Gaming industry under DDoS attack. Get DDoS protection now. Start onboarding
Under attack? Log in
Sign up for free

Products

Solutions

Pricing

Resources

Partners

Why Gcore

Under attack?
Log in
Contact us
Contact us Sign up for free
  1. Home
  2. Developers
  3. How to Check Your Debian Version

How to Check Your Debian Version

  • By Gcore
  • May 18, 2023
  • 2 min read
How to Check Your Debian Version

Linux distributions like Debian come in various versions, each offering a unique set of features, functionalities, and improvements. The specific version can significantly affect software compatibility and system performance, so it’s crucial to know which one is installed on your server. Here’s a straightforward guide on how to check the Debian version.

Fun fact: Debian releases are named after characters from the “Toy Story” films, such as Buzz, Rex, and Jessie.

There are several ways to identify the Debian version on a server: using the  “/etc/os-release” file and the “lsb_release” command.

Method #1: Checking the contents of the “/etc/os-release” file

In modern Debian systems, the “/etc/os-release” file contains OS identification data, including the Debian version. You can view this file’s contents using the “cat” command in the terminal:

cat /etc/os-release

The output will be similar to this: 

PRETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 10 (buster)"NAME="Debian GNU/Linux"VERSION_ID="10"VERSION="10 (buster)"VERSION_CODENAME=busterID=debianHOME_URL="https://www.debian.org/"SUPPORT_URL="https://www.debian.org/support"BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.debian.org/"

From this output, you can identify the version name (“buster”) and version ID (“10”).

Method 2: Using the “lsb_release” command

The “lsb_release” command provides certain LSB (Linux Standard Base) and distribution-specific information. To check your Debian version, use the “-a” option with this command:

lsb_release -a

The output will be similar to this: 

No LSB modules are available.Distributor ID: DebianDescription:    Debian GNU/Linux 10 (buster)Release:        10Codename:       buster

The line labeled “Description” contains the information you’re interested in. You can run the Debian OS on our Cloud Instances. It allows deploying and scaling projects in just a few clicks.

Conclusion

Want to run Debian on a virtual machine? With Gcore Cloud, you can choose from Basic VM, Virtual Instances, VPS/VDS, or Bare Metal servers suitable for Debian:

  • Gcore Basic VM offers shared virtual machines from €3.2 per month
  • Virtual Instances are virtual machines with a variety of configurations and an application marketplace
  • Virtual Dedicated Servers provide outstanding speed of 200+ Mbps in 20+ global locations
  • Bare Metal offers the ultimate in server power and performance with an entire server dedicated to your needs alone

Choose an instance

Related articles

Multi-Cloud Plan: What It Is and How It Works

Your cloud provider goes down. Applications fail. Customers can't access your services. And because you've built everything around a single vendor, there's nothing you can do but wait. For organizations locked into one cloud platform, this

Vendor Lock-In in Cloud Computing: What It Is and How to Avoid It

Imagine discovering that migrating your company's data to a new cloud provider will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in egress fees alone, before you've even touched the re-engineering work. Or worse, picture being in Synapse Financial

What Is Sovereign Cloud and Why Does It Matter?

Picture this: a foreign government issues a legal order forcing your cloud provider to hand over sensitive patient records, classified research data, or critical national infrastructure details. You can't stop it. This isn't hypothetical. G

Types of Virtualization in Cloud Computing

Your physical servers are sitting idle at 15% to 20% CPU utilization while you're paying for 100% of the power, cooling, and hardware costs. Meanwhile, your competitors have consolidated 10 to 15 applications per server, pushing utilization

What's the difference between multi-cloud and hybrid cloud?

Multi-cloud and hybrid cloud represent two distinct approaches to distributed computing architecture that build upon the foundation of cloud computing to help organizations improve their IT infrastructure.Multi-cloud environments involve us

What is multi-cloud? Strategy, benefits, and best practices

Multi-cloud is a cloud usage model where an organization utilizes public cloud services from two or more cloud service providers, often combining public, private, and hybrid clouds, as well as different service models, such as Infrastructur

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get the latest industry trends, exclusive insights, and Gcore updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Subscribe