Welcome again! Today we will have to compare Ubuntu vs OpenSUSE. Eventually, all system administrators and DevOps engineers always looking for a stable Linux distro that can justify their specific requirements. When choosing an operating systems things vary from situation to situation. Here we will consider different aspects while having a look, whether OpenSUSE is good for us one will do better in some specific cases. For example, let’s consider an example of sharing printer resources, which might be working smoothly with OpenSUSE but may face issues for driver support with another. But, there are possibilities that remote access will work better with one and may give hiccups while working with OpenSUSE.
I would like to add here that the things I will be discussing here, are purely based upon my personal work experience, things may be different for the audience while working with both of the platforms.
History
Both of the Operating systems are almost equally old and come with a legacy of more than 10 years old. Suse’s first release was in October 2005. On the other hand, Ubuntu was born in October 2004. Both of the OS was able to gain popularity very fast. In fact, Ubuntu started shilling OS CDs/DVDs free of cost to the end-user. Due to that extra perks votes goes to Ubuntu of course!
The Package Managers
Ubuntu belongs to Debian’s family and deb packages are used here. APT and SNAP are the methods to maintain, install or remove packages. On the other hand, Suse supports RPM packages. YaST is another method to manage, remove or install packages. Both of the OS support graphical package management. Package management in both derivatives is equally good.
User Interface
If we compare both of the Operating systems in terms of GUI. Initially, Ubuntu was taking the lead. In an era of Blue themes of RHEL, Ubuntu was a refreshing thing. But nowadays, the interface of OpenSUSE is way better in comparison to Ubuntu. For Ubuntu GNOME is the default GUI was pro KDE at the initial stage. For GUI OpenSUSE is the winner for sure.
Performace
For day-to-day desktop use, OpenSuse is always better. For services like file sharing, printer sharing, and even for thin client-server configurations Open SSUE was doing good from the very initial days. But, for quick server setups like email services, DHCP, and even for modern closes servers or IoT servers, of course, Ubuntu will be the first choice. But, some enterprises like SAP, only support SUSE family enterprise OS. Here, again both OS are equally good with their area-specific niche.
Release cycles and stability
OpenSuse always got released in two forms- 1. Tumbleweed is the most updated one. 2. Leap is the stable one, which got released after every 3-4 years, always aligned with SUSE Enterprize.
While in the case of Ubuntu similarly long-term support or LTS and latest releases are there. For LTS lifecycles are again 3-4 years.
Security and Firewalls
Both of the OS support the classical IPTables as firewalls. Firewalls for OpenSuse are can be managed with YaST as well. For Ubuntu, ufw and GUI-based firewall management are available.
Conclusion
As a desktop user, OpenSUSE will be my first preference. For server-level deployment, Ubuntu is way popular in comparison to OpenSUSE.
As far as stability is concerned I have never experienced and crash issue with Chamelone as of now, Ubuntu trouble sometimes. For stability and easiness to use, OpenSUSE wins the show. When community support and flexibility are the criteria, Ubuntu is the choice.
Stay tuned till the next article, some more OpenSUSE related are on the way. Have a grate day!
