Ubuntu or Debian are Linux distributions. The article describes their differences and installation features.
Comparison and selection
In our age, software companies have tightened all their nuts and raised the price of their products. What to do if a person basically does not want to pay for software and operating system? There is a good alternative to products like Windows. There are completely free Linux family OSs. The most popular ones are Ubuntu and Debian. There is also Linux Mint. But it is based on Ubuntu, so it makes no sense to disassemble it. Everything is the same there, except for the interface. So what to install - Ubuntu or Debian? What are their similarities and differences? This is what we will try to figure out.
What is Ubuntu?
The Ubuntu Linux distribution is the brainchild of Canonical. The word Ubuntu itself is translated from Zulu languages ​​as “humanity” or “humanity”. That is, Canonical seems to hint to us that their product is made for people. Ubuntu is based on the Debian package base. That is why they are so similar.
Ubuntu comes with a Unity working environment by default. If you have a modern computer, then there will be no problems. And if your machine is weak, then Unity does not suit you in any way, since it “eats” too many resources. But it doesn’t matter. Especially for weak machines, “lightweight” work environments were created: XFCE and LXDE. On their basis, special distributions are even compiled: Xubuntu and Lubuntu, respectively.
A person who has been using Windows for many years is initially frightened by an incomprehensible Ubuntu interface. But this is only out of habit. When you start working in Ubuntu, you will understand how convenient it is. Installing Ubuntu will not create any problems even for a novice. The installation process is laid out on shelves.
What is Debian?
The Debian OS is the forefather of all ubunt-like systems. There are three OS branches currently under development: Stable, Unstable, and Testing. In Stable, everything is perfectly tuned, using outdated, but reliable software. This branch is ideal for servers and just for people who value system stability. The Unstable branch is the worst. Here is a bunch of everything new and “non-rolled”. It is because of this that frequent “crashes” of the system are possible, up to a complete failure of all components. And the Testing branch represents the next stage after Unstable, where everything is already configured, but not yet to the end.
Install Ubuntu 14.04.3 Trusty Tahr
The first step is to decide which image of the system we need to download. For computers that use the 32-bit processor architecture, you must download the image marked i386. And for 64-bit systems - with the mark amd64.
The image was downloaded and successfully burned to disk. Now you can proceed to the installation process itself. It should be mentioned that the Ubuntu OS itself first loads from disk. And then you can proceed to install Unity in the graphical shell. So, run the installer and select the language. After that, we will be asked to connect to the Internet. We are connecting, since it will be necessary to download language packs for the system. After that, the installer will offer you to choose the method of partitioning the disk. If you are new to Linux and you don’t have any important files on the disk, we strongly recommend choosing the automatic layout method. The system will do everything for you.
After successfully marking the disk, the installer will offer you to choose the location of the computer, the keyboard layout and all the same. The next step will suggest a username and password. It makes no difference - Ubuntu or Debian, a password is needed anyway. Without it, the system will not be installed. After entering all the necessary data, the installation of the OS itself will begin.
This process takes only 10-15 minutes. After successfully completing the file copy, you will be prompted to restart the system. We agree and reboot. That's it, the Ubuntu program is installed.
Manual disk partitioning for installing Ubuntu
There are situations when there is a lot of necessary information on the hard drive. Here, automatic partitioning is not suitable, since the entire disk is formatted in this way, and not some specific partition. Here, manual marking will help us out.
So, in the window for choosing the method of partitioning the disk, select "Another option". The installer will give us a window. We need to use only the place where Windows was previously installed. We delete the system partitions of the previous OS and create new ones. It is recommended to make a system partition for Ubuntu in the amount of 10 GB. We select the ext4 file system type with the mount point “/”. Done. Now we need to create a swap partition. No matter how much RAM is in your machine, this section is necessary. Its volume should be the size of your physical RAM, multiplied by two (for example, 4 GB - 8 GB). The type of partition is swap. If there is free space, then create a partition in ext4 format and the mount parameter "home /". It is needed to store user files, like "My Documents" in Windows.
Manual marking is over. Now select the ext4 partition with a capacity of 10 GB and start the installation.
Setup after installation
Now consider the main thing that needs to be done after installing the program. Ubuntu setup should begin by installing all recommended updates. The system update center will help you here. At the first start of the OS, he will offer to update the components. We agree and update. After that, you need to restart the computer for the changes to take effect.
After rebooting, it's time to deal with the drivers. And here you will see the biggest plus of Ubuntu. Drivers for almost all devices are already installed. You just need to open the "Driver Manager" and check if everything is in place. If you see that the device does not use the "proprietary" driver - just turn it on.
This completes the basic configuration of Ubuntu. You can use the system.
Install Debian
The first steps in installing this distribution are the same as installing Ubuntu. Therefore, dwell on them does not make sense. The differences in installation begin at the stage of disk layout. Here we will analyze it.
Unlike Ubuntu, here you need to use ext3 as the system partition. The volume must be set at least 5 GB in size. The mount point is “/”. The volume of the swap partition must be set equal to half the size of the physical RAM of the computer (4 GB - 2 GB). In the Ubuntu program, as far as we remember, this figure had to be doubled. Partitioning is finished. We don’t need anything else.
Further, all actions are performed according to the Ubuntu script. After a successful installation, we reboot into the installed OS.
Setting up Debian after installation
Debian uses the XFCE “lightweight” desktop environment. It does not need special tuning. We need to go directly to the "Driver Manager" to check if everything is in place. Debian is not Ubuntu, there is no support for all devices. This is not surprising, because the Debian program, the configuration of which is not so complicated, was initially positioned as a server OS. If everything is in place - we begin to use the system. And if not, you will have to download the missing drivers. There is nothing to worry about. All you need to do is add the repositories from Ubuntu in the "Update Manager", and all the drivers will snap into place. Now you can use Debian.
As we can see, setting up the program is slightly different from setting up Ubuntu. In general, it should be said that there is nothing for newcomers to Debian to do. This system is for those who already have some experience with Linux. Configuring Ubuntu is much simpler for the simple reason that there's really nothing to configure there.
Conclusion
Because of the similarity of the systems, there is not much difference between installing Ubuntu or Debian. If you’re tired of paying money, you don’t know why to be afraid of viruses, then it makes sense to pay attention to free Linux family OS. The most prominent representatives were considered by us above. Working with these programs is fairly straightforward. Which is better to install: Ubuntu or Debian? The answer to this question is one - which is more like. But for beginners it is best to install Ubuntu. Debian is pretty hard to figure out without preparation.