Im done with you, Ubuntu

I started out liking Ubuntu alot...but....it isnt working for me....Im just trying to set up a server.....Yeah...im putting it on old hardware.....but thats all i have....I dont wanna get rid of my good computers that work. Ubuntu takes up too much space...its too demanding...I switched from light things like puppy linux because they suck as servers. I thought Ubuntu would be much better, but I guess not. If someone could help me make it work, that would be great. but if not, then Im leaving Ubuntu.

Kizamime said: I started out liking Ubuntu alot...but....it isnt working for me....Im just trying to set up a server.....Yeah...im putting it on old hardware.....but thats all i have....I dont wanna get rid of my good computers that work. Ubuntu takes up too much space...its too demanding...I switched from light things like puppy linux because they suck as servers. I thought Ubuntu would be much better, but I guess not. If someone could help me make it work, that would be great. but if not, then Im leaving Ubuntu.

if you want to set up a server. try using freenas. i really like it.

When you say that it's taking too much space, out of curiosity, did you download and install the server edition, or the desktop one?

Information about the server edition is here:

http://www.ubuntu.com/products/WhatIsUbuntu/serveredition

If you want to try that, the download link is at the bottom of the page.

Moved to Testimonials & Experiences.

If you have *specific* questions, feel free to post them. There are lots of people here willing to help.

If you want a server, I'd use NetBSD, FreeBSD, or SliTaz with lighttpd.

As OrangeCrate suggested, try the server build of Ubuntu. Same distro, same repositories, just doesn't boot into a GUI by default. Very light on the resources, and there's tons of how-to's out there to set the various services up in a console mode and keep things secure. Debian (what Ubuntu is based on) is also an excellent choice. Debian's release model is pretty slow ("It's ready when it's ready") but if you stick to the official release it's near bulletproof and super stable.

I've used WebMin in the past to make things a bit easier during the learning curve. Some people swear by it, some say its a bad idea. (It *can* bork your system if there's a glitch in the code.) I don't use it anymore myself as I've gotten comfortable with how things are done, but in the beginning I loved it, and never had any problems with it. Used it to set up Samba and the like, and you can monitor/configure it from anywhere with a browser.

Another distro that's worked very well for me in a server role is Arch Linux. Insanely light on resources as it's a bare-minimum install by default; you install what you need as you go. The base install is reeeeealy small. Great wiki for how to get things done. I had a junker P3 system laying around; 1GHz, 512MB. Windows 2003 Server ran terribly on it; 2000 was a tick better but the horrible security model absolutely killed it as an option. Arch runs stupidly fast on it and takes almost no memory to get things done. Currently acting as a MySQL, mail and Samba file server. One caveat is that this particular distro is 686 optimized, so if your system is *really* old it might not run. (486's and the like.)

BSD is another excellent option, but keep in mind it's *not* Linux, it's a descendant of real Unix, so don't expect things to work the same way. (It's similar, but different enough to make you hit Google a lot)

Either way you go, if space is at a premium learn to love the console, you can do everything that a GUI can, just has a bit of a learning curve. Or if you absolutely need a GUI, pick something lighter, say XUbuntu or the like. Not quite as big as Gnome, and certainly smaller than KDE.

Another vouch for Ubuntu Server. Runs without a hitch on an old IBM Netvista, and I'm sure it would run just fine on my old junker Compaq (AMD K6-2) I have as well.

jbysmith... "stupidly fast", I like that.

With zero rebuttals, I classify this as nothing but fly-by spam...

Captain_tux said: With zero rebuttals, I classify this as nothing but fly-by spam...

So why post on 2 week old fly-by spam and bump it back to the top of the list?

Oh wait...I just did it, too....