Choosing a OS....

Anon

Hi there!
I would like to hear your opinion about what is the best OS to work together with Apache webserver and why so I can put my website online? (I'm using windows98 and I'm quite sure it's not the best choice!)
Thanx in advance!

Felipe Lopes

Anon

I would say run linux. It has worked great for me...I really dont understand this question though "and why so I can put my website online".

Anon

Sorry my english...What I meant was what OS to pick and why (the reason) to pick that OS....I'm asking that 'cause I want to put my website online in my computer....Don't want to pay for hosting and etc...
Guess this time I explained bether...
Thanx!

Felipe Lopes

Anon

well... the first decisiion you have to make is unix (linux or similar) vs. vms (win 2k, xp) vs. dos (win 98).

win 98 is a bad choice for more reasons than i can mention: so this leaves win vms vs. unix:

my personal choice here would be unix. since it is more configurable, has greater security options, has a tonne of open source software if you want to expand and because there is more documentation for it than for windows (at least when it comes to webhosting).

once you've decided on unix the decision comes down to linux vs. bsd vs. proprietary (ie solaris, aix). you can probably count out proprietary since it's expensive, not well documented in the public area and often has less software available (except for expensive payware).

so it's linux vs. bsd... well that's a topic for regligious zealotry so i'll avoid making a decision and just offer a suggestion in both areas:

bsd: openbsd is a good choice here. it's free and open source and has a reputation for being super secure (these are the guys who gave us open ssh and blowfish). the man pages and docs are good (better than linux man pages at least) and its ports system is better than rpm. you also get the advantage of looking like a real geek. openbsd also allows you to easily set up things like vpn's and weird routing. the big drawback is that the install is a bit challengeing.

linux: red hat is probably best here because it is the most supported. the rpm system is terrible (compared to bsd ports and apt-get at least) but it works. the big advantage of red hat is that if you ask a question on just about any linux forum you'll find way more answers for red hat than others. the install is super easy too.

both openbsd and red hat allow you to run apache, mod-ssl, php, mysql, postgresql, sshd, ftpd, perl, python, ruby and just about everything else you need to for a host.

[deleted]

"you can probably count out proprietary since it's expensive, not well documented in the public area and often has less software available (except for expensive payware). "

You may want to reconsider that statement...

Solaris retails at about 10% of the price of win2k. Hardly expensive.

The only drawback is that solaris is mostly sparc-based (the intel version does not have a good reputation) so you'll require a sparc box to run it, and sparc boxes are made by one manufacturer so you can't buy a cheap clone. Unlike redhat which runs on any PC as long as it has a CPU.

Solaris also has a huge collection of free software, and there are is more solaris documentation on the net than you care to dream of. But, solaris is "professional", don't expect to take your linux experience and start fiddling with a solaris box, it's not that simple.

On the other hand most solaris boxes have an uptime measuerd in years, which is not uncommon on linux either, but which I have nevers seen on a windows machine.

In short:
Windows is not an option. MS just don't have what it takes to build a relyable server.

Solaris<->redhat is mostly a matter of budget.
A Solaris setup will set you back 2-3 times what Redhat costs, but you get what you pay for.

Setting up PHP/PostgreSQL/Apache (mysql on a production system... eew!) is just as simple on redhat as on solaris, and both will give you a rocksolid server.

Anon

Solaris is free provided you use it a system of less than 4 CPU's and will happily run on intel just as easily as Sparc (I run solaris 8 at home).

http://wwws.sun.com/software/solaris/binaries/get.html

As to RedHat. Would actually suggest that you use SuSe as it's currently the only Linux certified for use with some of the bigger boys toys (Oracle etc)

[deleted]

"and will happily run on intel just as easily as Sparc (I run solaris 8 at home)."

My experiences with sol for intel are not as good as yours.

