Linux web server

[xionhack]

Hello! Im creating a PHP application for my company. The application its going to be used by around 500 people in the network. I've always used Windows Server for my PHP applications, but I want to start using linux. I've heard its faster and more secure.

I want to knwo, what type of computer should I use? Is does linux work better on Intel Xeon or AMD? I need the application to work fast.

Am I going to have any problems with incompatibility if I get a Dell server?

I've used Ubuntu, just to check it out, but I've heard Centos is better for web servers, is that true?

Please let me know which route to take! Thank you!

[Rubberman]

Either Ubuntu server or CentOS does very well for web site hosting. In fact, the vast majority of web sites on the internet use Linux for hosting, and most of those use CentOS or similar. Ubuntu is more up-to-date so if you want to use a lot of wireless devices with the system, Ubuntu is a better choice than CentOS. Myself, I like CentOS because of its stability - I'm using it now for my main development workstation. It is binary compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, so all the drivers developed for that OS work well with CentOS. There are a number of virtualization tools also available - xen, kvm, virtualbox, vmware, etc. and SELinux is available out-of-the-box.

In case you are interested in commercial support, Dell sells a number of servers with Red Hat Enterprise Linux installed with a 1 year or longer support subscription included in the price. That way, you are guaranteed that the hardware will work properly with the software without any worries on your part.

[Rubberman]

Continued...

As for CPU support, Linux is equally happy with AMD or Intel processors. The current raft of Intel i7 (Nehalem and later) processors have better performance than the equivalent AMD ones, but the AMD processors are quite a bit cheaper.