Hi guys !

Someone gave me a computer, and I plan to reinstall my home server on top of it. The actual server is running Archlinux ATM, but i'm not sure wether to keep arch, or use another distro.

So here I am, asking your opinion on the subject. The question is simple: Which distro should run my home server ?

I though about these (alphabetical order, got no preference):

• Archlinux
  
• Crux
  
• Debian
  
• NetBSD
  
• OpenBSD
  
• Slackware
  
• Void Linux
  

The server will run the following services (software):

• web server (thttpd)
  
• DNS (bind 9)
  
• VoIP (umurmur)
  
• Games (quake3, teeworld, cube2)
  
• git (git-daemon, cgit)
  
• printing (cups)
  
• DLNA share (minidlna)
  
• NFS share (nfsd)
  

Here are my personnal opinion on each:

Archlinux
I don't want to reboot my server every week to upgrade my kernel

Crux
A bit "raw" for a server

Debian
Creating packages can be a pain, and I'll also find that library packages are to much "exploded", which can be a pain sometimes

NetBSD / OpenBSD
Will they run all my services ? (umurmur, quake3, ...)

Slackware
I've seldomly heard of it for server purpose, there might be a reason to this (but I don't know what it is)

Void Linux
My personnal choice. It sounds promising and funny to use. I've not find a better option yet.


And now, what's your opinion ? What would you install in the same situation ? Please argument your posts, and tell me if you need more infos on my needs.
Thanks in advance for your help nixers !

I think FreeBSD would suit you well, why isn't it in the list?

Because I did not think about it at first. How is FreeBSD better than NetBSD or OpenBSD in my case ?

More applications like your game servers.

I've been learning Debian packaging and it isn't that bad, but it is a bit more involved than say an Arch PKGBUILD or whatever it you use on Crux. What exactly do you need to package? The repos are pretty huge, but if it's your own software I'll be happy to try and lend my assistance. If you do go with it, I wouldn't recommend using stable because while it is incredibly stable and good for servers, the games are too outdated so people can never connect to them. I use testing every day and it's still very stable, and despite the name unstable is still a lot more stable than Arch. On the other hand it's pretty boring, whereas Void Linux sounds fun.

Also I love Cube 2, if you get it running you best let me play ;)

Well, I'm not really seeking stability. All I want is not being afraid to reboot my server, and do it the more soldomly possible (so typically, not-so-frequent kernel updates).

The packaging under debian can be kinda boring sometimes (I need some personnal software that I will package myself), even if not that hard. thanks for your help though.
Another point that pisses me off under debian, is how exploded the libraries are. I compile softwares pretty often, and when I notice that a software need abc/foobar.h, I want to just install libabc, not libabc-foobar, libabc-foobar-dev, libabc-baz, libabc-baz-devel-blah, ...

*BSD is a great platform IF your hardware is supported. BSD makes for a dodgy laptop install, but if you build your own box you won't find a finer OS.

Linux has broader HW support, and is therefore typically better on so-called "off-the-shelf" hardware, like that which you purchase from bestbuy, or the like.

Cheers,
Soda

I'm actually using Arch for server purpose, using `Ignore Pkg = linux` so when I want I'll upgrade the kernel. Everything works great: IRC (weechat in tmux with bitlbee), backup server (custom rsync script), MPD and other few things.

Nah I don't want arch to powerup my server. In fact, it was running arch before... Not that it's a bad distro, but I just want to try something else..

I finally choose alpine linux :)

I would offer my commentary from the early 2000's on Gentoo as a model for all Linux distros... http://www.sodaphish.com/files/gentoosucks.html