Here is some news that both excited me and gave me pause. In its annual 2025 retrospective, published today, Arch-based CachyOS, widely popular among Linux gamers and heavily focused on performance optimization, reveals plans I did not expect: an expansion into the server space.

“In addition to our ongoing PGO and AutoFDO optimizations, we are developing a specialized ‘Server’ Edition for NAS, workstations, and server environments. We intend to provide a verified image that hosting providers can easily deploy for their customers. This edition will ship with a hardened configuration, pre-tuned settings, and performance-optimized packages for web servers, databases and more!”

Why was I surprised? First, the three areas mentioned, NAS, workstations, and servers, are distinct niches. Building a single solution that works equally well for all of them is far from trivial.

That said, CachyOS defaults to Btrfs, which makes a lot of sense on the NAS side given its strengths in data integrity, snapshots, RAID (and disk management), and efficient disk usage.

However, the bigger question remains: at a fundamental level, outside of home use, a rolling-release distribution and a reliable server platform have historically been two concepts that rarely belong in the same sentence.

The reason is simple: server environments rely on stable, well-tested software versions (even if slightly older) to reduce the risk of undiscovered bugs common in newer releases that can cause service outages.

CachyOS, on the other hand, is an Arch-based distribution that consistently delivers the latest software versions. That rolling-release approach puts it at the opposite end of the spectrum and makes it poorly suited for traditional server use.

Given that today’s Linux server ecosystem is largely dominated by Debian-based and RHEL-based distributions (along with SUSE and openSUSE Leap, of course), all of which are known for their cautious, conservative approach to software versions, it is more than interesting to see what path CachyOS will take in this case.

I’m personally quite excited about the idea of a server offering based on Arch, so I’m very much looking forward to 2026, when CachyOS’s plans for a dedicated server edition are expected to come to life. I’m confident the developers have carefully considered all the relevant factors, and the fact that the announced target audience includes hosting providers adds further credibility to these plans.

For now, all that’s left to do is wait for more details about the project to emerge. And last but definitely not least, I wish all our readers a happy and peaceful Christmas!

Bobby Borisov

Bobby, an editor-in-chief at Linuxiac, is a Linux professional with over 20 years of experience. With a strong focus on Linux and open-source software, he has worked as a Senior Linux System Administrator, Software Developer, and DevOps Engineer for small and large multinational companies.