Just Starting the Course - Question

itsteve

Hi guys,
I'm Steve, and I'm from the west coast of Canada. I've been working as a Windows desktop admin for over 12 years now, and I'm finally getting around to learning Linux. I've reached the part in the course where I'm supposed to choose a distro to use, and I think I'll do it as a VM. But the introduction seems to indicate we use more than one distro. Ubuntu LTS, CentOS 8 Stream and openSUSE are all mentioned that way. Should I just pick the one I think I'll like most, or should I do three VMs (one for each distro)? Thanks in advance!

KevinCSmallwood

Steve, the choice is yours. Ubuntu LTS (like 22.04 or 24.04) is pretty easy to use. CentOS 8 (or CentOS 9) is used by a lot of companies that don't like things changing quickly (quickly is a relative term). OpenSUSE is very popular in Europe; less popular in North America (but, again, that is a relative term). Feel free to try one of the three popular Distros and see which one feels more comfortable. If your company is looking at one of the Distros, that may answer your question. If you are thinking about working for a company using a specific Distro of Linux, again, that may answer your question. Most of the course is based on the "Command Line Interface" (CLI), so most of the Distros are pretty much the same. The major difference between Distros is usually the "look and feel" of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the "systems administration" tools used to administer the Distros (i.e., manage user accounts, manage storage, network administration, security, etc.). This course is mostly about using the Linux environment as a user of the environment (which you do need to know if you want to advance to systems/network/security administration); that is, how do you use Linux to do your day-to-day work. Frankly, Virtual Machines (VMs) or Cloud Machines are a great way to "play around" with the various Distros to get a feel for them. After that, it is your own preference or possibly, your company's preference. I hope this helps!

itsteve

@KevinCSmallwood said:
Steve, the choice is yours. Ubuntu LTS (like 22.04 or 24.04) is pretty easy to use. CentOS 8 (or CentOS 9) is used by a lot of companies that don't like things changing quickly (quickly is a relative term). OpenSUSE is very popular in Europe; less popular in North America (but, again, that is a relative term). Feel free to try one of the three popular Distros and see which one feels more comfortable. If your company is looking at one of the Distros, that may answer your question. If you are thinking about working for a company using a specific Distro of Linux, again, that may answer your question. Most of the course is based on the "Command Line Interface" (CLI), so most of the Distros are pretty much the same. The major difference between Distros is usually the "look and feel" of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the "systems administration" tools used to administer the Distros (i.e., manage user accounts, manage storage, network administration, security, etc.). This course is mostly about using the Linux environment as a user of the environment (which you do need to know if you want to advance to systems/network/security administration); that is, how do you use Linux to do your day-to-day work. Frankly, Virtual Machines (VMs) or Cloud Machines are a great way to "play around" with the various Distros to get a feel for them. After that, it is your own preference or possibly, your company's preference. I hope this helps!

Thanks! I installed a VM for each of them, and I'll try the exercises on all (where possible). I already work in IT, but in a Windows environment. I wouldn't mind trying a dual-boot with Linux at home. And eventually I wouldn't mind working in a Linux environment. But I don't see my current employer switching to that any time soon. Thanks again!