Most efficient linux distro for business?

Kukuman · 12-30-2011, 09:34 AM

Hey there,

I'm starting a new business, and I am getting old machines for using VOIP(I'd say the crappiest I have right now is a P4 1.6 ghz 512 mb RAM, but most are 3.0 Ghz with 512 mb RAM.
Everything right now is with Windows XP Pro or Home edition.

I'm having taughts about switching to linux, which distro should I get?

ochienged · 12-30-2011, 10:28 AM

For Business, my pick would be CentOS. It is enterprise class and stable. No official support for though. If you want/can to pay for support, RedHat can do. You also have to think from the perspective of which application do I want to run and on which Linux distributions does it run best. There are certain applications that are engineered and thoroughly tested for a given Linux distribution.

Other stable Linux distributions to consider are Ubuntu Server and Debian.

Kukuman · 12-30-2011, 11:01 AM

Really, the more stuff it can do the better, but mainly it would be for common office use (as long as it can run Openoffice, be user-friendly and run something like GIMP, I think it would be all right).

Efficiency is pretty much my concern here. I'm dealing with pretty old computers and I don't want them to lag too much.

jefro · 12-30-2011, 11:43 AM

Linux from scratch or Gentoo would provide the fastest if you built it correctly. Since you are a newbie I might suggest you try one of the voip distro's.

Also the type of voip may be needed to be known.

rng · 12-30-2011, 11:54 AM

Try Lubuntu. It is lightweight (for old computers) and stable with good support.

frankbell · 12-30-2011, 08:29 PM

512 MB might be a bit marginal for CentOS 6.x. I know it refuses to install on a box with only 256 MB.

I'd recommend Debian over Ubuntu, especially with those RAM specs. It comes with Gnome 2, but you can install and use a lighter-weight interface.

The applications you listed as essential will run just fine on Debian. I'd also recommend pricing additional RAM, if compatible RAM is still available.

dudeman41465 · 12-31-2011, 12:55 AM

I would go with CentOS or Debian. I personally use Debian and have been recommending/installing it on computers for work for a couple of years with no bad reviews yet, but I've also heard good things about CentOS. Debian has a long, unscheduled release cycle. Their whole mantra is, "It will get released when it's done." The stable branch is just that, "stable", which is essential for production machines that are depended upon for vital tasks. I would avoid anything Ubuntu based like the plague for corporate networks because they're always pushing major software updates, which may keep you on the bleeding edge, but will also keep your help desk personnel jumping all over the place fixing the minor quirks and bugs that get introduced when things aren't thoroughly tested. Additionally, Unity is, in my opinion, extremely counter-productive, especially if you're installing it on older machines.

dudeman41465 · 12-31-2011, 01:08 AM

Just for a reference, I thought I would show you what kind of load my Debian server is exhibiting. I do have Gnome 2 and GDM installed on this machine because I also use it to watch rips of my DVDs on my television. It's running an Apache webserver, a ProFTPD FTP server, an OpenSSH SSH service, Gnome2/GDM, and webmin to make managing it from my internal network a bit easier. However, right now it isn't logged in and running anything other than the server daemons and the gdm login screen. I don't have any videos playing or office documents open, but here's a screenshot of the specs and its load right now.

rich_c · 12-31-2011, 02:29 AM

There's Xfce and LXDE respins of openSUSE available. As, IMHO, openSUSE is reasonably business oriented one of those might fit nicely.

ochienged · 01-04-2012, 08:29 AM

Considering that you want to use the systems for Desktop usage and not server use, I have a shift in opinion. Debian will probably be a better bet

DavidMcCann · 01-04-2012, 10:41 AM

You cannot use CentOS, with a GUI, in 512MB: they suggest a minimum of 652MB. OpenSUSE is not advisable with any GUI but KDE (which needs 768MB): see my review.

As a business user you want something stable with a long support period. Salix is based on Slackware, as stable as you can get, is easy to use, and has a minimum requirement of 256MB. Debian is very stable, but a bit confusing to install for a beginner. The derivative SalineOS has the same software, but a better installer, and will run in 256MB.

etech3 · 01-04-2012, 11:10 AM

I have used both Debian and Centos for production work. I use both even when running a Asterisk VOIP server.

But I would recommend Debian Stable. Rock solid and the install is easy even for newbies.

Just set up a test machine and go through the install steps a few times to get the hang of it. You may want to try XFCE and I would say to bump the memory up to at least 1 GIG.

I'm just saying.......my

and that's all I got to say about that.

chrism01 · 01-04-2012, 11:09 PM

If you want a GUI and to run those Apps you mentioned, seriously the best thing to do is invest in some RAM; I'm surprised you've got a 3GHz chip with only 512MB of RAM.
RAM would be tax-deductible

For a business, I'd definitely look at Centos (free RHEL but no support) unless you want paid support, in which case RHEL.
YMMV