Some Linux questions.

[Atomic]

Good afternoon,

I am looking to build a linux system and have a few questions on builds and versions. I come from a Windows environment and now want to work with linux. My questions are I want to put together an all in one server for email,ftp, and web host just for giggle so I can get an idea of how this all works.

Since I come from a completely GUI world and I do know that Distro of Linux (server version) is completely command line, is it possible to build a server with a Desktop version of Linux? What is your take on this? Or is this something I have to get past on the server not using gui's? I probably know my answer.

But when a server is built is there ways or gui's to manage a Linux server or is it more command line on a SSH prompt?

Reason I ask all this is I am honestly wanting to get my business off of a windows environment to a full linux environment. I been with exchange and IIS to long and want to make the jump to linux.

Is there also some good reads or websites out there that anyone recommends?

What is also a good linux for a server/client setup and why?

[reed9]

Since I come from a completely GUI world and I do know that Distro of Linux (server version) is completely command line, is it possible to build a server with a Desktop version of Linux? What is your take on this? Or is this something I have to get past on the server not using gui's? I probably know my answer.

You can build a server with a Desktop linux. Some distros have more GUI tools for doing so than others (opensuse and mandriva are known for their GUI configuration tools), but you will probably have to venture to the command line in at least some cases.

What is also a good linux for a server/client setup and why?

The whole LAMP setup is popular.


There are a ton of online resources available. Here's a small selection.

Linux | HowtoForge - Linux Howtos and Tutorials
Search | HowtoForge - Linux Howtos and Tutorials
Resources and documentation | Ubuntu
The Linux Documentation Project

[GNU-Fan]

Hi,

Debian and RedHat GNU/Linux both have an excellent reputation as server operating systems.
While I personally prefer Debian, RedHat provides first hand support to buy, which you may prefer for business solutions. (They will also help you with setting up and running the software.)

You can install a graphical user interface if you prefer to do so. It will consume some resources (hard disk space/memory) of course. So most server admins prefer not to install this.
Also, there are graphical interfaces which are provided by the webserver. Look for "Webmin" for an example.

The finest level of control you will get by adapting configure files (text files), so most professionals choose to edit them directly with an text editor. But there are graphical tools available for beginners to the this job.

[Atomic]

Reed,

When trying to setup a server on a desktop, would you normally install it as a desktop version? I have read a few forums that some people configure a server through desktop version but in time turn off x-server. I guess what I tring to find out is it ok to run a desktop version server in a production environment. I know i would have to dip into a cli enviroment but would probably feel more comfortable on a gui/cli enviroment until I was more familur with how the structure is and so forth.

[reed9]

When trying to setup a server on a desktop, would you normally install it as a desktop version?

Yeah, if it's not doubling as a workstation or anything, then there's no reason to run X. Just takes up resources. There are a couple of web based GUI config tools, for remote management. Webmin for example.

Even from the console, opensuse's Yast config tool can run in a pseudo-GUI, ncurses interface. I don't run suse, so I'm not sure just how much can be configured from it, but my impression is that it's pretty versatile.

[Irithori]

The beginning might be hard, as the way of working is radically different.
Guis in linux are usually made afterwards, not as integral part of the software itself.

Best advise imho:
Learn to love the commandline and a texteditor.

* Everything is a file.
* All the commands are your tools.
* The commands work with files
* Each of them is designed to do one thing only, but do that good.
(sort, sed, grep, <thousands more>)
* The tools can be assembled to achieve *exactly* what you need.


Perhaps this is a good start to get a feeling about commands, pipes, files
BASH Programming - Introduction HOW-TO

I would suggest to do that first before trying to config a full featured LAMP.
So you have a better chance to follow HowTos like these:
Installing Lighttpd With PHP5 And MySQL Support On CentOS 5.4 | HowtoForge - Linux Howtos and Tutorials

For the distro:
As long as it is a fairly new one, it doesnt make that difference.
It´s just personal taste, so you might want to test centos, ubuntu server, fedora, debian and choose the one you like.

[Atomic]

Thank you for the information I will be giving this try this coming week to see how it all goes.

[Atomic]

Ok got a bit of confusion. During the setup when setting a manual IP it also wants a hostname. the example is "server1.example.com". Since the server I would like to get familur with is an Apache/Mail Server and it is behind a router can I give it something like "server.domain.local" instead of a dot com? Would this cause an issue with the server down the road if it is only for webmail and normal email?

I think I am just really confused on the hostname.

[elija]

Thats what I do and I haven't had any issues thus far, after all the server name and domain is just a way of identifying a machine.