recommendations?

[Johnny Bubonic]

okay, i decided i'm going to overhaul my server. (.."overhaul" is a reaaally big exaggeration. i really mean change distros, add a bit more security, and get a backup system in place).

i apologize that i don't have specs for it. here's a quick lspci output for you:

0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8363/8365 [KT133/KM133] (rev 81)
0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8363/8365 [KT133/KM133 AGP]
0000:00:04.0 Modem: PCTel Inc HSP MicroModem 56 (rev 02)
0000:00:05.0 Ethernet controller: Linksys NC100 Network Everywhere Fast Ethernet 10/100 (rev 11)
0000:00:14.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C686 [Apollo Super South] (rev 22)
0000:00:14.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 10)
0000:00:14.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 10)
0000:00:14.3 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 10)
0000:00:14.4 Bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C686 [Apollo Super ACPI] (rev 30)
0000:00:14.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C686 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 20)
0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV5M64 [RIVA TNT2 Model 64/Model 64 Pro] (rev 15)

as you can see, FAR from top of the line, lol, but that's why it's a server. and when it was given (hey, "free" beats ANY price) to me, it had (shudder) WinME installed. so needless to say, i made an improvement to it.

here's what you need to know:

currently running Debian Sarge.
is a server for:
-TeamSpeak2
-MySQL & PHP (phpbb2, w00t)
-Apache2

i think that's it. it handles the load just fine, handles everything swell, no complaints. but it's just not as secure as i want to get it.


SO, here is what i had in mind:

-SuSE 10.1
-Fedora Core 5
-(fresh install of) Debian sarge
-Gentoo (currently running it on my laptop)
-slackware (no experience, willing to take it up)


any suggestions? : )

[budman7]

I don't think switching distros will make it any more secure.
I am sure that debian.org should have some tuts on how to make your box more secure.

Unless of course you just want oto switch distros for something new, then any of those distros will do.

[Johnny Bubonic]

oh, i know debian is really stable as far as security goes...i dunno, i'm just a little fed up with it i suppose. lookin' to try somethin' new. : )

[gtmtnbiker98]

Assuming that this is a production environment, I would shy away from Fedora Core, just too cutting edge for me to warrant a stable environment. Although I am sure many will disagree, but that is my opinion. If it was my job and professional reputation on the line, then I would go with a mainstream distro - one that has the potential of mainstream support.

Have you considered CentOS? It is a clone of RHEL and is very stable. As for security, well, switching distros will not make you more secure or insecure for that matter than you already are. If you are sold on your suggested list then I would go with SuSE and yes, I'm partial to this distro - but you asked.

[techieMoe]

Assuming that this is a production environment, I would shy away from Fedora Core, just too cutting edge for me to warrant a stable environment. Although I am sure many will disagree, but that is my opinion. If it was my job and professional reputation on the line, then I would go with a mainstream distro - one that has the potential of mainstream support.

Have you considered CentOS? It is a clone of RHEL and is very stable. As for security, well, switching distros will not make you more secure or insecure for that matter than you already are. If you are sold on your suggested list then I would go with SuSE and yes, I'm partial to this distro - but you asked.

I agree and would also not recommend Fedora for a production environment. I second the recommendation for CentOS.

[Johnny Bubonic]

thanks! i'll look into it!