Hello guys,
This is my first post.

I have shifted to Ubuntu. and now very happy.. and excited...because there are many distros which i want to try.. and experience..

Anyways, to the point
I am Java freelancer, want to setup home linux network , I dont have much linux experience even as a user..

I have 4 computers
2 Laptop (Core2Due-3GB, Celeron-recent1-1GB)
2 PC (Core2Duo-1GB, P4-1GB)

I am using Ubuntu in Core2Duo-1GB Machine, its getting really slow with time. And I am not using many of the application it provides.

So, I want to switch to the linux distro which is minimal/stable/and faster.
Following applications i use..so any Distro which allows these are okay
1. Firefox
2. Java
a. JDK
b. Eclipse
c. Netbeans
d. Tomcat
3. Music Player
4. OpenOffice

AND moreover i want to install linux server on P4-1GB machine.. which will be running TOMCAT server/ Apache server / SVN server/ Backup application

so my server distro/client distro should be compitible

so please suggest any restructure or combinations of distro which i should use.

Thanx..

99.8 % of the time, an application that will work in ONE Linux distro, will work fine in any OTHER Linux distro.

As for "minimal/stable/faster", you will want to avoid the *buntus, as they are pretty fully loaded and reputed to be slower than many others. Ubuntu "server Edition" may be less bloaty, but a user of that will have to verify this for you; and, Ubuntu server doesn't come with a GUI (graphical desktop environment) but you can install one if you choose.

Ideally, I'd recommend Slackware (fast, stable, can be very minimal, supports virtually any software you want to install) or CentOS (I haven't tried it) for your server distro; however, some claim that Slackware is not ideal for a newbie because it tends to want a lot of manual configuration (editing of config files by hand) and because it does not do automatic dependency checking for you; and CentOS, I personally have no experience with so I cannot describe what it comes with by default, nor how "minimal or stable" it might be. It's basically a clone of RedHat.

Your list of applications, as far as I know, will run on any Linux. The better question would be, "What distro do these applications all come with by default, if any", and that I cannot answer.

You may find the answer by searching distrowatch.com where you can look at and compare distros, and see what packages (applications) are included with a default installation.

And, if I understand this part right: ALL Linuxes are compatible from a networking point of view. That is, you can have any distro you like, as a server, and any other as a client, and it doesn't matter. They'll talk to each other.


Finally: most Linuxes (or ALL of them really) can be made more minimal, or less minimal. It's usually a matter of:

A) Installing less stuff at the start, or
B) removing stuff you don't want, after installing the thing.

Best regards! And welcome to LQ

Sasha

A good stable distro for a newbie would be Debian. Solid, reliable, and tons of software. All those apps should be in the repositories. Slackware is also great, but as stated above, a little less newbie friendly (not so much unfriendly, as it is just more of a manual configuration etc.... RTFM and your good) Anyway, Debian in my opinion for both server and desktop. CentOS is also a good choice. I would stay away from the buntu's, Fedora, and opensuse as they are a little more bloated.

Why is it getting "slow with time"?

You can always install Ubuntu without the user interface (select server install after booting the Live CD).

If you are using more apps simultaneously, I would strongly consider adding some extra memory. That way, you really don't have to worry about 'bloat' in the distro and the expense may be minimal. You may not like 'bloat' on an intellectual level, I know that I keep saying that I don't, but the pragmatic solution of having the kit that can deal with it, may get you going faster.

Minimal may not make much difference, unless you are prepared to go down to a lighter GUI. You might try this out and find out that you can't get happy with the lighter choices and end up back where you are right now, just having wasted time. (Or not, of course.)


Eclipse may be more difficult to get installed and configured on some of the lighter options, but generally that list looks to be all possible on any except the most minimal or outré of distros.

Yes, any combination should do it. Some will make it harder -scrub 'harder', instead please read the more positive 'more educational'- than others.