Thank You for responding, i have used Ubuntu(10.04) in the past, but never got into it enough to "learn" anything. i don't intend to use the computer for general day to day purposes so I just wanted something that would be simple, yet reasonably secure.Your question sounds like you have never used Linux before. If that is true, then nothing is going to be simple and straightforward... and you will have a steep learning curve ahead of you. Your best advice will probably come from people who are already currently using Ark servers on Linux.
The most common server distros are:
1. Red Hat (costs $$$ for subscription)
2. CentOS (same as Red Hat, but free)
3. Ubuntu
4. Debian
If you have a spare computer, you might should download and install one (or all) of these to see which seems to appeal to you best (unless you get better advice from other Ark admins).
Good luck!
Thank You for responding as well!Yeah, i'd mirror what @atanere has said. If you haven't used any, i'd start playing around with them.
I'd choose Centos for a server, but i've noticed lately that there's a lot of documentation installing various things for Ubuntu servers as well. I'd look around for ark / linux documentation and see which howtos you come up with that look the easiest.
It may be a situation where you'd just need some basic Linux knowledge to follow some instructions, then set it and forget it. Try to keep up on any security patches as you go though - and ask questions when you get stuck. You've got a good start.
We all love Linux here, and we'd love to see you switch if it would suit your needs. (And I have no idea what is needed for an Ark server!) Linux is definitely reasonably secure, but it still needs maintenance and updating to keep it secure.Thank You for responding, i have used Ubuntu(10.04) in the past, but never got into it enough to "learn" anything. i don't intend to use the computer for general day to day purposes so I just wanted something that would be simple, yet reasonably secure.