Looking for a new linux distro

I hope this isn't too much of a noob question, but I am looking for a new linux distro, and I have some pretty specific things I want in it, which I'm not good at finding which distros have capabilities for and which do not. So I figured I'd list some of the things I am looking for and maybe some people can give me opinions on where to go. I have messed with Ubuntu 64 bit server (im looking for something in the realm of personal servers/workstations) and I like it, except that its Ubuntu. I want to branch out and try something new.

I'm looking for:
-home file server distro
-I like synaptic package manager, but don't mind using something else if it isn't much more difficult to use.
-I want it to be able to update the distro without a reformat(from what I remember some distros require a new install instead of a download/install/restart update for new versions of the distro itself)
-I would prefer things like ssh, ftp, sftp, apache, etc, preinstalled with the distro
-I don't need it to come with a Window manager upon initial installation, but it would be preferred
-stability over brand new releases when dealing with software
-I like having home directories containing /pictures /documents etc upon installation and user creation
-I don't mind it being much different than Ubuntu or Debian, but I don't want it to be insanely difficult to learn, as I would like it to be a usable personal server within a reasonable amount of practice with the OS

any suggestions are appreciated, thanks

http://www.slackware.com/

I've tried several other distros, but I always come back to Slack. It's what I know. It's basic, stripped down Linux with everything you need to run a secure web-server and file-server right out of the box.

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I'm looking for:
-home file server distro

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Check (sftp - ssh)

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-I like synaptic package manager, but don't mind using something else if it isn't much more difficult to use.

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Check (slapt-get, slackpkg)

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-I want it to be able to update the distro without a reformat(from what I remember some distros require a new install instead of a download/install/restart update for new versions of the distro itself)

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I haven't done it myself - it's always been easier for me just to back all of my crap up on another partition or drive and install the new Slack. But I know it can be done.

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-I would prefer things like ssh, ftp, sftp, apache, etc, preinstalled with the distro

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Check.

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-I don't need it to come with a Window manager upon initial installation, but it would be preferred

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Your choice - xfce, blackbox/fluxbox, KDE (or all of the above)

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-stability over brand new releases when dealing with software

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I'm still using 13.0, but Slackware is known for stability.

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-I like having home directories containing /pictures /documents etc upon installation and user creation

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Nope. You'll have to open a terminal and type "mkdir Documents;mkdir Pictures;mkdir Music" - I know - it's a *giant* chore, but meh ;)

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-I don't mind it being much different than Ubuntu or Debian, but I don't want it to be insanely difficult to learn, as I would like it to be a usable personal server within a reasonable amount of practice with the OS

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People tell me all the time "I heard Slackware is for advanced users" - I don't know about that. Seems pretty simple to me. Maybe it's because it's the first distro I ever tried. IDK. I like it and it's easy enough to use for me. Sometimes you have to edit a config file here or there to get a service to act a certain way, but that's just Linux afaik.

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Nope. You'll have to open a terminal and type "mkdir Documents;mkdir Pictures;mkdir Music" - ...

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Haven't used Slack in a while, but don't they still have the /etc/skel directory?
Put what you want in there: if Slack still doesn't come with a /etc/default/useradd file, just create it.

Then use useradd -m to add a new user.

I haven't messed around much with slackware, with the exception that I believe Backtrack used to be based on slackware. How's the installation as far as difficulty is concerned?

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Originally Posted by metguru

I haven't messed around much with slackware, with the exception that I believe Backtrack used to be based on slackware. How's the installation as far as difficulty is concerned?

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The installation is easy as pie.

1 - Boot from the CD
2 - Hit enter when it asks your for default keyb layout (its usa)
3 - type 'root', and hit enter
4 - 'Fdisk' and partition your disk, 1 swap area (double size of your ram), and the rest for /, then make the / partition bootable (toggle a), make the first partition swap (type 82), and make the second partition type 83.
5 - Save changes
6 - type in 'sync' and press enter
7 - type 'setup' and press enter
8 - follow the instructions on the screen
9 - After a few minutes, it will tell you to take out cd, reboot and voila.... your system is ready to boot in GUI

So basicly the only 'semi dirty' part is the fdisk at the start in the shell, but once you do it a couple of times, you will see that its really nothing.

If you want some security, make sure that when you create your normal user, you add him to the group wheel, and set the system to allow 'su' only from users in group wheel. One difference from slack and other distros is, in slack they use /etc/rc.d instead of /etc/init.d.

