Published May 18, 2014 , by root in Blog.

Introduction

About two years ago, after seeing a failed comment survey on /r/Linux I decided to create a "real" survey using Google Docs to find out what Linux distributions (distros) the folks at /r/Linux were using. These past two years, the results of those surveys were very well received so I wanted to keep doing it. You can still view the 2012 survey or the 2013 survey.

Some of you may have noticed I'm hosting the results on a different domain this year. The idea behind this is I wanted to get this kind of personal stuff off of my friend's website and on to my own. I plan on migrating the old surveys if it looks like access to the old site will disappear, but for now I see no reason to break any links to the old post(s) since that site isn't going anywhere.

As always, I'd like to prefix this by saying I'm no statistician. My stats knowledge is limited to a college class I took four years ago and can barely remember. If you feel like I'm representing anything incorrectly or have any kind of constructive feedback I'd appreciate a reddit PM about it or a comment on this page's reddit thread.

Methods

Before we get down to business, I'd like to make the usual disclaimer about online polls (courtesy of Slashdot):

This whole thing is wildly inaccurate. Rounding errors, ballot stuffers, dynamic IPs, firewalls. If you're using these numbers to do anything important, you're insane.

The data was pulled from Google Docs and contained 10,292 responses (up from 7,698 last year, and 4,932 the year before that). This is probably a mix of /r/Linux's growth in active users and the /r/Linux moderators stickying my survey post (thanks guys, you're awesome!). The biggest thanks of course goes to each of you who responded to the survey—thank you!

In the categories where manual entry was allowed, I had to do a lot of cleanup to merge similar entries. I couldn't come up with an automated way to do this (and it really doesn't take that long by hand). Sorry if there are any errors in the category names!

The spreadsheets were crunched with a combination of Excel (sorry guys), sed, tr, awk, and Notepad++. This year I used pygal to generate the graphs in SVG format. I had to use my own python wrapper script to handle importing CSV data into pygal (that was a little painful). The SVGs are embedded directly into this page this year instead of using PNGs. It's 2014—I hope you're using an SVG-capable user-agent by now! My apologies if you're stuck on IE < 9 at work (I am truly sorry). You can download all of my scripts and raw data if you like.

Results

The results are broken up by question. Many of the graphs consist of a "Top X" of the responses plus an "other" category, which includes every response that did not make the graph. You can hover over elements in the graphs to reveal numbers (if you have JavaScript enabled). Below each graph is a table of the responses.

Do you use Linux on any non-server computers?

Do you use Linux on any non-server computers? 0.0 1000.0 2000.0 3000.0 4000.0 5000.0 6000.0 7000.0 8000.0 9000.0 9896 192.34615384615387 267.0 383 474.4538461538462 513.7946450780424 Do you use Linux on any non-server computers? 9896 383 Yes No

Do you use Linux on any non-server computers? Responses Responses (%) Yes 9896 96% No 383 4% Grand Total 10279 100%

This question is simple, and in the survey was used to allow people who do not use Desktop Linux to skip questions pertaining only to Desktop Linux. Note that when I say Desktop Linux, I really just mean "non-server Linux". I will use the two terms interchangeably. The idea of a server is intentionally vague in the survey. My rationale for this is if someone says they are running a server, that's what it is for our purposes.

The proportion of people using desktops to those not using desktops is more or less the same as last year. We use this metric to filter our server questions later to see if desktop users have different preferences than people who don't use Linux on desktop.

Do you run Linux on any of your server computers?

Do you run Linux on any of your server computers? 0.0 1000.0 2000.0 3000.0 4000.0 5000.0 5940 192.34615384615387 267.0 4339 474.4538461538462 336.19628982128984 Do you run Linux on any of your server computers? 5940 4339 Yes No

Do you run Linux on any of your server computers? Responses Responses (%) Yes 5940 58% No 4339 42%

This is one of the questions we will use to compare the results among groups. The goal is to see if server users have different preferences than people who don't use servers. I'm not saying one is better than the other, it's just that I find the difference interesting! I'd hypothesize that server users are more likely to use "hard" distros like Gentoo, Arch Linux, or others like them, whereas people without servers will tend towards distros that aim for less manual configuration and/or to be easier to use (Mint, Ubuntu, etc.).

Do you run Linux primarily for fun or profit?

