Recommend a Distro.

[willy_ph]

Alright, I need you *nix experts to recommend a distro for me, as I'm pretty clueless when it comes to linux.

I'd like to do the following with it:
Web with php + FTP server
router
firewall
fileserver
print server

The hardware will consist of a P2-333 processor with 256 megs of ram. It'll have 2 nics installed to connect to the dsl modem and the switch. I'd also like to run a gui if possible, but it's not neccessary.

Computers running Windows Xp and 2k will be connecting to this box via a 10/100mb switch. Additionally, the server will have VNC installed so I don't have to purchase a new monitor, keyboard, etc.

What distro will accomplish this task?

[jkrohn]

All of them

PHP and Apache come with every distro
You can do routing with iptables.
iptables will be your firewall as well
File serving can be done with NFS and Samba
Samba can be used for the print server as well.

Check to see if the printer is linux compatible first though!

All of this comes with pretty much every distro on the planet. I would reccomend redhat, mandrake, or debian as ecah of these has very good, and very easy to use tools that will automate updates and help keep the box secure.

Jkrohn

[willy_ph]

My printer is compatible with linux. It's even marketed as a linux compatible printer by the manufacturer: Samsung ML-1210.

[nukes]

I'd say debian or Redhat. One will guide you through the setup, the other will be quick and clean so long as you have some idea what you're doing. Debian also has the ability to grab security updates through the stable branch, which is a big plus, if you want more of my advice, don't run sid/sarge on debian, stay on woody. It will run better.

[dunbar]

Hmm, a couple pointers? When people are 'clueless when it comes to linux', certain configuration situations can lead to massive headaches, get a distro with good documentation, consider there is a possibility for loss of data on the system.

And a common dual booter issue: NTFS cannot be reliably written to by Linux (at present), if any Windows partitions are NTFS, you're in for usability problems later.

Here are some other points to consider.

RedHat, Debian, Slackware are all decent, but Mandrake is an excellent distro for the total noob.

[CMonster]

You might want to read a book on Linux basics before you start.

SuSE 8.2

[nukes]

but Mandrake is an excellent distro for the total noob.

But it isn't the best for a server, and does tend to install a lot of things that the system won't need. Also seeing as its a 233mmx, you really want to keep the bloat to a minimum.
Also, NTFS CAN be written to with Linux, I have done it myself, it just isn't reccommended unless you have really read and fully understand the instructions. Definatley not for newbies. That doesn't matter anyway as this isn't going to be a dual boot box.
Getting hold of a book would be a really good idea as well, as CMonster says.

[dunbar]

Not to argue, but willy_ph posted 'P2-333', which is not a Pentium classic 233mmx.

I've used Mandrakes 7.2-8.2 on a PII/233 w/128 megs RAM ran fine for me (aside from a chipset issue) - using fully automatic installations at that.
Maybe the term expert install is frightful to some, but all that Mandrakes expert mode did (back then) was give me finer grained control over the partitioning and package choices... is that really so awful for a newbie?

I've never done an FTP server nor a print server, so maybe that makes Mandrake a lesser choice.

The drake tools would be very helpful for a newbie who has talents with Micro$oft software.

I'll drop another vote for Mandrake. You will have a hard time finding a decent linux distro better geared towards entry-level *nix users than Mandrake 9.1.

Robert Richmond

[nukes]

Sorry. I was just meaning to point out that running KDE 3.1 may be a problem on that machine, as its intended as a firewall/server it would probably be best not to run a graphical interface on it, but it would be possible.

Just one more question: If you have no previous experience with a *nix like system, why not try OpenBSD, I think it would suit you much better for this than Linux, and is designed to be easy to set up (not easy as in GUI tool, but less faffing around that you may encounter with Linux) plus it is more secure due to the severly hardened IP stack. I've seen a 486DX4/100 run as a samba, router (pf) and email server, and it was really, really easy to set up and secure the system. But that's only if you don't have your heart set on Linux.

Mandrake would be ok, but afaik you have to install X to get at the configuration tools, which is fine if you want to do that, but if you want another distro with nice setup proggies, look at RH.