The Debian Project was set for a new release of the Debian GNU/Linux operating system at the end of May likely by the time you're reading this.

Though there have been intermediate updates to the current release, this one is the first major new release in a few years. For many, Debian is the Linux that you've heard of and may have used without knowing since it's the base for other operating systems such as Ubuntu and Xandros as well as embedded systems. Debian doesn't get the same mindshare among CxOs as Linux flavors such as Red Hat and SuSE. But Debian certainly deserves that mindshare as well as a place in the server rooms and data centers of business.

Debian Is Stable
Debian provides a stable environment that's perfect for servers. Updates to a Debian system are, in themselves, highly stable and much less prone to impact the server than updates sent from other operating system vendors, including other flavors of Linux.

For server environments, major updates to software shouldn't come from the operating system vendor as forced or semi-forced upgrades. The sheer number of incompatibilities when moving from one version of software to the next is enough to make even the most experienced administrator lose sleep. This upgrade instability is simply not a worry on a Debian system.

The Debian update process has historically been criticized for coming too slowly. However, there are a number of options for those users including using the testing branch of Debian or simply installing their own versions of applications. The latter option is always available with Debian since it provides an excellent platform for installing other software.

The benefits of a sane update process far outweigh the benefits of getting that next point release of an application that might break the application. Based on extensive experience on some major flavors of Linux and a few flavors of Microsoft Windows, the operating system flavor with the least risk of breaking because of an update is Debian. The stability of Debian alone makes it an excellent choice for the data center.

The Debian update cycle keeps the major versions of software the same throughout the lifetime of a release but security updates are still timely. In practice, it's quite common to get an update alert from Debian earlier than other Linux vendors, even ones with paid support.

Other Linux vendors try to emulate the functionality and the ease of use of the Debian update software, apt. Using apt, an administrator can quickly and clearly update a server while controlling what gets updated. With the apt-proxy, a local server can be configured to download the software updates that then get distributed to other servers locally, rather than having each server download the same software update from the remote location, thus saving bandwidth. This functionality isn't new to Debian and has, in fact, been around for a long time while other operating systems are just getting it now or finally perfecting it.

Debian Offers Power, Flexibility, and Security
Debian runs on a wide variety of hardware and has well over 8,000 software packages, all in easy-to-install form. There's no compiling from source with Debian packages, though it's certainly possible. Installing new software is many times a one-step process. Far from being merely vanilla installs of software, the Debian packages come pre-configured with the most widely used options and with security in mind.

Support for Debian can be obtained through a number of consultancies with more coming on board all the time. It's important for CxOs to ask their Linux consultancy whether they support Linux or merely support certain flavors of Linux. Supporting only a flavor of Linux isn't the same as supporting Linux, but that's a matter for another column.

It takes effort to get Debian in the data center door. Debian doesn't have sales engineers nor does it have glossy brochures touting studies done on its behalf. Debian does have respect in the Linux community and is already widely-deployed by forward-thinking organizations that seek a competitive advantage while lowering administrative and maintenance costs.

More information on Debian can be found at the Debian Project's Web site www.debian.org/.