Do you run Linux primarily for fun or profit? Fun Profit (blank) 0.0 1000.0 2000.0 3000.0 4000.0 5000.0 6000.0 7000.0 8000.0 9000.0 10000.0 11000.0 7749.0 103.60483413557373 331.3494983277592 2031.0 288.6134665205268 450.87290969899664 0 473.62209890547985 493.3269230769231 3820.0 103.60483413557373 89.52257525083607 1568.0 288.6134665205268 375.6429765886287 317.0 473.62209890547985 486.7006688963211 Do you run Linux primarily for fun or profit? 7749.0 2031.0 3820.0 1568.0 317.0 On Desktops On Servers

Option On Desktops On Desktops (%) On Servers On Servers (%) Fun 7749 79.23% 3820 66.96% Profit 2031 20.77% 1568 27.48% (blank) 0 0.00% 317 5.56% Grand Total 9780 100.00% 5705 100.00%

The vast majority of /r/Linux users are running Linux for fun. The only interesting bit here is that on servers, proportionally more people are running Linux for profit. I feel like this is expected, as Desktop Linux (whether we like it or not) is usually considered to be a hobbyist Operating System. Personally, I thought more people might have been running servers for profit, but this is just one of several metrics based around fun vs profit that were not what I expected.

This question was a new addition for our 2014 survey. I caught a little heat due to its poor wording (which will be different next year) but overall I think it is a very interesting stat to compare with some of our other sets of data later.

What Linux distro do you primarily use on your non-server computers?

What Linux distro do you primarily use on your non-server computers? Arch Linux Ubuntu Debian Linux Mint Fedora elementary OS Xubuntu Crunchbang Gentoo OpenSUSE Kubuntu Other 0.0 200.0 400.0 600.0 800.0 1000.0 1200.0 1400.0 1600.0 1800.0 2000.0 2200.0 1514.0 31.73758122544569 326.4028703854285 1114.0 74.626204503075 365.84017726459587 632.0 117.51482778070431 413.3621320539925 388.0 160.40345105833364 437.41888925028456 474.0 203.29207433596292 428.93986827126366 230.0 246.18069761359226 452.9966254675557 207.0 289.0693208912216 455.2642706131078 147.0 331.95794416885093 461.1798666449829 182.0 374.8465674464802 457.7291022930558 133.0 417.73519072410954 462.5601723857538 121.0 460.6238140017389 463.7432915921288 505.0 503.51243727936816 425.88347698812817 851.0 31.73758122544569 93.22979346235167 956.0 74.626204503075 161.75211416490487 314.0 117.51482778070431 320.09290128476175 476.0 160.40345105833364 352.23430639128316 222.0 203.29207433596292 360.31895430151246 373.0 246.18069761359226 393.54488534721094 174.0 289.0693208912216 417.700235810701 163.0 331.95794416885093 430.61595381362827 43.0 374.8465674464802 435.5456171735242 91.0 417.73519072410954 440.4752805334201 87.0 460.6238140017389 443.2358920149618 454.0 503.51243727936816 331.3325337453245 What Linux distro do you primarily use on your non-server computers? 1514.0 1114.0 632.0 388.0 474.0 230.0 207.0 147.0 182.0 133.0 121.0 505.0 851.0 956.0 314.0 476.0 222.0 373.0 174.0 163.0 43.0 91.0 87.0 454.0 Server Users Desktop Users

Distribution Server Users Desktop Users Arch Linux 64% 36% Ubuntu 54% 46% Debian 67% 33% Linux Mint 45% 55% Fedora 68% 32% elementary OS 38% 62% Xubuntu 54% 46% Crunchbang 47% 53% Gentoo 81% 19% OpenSUSE 59% 41% Kubuntu 58% 42% Other 53% 47% Overall Average 57% 43%

In this graph, we get a numbers comparison of the top flavors of Desktop Linux among /r/Linux users, broken down by users who only run Desktops, and users who run Desktops and servers.

This seems like a big year for movement among distributions within the /r/Linux community. After two years of a strong Ubuntu lead, Arch Linux has taken the lead as the #1 distribution! Other than that, compared to last year:

Debian has displaced Linux Mint for position #3.

elementary OS has quickly gained a following, putting it into position 6.

Xubuntu has dropped to position 7, after elementary OS.

