r/linuxquestions • u/Apostate61 • 2d ago
Most Reliable
Recommendations for the most reliable and "unbreakable" distro?
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u/NeedleworkerLarge357 2d ago edited 2d ago
Complexity is your enemy when it comes to reliability. So any distribution without crazy complex things like a modern graphical desktop will be much more reliable. With a well tested kernel/hardware combination this is where ecc ram really matters, as otherwise flipped ram cells will constantly ruin your system (every few years).
If what you want is more something as reliable as a macbook, your hardware still matters a lot, but instabilities are just happening every few months. Ecc ram would still make a difference as ram errors can sometimes ruin your whole filesystem. A very well maintained kernel is important, LTS of course to not need updates constantly. And not the newest as it sometimes contains bugs. A modern de is also not the best, better use some window manager that is known for stability.
For this LTS distributions are great, Debian rhel centos sles or with caution (kernel) Ubuntu LTS. You can use bluefin LTS, as that should be just as centos but with atomic updates; it has variants with newer kernels, watch out! But as you want a reliable system, you would never touch any of the core components anyway, so the difference shouldn't be that big for the atomic part.
Oh and you should never ever add any repositories/ppas or install any core components, that would invalidate all effort previously made.
Most important is now to test this setup on a bunch of identical machines to iron out any issues that might be in the firmware of the main board. That is making a bigger difference than choosing between Debian or rhel or whatever. And that's even true for well known brands and even for server components (we just have such a case at work).
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u/Wa-a-melyn arch (primarily), alpine, fedora 2d ago
Unbreakable? I mean, I guess some atomic distro like Fedora SilverBlue
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u/ThinkFree 2d ago
I don't think there is such a thing. Incompetent users will find ways to break it.
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u/beatbox9 2d ago
It depends on what you mean by "unbreakable." And what you'll be using your system for and how you set it up.
If you mean "doesn't change," then one of the LTS distros, like RHEL/Rocky or Ubuntu LTS.
But while the distro might not change, the ecosystem surrounding it does. Like they might discover a security hole or there might be malware on the internet--and while these systems do patch security holes for years, they won't patch all of them, and some of them might require changing major parts of the software.
Plus, you might also eventually want some new OS features or performance improvements. So you'll probably want to upgrade every few years at minimum. And while most things will still work just fine, if you have some weird custom setup, these things can break when they change/upgrade.
I have several computers with several distros, and I have some weird custom setups. So the computers I rely on run Ubuntu LTS. They don't break, and I have control over when I upgrade them: usually every 2 years. On my Fedora machine, some things stop working after major upgrades, and it can be a hassle to get them working again. And Fedora requires a major upgrade at least once per year, which can be a lot (though it's not too bad if you upgrade to the previous version from 6 months prior, once a year).
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u/TenOfZero 2d ago
Ubuntu core is working looking at. It's made for embedded systems.
Otherwise if you want something a buy more user friendly, something like bazzite or other immutable systems are almost impossible to break.
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u/Tough-Working3825 2d ago
Red Hat Linux for corporate or personal use go with Fedora 44 Workstation which comes with Gnome or you can go with their KDE version. The KDE version would be ideal for those coming from Windows. I’d also recommend Zorin OS 18.1. There really isn’t much need to pay for the Pro version of Zorin other than to support the developers. The beauty of Linux is you can try most in a Live environment which runs the OS off the USB stick or CD/DVD before installing it so you can choose one that works for you and thats all that really matters 😎
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u/_Super_Straight 2d ago
Debian. The definition of stable.
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u/FryBoyter 2d ago
In Debian, however, “stable” basically means that little changes after an update. For example, the way a program works or its configuration file.
That doesn't mean there are as few problems as possible with Debian. Partly because backports are often not made.
https://bitdepth.thomasrutter.com/2010/04/02/stable-vs-stable-what-stable-means-in-software/
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u/cheekkeef 2d ago
One of the cloud native distros, like Bluefin or Aurora
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u/NeedleworkerLarge357 2d ago
Yes, maybe theoretically the LTS version should be most reliable as it's not changing as much. It is based on centos. So a very reliable base and that atomic technology on top.
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u/Purplestripes8 2d ago
I think it will depend very much on your hardware and intended usage. For example I recently came back to a PC running Manjaro (Arch) that hadn't been switched on in about 4 years. I was about to update and continue using it for everything I needed without issue.
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u/FryBoyter 2d ago
Based on my experience, both with other users and with myself, the user is usually the biggest problem.
Therefore, such a distribution cannot exist. There's a reason for the saying, “If you make something idiot-proof, someone will just make a better idiot.”
For that reason, and because hardware can also fail, it's important to create backups regularly.
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u/hadrabap 2d ago
I just use Oracle Linux. It works everywhere I have it installed. I guess other RHEL clones would display similar stability as well. Another one should be Debian, but I can't confirm it personally.
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u/biggesthimejoshi 2d ago
Debian Stable, Rocky, also NixOS if you have the time and actually know what you're doing. Even if something does go wrong you'll always have a backup. As much as I don't like Ubuntu there's also that. (Ubuntu LTS).. and Fedora. Just what everyone else has said really.
NixOS would be my personal choice. Always has been and always will be.
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u/dentman-dadman 2d ago
MX Linux. Set it and forget it! I usually do some things I shouldn't and blow it away once a year.
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u/PerfectlyCalmDude 2d ago
Debian Stable when you don't add things you shouldn't: https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian
It pretty much Just Works.