As a network engineer, when considering installing Linux for work, you may be faced with a question: Among the thousands of available Linux distributions, which one should you choose?
Don’t worry, you are not alone. Linux is a common operating system of choice for network engineers, and there are many distributions suitable for network-related tasks.
If you are a network engineer, you may want to know which distributions provide the best functionality at work. Here are six excellent Linux distributions that are widely recommended by network engineers:
Among the many Linux distributions, Fedora is one of the most respected among network engineers, and the reason is simple.
Fedora is an open source distribution equivalent to the community edition of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). RHEL itself is often chosen as the operating system for enterprise-level systems.
As a result, network engineers using Fedora will become more familiar with the RHEL systems they encounter throughout their careers.
Fedora also provides users with an incredible library of open source tools, built-in support for containerized applications, and always access to the latest features and software.
Download: Fedora (Free)
Related: Fedora Linux 38 released https://www.linuxmi.com/fedora-linux-38.html
As one of the most popular enterprise distributions, RHEL is a great choice because it is stable and hardened. Each RHEL version has a 10-year lifecycle, which means you can use the RHEL version of your choice for many years with virtually no compatibility issues.
By using RHEL, you will also become familiar with many systems you may encounter at work.
RHEL has many of the same benefits that make it attractive as an enterprise solution, but equally attractive to independent users.
RHEL comes pre-installed with the SELinux security module so you can easily start managing access control and system policies. You also get tools like Cacti and Snort through RPM and YUM package managers.
Download: RHEL (Free for developers; $179 annual fee)
Related: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 released https://www.linuxmi.com/red-hat-enterprise-linux-9-2.html
In a similar manner to Fedora, CentOS Stream is a distribution aligned with RHEL development. It serves as an upstream version of RHEL, meaning content in the latest version of CentOS Stream may appear in the next version of RHEL.
While CentOS Stream may not have the stability of Fedora, its attractive inclusion of the latest software makes it worth considering.
Due to Red Hat's decision to close public access to RHEL source code, CentOS Stream has a unique advantage in RHEL downstream releases: it will continue to be consistent with the latest experimental changes being considered for the next release of RHEL.
In the future, CentOS Stream is likely to be the best choice for those looking for a RHEL-related distribution.
Download: CentOS Stream (Free)
Related: Community enterprise operating system CentOS Stream 9 https://www.linuxmi.com/centos-stream-9.html
Another powerful and reliable option for network engineers is openSUSE. openSUSE's impressive stability and frequent new version releases make it a good choice if you like to avoid broken packages but want to take advantage of the latest software releases.
Out of the box, with YaST (Yet another Setup Tool), you won't have any problems configuring basic network settings. openSUSE comes pre-installed with many packages that provide you with incredible utilities.
For example, Wicked is a powerful network configuration framework, and Samba can perfectly realize file sharing between Linux and Windows systems. With openSUSE’s Zypper package manager, you won’t have any problems installing the right tools for the job.
Download: openSUSE (Free)
Related: openSUSE Leap 15.5 has been released https://www.linuxmi.com/opensuse-leap-15-5.html
Among the well-known Linux distributions, Debian is famous for its excellent stability and high performance. Debian offers several forks, including Debian Stable (extremely secure and focused on stability) and Debian Unstable (more prone to problems but offering the latest cutting-edge software releases).
One of the biggest advantages of using Debian for network engineering is that it has an incredibly package-rich repository, containing over 59,000 different packages.
If you are interested in trying out the latest professional and experimental tools in the field of networking and network security, installing Debian will provide you with full access.
Download: Debian (Free)
Related: Debian 12 is now available https://www.linuxmi.com/debian-12.html
As a distribution designed specifically for penetration testing, Kali Linux comes pre-installed with a large number of tools that are very useful for network engineers. Wireshark can provide fascinating information about the packets moving on the network, Nmap can provide useful clues about network security, and SmokePing provides interesting visualizations of network latency.
Not all the software that comes pre-installed with Kali Linux will be useful to network engineers, but luckily, new Kali installations are fully customizable. You should plan ahead of time which packages you intend to use to avoid installing useless packages and keep clutter on your Kali system to a minimum.
Download: Kali Linux (Free)
Related: Kali Linux 2023.2 released https://www.linuxmi.com/kali-linux-2023-2.html
While some Linux distributions are better suited for network engineers, almost any Linux distribution can be used with the right software and configuration.
To avoid future difficulties, you should test using software like Nmap on new Linux distributions and become familiar with networking. This way, you avoid facing obstacles due to a lack of familiarity.
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