Hi All,

I'm trying to decide which linux that i should use to host my website. My concern is that once my site that will contain some forum grows, the server doesnt scale well. I'm also coming from windows server background, so ease of use is definitely a big plus for me, plus of course the cost of licensing which doesnt burn out my pocket. And does anybody know what's the cost /year for let say red hat, or suse server? Please share your experience if you have implemented this type of server. And does anybody know where can i get the best deal on this type of server (preconfigured) or can i just use empty box and load the server program?

Thank you very much for your help in advance!
han

Slackware Linux is great. It's real secure, fast and most of the time very stable. Installing Apache httpd is in a snap on Slackware too. Be sure to install a good system logger like syslog-ng and use all the other security means to keep the webserver nice and secure.

Just how big a site are you expecting it to be? If you're worried about scaling, if it's any help, this site is one of the busiest forums I know, and it's running Linux. Another big one I'm involved in is www.WritingForums.com, which also sees several hundred messages a day, and is also running Linux.

More important to scaling than the server is the forum software you decide to use. For example, WritingForums used to be run using phpBB, but they had to switch to vBulletin when it started growing really big (LinuxQuestions has always been vBulletin, as far as I know). But even then, phpBB was still coping with the load; it was just that some admin tasks were becoming more difficult.

But it was already getting a couple of hundred posts per day before they needed to make the switch, so if you're starting a new forum from scratch, it'll be a while before you need to worry about that sort of thing.


I assume you're talking price for hosting, rather than the price for the OS? Or are you planning to buy and host the server yourself?

If you're looking at an ISP to host the site, your annual (or monthly) costs will vary wildly depending on the host you choose, and the package you go for. Generally, you get what you pay for, but there are some good deals out there.

If you're planning to buy the server and run it youself, you can either download Linux for nothing, or buy a copy from one of the distributors. At one ISP I know, they use either Slackware or CentOS for their servers (except in the rare occasions when a client asks for something else specifically). Both these are completely free, and include all the software needed for setting up and managing a web server.

As for ease-of-use, there are plenty of graphical and web-based tools you can use to configure your server. Since the machine will be a web server, I wouldn't even bother to install a GUI; just stick with text-based login, when you need them -- one of the reasons Linux servers run faster than Windows is because you can turn off stuff like the desktop if you don't need them. Once the machine is online, you can configure your server software using web-based tools like Webmin, and hopefully you'll hardly ever need to actually log into the OS.

If you're seriously looking for a genuine web server, you're going to need a good quality machine. Most hardware sold as web servers is in the form of rack-mountable units. They can seem quite expensive (compared with home PCs of similar spec), but they're designed for reliability, so again you get what you pay for. They do typically come without any OS installed, but I'm sure you can find someone who will supply them configured. I can't recommend a specific provider, but search around the web, and you should be able to find some.

You're also going to need a high speed and reliable internet connection; your standard DSL line just won't be enough to support site with any noticeable traffic levels.


I've given lots of advice here, but to be honest, the real advice is to be sure of what you are trying to do. Are you planning to run this new web site from home or from an office? How much traffic are you expecting to get? Will the machine be doing anything else as well as the web site? Most of what I've said above is highly dependant on the answers to those questions (and a few others). You may find that a hosted solution is the best bet for your needs.

phpbb works great, even on large site, as proven by the gentoo forums http://forums.gentoo.org

Which was listed as one of the largest web forums on web. I wish I still had the link that showed that...

The only issues that really occur with phpBB forums is that they are notorius for security problems, but as long as you keep up to date with the latest versions... it's usually not an issue... I maintain several phpBB forums, and none have ever been hacked.

I've tried running both SuSE and Fedora for a pretty small server. Currently I'm running Fedora 5, it runs like a dream (so far). The only problem I had with SuSE was remote administration. Once you learn about it, it's very easy to configure SuSE to do what you want, but a couple of things in SuSE do not use standard Linux configurations. For example, I found configuring the SuSE firewall through Webmin to be an issue. You could get iptables to flush the rules and everything, but on reboot there is a special SuSEfirewall script that resets the firewall rules. This wasn't a huge problem, but I personally prefer something that's more standard. I would recommend giving Fedora a try.

I am also want to do same thing, I have a PUBLIC IP but i don't know where to register MY Web name....
Can anyone suggest please....?
I want to make a Linux based Web & Mail server.