Debian/Ubuntu

Stable, widely-adopted distributions with extensive package repositories and long-term support.

Distribution Overview

Distribution Base Release Cycle Support

Debian Stable

Independent

~2 years

5+ years

Debian Testing

Debian Stable

Rolling

None

Ubuntu LTS

Debian

2 years

5 years (10 with ESM)

Ubuntu Interim

Debian

6 months

9 months

Linux Mint

Ubuntu LTS

~2 years

5 years

Post-Install Essentials

Update System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Essential Packages

sudo apt install build-essential git vim curl wget htop tmux

Enable Additional Repositories (Ubuntu)

# Enable universe and multiverse
sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo add-apt-repository multiverse
sudo apt update

Enable Non-Free (Debian)

Edit /etc/apt/sources.list:

# Debian 12 (Bookworm)
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

Then update:

sudo apt update

System Information

# OS version
cat /etc/os-release

# Debian version
cat /etc/debian_version

# Ubuntu version
lsb_release -a

# Kernel
uname -r

Firewall Configuration

UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall)

# Install
sudo apt install ufw

# Enable
sudo ufw enable

# Status
sudo ufw status verbose

# Allow port
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

# Allow service
sudo ufw allow ssh
sudo ufw allow http
sudo ufw allow https

# Delete rule
sudo ufw delete allow 80/tcp

Maintenance

Clean Package Cache

# Remove downloaded packages
sudo apt clean

# Remove unused packages
sudo apt autoremove

# Remove old kernels (Ubuntu)
sudo apt --purge autoremove

Check for Security Updates

# List security updates
apt list --upgradable 2>/dev/null | grep -i security

# Install security updates only (Debian)
sudo apt upgrade -s | grep -i security

# Unattended upgrades (automatic security updates)
sudo apt install unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades

System Health

# Failed services
systemctl --failed

# Journal errors
journalctl -p err -b

# Disk usage
df -h

# Check for broken packages
sudo apt --fix-broken install

Debian vs Ubuntu

Aspect Debian Stable Ubuntu LTS

Focus

Stability

Usability + Stability

Release

When ready

Fixed schedule

Packages

Older, well-tested

Newer, still tested

Default desktop

None (installer choice)

GNOME

Commercial support

Community only

Canonical

PPAs

Not available

Available

Pages

See Also