Preferred Linux Flavor for Web Server?

[Jon Pruente]

On 3/12/07, RtX <riverty at gmail.com> wrote:
> I kinda figured that this was the answer I would get. I understand that any
> linux distro would work, and your right, I should/could run any distro that
> I am comfortable with. One of the cool things about Linux is that once you
> know one, it's just a few readme's away from running another. I just
> wondered if someone had any experience with this server and a particular
> distro. Kind of a long-shot but what the heck. That's what a group like this
> is for?!?!
>
> Anyway, I do think I will run Xubuntu. Lighter duty desktop (which I will
> not use much at all) and Debian based which I like. On that note, what do
> you all feel about the differences between running Debian Testing and Debian
> Stable? For server use?

I did have issues with an older version of Ubuntu not picking up the
RAID card in a Compaq Proliant 1850R I've got, after install.  It was
back on something like 5.04 or 5.10, but for a Ubuntu based server,
I'd surely put 6.06.1 LTS on it.  That's to have support until 2011.
All "current" or regular releases of Ubuntu are only good for 18
months of support/lifetime.  You can also do some the install stuff
along the lines of
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/LowMemorySystems and do
a custom package install that would skip gdm/kdm/xdm etc so that X
won't start until it's needed.  By skipping all those extra packages
of Xubuntu you'll have fewer things running and more drive space.
Xubuntu takes around 2GB of space or so.  A basic server/CLI only
install of Ubuntu will take around 300MB.  I've not done a LAMP of it
yet (there is a official LAMP install option), but it shouldn't take
nearly as much space as the full Xubuntu.