Linux For Server

[olds]

I've never run Linux or a server and want to try it out/learn.
Which version would be easiest for a novice to use in a server application?
TIA
I should add that the client pc's will be running xp pro. Will this work?

 

[TheVrolok]

What kind of server? I started with Slackware 9 and continue to use it, now even on my desktop machine.

 

[Need4Speed]

redhat, mandrake and suse are what most consider noob friendly if you plan on using a GUI. If you plan on going CLI only, then there is really not much difference from one distro to another. redhat has a lot of command line apps that make admining a server box easier that are installed by default (netconfig, ntsysv, etc) though there are equivalent binaries for other distros.

Debian is a good choice if you really want to learn a solid linux distro. their package management is second to none, as is the quality of the packages themselves.

edit: slackware is probably not what you want to start with...at least in my opinion

 

[olds]

Definitely want a GUI. Some command line stuff would be OK but I'd prefer GUI.
The server will be used as basically a storage device. I want to have a partition for shared use between my wife and I. MP3's, videos and other things we will share.
Then 2 other partitions. 1 for her and 1 for me. We will back up our PC's to these partitions, over the network.
Basically, I want to get a feel for Linux and working with the client/server environment. Also, Ghosting over a network, assuming Ghost works in Linux.

 

[Need4Speed]

ghost works on linux, assuming you have a recent enough version to support the file system you plan on using. I'd choose redhat to start off with. There is plenty of SAMBA documentation available on the net that will guide you through setting up file sharing for linux/win32 enviornemnt. you might want to google for "samba howto". It's straight forward and shoudn't take you long to get a grip on. You'll want to learn how to add users to a linux box so you can keep permissions separate between your storage and your wife's. Redhat has pretty some fairly good GUI tools to do just that.

I think you will find that for a server box you will soon leave the GUI behind and use th CLI for all your admin tasks, as it is much more effecient (at least for me).

Good luck!

 

[Need4Speed]

If you are planning on ghosting a linux partition, you should be aware that you will need to boot from a rescue cd or floppy in order to edit your grub.conf file afterwards. I'd say thats a task for another day

Start with Samba and work your way up. Be sure to use a non-root account to play around with on the nix box, as it is easy to make a mistake and hose your system.

 

[olds]

What I want to do is image the XP machines to a partition on the server so I can restore them in case of a crash. Can I do that between XP and Linux?

 

[Need4Speed]

sure can, i do the same thing. youll need to setup a ghost boot floppy/cd that has network support though. start by getting samba up and running, then get the ghost boot floppy/cd working. My ghost floppy is unique to my network, but I'll see if i can toss something generic together so you can take a look at it.

edit: spelling

 

[Chadder007]

Im going to be doing the same thing basically. I have a download of the Mandrake distro though. Is it that much different than Redhat? Just need it to be a file server. I would like to know what would be a good way to do backups on a system like that? I have hardly any experience with linux. Can you backup open files on it? Like if I put a database on it?

 

[olds]

OK, I am going to set this up Fri or Sat.
I need patitions for:
C: OS
D: Swap File (from what I read)
E: Shared
F: Wife's Back Up
G: My Back Up
Do I do this in DOS while formatting?
Thanks

 

[Need4Speed]

nope , during the install it will ask you what partitions you want to setup. there are a lot of ways you can setup a linux box, but i think it might be easier for someone starting out if you just set up three partitions (this is redhat and mandrake default to if I recall correctly). Those partitions would be
/boot (boot partition)
/ (root partition)
and the swap partition.

You can then create directories for shared, wifes backup, and your backup. Don't forget, linux does not use drive letters. partitions are mounted using mount points that are linked to directories. so for example, e: (shared) might be /var/samba/shared and f: could be /var/samba/wife etc etc.

this gives you a lot of flexibility that you will appreciate later on