Built on the solid foundation of Debian — known for its robust server installations — the Ubuntu Server Edition has a strong heritage for reliable performance and predictable evolution. The first Ubuntu release with a separate server edition was 5.10, in October 2005.
With the latest release, 6.06 LTS, the Ubuntu Server Edition adds support for several common configurations, bringing the ease of use that Ubuntu has become famous for on the desktop to server deployments. The new Ubuntu Server Edition provides a well-integrated platform for deploying a new server with any of the standard internet services: mail, web, DNS, file serving or database management.
A key lesson from the Debian heritage is that of security by default. The Ubuntu Server has no open ports after the installation and contains only the essential software needed to build a secure server.