Crunchbang has risen above Kubuntu and Gentoo for position 8.

Kubuntu has dropped off of the top 10, taking position 11.

Using the table allows us to more easily compare the preferences of server users to desktop users. Looking at the overall average we see that 57% of /r/Linux users are using desktops and servers while 43% are using desktops only. In the desktop distribution results, any major deviation from that global average indicates a preference for that distribution by a certain user type. For example, 64% of Arch Linux users are also server users; this is 7% higher than the overall average and indicates that desktop Arch Linux users are more likely to have a server than the general /r/Linux population. On the reverse side, 62% of elementary OS users don't have servers. This indicates that elementary OS users are more likely to not have a server than the general /r/Linux population. To visualize these differences, have a look at the chart below.

What Linux distro do you primarily use on your non-server computers? Arch Linux Ubuntu Debian Linux Mint Fedora elementary OS Xubuntu Crunchbang Gentoo OpenSUSE Kubuntu Other Overall Average 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 64.0 29.841114081445596 322.4038461538462 54.0 69.10573787282138 345.4326923076923 67.0 108.37036166419716 315.4951923076923 45.0 147.63498545557295 366.15865384615387 68.0 186.89960924694873 313.19230769230774 38.0 226.1642330383245 382.2788461538462 54.0 265.4288568297003 345.4326923076923 47.0 304.69348062107605 361.55288461538464 81.0 343.9581044124519 283.25480769230774 59.0 383.2227282038276 333.9182692307692 58.0 422.4873519952035 336.2211538461538 53.0 461.75197578657924 347.7355769230769 57.0 501.01659957795505 338.52403846153845 36.0 29.841114081445596 92.11538461538461 46.0 69.10573787282138 115.14423076923077 33.0 108.37036166419716 85.20673076923077 55.0 147.63498545557295 135.87019230769232 32.0 186.89960924694873 82.90384615384616 62.0 226.1642330383245 151.9903846153846 46.0 265.4288568297003 115.14423076923077 53.0 304.69348062107605 131.26442307692307 19.0 343.9581044124519 52.96634615384616 41.0 383.2227282038276 103.62980769230768 42.0 422.4873519952035 105.93269230769229 47.0 461.75197578657924 117.44711538461539 43.0 501.01659957795505 108.2355769230769 What Linux distro do you primarily use on your non-server computers? 64.0 54.0 67.0 45.0 68.0 38.0 54.0 47.0 81.0 59.0 58.0 53.0 57.0 36.0 46.0 33.0 55.0 32.0 62.0 46.0 53.0 19.0 41.0 42.0 47.0 43.0 Server Users Desktop Users

If we go by the rule that a distro with a 5% or more preference by one group from the average of 57% server users and 43% desktop users, we can divide the top distros as such:

Desktop distributions that are strongly favored by users with servers

Gentoo (81%) Fedora (68%) Debian (67%) Arch Linux (64%)

Desktop distributions that are strongly favored by users without servers

elementary OS (62%) Linux Mint (55%) Crunchbang (53%) Other (47%)

Desktop distributions with no strong preference by users with or without servers

Xubuntu (46%) Kubuntu (41%) OpenSUSE (41%)

In addition to comparing server usage, we can also look at how use of Desktop Linux for fun or profit affects the /r/Linux community's choices.

