Newer to Linux, Need help choosing a version to use as a server

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I have some experience with Linux, but by no means am remotely considered much more then a noob upon it. I'm also a web developer and I own a couple of business ventures beyond that, and here I am finally wanting to network up my work stations, turn one of my boxes into a server, but have it not be some command line only wonder.

I'm earmarking a tower for the server that was running Vista until I reformatted it and installed Ubuntu that doesn't seem to get to a gui, so stuck in command prompt land until I figure out what's wrong. I have Slakware running via. CD on it as well, it too has it's own fun anomaly of not being able to see the hard drive to mount and view it... I haven't tried Red Hat yet, can't bring myself to shell out money for what is supposed to be a free OS ie. Linux, but Red Hat has been always an OS web servers used I'm familiar with working on, at least peer to server towards building web sites.

I need advice, should I try to keep trying to get Ubuntu server edition to get what ever it needs figured out, after learning the alien language I'm seeing people are putting out on it for help with install and getting it running and configuring it, well, on most Linux support sites, or should I be starting with another flavor all together?

I think it would be a blast to have my own personal self contained internet that could technically be shared alongside of the other servers on the web if I opted to get a bigger pipe for bandwidth and upgrade it's resources, it would also have great advantages towards the business side as well and it will teach me a lot in the process.

Thank you guys ahead of time, and thank all that have contributed to development and support of Linux..
 


Normally servers don't have a GUI. People use another computer, with a GUI, to remotely access them if necessary. Ubuntu Server Edition does not come with a GUI!

You can download and use the Redhat distro. It is entirely free. Redhat make their money from providing support. There are other distros which are near clones like CentOS and Fedora.
 
Ubuntu, CentOS, and Debian are probably the top free server distros. But the cost of technical support from Red Hat may be a well spent business expense since you are not yet at the "expert" level yourself.
 
There are some GNU/Linux distributions with pre-configured services oriented towards small businesses (and sometimes ease of use). To mention a few:
  • NethServer: sits on top of CentOS; Web UI, no DE (desktop environment) by default but one can be installed as on any other CentOS)
  • Univention: Debian based, Web UI, no DE by default but can be installed)
  • Zentyal: Ubuntu based, Web UI, DE by default
If not mistaken, those include Apache Web Server.
 
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Most servers are headless - with no mouse, keyboard, or monitor connected - they are just boxes mounted in racks in datacentres. Which is probably the main reason that DE's/GUI's aren't installed by default on server editions of distros: Because they aren't typically needed.

Also, generally speaking - for a server - the less unnecessary software you have installed/running, the more system resources (disk space, RAM, CPU time) are available to the services running on the server.

And of course, on the security side of things - with less software/services available/running on it - it presents fewer potential attack vectors to would-be attackers.

As Arochester pointed out - many servers are administered remotely from other machines using ssh in a terminal. Some services also have web-interfaces - so you can connect to their admin panel using a browser on another machine.

But there is nothing to stop you from installing a desktop environment on a server distro if you really want one.
e.g. for Ubuntu Server Edition, this should do the trick:
https://askubuntu.com/questions/2093/how-to-install-gui-desktop-on-a-server#2096

Whether or not to install a GUI/Desktop on your server/s ultimately depends on how comfortable you are using the terminal/command-line. If you are more comfortable using a GUI to administer your server then by all means install a desktop environment on there. But bear in mind - once you have a DE on there, you might also have to install some additional tools to allow you to administer certain services from the GUI. And even then - there may still be some services that require you to open up a terminal to administer them properly.

As an alternative to installing a server edition of a distro - you could just install ANY standard desktop Linux distro and then install and configure whatever additional services you want (e.g. apache, php etc. etc) on top.

But, depending on what you want to use the server for - this may or may not be a good idea. Sometimes the kernel for the server edition is configured slightly differently to the kernel for the desktop edition. So when running server software - there may be certain conditions that the server edition kernel can handle better than the standard desktop kernel. So this option might not be a good idea for say, a production server that gets lots of traffic. But it could work well for a local test server, or for a development machine.

And as nuna has pointed out, there are also several server distros aimed at providing pre-configured office/business-style server infrastructure too (active directory, calendars, instant messaging, mail server, wiki, VOIP, collaborative tools etc). Some of these have a desktop environment and can be managed via the GUI, others have web-interfaces, or are command-line based. And again, in all cases - if there is no DE installed by default - you almost always have the option of manually installing one if you want/need one.
 
Thank you all for your comprehensive, informative responses, I have lot's to work with and look into now, and ton's more to learn as well. Still in tinkering mode, so next step is getting the DE on what I've already installed, I may add another HD/add extra partitions, to handle more then one distribution as well.

I like the ideas and options, am still amazed why Linux hasn't taken it's place right along side windows or apple for the normal user.
 
I ended up installing Ubuntu desktop, replacing the server install, largely because the add on to do any add on's in command line means learning how to navigate via. command line input only, something I've been there done that in "basic", as what I had to do with my first computer, in 1983, a mighty Commodore Vic 20 lol. Also had to do some limited ssh but I'm intending upon showing other small businesses how to set up their own server and share that way rather then the other network options, beyond that, much more to help regular people have their own intranet's they get to control fully as opposed to what is currently is, public in all it's uglyness and agenda's.

The desktop, simple and going to dig into making it a server on a limited basis and test with my own series of computers, each has their strengths and tasks, being able to share this with others on a local front and being able to contribute to it's development, something you don't get to do with a windows or mac, it makes the most sense to use for most people.
 
I ended up installing Ubuntu desktop, replacing the server install, largely because the add on to do any add on's in command line means learning how to navigate via. command line input only, something I've been there done that in "basic", as what I had to do with my first computer, in 1983, a mighty Commodore Vic 20 lol. Also had to do some limited ssh but I'm intending upon showing other small businesses how to set up their own server and share that way rather then the other network options, beyond that, much more to help regular people have their own intranet's they get to control fully as opposed to what is currently is, public in all it's uglyness and agenda's.

The desktop, simple and going to dig into making it a server on a limited basis and test with my own series of computers, each has their strengths and tasks, being able to share this with others on a local front and being able to contribute to it's development, something you don't get to do with a windows or mac, it makes the most sense to use for most people.

Thanks for the update - let us know how things go along your journey!
 

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