I would recommend evaluating the Mandriva Corporate Server 3 (CS3)
http://www.mandriva.com/business/corporate-server based on the hardware that you are selecting and the length of time that you have had RH8 deployed. The CS3 will give you a commerically supported distribution with a five year supported life.
Mandriva offers command line or graphical tools for server configuration. Experienced system administrators generally use the command line while Windows system administrators, that are new to Linux, use the graphical interface to gain familiarity with Linux. Mandriva offers both command line and graphical tools, but use the tool that is best for you.
With CS3, Mandriva provides one year of unlimited web support and one month of unlimited telephone support. You may never need the support, but if you do, you have a dedicated, experienced technical resource that is there to help you answer your question. If you have ever spent 4 or more hours struggling with an issue or trying to find an answer with Google, you will quickly find that having the commercial support is a very efficient service, and one of the benefits of the commercially supported versions of Linux.
PRODUCT SUPPORTED LIFE - MANDRIVA
http://www.mandriva.com/security/productlifetime
Corporate Server 3 - Supported until December 2009
10.1 - Supported until February 2006
LE2005 - Supported until April 2006
The Limited Edition 2005 (LE2005) will not have any updates after April 2006. If you plan to upgrade the server before April 2006, then LE2005 may be a great option. If having a Mandriva OS that is supported beyond that time, you may want to evaluate, CS3 or wait for Mandriva 2006 which will be released in October 2005.
DISCOUNTS
Mandriva has several discount programs including PSMP (
http://www.mandriva.com/toprint/partners/psmp.pdf). In quantities as small as five, the cost per server drops to $179, and includes unlimited web support, and automated updates through MandrivaOnline.com. Since you are migrating from RH8, it appears that stability and longevity may be part of your goals. With the Mandriva Corporate Server 3 you will be assured of updates until December 2009, corporate server web support through
http://www.mandrivaexpert.com and automated updates through
http://www.mandrivaonline.com.
