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linux advice

mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
edited 2010-05-31 22:20 in General Discussion
I have an old Pentium 3 that I am planning to convert to a intranet server. I have done this before but it was a long time ago so I was looking for advice on the easiest linux distribution to do this in.

Needs:
*PHP 5.3 + curl(xampp does not support which is why I am ditching the windows 98 on it)
*Cpanel
*mySQL


Wants:
*Print Server for my laser printer
*File sharing and backup between all network pcs(with user based write protection)

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Comments

  • BradCBradC Posts: 2,601
    edited 2010-05-30 01:33
    6 of one, half a dozen of the other. Unless you've got gobs of RAM you really want a command line based system for a server. I'd use Debian, but I believe SuSE is also pretty good for a server from a configuration perspective.

    I use CUPS for print servers and Samba for the interface with windows boxes. If you have Linux or Mac clients then your file sharing and print serving will "just work". If you have windows clients then you are in for a fight to get the printer drivers and the rest of the configuration. There are ways of configuring Samba to make the printer installation on Windows easier, but I never got around to doing much with it.

    For backups there are some pre-packaged solutions (like AMANDA) which will handle backing up your Windows clients. When I had to work with Windows clients I had a script that mounted their drives remotely using smbclient and them used rsync to back them up.

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  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-05-30 01:37
    Command line is definetly preferable. Only have 256mb ram only.

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    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2010-05-30 02:51
    I've run webserver puppy on a pentiumII with half the ram and it worked fine. I had a website up and everything until the motherboard went out. It has everything you requested on it already, and you can choose Hiawatha or Apache versions of it. Here's the link: www.browserpuppy.com/server.html

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  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-05-30 03:17
    i guess one other requirement i forgot to mention. after setup there will be no monitor connected. need to be able to do everything via ssh.

    i am downloading debian right now. will try setting it up monday and see how things go.

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    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • rosco_pcrosco_pc Posts: 471
    edited 2010-05-30 03:30
    Archlinux is a good choice as well
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2010-05-30 03:34
    I use Kubuntu (Debain + KDE) without a monitor by SSHing from X11 under OS/X. Configuration is done with a browser via WebMin. It works well. But, in emergencies, it's nice to have a keyboard and monitor handy for more direct access.

    I've recently tried to install the latest LTS Kubuntu on another machine, but without success. I going to try Mepis on that box next, since I've had good luck with it in the past. Eventually that box will replace the Kubuntu box that now acts as a router, firewall, email client, and Squeezebox server, among other tasks.

    -Phil
  • BradCBradC Posts: 2,601
    edited 2010-05-30 04:10
    mctrivia said...
    i guess one other requirement i forgot to mention. after setup there will be no monitor connected. need to be able to do everything via ssh.

    None of my servers have heads on them. In fact the co-lo box is in a datacentre in the UK. I've got remote access to the bay power switch, so I can reboot it hard if I do something dumb (I've done that once in 4 years).

    My servers at home sit out in the shed (such as it is) and I admin all of them via ssh and web browser (for SWAT).

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  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2010-05-30 04:50
    While you are talking about Linux...Are there any economical computers sold on the internet with Linux pre-installed?· I'm a little tired of Windows.
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-05-30 05:33
    no os installed: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6270919&Sku=B69-0212

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    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2010-05-30 23:34
    I got my Dell mini with Ubuntu, I just checked and it looks like dell isn't offering linux like they used to.
    Or they are making it harder to find.
    -dan

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  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2010-05-30 23:55
    Ubuntu server isn't bad. But I imagine any server distribution would be pretty lightweight. Most of the RAM consumption on Linux is from Gnome or KDE which are part of the GUI. Any distro using Fluxbox or Openbox would work well as well.

    Also, having no monitor doesn't mean command line only. It's possible to run X programs on a server machine and have the display on a remote machine.

    Post Edited (Martin_H) : 5/31/2010 12:02:34 AM GMT
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2010-05-31 03:41
    I love CENTOS . I used to use fedora but due to its short life span I have migrated to Full Redhat for My Toughbook and CENTOS for the P3 600Mhz Fileserver .


    Peter KG6LSE

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  • Martin HodgeMartin Hodge Posts: 1,246
    edited 2010-05-31 04:36
    I agree with Peter. CentOS was/is a widely used "enterprise" distro for servers. At some of the larger leasing companies (The Planet) it's one of the standard offerings.
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-05-31 18:45
    Maybe my best option is to get one of these: http://plugcomputer.org/

    $20 for a network card to put in a 10 year old PC. or $130 to buy a tiny linux system wich draws almost no power.

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    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • mikedivmikediv Posts: 825
    edited 2010-05-31 22:20
    MC
    I have done this with some old Dells using Unbutu .. I have them all networked and they have no monitors
    I have a full copy of Unbutu desktop with intranet and the full server package with noth GUI and cmd line let me know if you want a copy 345 meg
    you can download off my server directly I find unbutu to be the best Linux out there so far
    its very fast and needs little resources when running the cmd line I see little differance in speed even on 486 machines
    ·
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