Debian is a volunteer project that has developed and maintained a GNU/Linux operating system for well over a decade. Since its launch, the Debian project has grown to comprise more than 1,000 members with official developer status, alongside many more volunteers and contributors. Today, Debian encompasses over 50,000 packages of free, open source applications and documentation. The popular distribution Ubuntu builds on the Debian architecture and infrastructure and collaborates widely with Debian developers, but there are important differences. Ubuntu has a distinctive user interface, a separate developer community (though many developers participate in both projects) and a different release process.
If you decide to use a Debian server for your project (good idea – it’s secure, robust and fast), then you should always have the latest security patches and updates, whether you’re asleep or not. This is actually pretty easy to do. Here’s how.