Fedora Linux vs. openSUSE Leap

For experimental use, test lab situations, or very special-purpose tasks, Fedora [Linux] is an excellent choice. We are almost exclusively a CentOS shop for our production stuff, but in labs, we take more risks with things like Ubuntu or Fedora. It's not as appropriate as CentOS for production level endeavors, but it lets us know "this is where we could be going" when we engage in r&d tasks.

Incentivized

OpenSUSE Leap is well suited for just about any Linux task. Especially I like to use it as Docker base image for my software deployments, because it has a wide variety of software packages available already precompiled and packages are well maintained - vulnerable software versions are patched in reasonable time. OpenSUSE Leap is rpm based system, and it wouldn't install Debian or other systems packages. If your software is not an rpm package then OpenSUSE Leap would not be suitable for your system.

• frequent updates
• DNF as the package manager
• strong focus on security

Incentivized

• Maintenance of software packages using YAST
• Availability of patches when a vulnerability is discovered
• Distribution upgrades

• Stability. It's good, but it's not anything like CentOS for stability
• End-user usability. It has a few glaring holes here and there with UI/UX

Incentivized

• Commercial packages not always available
• Stable packages sometimes lag behind the latest releases

Incentivized

The desktop environments are all well configured out of the box. The software selection is useful, but not bloated. With flatpak integration, getting the latest software is easy. If there is anything that I can't immediately figure out, the documentation is thorough and well written, and the community is always happy to step in and assist.

Incentivized

I prefer Fedora over Debian because Fedora tends to be more up to date. When compared to Ubuntu, Fedora is nice as it doesn't use snap, and remains open. When I tried Kubuntu, I found the distro to be a bit too unstable for my liking.

Incentivized

openSUSE Leap has wide variety of already precompiled software packages in default repositories. It even has some specific packages in official repositories that are not available in other Linux distribution repositories. It is also very stable and reliable distro - we can predict when new versions will be released and when we should make system upgrades.

• Shorter LTS means more administrator work
• Security patches help reduce vulnerabilities to help save money

Incentivized

• More effective maintenance means a smaller headcount needed for running the production servers.
• The easiness of deployment means more time we can spend on software development of company-specific applications.
• Great community support and overlap with other Linux systems mean that an answer to nearly any problem is usually one google query away.