What Linux distro do you primarily use on your non-server computers? (Fun vs Profit) Arch Linux Fedora Crunchbang Debian elementary OS Gentoo Linux Mint OpenSUSE Ubuntu Xubuntu Kubuntu Other Grand Total 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 84.06 31.79689453133568 249.7002857406567 70.98 73.63491365151421 276.92660157061215 84.19 115.47293277169271 249.42968780045075 75.79 157.3109518918713 266.91447778299096 83.08 199.14897101204983 251.7401779052864 75.56 240.98699013222836 267.39322798489377 83.22 282.82500925240686 251.44876473891074 73.21 324.66302837258536 272.2848061347712 73.91 366.5010474927639 270.82774030289283 72.7 408.3390666129424 273.34638266942534 68.75 450.177085733121 281.5683970064532 78.0 492.0151048532995 262.3143127994893 78.29 533.853123973478 261.7106712405683 15.14 31.79689453133568 43.213242137324784 27.87 73.63491365151421 71.16809088321938 14.52 115.47293277169271 43.96259027943364 22.94 157.3109518918713 61.40574980963444 15.92 199.14897101204983 45.669438825348266 23.11 240.98699013222836 62.00939136855547 15.51 282.82500925240686 45.940036765554254 26.34 324.66302837258536 65.06922961550006 24.69 366.5010474927639 65.58961026974234 26.51 408.3390666129424 66.83852383992371 29.33 450.177085733121 77.41265873412664 20.54 492.0151048532995 57.20107412335696 20.56 533.853123973478 55.9521605531755 0.8 31.79689453133568 10.033771622837776 1.15 73.63491365151421 10.762304538776903 1.29 115.47293277169271 11.053717705152593 1.27 157.3109518918713 11.012087252813217 1.0 199.14897101204983 10.450076146231567 1.33 240.98699013222836 11.136978609831374 1.27 282.82500925240686 11.012087252813217 0.45 324.66302837258536 9.305238706898592 1.4 366.5010474927639 11.282685193019233 0.79 408.3390666129424 10.012956396668017 1.92 450.177085733121 12.365076953843129 1.46 492.0151048532995 11.40757655003739 1.16 533.853123973478 10.741489312607229 What Linux distro do you primarily use on your non-server computers? (Fun vs Profit) Linux Distro Percentage of Responses 84.06 70.98 84.19 75.79 83.08 75.56 83.22 73.21 73.91 72.7 68.75 78.0 78.29 15.14 27.87 14.52 22.94 15.92 23.11 15.51 26.34 24.69 26.51 29.33 20.54 20.56 0.8 1.15 1.29 1.27 1.0 1.33 1.27 0.45 1.4 0.79 1.92 1.46 1.16 Fun Profit (blank)

Distribution Fun Profit (blank) Arch Linux 84% 15% 1% Fedora 71% 28% 1% Crunchbang 84% 15% 1% Debian 76% 23% 1% elementary OS 83% 16% 1% Gentoo 76% 23% 1% Linux Mint 83% 16% 1% OpenSUSE 73% 26% 0% Ubuntu 74% 25% 1% Xubuntu 73% 27% 1% Other 78% 21% 1% Kubuntu 69% 29% 2% Overall Average 78% 21% 1%

To my surprise, there didn't seem to be all that much variation amongst desktop distribution choice based on profit (nothing like what we will see later with servers). That said, we can see that the overwhelming majority of /r/Linux subscribers use Desktop Linux for fun (78%). Keeping to our 5% rule, we can divide the desktop distros of /r/Linux as such.

Desktop distributions that are strongly favored by users for fun

Crunchbang (84% fun) Arch Linux (84% fun)

Desktop distributions that are strongly favored by users for profit

Kubuntu (29% profit) Fedora (28% profit) Xubuntu (27% profit) OpenSUSE (26% profit)

Desktop distributions without a strong preference towards fun or profit

Ubuntu (74% vs 25%) Gentoo (76% vs 23% Debian (76% vs 23%) elementary OS (83% vs 16%)

What other Linux Distros do you use on your non-server computers?

What other Linux Distros do you use on your non-server computers? 0.0 200.0 400.0 600.0 800.0 1000.0 1200.0 1400.0 1600.0 1800.0 2000.0 2200.0 2400.0 2600.0 2800.0 2084 70.15384615384615 340.56509888605063 2003 116.9230769230769 347.68430200405555 1199 163.69230769230768 418.34898480499305 1090 210.46153846153842 427.92914702551815 818 257.23076923076917 451.83560687857164 655 303.99999999999994 466.16190451110003 554 350.76923076923066 475.0389355594765 508 397.53846153846143 479.08193979933117 398 444.3076923076922 488.7499934163748 393 491.076923076923 489.1894503989677 2921 537.8461538461537 267.00000000000006 What other Linux Distros do you use on your non-server computers? 2084 2003 1199 1090 818 655 554 508 398 393 2921 Debian Ubuntu Arch Linux Linux Mint Fedora Xubuntu CentOS Crunchbang Lubuntu Backtrack Other

Distribution Responses Debian 2084 Ubuntu 2003 Arch Linux 1199 Linux Mint 1090 Fedora 818 Xubuntu 655 CentOS 554 Crunchbang 508 Lubuntu 398 Backtrack 393 Other 2921

What's particularly notable here is that /r/Linux isn't dominated by just a few distributions. We see that outside of the top 10 shown is where a plurality of desktop distros lie. Note: these results are ripped straight from the Google summary page. Because of this I can't do that much analysis on them.