But apparently my solaris usage info is outdated anyway 🙂

"Would actually suggest that you use SuSe as it's currently the only Linux certified for use with some of the bigger boys toys (Oracle etc)"

An odd remark, "use suse (free) because it's certified to work with things like oracle (incredibly expensive)"

I'd suggest sooner suggest:
Redhat intel - apache - php - postgres
Solaris sparc - apache - php - postgres/oracle

Anon

"Solaris retails at about 10% of the price of win2k. Hardly expensive"

point taken. i admit i haven't used solaris since 2.6.

note that there are companies that make ultrasparc-based products.... and they are cheaper than sun boxes, but not by enough to change yr analysis.

"Solaris also has a huge collection of free software, and there are is more solaris documentation on the net than you care to dream of"

well... the pickins on sites like sunfreeware are okay, but are really pretty slim compared to what comes over red carpet. at least in my mind. as for the documentation: go to yr local computer book store and count the solaris books vs the linux books. or ask a casual question at the coffee shop or online. there is a lot more linux knowledge out there. is this more because of linux's populist marketing than relative technical merit? yes. but it's a fact.

if the guy wants to host a million hits a day then getting a starfire would be a good choice, sure. but for someone looking for their first server os, solaris would be, uh, duanting to say the least.

Anon

well redhat is free lol

Anon

I can't believe I'm jumping into this discussion, but every board has to have it's Mac "zealot" right?

I suggest Mac OS X. Oh, sure it is more expensive - probably near the top of the expense issue, since you have to buy the proprietary hardware too. You do however get the power of unix (OpenBSD based) as well as a GUI that almost everyone would say is superior to everything out there. Apache and PHP are installed as a default and MySQL runs nicely. You have both a GUI and command line access to anything. And, as a bonus (penalty?) you can run MS Office and other software products (Photoshop, GoLive, etc) in Native mode.

So, you get what you pay for. MacOS X is clearly the best combination of all the things mentioned in previous replies. It just costs more.

frymaster

i admit i was assuming the guy was looking for something that runs on x86.... but if yr going to get new hardware and are willing to pay a bit of a premium then os x is a fantastic os: darwin (the bsd underpinnings) is a real honest-to-god bsd unix that does everything a unix should... you can even run xwindow on top of it in addition to (or as a replacement for) the mac interface so you can run photoshop and gimp at the same time. very nice.

the netinfo manager which replaces all those config files that make unix annoying for newbies is nice too (although you should backup that netinfo database just like you would with config files....).

of course all the standard web stuff runs on os x as well as on any other bsd and there's a good apt-get like package manager called fink for the compile-shy (better than rpm for sure). heck, you can even get virtual pc and run iis on yr os x box at the same time as apache.

i don't think that reccommending os x makes anyone a "zealot". it's the most versitile *nix distro out there... and it's pretty. who doesn't want that?

Anon

Thanx very much for your help fryman!!
You didn't say nothing about freeBSD...is it pretty much the same of openBSD?
Thanx in advance again!

Felipe Lopes

Anon

If it's harder to use solaris than linux, than I'll keep solaris out, because I heve no experince even with linux...Have used windows mu hole life! LOL

(mysql on a production system... eew!)
What you mean by that? Cause I was thinking about use mysql ;-)?

Thanx in advance!

Felipe Lopes

Anon

Spending money is completely out of the game...I want to host just my website (at least for now)..So if I spend that quantity of money (that I'm assuming is not cheap) it's better pay for a hosting server lol

gerardg

I'm using windows98 and I'm quite sure it's not the best choice!<

hahahahhahahahaha!!!

linux or freebsd is the only way to go for lost cost, high-performance.

Anon

freebsd and openbsd are similar enough that most wouldn't notice the difference. i preferr openbsd because:

it's secure by default. you don't need to "harden" the default install, it's already locked tight.
it's ready to go for a lot of the more esoteric networking (ie vpn's)
it's not made in the us (in fact, it's made in a basement about 3 blocks from my house... if you care) so it won't be subject to the vararies of us law regarding encryption and such. that's not as big a deal now as it was three or four years ago... but who knows what george will do in the future?