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Linux - Distributions This forum is for Distribution specific questions.
Red Hat, Slackware, Debian, Novell, LFS, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Fedora - the list goes on and on... Note: An (*) indicates there is no official participation from that distribution here at LQ.

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View Poll Results: What distro is best for a server?
Red Hat 8 19.51%
Mandrake 3 7.32%
SuSe 2 4.88%
Slackware 11 26.83%
Debian (ack) 14 34.15%
Gentoo 1 2.44%
*BSD 2 4.88%
Other(Please Specify Below) 0 0%
Voters: 41. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 03-10-2003, 05:33 PM   #1
Artimus
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Best Distro For a Server


Hey All. My teacher is loaning me a Compaq Proliant 1600 to mess with. What distro is best for a server? (I'm too cheap to pay for the server editions, so we're counting the regular versions).

Please base your choice on what is more secure and stable
 
Old 03-10-2003, 08:31 PM   #2
2damncommon
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Using Slackware and asking this question?
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
 
Old 03-10-2003, 08:47 PM   #3
crichards
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As if there is any doubt...

Debian. Its proven. stable, and secure, and while I like it, Gentoo is not proven and runs bleeding-edge software. Debian Stable doesn't upgrade packages even for security, it backports patches so nothing breaks.
 
Old 03-10-2003, 08:58 PM   #4
Artimus
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Quote:
Originally posted by 2damncommon
Using Slackware and asking this question?
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
You have a point...
 
Old 03-10-2003, 09:06 PM   #5
2damncommon
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The point being that Slackware is highly configurable, easy to install packages of your choice, a distro you are familar with (?), and as such may not be a bad choice.
Lots of folks swear by BSD for critical server functions.
There is a trade off with how much time you want to spend learning something different as opposed to learning to run a server to begin with.
You also did not mention what server functions you intend to run. HTTP, SSH, FTP, MAIL, NEWS, ETC....
 
Old 03-10-2003, 09:45 PM   #6
nakkaya
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i am using redhat but i would go for gentoo because if you compile it from the beginnig with just what u need and leave the crap out side it will be more secure isnt it?
 
Old 03-11-2003, 06:57 AM   #7
Artimus
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I guess it kinda boils down to Slack or BSD then... That's assuming I can get FreeBSD to work nicely with DHCP. It hasn't been able to do that so far...
 
Old 03-12-2003, 09:03 AM   #8
cnjohnson
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Quote:
Originally posted by Artimus
I guess it kinda boils down to Slack or BSD then... That's assuming I can get FreeBSD to work nicely with DHCP. It hasn't been able to do that so far...
Nothing wrong with Redhat, as your poll shows. It is rock solid, as secure as you want to make it, and there is gobs of support. What more could one ask for?

Cheers--
Charles
(Who has 6 of these puppies.)
 
Old 03-15-2003, 06:51 PM   #9
eck
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Whee, another excuse for a platform war.

You really have to consider, as much as you'll hate to hear it, what your specific situation requires. Doesn't much matter what the hardware is, unless for some reason it's only supported by one distro. Are you adding a box to a network full of RedHat servers? Might make the most sense to go with RedHat, there. Are you expecting to have many servers to maintain? Might be better to go with Debian. Are you still learning your way around a Linux box, and want everything set up to work to begin with, so you can break things and see exactly what went wrong? That could make Slackware ideal. Sorry, you'll have to come up with your own reasons for using Gentoo: I don't really see the point. ;-) [ducking]
 
Old 03-17-2003, 07:08 AM   #10
Artimus
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Well guys, I've hit a road block. How the heck do you install linux to a computer with a broken SCSI CD-Rom and an unbootable floppy?

Btw, I've decided on Slackware. And I've never broken it before...
 
Old 03-17-2003, 02:21 PM   #11
michaelk
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With Compaq there could be some hardware issues. If you are looking for a dedicated server distro there is trustix http://www.trustix.net/.
 
Old 03-18-2003, 07:53 AM   #12
ghight
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This poll was a sham! I want a recount! I'm suprised you even added the other choices.

ps- If you are trying to go incognito, take you CIA jacket off first. (Notice your sig)
 
  


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