What hardware platform do you run your primary non-server distro on?

What hardware platform do you run your primary non-server distro on? 0.0 1000.0 2000.0 3000.0 4000.0 4626 67.48461538461538 267.00000000000006 4525 115.37692307692309 272.60523296418245 318 163.26923076923077 506.0826099970069 249 211.16153846153847 509.9119275665969 64 259.05384615384617 520.1789384415844 13 306.9461538461539 523.009303601716 7 354.8384615384616 523.3422877382022 4 402.73076923076934 523.5087798064452 2 450.623076923077 523.6197745186073 12 498.5153846153847 523.0648009577972 What hardware platform do you run your primary non-server distro on? 4626 4525 318 249 64 13 7 4 2 12 Laptop/Tablet Desktop Comput. Desktop Computer Virtual Machine Workstation Raspberry Pi Rack Server Embedded Chromebook HTPC Other

Platform Responses Laptop/Tablet 4626 Desktop Computer 4525 Virtual Machine 318 Workstation 249 Raspberry Pi 64 Rack Server 13 Embedded 7 Chromebook 4 HTPC 2 Other 12

It comes as no surprise that most people are running their primary desktop distributions on laptops and desktops. I find it interesting that "Desktop Linux" is more frequently being run on laptops! I remember the days where installing Linux on a laptop often required extreme patience (and blood sacrifice) just to get the wireless and graphics performance to be acceptable. I'd credit the kind kernel developers for their huge efforts in this area which has made this possible.

What other hardware platforms do you run your primary non-server distro on?

What other hardware platforms do you run your primary non-server distro on? 0.0 200.0 400.0 600.0 800.0 1000.0 1200.0 1400.0 1600.0 1800.0 2000.0 2200.0 2400.0 2600.0 2800.0 3000.0 3200.0 3224 73.47115384615384 267.0 2696 133.33653846153848 309.0452376407711 1936 193.2019230769231 369.5648978812751 1321 253.06730769230774 418.538043996946 617 312.9326923076923 474.5983608513075 270 372.79807692307696 502.2303636190113 217 432.6634615384616 506.45081360946745 131 492.5288461538462 513.2990909524719 What other hardware platforms do you run your primary non-server distro on? 3224 2696 1936 1321 617 270 217 131 Laptop/Tablet Desktop Comput. Desktop Computer Virtual Machine Raspberry Pi Workstation Rack Server Embedded Other

Platform Responses Laptop/Tablet 3224 Desktop Computer 2696 Virtual Machine 1936 Raspberry Pi 1321 Workstation 617 Rack Server 270 Embedded 217 Other 131

In asking what other platforms people are running desktop Linux on, we get a wider spread. Laptops still reign king, but surprisingly many people are running desktop Linux in virtual machines and on their Raspberry Pi. I find this fascinating, if you could explain in the comments how you are using Desktop Linux in a VM or on your Pi I know I'd be interested.

What Linux distro do you primarily use on your server computers?

What Linux distro do you primarily use on your server computers? (Desktop users vs Server Users) Debian Ubuntu CentOS Arch Linux Red Hat Enterprise Linux Gentoo Fedora Amazon Linux OpenSUSE Slackware 0.0 100.0 200.0 300.0 400.0 500.0 600.0 700.0 800.0 900.0 1000.0 1100.0 1200.0 1300.0 1400.0 1500.0 1600.0 1700.0 1800.0 1775.0 32.17929224024313 222.04374300981735 1515.0 78.14970972630476 250.71902572387228 807.0 124.12012721236637 328.8040263452218 549.0 170.09054469842798 357.2587299614763 247.0 216.06096218448963 390.5661737293401 129.0 262.03137967055125 403.58034049956507 91.0 308.00179715661284 407.7713433577731 60.0 353.97221464267443 411.19031937367964 58.0 399.9426321287361 411.4108984714801 403.0 445.91304961479767 373.36100410090717 82.0 32.17929224024313 17.236050702125056 80.0 78.14970972630476 74.80719522803534 60.0 124.12012721236637 233.1829874487387 12.0 170.09054469842798 295.3862930284578 10.0 216.06096218448963 362.22175966198586 7.0 262.03137967055125 388.5809618491363 6.0 308.00179715661284 397.07325711445264 0 353.97221464267443 404.57294643966696 0 399.9426321287361 405.0141046352678 18.0 445.91304961479767 326.9291040139183 What Linux distro do you primarily use on your server computers? (Desktop users vs Server Users) 1775.0 1515.0 807.0 549.0 247.0 129.0 91.0 60.0 58.0 403.0 82.0 80.0 60.0 12.0 10.0 7.0 6.0 18.0 Desktop Users Server Users

