Six great Linux distributions for network engineers

As a network engineer, you are not alone when considering installing Linux for your job, as Linux is a common operating system of choice for them.

When you are a network engineer, you want to know which distribution provides the best functionality for your work. Here are the 6 best Linux distributions for network engineers:

1, Fedora

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 of RHEL Community Edition. RHEL itself is often chosen as the operating system for enterprise-level systems. Therefore, by using Fedora, network engineers will become more familiar with using RHEL systems 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 Release https://www.linuxmi.com/fedora-linux-38.html

2. RHEL

RHEL is a popular enterprise distribution because of its stability and enhanced features, making it a wise choice. 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 appeal to enterprise solutions and are equally attractive to independent users.

Because RHEL comes pre-loaded with the SELinux security module, you can start managing access control and system policies immediately. You can also use the RPM and YUM package managers to get tools like Cacti and Snort.

Download: RHEL (Free for developers; annual fee $179)

Related: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 released https://www.linuxmi.com/red -hat-enterprise-linux-9-2.html

3, CentOS Stream

CentOS Stream maintains a consistent distribution method with RHEL, similar to Fedora . 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 among 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-level operating system CentOS Stream 9 https://www.linuxmi.com/centos-stream- 9.html

4、openSUSE

OpenSUSE is another robust and dependable option for network engineers. 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 is perfect for file sharing between Linux and Windows systems. With openSUSE's Zypper package manager, you'll be able to easily find and install the right tools for the job without any worries.

Download: openSUSE (Free)

Related: openSUSE Leap 15.5 has been released https://www.linuxmi.com/opensuse-leap-15-5.html

5、Debian

Debian is renowned in the well-known Linux distributions for its exceptional 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 of 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 Now Released https://www.linuxmi.com/debian-12.html

6. Kali Linux

Kali Linux is a distribution designed specifically for penetration testing and has many built-in 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. In order to avoid installing useless packages and keep your Kali system clean, you should plan in advance which packages you will use.

Download: Kali Linux (Free)

Related: Kali Linux 2023.2 Release https://www.linuxmi.com/kali-linux-2023-2.html

Get familiar with your new networking distribution

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.

The above is the detailed content of Six great Linux distributions for network engineers. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!