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I need to build several CentOS 6.6 servers, mostly into web servers and a couple of mail servers.

Are there any disadvantages to running a GUI environment as opposed to having no X11 at all?

I'm thinking mainly in terms of security and performance. Although I'm completely happy with command line only, others in my dept are not and would feel more comfortable with GUI tools for system administration and maintenance.

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Simple answer. More complex code poses more security threats. Therefore for servers you should have as minimalistic installation as possible. So no X.

I would recommend writing some scripts for users that are not that used to command line.

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    In general I follow your statement about more complex code poses more security threads but I do not see why X is more complex than for instance the kernel itself. Therefor I can not see a disadvantage in using GUI based tools for administration. You can also consider having the GUI tools installed but not having an X desktop running and use the GUI tools over ssh -X or set the DISPLAY variable. Commented Apr 9, 2015 at 9:39

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