Hi Guys,

I want to get out of MS hell!

I'm looking for a cheep, secure OS to run a file, intranet and e-mail server for my home network - a couple of PCs running Win95. I currently use an old copy of NT4 and lots of glue on an i486DX4 box. Networking is 100Tx with a 56K modem on my Win95 workstation.

I have some Unix sys admin experience (Version 6, 7, SVR2/3/4 and HPUX) and would love to return to the Unix fold.

The OS will need to run a server (no monitor or keyboard) and act as a development platform for things like LDAP, IMAP, Kerberos, web server etc. When I replace my workstation (PII, 333MHz), I will also want to use the oldest box as an internet firewall, so security and stability are a must. I will need to support at least one Win95 laptop on the network for some time.

Could you reccomend a suitable Linux distribution?

Although this is a biased opinion, I suggest RedHat.

I use it as a firewall, (downlaod Iridium)
File Server, local Web server.

Secure, and easy to use. I never had a problem.

Development tools included. C/C++,Fortran(I think)
Runs nicely on Pentium2 350, your specs are perfectly fine.
Lots of fun to have.

why does this question get asked EVERY single day? why can't people just search the forum..

either way, i'm bored... so:

get mandrake, it's aimed at newbies. And basically does everythign redhat does, but goes further to make it look less painful than it actually is. very little in it tho. Mandrake does have important newbie features like automatic dependecy instalation in rpmdrake

With HPUX experience, you might want to go for something less user-friendly. Slackware prides itself on its stability, being the most unix-like distro, and I'm also certain its one of the easiest distros for older hardware. Then again, you might want to go Debian. It installs very slim, and apt is their brilliant little utility to install or upgrade packages.

This isn't really a complaint, but lately I just keep finding that now matter how much I play with the menus on install, Redhat and Mandrake just load a ton of stuff. This really is just a matter of preference though, mostly arrising from the fact that I have five machines that are pre-PII and don't have a whole lot of disk.

Either way, good luck, you're in for a lot of fun.

-Finegan

yeah i'd go with tarballedtux. if u've got some unix experience then it should be a breeze.

Thanks for the advice!

I guess the question gets asked by newbies 'cos we're new and we all want something just a little different.

I think I'll dip my toes in the water with Red Hat first, just to get the hang of Linux, then try out some of the other offerings.

Thanks again,

DaveG

Isn't Slack the only distro out anymore?
What's this mandrake, debian stuff.... LOL