I run Rocky Linux 9 on an HPC environment for the package stability and 10 years of support. I also prefer the Red Hat-esque management ecosystem (ie, Foreman) to the others I’ve tried (but it still leaves a lot to be desired).

I am no fan of Red Hat’s corporate shenanigans though, and if it weren’t for the associated tech debt, I might consider switching to Debian or Ubuntu. I’ve run both at previous jobs, but the support lifecycle has come back to haunt us every time.

Also, use Windows 10 LTSC. You can download an eval copy from Microsoft and turn it into the full version by following the instructions here to change the installed SKUs: https://github.com/victorlish/Convert_to_Windows_10_LTSC. Then use the KMS scripts above to activate it.

Ignore the FUD about “LTSC is designed for specialty purpose machines like medical devices, retail kiosks, blah blah blah.” It is what Windows 10 should have been: no bloatware, no ads, no MS Store (you can add it back if you want). No forced upgrades. I’ve used it as my daily driver since Windows 7 went EOL, and I’ll never use a “normal” version of Windows again.

What about the label for my father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate?