Setting up first webserver, need help! :)

Want to install Linux or another good O/S

[tjhilder]

Hi,

I just built my own webserver with the following specs:

Athlon 2000xp Processor
160GB Hard drive
512MB RAM

What do you think is the best Operating System? My brother wants to install FreeBSD but I hear Linux is good, Can somebody explain to me what ASPLinux is? is it the way you can use ASP on a non windows machine?

Plus if you could give me a good link to download Linux & a good tutorial site to do so that would be great!

All comments would be most welcome!

Regards
TJ

[encyclo]

FreeBSD is a truly wonderful operating system for a web server, and if your brother is already familiar with FreeBSD, I would recommend going down that route without any hesitation.

If you want to look at the Linux alternatives, there are many different "distributions" out there, some more orientated towards desktop use, and other more towards server use. I'm a fan of Debian [debian.org] - but wait a couple of weeks until the latest 3.1 sersion will be released (it's going to happen very soon, and the current version is too old for use now).

You could also try Gentoo [gentoo.org] or RedHat Fedora [fedora.redhat.com], which are both very popular. In each case, there are very comprehensive installation guides on the websites.

[trillianjedi]

I agree with the FreeBSD option also. For running a server (where security is paramount) in my opinion FreeBSD is superior to Linux.

TJ

[tjhilder]

What kind of things can I install to FreeBSD?

meaning stuff like php etc.

How would I make accounts such as FTP so that I and others could transfer data to this server?

[trillianjedi]

You can install pretty much anything.

FTP setup is very straightforward, you just run an FTP server and setup user accounts which all have their own "home" directory. You could also setup "jails" which are FreeBSD "virtual machines" and each can have it's own IP address, so effectively each user has their own "box". We do that for each of our websites - quite handy, especially if you're combining websites with backend software services.

Certain Linux applications will not run on FreeBSD (there are Linux compatibility modules you can install - but even with those, there's a couple that won't run), but if you're using it for standard web services (php, SQL, Webmail etc) it'll all be fine. I've only found one that wouldn't work properly - and that was a web based accounting package with backend integration to a custom accounts application.

I suggest you do a bit of reading of the FreeBSD docs before making any final decisions.

TJ

[tjhilder]

I'd really like to install FreeBSD on my server (which currently doesn't have an O/S) but I need some help, is there anybody that wouldn't mind having me on their msn messenger that could help me out?

[drbrain]

I recommend FreeBSD as well.

If you want interactive help with installation, you may want to try out a FreeBSD IRC channel.

PS: Be sure to install the portupgrade port.

[py9jmas]

Firstly, another vote for FreeBSD, secondly, check out the handbook:
[freebsd.org...]
It covers pretty much everything for installing and setting up FreeBSD.