Server with apache, PHP, Mysql, etc...Which One?

[Jabit]

So, Im setting up my first linux server,

I need to have these installed.....

Apache
PHP
Mysql
Ftp
Smtp(Optional)

Remote Connection....(MUST HAVE)
I also need to be able to control it from a windows computer Remotely throught the network.

Which distribution should i choose to install for this kind of setup, And i need it easy to set up, As i am a beginner at linux.

This server is just a home setup, and does not be fancy, as im just going to develop test sites on it, and im not putting it on the internet.

Also, a distribution that does not require like 5 disk, And if you can, Please find a http link that is fast like 200 - 300kbps or more would be nice.

[genesus]

Every single linux distro or bsd flavor has these particular programs and capabilities. If you just install the server apps and don't install an x-server or any other bloat packages, then you won't need five disks.

Use a netinstall cd, then it won't matter how fast your dl link is because you will only be downloading a minimal install cd, around 50 or 100mb. Which will boot and download the packages you need.

Go to www.distrowatch.org, or google.com and do a little research...just a little friendly advice before you get locked. We see a lot of these threads. A LOT.

[Alex Stan]

For remote connection I recommend VNC. BUt it's a little tricky to find some good tutorials(i didn't find a good one yet).

[genesus]

why go to all the trouble of vnc when you can just use ssh?

[e=mc2]

acording to www.linuxquestions.org, slackware seems to be "the best" acording to the voting over there. but after many hours of messing around with SuSE, Slackware and a few others, I say that CentOS or Fedora is going to be your best bet.

You can find yourself a copy of CentOS already configured with a "bluequartz" control panel for managing websites built in to the distro from a few places on the net and even ebay. I bought a version of centOS with bluequartz and it was very easy to install and setup.

I also found that even though Slackware is the *prefered* OS according to experts, it is also difficult to configure and is not as automated as SuSE or Fedora. I like SuSE and have been running SuSE 9 for a couple of years but could not (for the life of me) get version 10.1 to install on a compaq proliant machine so I ended up going with Fedora core 5 because of its "no brainer" install process.

Pretty much any distrobution of Linux is going to have apache, php, mysql, ftp, and mail on it - though you may have to pay attention to the installation process to make sure the correct packages are being installed as they all do not default with these turned on.

Additionally, building a LAMP server as you are looking for is going to be a little tricky once you finally get it built when it comes time to move sites to it without a control panel unless you already know how to do that via command line (SSH). the CentOS that I mentioned with BQ has a control panel but most other linux distros do not and thus getting sites on your server is going to be another obstacle to overcome once you get your LAMP configured and patched.

SuSE and slackware croak if you have not partitioned the drive properly so if fdisk scares you then you should seriously consider CentOS or Fedora. both are pretty decent in my opinion