Linux and BSD operating systems

Windows operating systems

Notes on older versions

• End of life: an operating system past its vendor end-of-life date no longer gets security updates. Plan a move to a supported release. Check the vendor lifecycle page for your release.
• Windows Server 2012: Microsoft ended support in October 2023. Use Windows Server 2022 for new deployments.

Other systems

If you need an operating system that is not listed, contact @CustomerPanel to ask whether we can support it.

Choose a server

See our Cloud VPS plans, Windows Cloud VPS and dedicated servers.

How to choose an operating system

• Stable, long support: choose a release whose security updates run for several years.
• Software support: check that your control panel, PHP version and applications support the release.
• Your skills: Debian and Ubuntu use apt, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux use dnf. Choose the family your team knows.

Check the end-of-life date before you install

An operating system past its end-of-life date no longer receives security updates. Check the vendor’s lifecycle page before you install, and plan an upgrade well before the date. For example, CentOS 7 reached end of life in June 2024, and Windows Server 2012 ended support in October 2023.

Keep the system updated

# Red Hat family
dnf update -y

# Debian and Ubuntu
apt update && apt upgrade -y

For control panel choices, see our free control panels guide. For cPanel servers, check the cPanel documentation for the operating systems it supports with each release.

Recommended choices by use

Whichever you choose, record the version, install the updates on day one, and set a reminder for the end-of-life date.

Virtual machines and containers

A container shares the host’s kernel, so the operating system version that matters is the host’s. A virtual machine runs its own kernel and needs its own updates. Choose the base image for each container or virtual machine with the same care as a physical server, and rebuild images regularly so they pick up security fixes.

Plan kernel updates and reboots

Kernel security fixes take effect after a reboot. Schedule a short maintenance window each month, announce it to your users, and check the services after the server comes back. Some providers offer live kernel patching; it reduces reboots but does not replace regular updates.