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AlixLinux 05-13-2011 09:24 AM

New server setup on rackspace host
 
Hello all,
Im setting up my initial server on rackspace hosting and im not sure which server to pick.
I plan to run a wordpress driven image blog.
The list of choices are as follows:

Fedora 14 (Laughlin)
Arch 2010.05
CentOS 5.4
CentOS 5.5
Debian 5.0 (Lenny)
Fedora 13 (Goddard)
Gentoo 10.1
Oracle Enterprise Linux R5U3 - JEOS
Oracle Enterprise Linux R5U4
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx)
Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat)
Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS (Hardy Heron)
Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala)

Mainly what i would like to know is which server is best for my application & why.
thanks in advance all - regards, Alex

Soadyheid 05-13-2011 10:50 AM

Welcome to Linux Questions!

Which Distribution of Linux are you most familiar with as that might be the best one to start with? I've just googled
Quote:

wordpress in linux
and it looks like you've quite a large choice with Apache 2 being one of the main considerations rather than the Distro.

Play Bonny! :hattip:

redgoblin 05-13-2011 10:51 AM

This is basically a "which distribution is best" type question. You'll get as many answers as there are people that use each distribution.

In all reality any one of them will do what you need (assume they're all full root access VPS). Do you have any Linux experience? If not do you know anyone who does and may be around to help you out? If so then you want to choose the distribution that you know.

If you want a random answer; I'd say go for Debian. It's secure and stable and I know how it works. But then the next poster will be equally valid in his (different) response.

savan 05-13-2011 11:46 AM

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...-forum-103564/ says:

6. If your asking a specific Distribution question, like the most popular "Which distro is best?", it should go in the Distributions forum. Or if you have a question regarding Redhat or Slackware, it may fit better in one of the specific Distribution forums we have. Currently we have them for LFS, Slackware, Debian, Arch, Connectiva, Mandrake and Redhat.

You might get better results posting there...?

AlixLinux 05-13-2011 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soadyheid (Post 4355423)
Welcome to Linux Questions!

Which Distribution of Linux are you most familiar with as that might be the best one to start with? I've just googled and it looks like you've quite a large choice with Apache 2 being one of the main considerations rather than the Distro.

Play Bonny! :hattip:

Actually none of them - i just jumped in and am trying to teach myself along the way thru trial and error - I realize Apache 2 is server web software but not sure how it interacts with wordpress or the server. Any wiki recommendations on that would be appreciated. Thanks Soadyheid..

salasi 05-13-2011 01:00 PM

You should be able to shorten that list by bearing in mind a couple of guidelines:
  • You need security patches; if you don't have them, there will be known exploits against your software. So, people will know how to crack your install.
  • You don't want to re-build the server every six months. Now bearing in mind the previous guideline, that means you'll want a system which is guaranteed to get updates for a while into the future.
So, for example, if you were to feel that Ubuntu server were a particularly good thing, I'm not sure that you'd want to look beyond the most recent LTS version. The non-LTS versions run out of support too soon, and the older LTS version just runs out of support a couple of years before the newer one. And while I'm not sure that you'd choose Fedora for this (relatively short support, designed for bleeding edgy-ness rather than bug-free-ness), there certainly doesn't seem to be any reason to choose Fed 13 over Fed 14.

Some people might consider Fedora because it has a family resemblance to Red Hat, but then Centos is even closer and has better (for this purpose) support arrangements, so I'm not sure that considering Fedora for server duty would make any sense.

AlixLinux 05-13-2011 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redgoblin (Post 4355425)
This is basically a "which distribution is best" type question. You'll get as many answers as there are people that use each distribution.

In all reality any one of them will do what you need (assume they're all full root access VPS). Do you have any Linux experience? If not do you know anyone who does and may be around to help you out? If so then you want to choose the distribution that you know.

If you want a random answer; I'd say go for Debian. It's secure and stable and I know how it works. But then the next poster will be equally valid in his (different) response.

