Ubuntu
The free operating system that runs many web servers, known for steady updates and long support.
Ubuntu is a free operating system, like Windows or macOS, but used mostly to run servers. A server is the always-on computer that holds your website and answers every visitor’s request. Ubuntu is the software that keeps that computer running, secure and up to date.
It’s published by Canonical, with plenty of help from volunteers, and the first release came out in October 2004. Every two years there’s a Long Term Support (LTS) version with about five years of standard security updates, so a server can be planned around instead of rebuilt every year.
You’ll rarely see Ubuntu yourself. It sits underneath the web server, the database and WordPress, and its job is to be dull and dependable. For a business, that means fewer surprise outages and a clear schedule for keeping the server patched.
Why Ubuntu Is in Our Stack
In Practice
Our own website runs on an Ubuntu LTS server, so we know how it behaves day to day. When a project needs a server of its own, Ubuntu LTS is a sensible default: widely used, well documented, and supported for years.
Years of Updates
LTS releases get about five years of standard security updates, so servers stay patched.
No License Fee
Ubuntu is free to download and use, so the server software adds no yearly cost.
Plenty of Help
A huge user base means most problems are already solved and written down.