Hey moocowmoo, do you recommend any particular Linux distro for a new hot node setup using Dashman?
My VPS provider now has options for Ubuntu 14.04, 14.10, and 15.04 in 32-bit, 64-bit, Minimal, Standard and squid3(?!) versions, plus a plethora of other OS options.
My instinct is to stick to what has worked before (14.04, 64-bit standard version), but since I'm starting from scratch, I am open to trying a different version if it has better dash daemon performance or compatibility with your updater, etc. Thanks in advance.
Honestly, doesn't really matter. I'd recommend going with a minimal (server) install and just adding the few things you actually want on the host.
I prefer and mostly use ubuntu-14.04-64bit for consistency, but manage nodes on debian, centos, and one docker experiment on coreos and they all seem happy. The ones hosted on DigitalOcean have had no reboots or restarts ever, most with >450 days uptime. They're expensive and don't offer bulk discounts (much to my chagrin), but you get what you pay for.
I've tried super-cheap vps hosting (with the same os') and it's been a nightmare of reboots, misconfigurations, and support tickets.
From what I've gathered, your host (and the talents of their admins) is
much more important than your OS choice.