Server Distribution Desktop Users Server Users Grand Total Debian 1775 82 1857 Ubuntu 1515 80 1595 CentOS 807 60 867 Arch Linux 549 12 561 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 247 10 257 Gentoo 129 7 136 Fedora 91 6 97 Amazon Linux 60 0 60 OpenSUSE 58 0 58 Slackware 50 3 53 Xubuntu 38 1 39 Rasbian 33 4 37 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 33 1 34 Linux Mint 30 4 34 Scientific Linux 32 0 32 Other 187 5 192 Grand Total 5634 275 5909

For this category, we compare users who use desktops and servers ("Desktop Users") and people who use servers only ("Server Users"). Unfortunately, I feel like the sample size is much too small for us to make desktop vs server comparisons like in some of the other categories, so I'll avoid that. The numbers are shown here anyways.

The top server distros of /r/Linux by a large margin remain Debian and Ubuntu. For the third year running, the server distro top seven is the same. Not all that surprising if you consider that server users tend to be more cautious in switching distros in order to keep uptime and stability high.

A more interesting way to look at what servers people are using is to compare it to whether they are doing it for fun or profit, as has been done below.

What Linux distro do you primarily use on your server computers? (Fun vs Profit) Debian Ubuntu CentOS Arch Linux Red Hat Enterprise Linux Gentoo Fedora Amazon Linux OpenSUSE Slackware Other Overall Average 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 60.15 31.692654885635434 294.62818333551263 48.34 74.52056689325089 318.8135532600586 31.14 117.34847890086633 354.036953996908 79.32 160.1763909084818 255.37047449101246 10.51 203.00430291609726 396.2845561597686 63.97 245.83221492371274 286.8053117765147 61.86 288.6601269313282 291.12632198318636 23.33 331.48803893894365 370.0308353780007 53.45 374.31595094655904 308.34892664579695 56.6 417.14386295417455 301.8981294178275 58.7 459.97177496179 297.5975979325145 51.92 502.7996869694054 311.4821710136679 36.08 31.692654885635434 97.56144770138377 47.4 74.52056689325089 122.75027497250275 66.09 117.34847890086633 154.92234622691578 16.76 160.1763909084818 58.61091967726307 87.94 203.00430291609726 194.67154438402315 33.09 245.83221492371274 88.03884226961921 32.99 288.6601269313282 96.88564989654887 71.67 331.48803893894365 175.48298247098373 41.38 374.31595094655904 114.14921200187675 39.62 417.14386295417455 104.85187250505723 36.41 459.97177496179 102.82447909055252 44.31 502.7996869694054 114.415435379539 3.77 31.692654885635434 15.953743087229839 4.26 74.52056689325089 16.957200433802768 2.77 117.34847890086633 13.905870951366438 3.92 160.1763909084818 16.260923907609282 1.56 203.00430291609726 11.386988224254537 2.94 245.83221492371274 14.254009214463196 5.15 288.6601269313282 18.77980663472121 5.0 331.48803893894365 18.47262581434171 5.17 374.31595094655904 18.82076407743841 3.77 417.14386295417455 15.994700529947067 4.89 459.97177496179 18.247359879396726 3.77 502.7996869694054 15.953743087229782 What Linux distro do you primarily use on your server computers? (Fun vs Profit) 60.15 48.34 31.14 79.32 10.51 63.97 61.86 23.33 53.45 56.6 58.7 51.92 36.08 47.4 66.09 16.76 87.94 33.09 32.99 71.67 41.38 39.62 36.41 44.31 3.77 4.26 2.77 3.92 1.56 2.94 5.15 5.0 5.17 3.77 4.89 3.77 Fun Profit (blank)

