RHEL guy here, I agree that installing it on Ubuntu was easier.
We went RHEL because of the support structure, so I’d recommend the LTS branch of Ubuntu for a Corp environment where support matters.
Virtualization has been nothing but a plus for us. If you are interested in this route for a rack server, you can get a free license of ESXI.
Later on the VMware vSphere Essentials Kit is reasonably priced once you want more than one host running the hypervisor.