Advice please server software
 

I just purchased an IBM Netfinity 5500 and was wondering as to which Linux will drive this thing best. Doe's it specifically need a sever distro or can the newer SuSe 9.3 or Debian Sarge manage this older hardware.

Thanks
Tom

I don't know the answer specifically but I noticed that nobody had responded to your post in over 23 hours so I figured I could say something useful.

The first thing that I did when I read your post was to go to google.com and enter this search string: Netfinity+Linux. This produced an abundant number of hits. The very first hit was from the University of Minnesota Super Computing Center. They have a Netfinity cluster consisting of 80 nodes, all running Linux. They provide a great deal of information about their hardware and software.

The second thing that I would say is that you could have tested at least one Linux distribution on the Netfinity machine in the time that it took you to write your question and wait for an answer.

The third thing that I would say is that the manufacturer of the Netfinity, IBM, is more likely to have this information than anyone who reads your post. IBM is very supportive of Linux so we could expect that if your machine can run Linux then IBM would make that information available. They may even have extensive on line support at their web site.

Lastly the chances that anyone who reads your post would know the answer is slim to none. Your question is too limited. How many people who read your post even have, or had, a Netfinity machine? Probably very few.

You should always make a significant effort to use the resources and approach that I outlined before you ask a question at any tech q&a web site. All of the other resources are more likely to provide the information that you need and in greater depth than you can expect by simply posting a question on any q&a site.

IMO, of course. :)

In saying these things I don't intend to be discouraging. I just think that you can get this kind of information faster by these other means than by asking a question at any q&a site. I got the link to the University of Minnesota Super Computing Center within one minute from the time that I ready your question. It took me just one minute and about 15 keystrokes to find enough information answer your question.

You know, I honestly have no idea what's in your server. But hardware support is essentially handled at the Kernel level and therefore any distribution should suffice. Look at the software you will use to select your distribution, as well as the software you are familiar with.