Server Distro Fun Profit (blank) Debian 60% 36% 4% Ubuntu 48% 47% 4% CentOS 31% 66% 3% Arch Linux 79% 17% 4% Red Hat Enterprise Linux 11% 88% 2% Gentoo 64% 33% 3% Fedora 62% 33% 5% Amazon Linux 23% 72% 5% OpenSUSE 53% 41% 5% Slackware 57% 40% 4% Other 59% 36% 5% Overall Average 52% 44% 4%

Here, we get a nice visual representation of whether /r/Linux subscribers are using server Linux for fun or profit. Overall, it seems like fun is the winner (but only narrowly so). Much like our earlier desktop usage by those with and without servers, we can compare each distro in the top ten to see if its fun vs profit usage is very different from the overall average.

If we go by the rule that a distribution showing a more than 5% preference by one group (profit users vs fun users) than the overall average (52% for fun, 44% for profit) we can draw break down the top ten distributions as such:

Server distributions that are strongly favored by people using Linux for fun

Arch Linux (79% fun) Gentoo (64% fun) Fedora (62% fun) Debian (60% fun) Slackware (57% fun)

Server distributions that are strongly favored by people using Linux for profit

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (88% profit) Amazon Linux (72% profit) CentOS (66% profit)

Server distributions with no strong preference by those using Linux for fun or profit

Ubuntu (48% vs 47%) OpenSUSE (53% vs 51%) Slackware (57% vs 40%)

This comparison overall seems to show that use of server distributions tends to be either heavily skewed towards fun or profit. Particularly, Arch Linux, RHEL, and Amazon Linux had huge biases towards their target audience. I was particularly surprised to see Debian ranked so highly on the scale towards fun, as I've personally always thought of Debian (and use it) as much more of an enterprise OS than Fedora or Slackware.

What Linux distros do you use on your other server computers?

What Linux distros do you use on your other server computers? 0.0 100.0 200.0 300.0 400.0 500.0 600.0 700.0 800.0 900.0 1000.0 1016 65.30769230769232 267.0 953 108.84615384615385 282.91932919442763 909 152.3846153846154 294.0375908540278 357 195.92307692307693 433.5212371290127 348 239.46153846153848 435.795427013931 190 283.0 475.72009388249546 114 326.53846153846155 494.924364021805 113 370.0769230769231 495.1770517867959 112 413.61538461538464 495.42973955178684 82 457.1538461538462 503.01037250151427 442 500.69230769230774 412.042777104785 What Linux distros do you use on your other server computers? 1016 953 909 357 348 190 114 113 112 82 442 Debian Ubuntu CentOS Arch Linux Red Hat Enterp. Red Hat Enterprise Linux Fedora Amazon Linux Gentoo OpenSUSE SUSE Linux Ent. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Other

Server Distribution Responses Debian 1016 Ubuntu 953 CentOS 909 Arch Linux 357 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 348 Fedora 190 Amazon Linux 114 Gentoo 113 OpenSUSE 112 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 82 Other 442

This is another chart whose stats are ripped directly from the Google Drive summary. It is mostly a mirror of the primary distro stats. It seems like users of one of the top ten distros are very likely to use another too.

What hardware platform do you run your primary server distro on?

What hardware platform do you run your primary server distro on? 0.0 100.0 200.0 300.0 400.0 500.0 600.0 700.0 800.0 900.0 1000.0 1100.0 1200.0 1300.0 1400.0 1500.0 1583 65.30769230769232 267.00000000000006 1266 108.84615384615385 318.4110258030031 1105 152.3846153846154 344.5219884348122 806 195.92307692307693 393.0137761796006 337 239.46153846153848 469.0761455853054 272 283.0 479.61783857330295 188 326.53846153846155 493.2409495116381 57 370.0769230769231 514.4865153797562 13 413.61538461538464 521.6224306331698 4 457.1538461538462 523.0820496622771 45 500.69230769230774 516.4326740852325 What hardware platform do you run your primary server distro on? 1583 1266 1105 806 337 272 188 57 13 4 45 Rack Server Desktop Comput. Desktop Computer Cloud Services. Cloud Services (AWS, Linode, etc.) Virtual Machine Raspberry Pi Workstation Laptop/Tablet Embedded NAS Cubieboard Other

