Linux Server

I've been looking for a version of linux to use as a server and was wondering what you recommend. I've been looking at using OWL but since I have no experience with linux as a server wanted to know what kind of suggestions I could get.

 

I have no experience of running linux as a server, but the Ubuntu forums are immense so if you went that path I'm sure you could get help with any problems you happen upon.

 

Ubuntu has a rather nice server edition of the 6.06 release which should do the trick, otherwise I'd suggest going with Debian stable. Both are easy to set up for unattended security updates.

 

We use RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) at work, mainly due to the long product support cycles and their proven track record. The RedHat network is a nice way to do simple remote administration without the need for ssh. Almost everything is compatible with RedHat, in many cases software is packaged specifically for it or tested specifically on it. Also, hardware vendors are likely to support it over any other distro (Dell comes to mind here). Basically it's a good choice when the application is what matters and the OS just needs to work.

There's a no-cost version in the form of CentOS which is good for low-value servers or for test systems, or for cheap sysadmins.

RHEL is not a good desktop, though, and while it does have its share of configuration GUIs, they're not all that good. For these reasons it may not be the most comfortable distro for someone who is new to Linux server administration. I'm also not sure I'd recommend RHEL right now since a new version should be released any time now.

 

What KIND of server, though? File server? Web server? Quake 3 games server? It matters

But in general I'd suggest going with a server-type install of Ubuntu, as it has one of the best communities out there and will really help you. Just get the alternative install ISO, rather than the LiveCD, and install a server version from that.

 

http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=smeserver

Works out of the box, plenty of addons, built on CentOS. Install takes about 15 min. Includes dhcp, firewall, squid, clamav, web, mail and all the stuff you need for a server. Give it a shot and see what you think.

 

Thanks for the input. I think I'm gonna try out Ubuntu server first since I already have the cd for it. I'll try out a few others later on.

 

Ubuntu also has a lot of support out there if you run into any issues.

 

You might check out Ebox. I believe it's Debian based, but from what I hear, it's front ends are very complete and make administration simple.

 

i use debian and opensuse, i've a fedora as server, but seems unstable.
debian is running flawless for a couple of years, opensuse 10.1 is a few months...

all depends what server you need and what is for..

 

koryo, Linux doesn't really seperate between desktop use and server use. In 95%+ of the cases, it's the same kernel under the hood (although products such as RHEL sacrifice cutting edge features for stability). It's not like Windows where you have: Home, Home Premium, Professional, Server, Advanced Server, DataCenter and the OS determines if you can run a service on your machine or not and if so, how many connections it can handle. No. On Linux, you can basically do whatever you want. I can run a mail server, web site, e-commerce site, file server, backup server, HIDS, NIDS, proxy server, etc. all on my laptop on my stock installation without having to get RHEL, CentOS, Ubuntu server, etc.

However, if you're planning on running a server in a mission-critical environment or where you have people connecting 24x7, it's worth considering using CentOS or Ubuntu server or Debian stable.