Im thinking of setting up a server so I can have all of my files everywhere. I might host some forums too. So im thinking the best way to go is linux. So my questions are: which linux should I use (most secure), what kind of software should I use to host it. And if I host forums should I use vbuulliten or PHPBB3? All help is appreciated.

If you want the most secure, FreeBSD beats any Linux out there. No ssh'ing to root, simpler package management (ports = win), and overall, MUCH more secure in my experience.

The ways of doing things are slightly different than with Linux installations, but there's still plenty of documentation out there.

Also, if you want a minimal base on which to install stuff, I've managed to get FreeBSD down to 10MB of RAM usage on boot.

Ok, ill look into freeBSD. And wow, 10mb or ram!

Sorry for the doubel post, but which version of FreeBSD shoud I get? there is a list Here, do I want 6.3 or 7.0, and which type should I get? amd64, i386, ia64, pc98 or sparc64? I dont have a 64bit CPU so I dont think it would be amd64, ia64 or sparc64, So it will be i386 or pc98. Am I rite?

i386 of FreeBSD 7.0 is what you're looking for.

Thanks. And I guess I have to download all of the iso's?

7.0-RELEASE-i386-bootonly.iso

7.0-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso

7.0-RELEASE-i386-disc2.iso

7.0-RELEASE-i386-disc3.iso

7.0-RELEASE-i386-docs.iso

7.0-RELEASE-i386-livefs.iso

If you want to install the base system, I think disc1 and disc2 are all you need. disc3 contains several of the extras packages IIRC.

Ok, thanks. I may just download disk3 as well. Thank you for your help.

Also try CentOS, it's a free clone of RedHat Enterprise.

Debian is another good one, it's what Ubuntu is based on.

Thanks mate, Ill look into it.

CentOS is what alot of professional web servers use,.

Are you looking for a command line OS or one with a nice GUI?

and will this server be at home or at a hosting company?

I dont really care if it has a GUI or not, and I will be hosting it at home.

well how good are you with linux and using the terminal? if you are not that good then i would highly suggest a GUI.

i would have to assume that you are not all that good at it since you are asking about it.

it can be a real pain having to type everything into the terminal instead of having a nice easy pretty GUI to play with, so I guess that you should get a distro with a GUI.

i am personally using Ubunto Desktop on my home server, then I added the server features that i wanted through apt-get

then i have CentOS on my dedi web server which is hosted at a server company, so if i ever run into problems they will be glad to help me.

Edited November 27, 200817 yr by ripken204

well how good are you with linux and using the terminal? if you are not that good then i would highly suggest a GUI.

i would have to assume that you are not all that good at it since you are asking about it.

it can be a real pain having to type everything into the terminal instead of having a nice easy pretty GUI to play with, so I guess that you should get a distro with a GUI.

I disagree. There have been several times that GUIs (especially *nix GUIs) fail to produce the correct operation. While switching from Windows to a terminal takes some getting used to, the best control often comes from looking at config files yourself. Besides, once it's setup and working, what else do you need to change? Servers are there to be used, not fiddled with.

zxian, you need to take into account the level of knowledge that this person has.

yes, terminal is the best way to go but if someone has no idea what he is doing in the terminal, it can take forever to get things done, you can make some pretty big mistakes, and you can get very frustrated.

i would hope that some GUI programs don't mess up some files but i guess that we should research the programs we install to make sure that they are free of bugs.