Cisco certs. & forsaking M$ for xLinux
 

I'm certain this has probably been asked and answered adnauseum, but I am seriously considering taking the "Linux Leap".

It's been a long time since my SCO Sys V, pre-GUI days of old. I am taking some courses in prep for my CCNx certs. and I thought there might be a benefit using a linux flavor in my preparation.

Currently I'm using XP Pro SP3, Dell 4600 w/ 2.8GHz Intel P4, NVidia GeForce 5200 128mb (non integrated DVI/VGA) videocard, 1.5GB sys. RAM, & 120GB SATA HD.

I am an accomplished qwerty typist and am comfortable with the commandline. So basically I'm looking for xLinux flavor recommendation(s) GUI and/or commandline.

Tks in advance

Wes2859

Certainly if you use the Search fn you'll find loads(!) of threads of a similar nature.
That being said, for new users coming from an MS background (& looking for a desktop similar experience) try Ubuntu, Mint.
For a more server oriented distro, try Centos (free version of RHEL). You can also use this as a desktop; I do.

A good idea is to look at www.distrowatch.com; rule of thumb is anything in top 10 is worth a look.
Many offer LiveCD option, which enables you to try it just by booting from a CD/DVD WITHOUT installing on your hdd.
Other options are using a VM or dual-booting.

Welcome to LQ
:)

PS there's a load of manuals/howtos at www.linuxtopia.org and also worth a read is http://rute.2038bug.com/index.html.gz

Thank you for your considerate reply and nfo.