Switching From Windows

Load Balancing, SQL, Distros

[sqlmick]

I currently have several web sites hosted on a dedicated Windows 2003 box and use my host's shared MS SQL box for my DB. It is getting to the point though that I would like to take it to the next level and have my own servers colocated somewhere. Licensing for Windows 2003 is doable, but SQL Server 2005 licensing is not doable for me.

I have been wanting to switch for sometime and I think this would be the perfect time. I'm sure a lot (if not all) of this has been discussed before. Basically, I am looking for the "correct" distro of Linux to use based on what I will be doing. I know this is extremely broad. Here are my questions:

1.) I will likely have 2 to 3 boxes set up as web servers which I would like to load balance. I have used NLB in Windows for other projects and it has worked fairly well. I like having a software solution on the web servers themselves. Is there an equivalent in Linux and is there a specific distro that is best suited to running Apache as a dedicated web server?

2.) I will also have several SQL boxes that will run either MySQL or PostgreSQL. These boxes will likely have a RAID Array attached to them like a Dell PowerVault or something like that. Is there a distro that is preferred for a dedicated SQL box?

Sorry for the long post and the overly broad questions. Let me know any specifics I need to clarify.

Thanks,
Mick