Familiarize yourself with slapt-get and if you really want some fun, read up on how to compile your kernel.

I would like to point out that slackware still uses LILO as its default boot manager which is absolutely FINE!!!

If you want some extra help, i can give you a small customized script for slapt-get that i made to make updating stuff easier, as well as some other repositories for it.

Depending on what GUI choice you made during setup, the default is KDE4, but you can also just say at setup to use light window managers, like fluxbox etc....

After you are a bit comfortable, you will realize that slapt-get does NOT have ALL packages that exist. So a good friend to you would be:

http://slackbuilds.org/

I would say that for some people a downside of slackware is that all of its configuration files do not have a point and click GUI version. Its always with an editor editing config files. But I do not see this as a downside, since config files tend to give you more options than a GUI panel for configurations.

Oh, and one more thing. In slackware you will realize that some packages are NOT the latest builds or versions. The reason is that slackware will ONLY release a package if its thoroughly tested and considered to be 100% stable. So if you stick with what slack asks from you only, your system should be VERY stable. No bad surprises with current packs etc.....

The golden rule in slackware is.... if its not broken, dont fix it.

Have fun and a happy new year to everyone.

Cheers.

Hmmm i went and tried the install but it's not picking up my display it would appear.

GT 9500 nvidia connected to my LG 60" lcd television via HDMI

any takers?? :)

edit:::>> it actually runs the installation fine, when it comes for the reboot after that process i'm delivered a no signal on the tv screen. I don't have access to any normal computer monitors or DVI / vga etc also.

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Originally Posted by HYBR|D

Hmmm i went and tried the install but it's not picking up my display it would appear.

GT 9500 nvidia connected to my LG 60" lcd television via HDMI

any takers?? :)

edit:::>> it actually runs the installation fine, when it comes for the reboot after that process i'm delivered a no signal on the tv screen. I don't have access to any normal computer monitors or DVI / vga etc also.

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Maybe you can ssh to the box, and install nvidia drivers? (manually, you need to get the drivers of the nvidia website). That is if you have another box in the network?

Yep got a few laptops & netbooks on the network. (XP - win7 - ubuntu - suse11.3 - deb - Apple macbook pro - & headless server running openbsd)

were do i begin? "thinly veiled let's get this thread interesting" ;)

You can install OpenBSD but not Opera? WTF dude?

I can't stand theo, which is why my Laptop is running FreeBSD instead. And as of yesterday, or the day before, E-17 :) Which looks beautiful I might add. For anyone who has FreeBSD or Slackware, or a huge amount of time and way more patience than I have, both FreeBSD and Slackware have installable packages for Enlightenment E-17, the rest are basically source builds that take more time than I have usually.

It looks amazing, the new file manager is great, and the fact that they figured out before everyone else that a Desktop Background / Wall Paper can actually be more like a Gif / Video picture (Yea making up words now) you can have a Wall Paper playing a game while you look at it. I was pretty amazed the first time I saw the themes already made for E-17, and how a Wall Paper can move. I don't mean "Every few minutes my Wall Paper changes images" I mean it plays a game with one theme, and more with the others which is so cool.

It's just eye candy of course, but it almost makes the 3D Compiz stuff look like ****.

Anyway, I use FreeBSD, Slackware, Debian, and SUSE. Not much else I care about other than the odd Mandriva install where I look and see if they've made it decent again yet.

Meh. Less is more IMHO. Especially on a desktop. I won't even use desktop icons anymore, opting for a dock instead. I certainly don't need an animated wallpaper!

My Slackware 13.0 desktop server (XFCE w gkrellm): http://www.jeremydeanonline.com/imag...Screenshot.png

My Win 7 box (Aero w/ ObjectDock, Gadgets - Dual Monitors): http://www.jeremydeanonline.com/pick...ObjectDock.jpg

BTW - when are we going to allow the [img] tag again? I have over 100 posts and a good amount of greenies - it's not like I'm going to spam the site with pr0n or goatses :mad:

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Originally Posted by wiskic10_4

BTW - when are we going to allow the [img] tag again? I have over 100 posts and a good amount of greenies - it's not like I'm going to spam the site with pr0n or goatses :mad:

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mehehehe you might not but there are others whom would be to tempted to. ;)

Anyone have any other opinions other than trying Slackware? I will try that, and thanks, but I'd like a few distros to try out and then pick which one I like the best. Then again, if the opinion is unanimous then I probably should just go with slackware.

