選定 Linux 系列後，還要選發行版。同樣的，選擇很多。必須能夠使用多年，因為轉換系統極為費時費力又費錢 (雖然比在完全不同的系統間切換較為省事，如 Windows 或 OS X)。
Sustainability is, thus, essential, and it must guarantee regular updates and security patches over several years. The timing of updates is also significant, since, with so many machines to manage, Falcot Corp cannot handle this complex operation too frequently. The IT department, therefore, insists on running the latest stable version of the distribution, benefiting from the best technical assistance, and guaranteed security patches. In effect, security updates are generally only guaranteed for a limited duration on older versions of a distribution.
Finally, for reasons of homogeneity and ease of administration, the same distribution must run on all the servers and office computers.
There are two main categories of Linux distributions: commercial and community-driven. The former, developed by companies, are sold with commercial support services. The latter are developed according to the same open development model as the free software of which they are comprised.
A commercial distribution will have, thus, a tendency to release new versions more frequently, in order to better market updates and associated services. Their future is directly connected to the commercial success of their company, and many have already disappeared (Caldera Linux, StormLinux, Mandriva Linux, etc.).
社群發行版祗有自己的更新時間表。如同 Linux 核心，穩定後就發布新的發行版，永遠不會發布不穩定的版本。只要有足夠的個人發展者或第三方公司支援它，就能保證其存在。
從眾多發行版裡選取 Debian 的理由如下：
它是社群發行版，不受任何商業行為限制；它的目標是技術導向，偏向控制產品的品質。
在社群發行版中，各方面都是最優的：奉獻者、可用的套件數、以及持續存在的年限。社群的規模更是無可匹敵的。
從過去的資訊分析，每隔 18 至 24 個月就有新的版本，都支援 5 年，管理者都贊同的時間表。
針對法國自由軟體服務公司的調查發現，參與調查的公司都提供 Debian 的技術支援；同時，也是它們內部所使用的發行版。在服務提供者的多樣性是保持 Falcot 公司獨立不受特定廠商控制的重要原因。
最後，Debian 支援眾多架構，包括 OpenPOWER 處理器的 ppc64el；因此，它可以裝載於 Falcot 公司最新的 IBM 伺服器上。
Once Debian has been chosen, the matter of which version to use must be decided. Let us see why the administrators have picked Debian Bullseye.
