Hi!,

What Linux server program would make a good home server.
As a newbie I'm trying to learn how to set-up a server here at home... But have no clue as to what to use?

Thanks
Terry

The best answer for someone wanting to try their hand at setting up a server:

Whatever distribution you are most comfortable with.

I'm completely serious about that.

Here's the deal. A server (especially a home server) is just any run-of-the-mill machine. The only difference between it and a "client" is the software it runs. And as far as Linux is concerned, you can install server software in any distribution. All you have to do is use your package manager, find out the name of the server package that provides the functionality you want, and install it.

Use what you are comfortable with so that you can learn to control/configure the server software. Don't introduce more variables--you'll be forever second guessing yourself about whether you have the right configuration or if you set things up correctly in this new distribution or any number of other things. Fewer variables = better understanding = faster proficiency.

Also, for a home server, don't be afraid to install a desktop environment. You may hear other people cry bloody murder when someone says to install a GUI on a server. That's true... for a production server. It would be a waste of resources. For a learn-to-set-it-up home server, it's perfectly fine.

Once you get confident that you know what you're doing with the server software you use, then start messing around with a stripped-down, so-called server-optimized distribution.

EDIT:
And you can even try your hand at setting up a virtualized server with VirtualBox. You can easily set up your virtualized host/server to respond to your desktop's requests.

EDIT2:
Also, if you're feeling adventurous, type up a reply with what tasks you would want this server to accomplish. Not only will you get suggestions for distributions, but you'll get a ton of links to software packages as well.

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Try Debian or Ubuntu Server to start. If you're not familier with Linux, I suggest you install a distro to get your feet wet in the Linux world.

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Have you read Linux Home Networking (or the accompanying book, the Linux Quick Fix Notebook)? It won't give you any clue about which distro to use, if that is the question, but you should read it anyway.

And regarding which distro to use, the one criterion that I would suggest to you is that you want the distro to have support (ie, continued availability of, at the least, security patches) for as long a time period as possible. When patches are no longer available, and you no longer get updates, you will have to upgrade, and that implies setting up everything, again, and you don't want this to happen every five minutes.

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