VPS hostingFree $10 coupon for DigitalOcean SSD cloud VPS hosting
  • DigitalOcean VPS coupon codes for december 2013 and early 2014DigitalOcean VPS coupon codes for december 2013 and early 2014
  • How to install/setup a basic LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) on Ubuntu 12.04 or Debian 7.0/7.1How to install/setup a basic LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) on Ubuntu 12.04 or Debian 7.0/7.1
  • A super-simple Vagrant LAMP stack bootstrap (installable with one command)A super-simple Vagrant LAMP stack bootstrap (installable with one command)
  • DigitalOcean rolls out interesting feature: Transfering server snapshots directly to the client’s accountDigitalOcean rolls out interesting feature: Transfering server snapshots directly to the client’s account
  • How to install/setup a basic LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) on Ubuntu 14.04 LTSHow to install/setup a basic LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
centosdebianeolltsserverUbuntuVPS
Share this

1 Comment

  • laconic
    December 17, 2014 10:31 pm

    Needs update. It’s clear, however, that if long-term stability/security without a great deal of administration/development is the goal, RHEL/CentOS is really the only option. Having said that, I can’t stand any RPM based distro for desktop/laptop/tablet/phone/console/etc use. At work I’m 100% RHEL/CentOS and at home I’m 100% not RHEL/CentOS (slackware(my favorite, but it just takes crazy long to set up just right, though it NEVER breaks once set up) for long-term desktop setups; lubuntu,kubuntu,mint,puppy,pretty much anything you can install/reinstall(upon package management inevitably being broken by manual config editing) in under an hour for short-term(less than 5 years) and mobile setups.)

    Reply

Leave A Comment Cancel reply

microsoft-windows-azure-cloud-hosting

Microsoft’s Azure platform gives away high money prizes for “testing out” their cloud services

Disclaimer: DEV METAL does not get any money etc. for saying this, there is no affiliate link, no deal with

php

How to install PHP 7.0 on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

You want to install PHP 7 within 60 seconds ? No problem, but first make sure you have a fresh

organizing css

Jonathan Snook – CSS is a Mess – How to organize CSS in big projects (54min video talk)

This article was written quite a while ago (9 years), please keep this in mind when using the information written

Useful basic linux stuff: Show kernel version, distribution name and distribution version on Ubuntu systems

Always nice to know: Show kernel version: uname -r Show kernel version and CPU: uname -a Show distribution version: lsb_release

What’s new in PHPStorm 10 (Official promo video)

PHPStorm 10 is out! New features are mainly full PHP7 support, much better auto-recognation / autocompletion (even within arrays (unsure

php

Must-read PHP blog: PHPweekly.com

Probably one of the best ressources for your weekly doze of news from the PHP scene: phpweekly.com simply publishes a

css4

Angelina Fabbro talks about “CSS4” in this excellent conference video

A very interesting talk about the future of CSS – let’s name it “CSS4” as we talk about spec level

php

PHP 5.6.0 RC1 is available

The first Release Candidate of PHP 5.6 is available here on php.net, as usual also for Windows systems. The RC

php

How to install sqlite driver for PHP in Ubuntu & Debian

It’s easy to install sqlite (for usage with PHP): sudo apt-get install php5-sqlite This will also restart apache (on modern

phpstorm-github-code-color-syntax-theme

Get Github’s syntax highlighting colors in PHPStorm

I really really like the colors on GitHub’s code previews but couldn’t find any themes that copy that in a

1/4

Categories

Search

mod-rewrite-ubuntu-14-04-lts
EOL lists of Ubuntu, Debian and CentOS for your server plannings
composer
[Link] How to require versions of PHP, HHVM / HipHop, GD, curl, openssl etc. with Composer
phpstorm-8
Ignore .idea folder from git in PHPStorm
A collection of beautiful ajax loaders / spinners in pure .svg / CSS
MINI, an extremely simple barebone PHP application
Experimenting with HHVM at Etsy (Link)
hack-php
The first micro framework written in Hack is there: hack-mvc !
php
PHP 5.6 announced, statically typed (!) “new” PHP announced by Facebook devs
vagrant
A super-simple Vagrant LAMP stack bootstrap (installable with one command)
php
Must-read PHP blog: PHPweekly.com
steam sale coupon voucher
-30% to -90% on Steam and Origin
cheap cloud server php
DigitalOcean rolls out interesting feature: Transfering server snapshots directly to the client’s account
[Link] Making a website vertically responsive
O’Reilly’s Learning JavaScript Design Patterns by Addy Osmani for free
the-php-login-project
How to install php-login-minimal on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

Tags

apache bash centos composer conference coupon CSS debian fonts framework git GitHub hack HHVM HipHop HTML HTML5 IDE JavaScript JS LAMP laravel linux mod_rewrite MVC MySQL Nginx optimization PHP PHP 5.5 PHP 5.6 phpmyadmin PHPStorm security server SSD Ubuntu UI UX vagrant video virtual machine voucher VPS wordpress
Side-Project: Wordle-Solver:
www.wordle-helper.info

Pages

  • Privacy Policy
 
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT