Server specific distribution
 

Hello

I'm sure there is no real answer to this question and i aplogise if it has been asked before.

In the past i have used Mandriva, Redhat and Debian but was wonderring if i'm picking the right distribtuions for what i want.

All i want is to build a nice simple webserver with apache, mysql, php, perl, mail server, file server (samba). I won't be installing any X Windows or anything else i won't require for this purpose. I don't have much in the way of hardware so minumum requiremnts are a must. Its not going to be used on any grand scale, just at home to store stuff and host bits and pieces.

What are your recommendations for a minimalist distribution that will suit my needs best?

Thanks, Ant

Well, any of the above you mentioned work fine, as will most any linux distro you can pick, for what you've mentioned. If you don't want to run X, just set the default run-level at build time to runlevel 3. Also, you don't have to install packages you don't want, which you can also customize at build time.

My personal favorite (lately), is OpenSuSE, but that's just me.

Hi,

You will get a lot of variants but I prefer 'Slackware®' for my servers. You will find it the stable distribution for server use.