SUSE, OpenBSD, FreeBSD and Mandriva have all been mentioned.

Why have you decided to go away from Ubuntu/Debian?

I personally liked Debian when I tried it many moons ago - but, iirc, it was a massive download - way more crap than I ever needed. I'm sure there is a way to install it w/out all the crap. Of course, there's Ubuntu, based on Debian, which is what you were using. Anything that you don't like about it? I mean - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I never cared for RedHat - it just seemed too Mickey-Mouse and bloated for me - almost like Linux emulating Windows. I've also tried Ubuntu and SUSE, but I didn't care for either - I don't remember why really - probably because it wasn't Slackware.

Slackware was the first Linux distro I used, and it's what I know. It works for what I need it to do, and I love it. Good ol' dependable Slackware. Yep. :thumbsup:

Debian is pretty decent, i've been using it for a long time. It's feels lightweight and it can take a decent beating and it's like a stubborn mule sometimes.

and if you've been using Ubuntu then the transition is going to be pretty darn painless.

I suggest that you just download a heap of different Distro's and test each one on your machine for 1week, just do your normal activitie's and make a note or mental note with the pro's / con's you felt while using each distro and remember to use the different GUI's not just KDE or Gnome. As the different GUI's can really change the look and feel of the OS that's running in the background.

then afterwards you will be able to select the winnnAR :D

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Originally Posted by wiskic10_4

Meh. Less is more IMHO. Especially on a desktop. I won't even use desktop icons anymore, opting for a dock instead. I certainly don't need an animated wallpaper!

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I kinda pointed out that the Wall Paper thing was just Eye Candy. It looks nice is all. I didn't say it was something that would do anything.

As for Docks, I Love them. I think it's a nice jump from having a Desktop where you had a bunch of Icons, and now, you don't need to. When I got my new Computer, and booted it up, I noticed it had a Dock (Windows 7 Premium something or other) and I made a few new launchers in the Dock for other stuff.

I added a few things to the ones it already had, and then with the ones I made myself, I don't have to sit there looking through 800 things on my desktop, and can easily open things I want.

I do a lot of stuff sometimes that is basically screwing with Archivers, and Compression tools, so I made one for those, and then added all the stuff I needed to it, which would have taken up like 12 slots on my Desktop, and it only uses ONE, which is sweet.

I also have one for Games so I can have that instead of like 50 icons.

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it's not like I'm going to spam the site with pr0n or goatses :mad:

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I would.

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Originally Posted by metguru

Anyone have any other opinions other than trying Slackware? I will try that, and thanks, but I'd like a few distros to try out and then pick which one I like the best. Then again, if the opinion is unanimous then I probably should just go with slackware.

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Well, other than the Sticky I have in this forum showing all the versions I know enough about to talk about, others have added to it as well.

If you want my personal opinion, after almost 10 years now of using Linux and BSD, the things I've learned are as follows:

Most Linux distros are basically the same. It won't matter what you pick either way, except for a few:

Ubuntu blows. I don't like it. It's the reason I don't normally reply to people on here who ask about it because if it works for you, then good, use it, I just don't like it, and if someone sees me talking badly about it, they may not try it and it may work great for them, so, instead of messing up someone's chances, I just simply don't talk about it.

Debian, which Ubuntu is made from, however, I LOVE. I have Debian installed, and have been using it nicely for years now. I haven't had to format that drive or do anything to it for like 3 years. It's been running the whole time other than the odd reboot for Kernel updates.

Other than that I can't say a word of bad about Debian, it's great.

I don't know how someone would say it was bloated or that they had more than they needed. Unless they chose to install everything for some reason.

If you want to use Debian without a bunch of stuff you don't need, do this:

Go to the Debian site, and download the "Net Installer". This is basically a VERY minimal disk with almost nothing on it, and it basically boots up your machine enough to get a Network Connection going so you can install EXACTLY what you want.

I do this when I install Debian. Once I've got the installer going, I add a few packages like KDE and Window Maker, and then, I finish up. You'll have basically a minimalistic looking system, and from there, you can install what you want.

Mandriva - For some reason I keep on trying this thing out thinking they'll some day fix it up again and make it nice like they used to have it. Mandriva used to be awesome, but anymore, it kinda blows too.

