Hi Guys,
I am somewhat new to Linux, although I have been playing with it over the last few years (installing different versions to check it out).
I found this forum just the other day and want to say "kudos" to all of you that contribute to helping guys like me out. This is the best forum I have found for info and help as of yet and it seems as thought there are a lot of knowlegable folks here. Thanks for your efforts.
I am a network administrator for about 3 or 4 doctor offices and I run and manage Windows and NT servers at all my sites. I am certified in Windows 98, NT worstation, NT Server, as well as Novell server (although I do not manage any novel servers). My sites consist of anywhere from 2 to 6 workstations, and usually one NT file server. I also have a good working knowledge in the infrastructure behind networks (routers, hubs, wiring etc...)
I have been watching Linux for quite a while now and have been installing different distributions on a spare box I have in my office and up until now have not looked at it as a serious option for any of my sites. However, I just installed Sarge a couple of days ago and I am starting to look at using it as a test server at one of my sites. The doctor that owns the practice is a real penny pincher and just found out that the software he uses for his billing is going to require Windows 2000 within the next year. I suggested that we look at replacing his NT server with Linux as a way to save $$$ for his practice (the workstations will still be Win2000 to run the software)
Now,, finally the question
Our server at that site is only a file server and provides the PC's with a secure login. The workstations have his software installed so it is not being run from the server. I only need a mapped drive to the data subdirectory so the software is not required to be installed on the server.
Would Debian be a good choice for Linux on this server or would a different distribution be a better choice?
I have limited experience on Linux other than just using KDE and poking around with Linux but I do understand the concept behind how Linux works as a server.
I would apreciarte any advice or comments anyone may have about the choice of distribution to use for this project.
Any other comments/suggestions would also be welcome.
Thanks