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  5. Ubuntu vs Windows Server

Ubuntu vs Windows Server

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Stacks80.4K
Followers59.1K
Votes468
Windows Server
Windows Server
Stacks533
Followers208
Votes0

Ubuntu vs Windows Server : What are the differences?

# Introduction

1. **Hardware Support**: Ubuntu is known for its wide range of hardware compatibility, while Windows Server requires specific drivers and hardware support.
2. **Cost**: Ubuntu is open-source and free to download and use, whereas Windows Server requires a license fee which can be costly for enterprise use.
3. **User Interface**: Ubuntu typically offers a more lightweight and customizable user interface compared to the standard Windows Server GUI, which may appeal to users who prefer a simpler interface.
4. **Software Ecosystem**: Ubuntu is known for its vast library of open-source software and tools, while Windows Server offers a wide range of proprietary software and applications that may be more tailored for enterprise needs.
5. **Security**: Ubuntu is often seen as more secure due to its open-source nature, frequent updates, and robust community support, while Windows Server may require additional security measures due to its popularity as a target for cyber attacks.
6. **Resource Usage**: Ubuntu is generally more efficient in terms of resource usage compared to Windows Server, making it a preferable choice for systems with limited resources or for virtual machines.

In Summary, Ubuntu and Windows Server differ in terms of hardware support, cost, user interface, software ecosystem, security, and resource usage.

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Advice on Ubuntu, Windows Server

Jerome/Zen
Jerome/Zen

Software Engineer

Aug 2, 2020

Decided

Global familiarity, free, widely used, and as a debian distro feels more comfortable when rapidly switching between local macOS and remote command lines.

CentOS does boast quite a few security/stability improvements, however as a RHEL-based distro, differs quite significantly in the command line and suffers from slightly less frequent package updates. (Could be a good or bad thing depending on your use-case and if it is public facing)

271k views271k
Comments
Simon
Simon

Developer Advocate at k6 / Load Impact

Mar 7, 2020

Decided

At the moment of the decision, my desktop was the primary place I did work. Due to this, I can't have it blow up on me while I work. While Arch is interesting and powerful, Ubuntu offers (at least for me) a lot more stability and lets me focus on other things than maintaining my own OS installation.

299k views299k
Comments
Govind
Govind

Aug 5, 2020

Decided

Ubuntu is much more faster over Windows and helps to get software and other utilities easier and within a short span of time compared to Windows.

Ubuntu helps to get robustness and resiliency over Windows. Ubuntu runs faster than Windows on every computer that I have ever tested. LibreOffice (Ubuntu's default office suite) runs much faster than Microsoft Office on every computer that I have ever tested.

270k views270k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Windows Server
Windows Server

Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning ‘humanity to others’. It also means ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the world of computers.

It is a brand name for a group of server operating systems released by Microsoft. It includes all Windows operating systems, Increase security, evolve your data center, and innovate faster with Microsoft Windows Server, the cloud-ready operating system.

Statistics
Stacks
80.4K
Stacks
533
Followers
59.1K
Followers
208
Votes
468
Votes
0
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 230
    Free to use
  • 96
    Easy setup for testing discord bot
  • 57
    Gateway Linux Distro
  • 54
    Simple interface
  • 9
    Don't need driver installation in most cases
Cons
  • 5
    Demanding system requirements
  • 4
    Adds overhead and unnecessary complexity over Debian
  • 2
    Snapd installed by default
  • 1
    Systemd
Cons
  • 1
    License needed
  • 1
    Not open source

What are some alternatives to Ubuntu, Windows Server ?

Debian

Debian

Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel or the FreeBSD kernel. Linux is a piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. FreeBSD is an operating system including a kernel and other software.

Arch Linux

Arch Linux

A lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple.

Fedora

Fedora

Fedora is a Linux-based operating system that provides users with access to the latest free and open source software, in a stable, secure and easy to manage form. Fedora is the largest of many free software creations of the Fedora Project. Because of its predominance, the word "Fedora" is often used interchangeably to mean both the Fedora Project and the Fedora operating system.

Linux Mint

Linux Mint

The purpose of Linux Mint is to produce a modern, elegant and comfortable operating system which is both powerful and easy to use.

CentOS

CentOS

The CentOS Project is a community-driven free software effort focused on delivering a robust open source ecosystem. For users, we offer a consistent manageable platform that suits a wide variety of deployments. For open source communities, we offer a solid, predictable base to build upon, along with extensive resources to build, test, release, and maintain their code.

Linux

Linux

A clone of the operating system Unix, written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX and Single UNIX Specification compliance.

CoreOS

CoreOS

It is designed for security, consistency, and reliability. Instead of installing packages via yum or apt, it uses Linux containers to manage your services at a higher level of abstraction. A single service's code and all dependencies are packaged within a container that can be run on one or many machines.

Gentoo Linux

Gentoo Linux

It is a free operating system based on either Linux or FreeBSD that can be automatically optimized and customized for just about any application or need.

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux is a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox.

Manjaro

Manjaro

It is an accessible, friendly, open-source Linux distribution and community. Based on Arch Linux, it provides all the benefits of cutting-edge software combined with a focus on getting started quickly, automated tools to require less manual intervention, and help readily available when needed.

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