Slackware - This is the one I myself, and a lot of others, have said to try. It's a very nice distro of Linux, and the installer is text based.

If you want help installing Slackware, just look up the Tutorials, and find my Slackware installation tutorials. They're nice I think, and I did a pretty OK job making it super simple to understand. I went as far as saying which button to press and how many times to press it to install Slackware.

Now, one thing you should know, is that Slackware is NOT a Bloated distro, and it also doesn't have all that many applications compared to others. So you'll want to look into "SlackBuilds" and "LinuxPackages" since they have more software. It has a decent amount, but it's basically going to come with KDE, and the KDE Apps that come with a basic installation, and nothing more.

So just remember that you won't have hundreds of apps extra like some distros.

OpenSUSE / SUSE Linux - The versions of OpenSUSE that are out right now, are nothing compared to what they used to be. SuSE Linux 8.1 and 8.2 Professional, along with versions like 9.x and stuff, were a hundred times better than the ones out now. However, that doesn't mean you should try it.

Out of the box, you'll probably want to set up a few things, and with a little customization you can make it look great.

Now, to make all that **** I just said not to hard to read, basically, for Linux, try these:

Slackware
Debian
OpenSUSE / SUSE

Others are OK too, but those are the main ones.

Don't forget that FreeBSD is free to download and use too. If you're having trouble picking some version of Linux you want to use, or just can't decide, give FreeBSD a go.

There's also NetBSD, OpenBSD, DragonFlyBSD, DesktopBSD, and PC-BSD you can get too.

FreeBSD is the more popular one, and the best one in my opinion.

NetBSD is made to be portable, and work on everything from a phone to a Microwave.

OpenBSD is made by an ******* with an attitude problem who thinks it's the most secure and awesome thing ever, when really it's NetBSD's code base with everything turned off by default :) (Lol, there is WAY more too it than this obviously, but, I like poking fun at it because I can't stand Theo).

Dragon Fly BSD, is FreeBSD 4.0 and on that was forked right around the release of FreeBSD 5. Dragonfly is basically the 4.0 versions of FreeBSD with some changes.

PC-BSD and DesktopBSD, are both FreeBSD versions that try to make it more Desktop User Friendly. It's basically a pretty GUI version of FreeBSD.

I have FreeBSD 8.1-RELEASE currently on my laptop, and it looks amazing.

So, basically, to make this short:

Try Slackware, SUSE, and Debian, and if you don't like those, you can keep trying even though most other versions of Linux out there are a rip off of one or more of those lol, and, if all else fails; BSD has been around for over 20 years and works great.

slackware/freeBSD, imo. Suse is a major pain in the ass and more of a hobby. You could download any thumbdrive sized linux cut and make it what u want...it's generally about which programs you're used to using and how comfy u r's with them...

I haven't ever had any real issues with SUSE. The versions being released right now aren't anything compared to the 8.1 and 8.2 days where everything worked out of the box, but the most I've ever had to do was set up a few things myself, which took like a half hour to make it look and act how I wanted.

I've used it for Desktops, Servers, and as a "almost headless" Server (Basically, install SUSE on a Machine, set up the FTP Server, and then not really ever turn the monitor on because YAST without a GUI works fine over SSH, and installing updates and even rebooting remotely is very simple, and the machine only came down when I installed a Kernel update).

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Why have you decided to go away from Ubuntu/Debian?

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I haven't 'decided' to go away. I have simply become much more comfortable with unix command lines in general, to the point where I'm more comfortable in a unix shell than windows cmd, so I figured I have the chance to branch out to new distributions and don't want to be close minded. So no, I don't have any issues with debian (I do however think ubuntu is a 'dumbed down' debian), just that I'd like to try something different and become more comfortable with different distros and possibly find another that I enjoy as much as debian.

The truth of the matter is though that I will be having little to no files on the actual partition that I am installing this linux distro. (They will all be on other physical drives and partitions) So I might just install slackware and if I have any issues that cause me to dislike it I can try BSD [edit: and SUSE] or go with Debian again (or continue to try new distros). So once I install theres still no data on the drive tying me down and keeping me from a reformat.

If you just don't care about GUIs or tools to hold your hand to configure things as you're saying, then BSD and Slackware are your choices. Slackware is more BSD like than other distros, and BSD doesn't.... I don't think there is anything to really configure your system other than Vi. By default you have no GUI much like Slackware, which you can of course set yourself to have a GUI by default...