Platform Responses Rack Server 1583 Desktop Computer 1266 Cloud Services (AWS, Linode, etc.) 1105 Virtual Machine 806 Raspberry Pi 337 Workstation 272 Laptop/Tablet 188 Embedded 57 NAS 13 Cubieboard 4 Other 45

It should be no surprise that the top hardware platform for servers is rack hardware. I was more surprised to see "Desktop Computer" making such a strong showing. I suppose one could attribute a lot of this to folk's home servers, but I don't doubt there are some towers sitting under desks in some workplaces. Cloud services made a strong showing (much more than I expected).

What is your favorite Linux GUI?

What is your favorite Linux GUI? 0.0 100.0 200.0 300.0 400.0 500.0 600.0 700.0 800.0 900.0 1000.0 1100.0 1200.0 1300.0 1400.0 1500.0 1565 65.30769230769232 267.0 1339 108.84615384615385 304.07421971000247 1201 152.3846153846154 326.71246006389777 1166 195.92307692307693 332.4540427623495 1034 239.46153846153848 354.10801179651025 608 283.0 423.9912754976653 567 326.53846153846155 430.7171295158516 459 370.0769230769231 448.434013271074 334 413.61538461538464 468.93966576554436 322 457.1538461538462 470.9082084050135 1358 500.69230769230774 300.95736053084295 What is your favorite Linux GUI? 1565 1339 1201 1166 1034 608 567 459 334 322 1358 GNOME 3.x KDE 4.x XFCE Unity Cinnamon i3 Openbox Pantheon Awesome GNOME 2.x (or . GNOME 2.x (or fork/derivative) Other

Favorite GUIs Responses GNOME 3.x 1565 KDE 4.x 1339 XFCE 1201 Unity 1166 Cinnamon 1034 i3 608 Openbox 567 Pantheon 459 Awesome 334 GNOME 2.x (or fork/derivative) 322 Other 1358

This year, GNOME 3 has unseated KDE 4.x for the favorite GUI of /r/Linux! My guess is that as the project has matured a little more, we've seen more people become fans. That said, the significant number of "other" responses indicate that these top ten are just a few of many.

What is your most hated Linux GUI?

What is your most hated Linux graphical environment? 0.0 200.0 400.0 600.0 800.0 1000.0 1200.0 1400.0 1600.0 1800.0 2000.0 2200.0 2400.0 2600.0 2800.0 3000.0 3200.0 3355 65.30769230769232 267.0 1684 108.84615384615385 394.8679926630747 898 152.3846153846154 455.0141579731744 289 195.92307692307693 501.61595781267914 236 239.46153846153848 505.671615269976 219 283.0 506.9724865298636 185 326.53846153846155 509.5742290496389 168 370.0769230769231 510.8751003095266 150 413.61538461538464 512.2524934082312 105 457.1538461538462 515.6959761549925 632 500.69230769230774 475.3689670984753 What is your most hated Linux graphical environment? 3355 1684 898 289 236 219 185 168 150 105 632 Unity GNOME 3.x KDE 4.x KDE 3.x Enlightenment Cinnamon GNOME 2.x (or . GNOME 2.x (or fork/derivative) Compiz XFCE LXDE Other

Most Hated GUIs Responses Unity 3355 GNOME 3.x 1684 KDE 4.x 898 KDE 3.x 289 Enlightenment 236 Cinnamon 219 GNOME 2.x (or fork/derivative) 185 Compiz 168 XFCE 150 LXDE 105 Other 632

By an overwhelming margin, Unity remains the most hated Linux GUI among /r/Linux users. In fact, this year's margin is much larger than previous years'! It seems not only does hate for Unity amony /r/Linux remain strong, it is in fact growing over time. chuckles

Closing Statements

Another year, another survey. /r/Linux remains a very diverse Linux community—covering everyone from newbs to greybeards. I appreciate you guys' patience in waiting for me to get these results together, and I hope I haven't fallen short this year. Feel free to PM me on reddit if you have any questions or suggestions. I'd be especially interested to hear of better ways to represent this data as well as ideas for questions in future polls.

License



To the extent possible under law, https://brashear.me has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to 2014 /r/Linux Distro Survey Results. This work is published from: United States.