On various occasions some reviews are published about certain distributions or lists of the best distros of each year, etc., but this time we want to present a list with some of the best categorized distributions for different jobs. As you suspect, these distributions must meet a series of requirements to be truly productive, that is, that we do not spend time trying to do other things than work or solve problems that are generated ...
As for the the categories that we are going to include, obviously we are not going to cover all the works that exist, but some of the most popular ones, exposing one / s distribution / s for each category. Obviously, it never rains to everyone's liking, and by this I mean that surely many users do not agree with the selections or think that another alternative is better. Of course they are free to think what they want ...
In fact, when they ask me which is the best distribution, I always answer the same thing: «The one you like the most and the one you feel most comfortable with«. Maybe you're comfortable with Arch, you've gotten used to it, and think it's the easiest. Why not? Although many users think otherwise, but you should always think in which environment you move with more skill. The same goes for any tool. For example, text editors: vim, vi, emacs, nano, gedit,… what difference does it make ?! The best one is the one you feel most comfortable with.
But for those users who are newer In this area, they may want guidance because they don't already have a favorite or a preset. Well for them, we go there:
Education:
There are many, many distributions aimed at education, and they are probably among the most important due to the importance of the training sector. This type of distros come with a series of pre-installed software designed for the little ones, although there are also them for older students and for teaching staff.
- openSUSE Li-fe is an openSUSE distribution on which this educational distro has been built. It has a multitude of pre-installed software for classrooms and education centers. Likewise, it has KIWI-LTSP server, to be able to have it even without technical knowledge.
- Edubuntu It is a well known Ubuntu based distro. It has all the benefits of Ubuntu, but with a multitude of packages designed for education that will surely appeal to both students and educators.
And as you know, there are many more, but these two are the ones that most attract my attention. Although if you want some more specific for the little ones, you may be interested in projects such as Sugar labs o Teddy.
Servers:
If what you want is to build a server of any kind, do not hesitate, there are two that are the undisputed queens: CentOS y Debian. Although you can choose RHEL or SLES by Red Hat (now owned by IBM) and SuSE respectively. In the case of CentOS, it is based on RHEL code and is completely open and free, maintained by the community. It is the best if you prefer RPM packages. In case it throws the DEB on you more, then go to the old but wonderful Debian project.
Development:
In this case, we have PopOS, Ubuntu, Arch Linux y Gentoo as the best options. Why are you? Well, the first is a new one, a fairly recent project from the famous System76 firm that I like to dedicate your team from this same firm as your best development tool. But obviously, Ubuntu is also one of the heavyweights, not only because of its known qualities, but because being so popular, you will find most of the IDEs, packages and documentation that you need for development. Finally, Gentoo and Arch Linux are not the simplest, but they are two super environments to work with, mounting them from scratch and adapting them to our needs, a flexibility that other distros do not offer ...
Graphic and multimedia design:
For multimedia work and graphic design, Ubuntu would also be a good option, in fact it is for almost anything. It's one of those general-purpose off-road distros that are going to do well for the amount of software, drivers, and documentation you'll find to help you. But I would like to introduce you Fedora DesignSuite y Ubuntu Studio, where you will have almost everything done by bringing the pre-installed packages. ArtistX is another option and many other alternatives, but as I say, you have to prioritize ...
Science and engineering:
I guess the first that comes to mind is Scientific Linux (now cents), the famous European CERN distro. But there are others aimed at science, although perhaps one of the most interesting for physicists. Another option linux poseidon. Instead, for biology and geology, BIO-Linux y OSGeo they are two great options. For engineers working with CAD, CAELinux it is interesting. These are some of the alternatives, but be careful because some are somewhat neglected or have been abandoned.
Pentesters / Hacking:
If you dedicate yourself to the issue of security, surely your favorite, at least mine is, is Kali Linux, the Swiss Army Knife of Pentesting. Another strong alternative is Parrot OS. But there are other great and interesting projects, especially if you deal with something more specific like wireless network audits, forensics, etc.
In that case, Santoku for mobile platforms, Caine, and DEFT they will be your favorites. In case you want to dedicate yourself specifically to web audits, then take a look at Samurai. And finally, for WiFi audits, one of my favorites and also a project with a Spanish flavor: WiFi.
I hope it has helped you to decide ...