And of course, BSD by default after install, there is no sound. You have to do a small edit to one of the boot files after you do kldload_snd and then cat /dev/snd or something like that (Can't remember the exact one, I did it for my laptop a while ago and haven't since) but basically you won't have sound or anything without setting that up with Vi.

BSD also uses Csh instead of Bash by default. Bash is available as are like 40 other shells in the ports, but by default you have Csh.

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Originally Posted by gore

And of course, BSD by default after install, there is no sound. You have to do a small edit to one of the boot files after you do kldload_snd and then cat /dev/snd or something like that (Can't remember the exact one, I did it for my laptop a while ago and haven't since) but basically you won't have sound or anything without setting that up with Vi.

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While I don't mind having to do command line for things, I would prefer not to have to use the command line for things I am not as familiar with, like sound settings and drivers, for example. I remember when I was setting my laptop to be able to use dual screen in Ubuntu before it was able to do it by default, and I remember spending weeks trying different codes to try to get it to be recognized. I just don't want that to happen for something more important while I'm running a server that I hope to run 24/7, I feel like my hacks to get things to work will cause it to lose stability.

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Originally Posted by metguru

While I don't mind having to do command line for things, I would prefer not to have to use the command line for things I am not as familiar with, like sound settings and drivers, for example. I remember when I was setting my laptop to be able to use dual screen in Ubuntu before it was able to do it by default, and I remember spending weeks trying different codes to try to get it to be recognized. I just don't want that to happen for something more important while I'm running a server that I hope to run 24/7, I feel like my hacks to get things to work will cause it to lose stability.

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If it makes you feel better, please consider the following:

#1. The whole thing about sound is actually very easy, and it's not a Hack by any means; It's simply how you do it if you don't want to Compile a Kernel with the Sound Driver in it.

Also, on that; If you're doing this for a Server, you don't need sound anyway, so don't worry about. I wasn't aware you were doing this for a Server machine, which does change things a little bit, but I'll get to that after my points here:

#2. As a Server, you can hardly find something better than BSD. The update process can be a real bitch and a half, but for Stability... Well, I'm not sure if you remember or not, but a few years ago, I was getting tired of the Windows kids saying "Windows is just as good as Unix based stuff for anything" and I ended up hearing Marshal Kirk McKusick saying he remembered something called "/dev/Kidney" where they were running Unix on a Dialysis Machine, and I asked which OS anyone here would literally trust their lives with.

Of course most of the people I WANTED to reply (The Windows Lovers) not only wouldn't answer outright, they actually danced around the question saying "we trust our lives to software everyday because traffic control systems and other things already do this".... Which is somewhat on topic to the question, but dances around it much like Microsoft did by holding up a box of Red Hat when asked if they have a Monopoly lol.

Anyway, the point is, although Linux, Unix, and BSD Unix are all VERY Stable OSs, with World Class Kernels, and are basically a Legend in their own right in the OS World, when it comes to Stability, a properly set up BSD machine, particularly FreeBSD, which is a descendant of 386/BSD, and after that BSD/OS, by BSDi, which came from BSD from Berkeley, which was their version of Unix (Which is why BSD is actually in fact truly Unix, which is why they were sued even though Berkeley was in the right, but back on topic) when it comes to Stability, consider this:

If you tell someone "I run a Windows Server, and it's been up for 8 months" you'll probably hear a few people say "Wow!" and "Oh neat!".

If you tell someone "I run a Linux Server with a VERY high load on very minimal Hardware, and my uptime is, as of today, one year!" you'll maybe hear "So?"...

Now, if you say "I have a FreeBSD Server running on a 486 with a load average of 70 and it's uptime is currently 5 years" no one will think even twice to say "Wow!" because it's expected.

I've set two machines next to each other, and installed Slackware and FreeBSD on them, and then let them roll with a decently high rate, and neither one was budging. In fact if it weren't for Kernel updates, or power outtages, they'd STILL be up.

My own FTP Server, is running Slackware Linux 12.0, and has a current uptime of about 3 months or so, maybe 4. This is nothing really, I had 215 days of uptime last year in January, but had to shut down because I was going to be out of the country for a week or so, and I didn't want to leave anything on without me being here at least once a day.

