Which Version to start with?
 

A Linux newbie to say the least. Vet in the Reseller environment with focus on IBM, Compaq, Novell and Microsoft products. Where should I start. I have 2 Computers I plan to use to get things going. 1 is a 2 yr old desktop I plan to use as a server and a dell Inspiron Laptop Id like to use as a client. In addition I have my everyday laptop for work running Windows 8.

Can you suggest a server and client to start with? My long term 1 year goal is to prepare and obtain certification on the Administration side.

In addition I am a proud new owner of a Samsung Galaxy s4 with sprint as my provider. I plan to setup with tethering and use as my internet connection for home.

In search of a new multi-function laser printer to add to the mix and wish for it to support network scanning. In the future I plan to connect and add all the other things in life with a Ethernet interface:).

Can you say NEWBIE. Looking forward to be an active participant on this website.

Thanks Folks.

As another IT oldster/Linux newbie, I can recommend Ubuntu as being a simple distro that generally just works. The desktop install is nice and the server install is clean and gets the job done. I've found that the debian desktop will do most things from the GUI so it reduces some of the shock of moving to a *NIX desktop - especially when dealing with things like USB connection sharing/tethering, WiFi and a concise DHCP client.

That said, I must admit that I'm also kind of becoming a fan of CentOS for servers as it's even cleaner (plus I rather find I like yum as a package management tool).

But on the other, other hand, grab a stack of the live dvds and try out several desktops that way to see what you like. There's a lot of distros these days and each one other has several window managers bundled and several more available for download so you are not short on options! :)

Hi:

Welcome to Linux Questions:ppaulie_linux:)

These are just a few suggestions for a first time trying Linux.

I ran Debian for about 2 years and liked it. It's incredibly solid and stable.
Debian ran very well on my 2 year old Desktop-:)
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=debian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA6dR_feBws

Coming from Windows you may like Zorin OS because the desktop envirnment is very similar to Windows-
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=zorin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEMP1LfNgBI

And Elementary OS is another-
http://elementaryos.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrqIPbici2E

Another distribution is Linux Mint.
http://www.linuxmint.com/

For a Server you can look at this one:
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/server

With Linux you will have freedom but there is a commitment and that is to learn commandline-
http://linuxcommand.org/

I bet your Samsung Galaxy s4 is really nice!:)

Good Luck to you paulie_linux on whatever distribution you decide on.
And, again, Welcome aboard!:hattip:

To start with Linux, i suggest Linux Mint and study on http://www.tldp.org/

Hi paulie,

I would normally recommend Linux Mint to the 'newbies'
However you do come across as not being the average newbie..so

Since you are looking at certification , I think CentOS for your server

For your client, Debian the {grand}mother of many distos; Ubuntu, Linux Mint, ZorinOS etc.

But I think you will also like to look at Slackware

• CentOS has the advantage of being a Clone of Redhat
• Debian is easy to install, stable and 'powerful'
• Slackware, Stable, very 'fast' not quite as easy to install but good if you want to get deep into the 'guts', which I think you do.

Of course, there is nothing to stop you from using either one as both the server and client

Something else for consideration is xen, ( hypervisor ) which I know very little about.. but it is near the top of my todo list

with that you may be able to have both Debian and Slackware running on the 'baremetal' of your laptop at the same time..
Please take that with a pinch of salt, I don't understand the limits yet.

You may come also come across Xen with the server


You shouldn't have any issues with the tethering, it should be 'picked up' by all


Edit:
Just wanted to clear up a little on Xen
started a little research and it is not fantastically friendly for "Desktop" use, at least I'm just lost for the moment
However it seems very natural for headless servers.. by design I expect :)

Member Response
 

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!

I suggest that you consider 'Slackware'. You did not provide the Dell Inspiron model. I have several Dell Laptops with Slackware installed that are used for varied tasks for support of my clientele and my LQ work

Slackware forum here at LQ is friendly & helpful to Newbies. Plus the Slackware Doc Project is very useful to new & old users.

Look at my sig for other useful links.
Hope this helps.

The big names are of course Red Hat and SUSE for those who want to buy support, with Ubuntu's server edition in third place. For those companies who can support themselves, surveys of web servers shows the main systems are CentOS and Debian. So, from the professional point of view CentOS, as a clone of Red Hat, is probably the best choice.

Slackware is as good as Debian or CentOS, but it's not popular in enterprise environments because it generates too much work: it has no automated installation available and the repository is so small that even your office suite has to be compiled.