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I am going to buy a dedicated server. I want to use Debian, but I heard the new squeeze version 6 is coming soon.

Do you think it's better if i wait this 2 weeks (?) and then buy the dediecated server with debian 6 instead of lenny 5?

The fear I have is: every new software comes with bugs and I don't want to be in trouble with this new debian 6

thanks

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I would be surprised if your hosting company offers Debian 6 straight away.

In any case, it should not matter much, as Debian uses a 'rolling release' method, which means upgrading is simple matter of updating :-)

In other words, go ahead and get started with 5, because you should be able to upgrade to 6 easily.

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    Just a nitpick: Debian stable does NOT do a rolling release (unless you're tracking sid), as evidenced by its distinct stable version releases (sarge, etch, lenny, squeeze, ...). But you're right, an upgrade from 5 to 6 should be fairly easy.
    – Steven Monday
    Jan 23, 2011 at 18:41
  • Sorry, I confused Debian with Mint (based on Debian :-) I need new memory :-/
    – DutchUncle
    Jan 23, 2011 at 19:17
  • are you sure guys the updating will be easy? I dont' want to lose data or reinstall every apps :(
    – dynamic
    Jan 23, 2011 at 19:49
  • Upgrading Debian is always easy. I have systems in production that were originally running woody. As long as the hardware doesn't die you never have to reinstall Debian. Just upgrade.
    – bahamat
    Jan 23, 2011 at 21:02
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    It depends on the software. For example, OpenLDAP won't run on Squeeze with the config file supplied with the Lenny version. But if you start to do your config stuff only after migrating, it should be fine.
    – Laurent Nominé
    Jan 23, 2011 at 21:07
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Since your greatest concern is stability, go for Debian Squeeze:

RC bugs: Squeeze (20+) vs Lenny (900+).

Here's a related argument.

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  • other reasons why you should stay away from Lenny: unix.stackexchange.com/questions/5506/…
    – tshepang
    Jan 23, 2011 at 20:18
  • LOL WOW what? 20 vs 900-- Anyway I don't think it's a reliable stats. lenny is out from 5years... of course it has more reported bug
    – dynamic
    Jan 23, 2011 at 21:07
  • @yes Actually it was released about 2 years ago. As for such a great difference in the number of bugs, I don't know. I think it's related to the fact that it has seen more use (not sure about this) and that the developers focus more on the next release. Note however that security and data loss bugs are an exception (i.e. top priority) afaik.
    – tshepang
    Jan 23, 2011 at 21:20
  • UPDATE Checking early April things have changed, where Squeeze gives 235 while Lenny gives 168.
    – tshepang
    Apr 8, 2011 at 22:18
  • O_O, that's a lot too late for me
    – dynamic
    Apr 8, 2011 at 22:38

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