Now, I have another machine running Slackware 12.2 (Because I wanted KDE 3.5 without having to **** with it.... What can I say? The video card sucks in it, and KDE 4 is resource hungry!) and it too doesn't need to be brought down. I use it as a Desktop AND a Secondary Server.

My Laptop now has FreeBSD 8.1-RELEASE on it, as does my other machine. The "other" machine, is a secondary Workstation I used for everything from Email to Making Music with LMMS, and I'd generally have a little play list in Xine running on it watching Movies while doing everything else, and it was running as so:

The Hard Drive it came with, is an 80 GB Drive, and it had Windows XP on it, except for a small 11 GB Partition I made for Fat32. Basically to share files and test things on.

The Second Hard Drive, is a 160 GB HD I installed, and that had Debian Linux on it, except for, again, an 11 GB Partition I made for the same reason. (I was bored lol).

Now, last night / this morning, I couldn't sleep, and while watching my movie / documentary "Nine Inch Nails and the Industrial Uprising" I got bored, and basically planned out where I wanted to install FreeBSD over top of Debian, and have FreeBSD and Windows XP dual booting.

Well, I was half asleep (I'm a total insomniac, so quite a lot, I'll be totally exhausted and unable to actually fall asleep without almost ODing on Caffeine and waiting for the Crash to put me to sleep lol) so anywya, half asleep I accidentally made the wrong drive the Boot one, and so I started the install over again (Yea, I was tired lol) and, then, like a moron, I basically put the Boot Loader on the WRONG ****ing hard drive.... Yea, smart huh?

Me, gore, the OS guy... I screwed up THAT badly lol. Ah well, I have back ups, and I didn't care THAT much, because everything on the Partitions, is on my server anyway.

So anyway, I say "**** it, I'll delete everything" and proceed to grab my FreeBSD CD, and decide again "Nah" and grab the Boot Only CD. I boot from that, erase ALL the partitions on ALL the drives, and then tell it to install over FTP and erase everything. I made the first 80 GB HD the / file system, and Auto Allocate (Handy feature too!) and then, select the other Hard Drive, and tell it "yes, I'd like you to use that too!" and it asks me, so I make that 160 GB drive one big Partition with the FreeBSD stuff on it.

I make that "/storage" and, today, made it "777" so all users can use it. (Yes, I would normally actually take the 2 minutes to make REAL permissions, but I don't care THAT much as that drive, is basically something that I wanted my other accounts, and accounts of Family members, to be able to use as needed).

I'm currently watching some stuff install on that machine as I type this actually. Anyway though, the point is; You say you'd like to set up a server that runs 24/7, and I'll say this:

If you DO stick with Linux, I'm going to tell you I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you go with either Slackware, or Debian.

You most likely know this already, but ANY Server, will benefit from being as minimal as possible. And Slackware is very good in this manner. You can even tell it to install everything, and then remove what you don't want.

Also, I thought you said you wanted to test out something new because you were more comfortable with a Shell than a GUI? Ubuntu is a distro I just don't like, or enjoy, at all, so I don't blame you for wanting out, but saying you don't want to screw with configuration files, kind of narrows it down a bit.

I'd say to think this over for a while. I know I hate having to reinstall a Server. Especially once I've gotten it how I want it! THAT is annoying heh.

Slackware and BSD are very similar, and neither one has a GUI or even tools to configure anything other than a few small ones. FreeBSD actually has a few more things than Slackware does, but, mostly, both of those will require you to set up everything by hand.

Now, before I continue this chapter of "A really long ****ing book by gore who's trying to help but now rambling on like a jack ass" can I ask what kind of Server you're going for?

Basically, what kind of hardware are you using in this machine? What kind of Servers are you setting up? What kind of load are they likely to get? How many users?

I'm not nosey really, just want to help is all :)

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Originally Posted by gore

Now, before I continue this chapter of "A really long ****ing book by gore who's trying to help but now rambling on like a jack ass" can I ask what kind of Server you're going for?

Basically, what kind of hardware are you using in this machine? What kind of Servers are you setting up? What kind of load are they likely to get? How many users?

I'm not nosey really, just want to help is all :)

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I actually just installed Debian and I'm in it right now, I figure what the heck, I'll just install them all for a week or two to get the 'real' feel for them instead of using a VM. Also, sorry to let you down, the 'server' is really just for me, so yea, boring, and it will probably just have ssh and SQL and a few others, as I said in the OP it is for a home file server. Also, I will still be using it as a desktop while I'm in the room just for convenience. So it does have gnome, but I'll probably drop out of the X window system every time I log out for the sake of resources.

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Originally Posted by metguru

I actually just installed Debian and I'm in it right now, I figure what the heck, I'll just install them all for a week or two to get the 'real' feel for them instead of using a VM. Also, sorry to let you down, the 'server' is really just for me, so yea, boring, and it will probably just have ssh and SQL and a few others, as I said in the OP it is for a home file server. Also, I will still be using it as a desktop while I'm in the room just for convenience. So it does have gnome, but I'll probably drop out of the X window system every time I log out for the sake of resources.

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Ahhh OK! I got ya now :)

Heh, I LOVE Debian. Well, NOW I do. I used to not like it too much atall back in the day....Well, about 8 years ago anyway. I just didn't like it because they seemed to ALWAYS use versions that were long passed the old date, and the installer was crappy too.

But aftre like 3.0 or something around there, it seemed to get better and better to the point that I even wanted to give it a try again, so I did. I've been liking it since.

In my personal opinion, with what you want to do, it's basically what I'm doing on my newest install of FreeBSD, and my other Slackware box; You're setting up some servers on it, and at the same time, using it as a Desktop machine, which is exactly what that Slackware 12.2 machine is doing, and, as I said, my newest install of FreeBSD.

Both of them are going to be used for regular stuff, but I also just happen to have SSH and FTP open on them.

One thing I do enjoy doing while setting up a test FTP Server, is this:

I'll basically install the OS, and whatever else I want on it, and then, instead of using the FTP user, I make my own. Normally it's something like "slackFTPAccount" or something smaller in length, and that way not only does the FTP portion have a valid account where messages can be left, or sent, because it's a normal user account, but on top of that, I can use it to test other things.

And of course, if I want to give any access, like, for example, to my Cousin, I can give him that user name and password, pop a hole in my firewall, and router, and allow him to log in to either upload something he'd like for me to back up for him, or to download something (I have about 300 E books on Unix, Linux, BSD, and Computer Security), and if I have an issue where I need to either change or delete something, I don't need to mess around with anything at all. I can just log in and do it.

Of course, I don't do this sort of thing on my main FTP Server; It's set up properly lol.

I may not even install FTP. ssh is just more secure, I don't see any reason why not to just use that instead. But yea, I going to have it for basically the same reason.

You can do this very well with either Linux or BSD, so it's going to come down to basically which you like best. In my personal opinion, I'd say to use any of these:

FreeBSD
Slackware
OpenSUSE / SUSE
Debian

All of those are more than suited to the task you're wanting done, and so, basically, like I said, you'll be able to do this with any of them. Shouldn't be to hard either.

My machines are all set up in a very similar way, but if it maybe helps, this is what I've got right now:

My Laptop is running FreeBSD 8.1-RELEASE, as is my other workstation, and then I have Slackware 12.2 on my test machine (The only AMD I own, it blows) and then this machine is dual booting Windows 7 and Slackware 13.1.

What have you tried as of now? I mean OS wise.

I've tried lots of linux distros, but only in VMs, so I never really messed with them long enough to become very comfortable with them. I really like Debian right now, I'll probably give it another week or so to make sure my router is not the thing giving me network issues. Then I'll continue messing with new ones. I have done BSD in a VM (I don't remember which) and it seemed a little different, but not anything I couldn't handle with time. I installed SUSE a long while ago, and it was either 9 or 10, so I'm not sure how much it has changed. I'll give that a try again, and I'll probably go from there. But yea, I'm enjoying Debian a lot. It's not much more advanced than Ubuntu, and it seems the things that are required to do via command line result in much more control, and at the same time are not difficult to implement. I'm just going to try to take it slow and learn as much as possible.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gore

I haven't ever had any real issues with SUSE. The versions being released right now aren't anything compared to the 8.1 and 8.2 days where everything worked out of the box, but the most I've ever had to do was set up a few things myself, which took like a half hour to make it look and act how I wanted.

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I'm sorry, SUSE is the lizard...I like SUSE. I was thinking Gentoo.

Ah, yes, Gentoo blows like a Fan.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gore

Ah, yes, Gentoo blows like a Fan.

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Where's the "Like" button on this thing!? ;)

Lol, I guess APs are kind of like that, but it's really not the same huh?