Ok cool - thanks for clarifying that they are all very similar - I have big fat ZERO Linux experience :banghead: :) - im going to maybe search some youtube videos? - 1 vote for Debian!:) thanks, Redgoblin

AlixLinux 05-13-2011 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by savan (Post 4355465)
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...-forum-103564/ says:

6. If your asking a specific Distribution question, like the most popular "Which distro is best?", it should go in the Distributions forum. Or if you have a question regarding Redhat or Slackware, it may fit better in one of the specific Distribution forums we have. Currently we have them for LFS, Slackware, Debian, Arch, Connectiva, Mandrake and Redhat.

You might get better results posting there...?

Ok Cool, yes that is what im trying to figure out - I will try posting there also Savan - thanks!

AlixLinux 05-13-2011 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by salasi (Post 4355538)
You should be able to shorten that list by bearing in mind a couple of guidelines:
  • You need security patches; if you don't have them, there will be known exploits against your software. So, people will know how to crack your install.
  • You don't want to re-build the server every six months. Now bearing in mind the previous guideline, that means you'll want a system which is guaranteed to get updates for a while into the future.
So, for example, if you were to feel that Ubuntu server were a particularly good thing, I'm not sure that you'd want to look beyond the most recent LTS version. The non-LTS versions run out of support too soon, and the older LTS version just runs out of support a couple of years before the newer one. And while I'm not sure that you'd choose Fedora for this (relatively short support, designed for bleeding edgy-ness rather than bug-free-ness), there certainly doesn't seem to be any reason to choose Fed 13 over Fed 14.

Some people might consider Fedora because it has a family resemblance to Red Hat, but then Centos is even closer and has better (for this purpose) support arrangements, so I'm not sure that considering Fedora for server duty would make any sense.

Yes, Ok - this is what im getting at - i would like to make the best possible decision based on factors like these, (security & updates) and how they interact with a my application (wordpress driven image site) - is there a wiki that explains scenariaos/examples like mine? ive been trying to google items but it is difficult to find specific info because of the complexity and amount of different attributes of software and servers - an attribute comparison (with definitions) would help alot since i am trying to teach myself along the way thru trial and error.. :confused:

travisdh1 05-13-2011 03:57 PM

The best place I've found for comparing different distributions is www.distrowatch.com

I'd have to second Salasi's choice of Centos for the same reasons (support and security, won't change much on you.) I normally use Fedora myself, but it's not good for a web server.

AlixLinux 05-13-2011 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travisdh1 (Post 4355708)
The best place I've found for comparing different distributions is www.distrowatch.com

I'd have to second Salasi's choice of Centos for the same reasons (support and security, won't change much on you.) I normally use Fedora myself, but it's not good for a web server.

Oh ok, i misunderstood that Salasi recommended Centos - all this lingo is making my head spin, lol.. so far i have 1 recommendation for Ubuntu, 1 for Debian and 2 for Centos

thanks, Travis

Soadyheid 05-13-2011 05:50 PM

So... Have you checked out "Wordpress in Linux" in Google and got some sort of idea of the scale of your request? Are you paying for your Rackspace server already? Learning about Linux isn't a five minute job, probably take the same amount of time as learning Windows Server 2008 assuming you knew nothing about Windows.

Like the man said though... "If you want to eat an elephant, you can! Just take one bite at a time." :D

You've given yourself quite a steep learning curve but go for it I say!

Good luck and Play Bonny! :hattip:

AlixLinux 05-13-2011 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soadyheid (Post 4355798)
So... Have you checked out "Wordpress in Linux" in Google and got some sort of idea of the scale of your request? Are you paying for your Rackspace server already? Learning about Linux isn't a five minute job, probably take the same amount of time as learning Windows Server 2008 assuming you knew nothing about Windows.

Like the man said though... "If you want to eat an elephant, you can! Just take one bite at a time." :D

You've given yourself quite a steep learning curve but go for it I say!

Good luck and Play Bonny! :hattip:

Yes, its difficult to decide what the best selection is for web based initiatives not knowing all the lingo - it is a cloud server and these are the selections that are offered - you start paying once you select your server - mostly narrowed it down to Ubuntu or CentOS - there seem to be tutorials on youtube that 'may' help, i guess i will find out, lol - either way for me its important to learn so not to rely on others if something goes wrong and things can be fixed quickly and free!! - thanks for your advice & luck Soadyheid.. best, -Alex


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