Pondering Linux Distrib + web server package?

After my ms exams are gone im gonna delve into the world of linux even more than I have been. Not only am I gonna do my security+ studies but also I would like to expand my knowledge of linux on the way. I have been playing with CENTOS v5, set up the full LAMP, reading countless security guides on securing my server.

But I keep hearing that the popularity of Ubuntu outweighs many other distribs when playing with linux. Is there really any difference between distribs for learning purposes, bare in mind I could play with the idea of eventually studying for some cert's?

Also after a discussion with a techy friend the other day he seems to think apache is getting old now, many use lighthttpd in it's place. Maybe I am losing touch with web development but I don't know...anyone with experience care to eloberate?

Cheers,

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RussS

I have a theory on a *nix distro for Linux+ ..... stick to Apache for your webserver - it's the most used one out there and it may be getting old, but it is certainly well sorted and ultra reliable.

Pash

RussS wrote:

I have a theory on a *nix distro for Linux+ ..... stick to Apache for your webserver - it's the most used one out there and it may be getting old, but it is certainly well sorted and ultra reliable.

This is my argument to him.

Thanks,

sprkymrk

Favorite distros come and go. Distros like Debian, Fedora, Red Hat, CentOS, and a few others have been around a long time and remain solid choices, even though there popularity goes up and down a bit. They always remain in the top contenders, even if not in first place. I wouldn't worry about the "new" distro popularity contest, especially in regards to the various linux exams out there. Besides, linux skills can carry across many distros with minimal issues.

Pash

sprkymrk wrote:

Favorite distros come and go. Distros like Debian, Fedora, Red Hat, CentOS, and a few others have been around a long time and remain solid choices, even though there popularity goes up and down a bit. They always remain in the top contenders, even if not in first place. I wouldn't worry about the "new" distro popularity contest, especially in regards to the various linux exams out there. Besides, linux skills can carry across many distros with minimal issues.

Thanks sprkymrk it's good to here that. I was thinking to myself "well what if im using a distro that isn't very 'mainstream' for my linux exploration", it was playing on my mind and it's nice to know there shouldnt be many differences.

sthomas

Pash wrote:

After my ms exams are gone im gonna delve into the world of linux even more than I have been. Not only am I gonna do my security+ studies but also I would like to expand my knowledge of linux on the way. I have been playing with CENTOS v5, set up the full LAMP, reading countless security guides on securing my server.

But I keep hearing that the popularity of Ubuntu outweighs many other distribs when playing with linux. Is there really any difference between distribs for learning purposes, bare in mind I could play with the idea of eventually studying for some cert's?

Also after a discussion with a techy friend the other day he seems to think apache is getting old now, many use lighthttpd in it's place. Maybe I am losing touch with web development but I don't know...anyone with experience care to eloberate?

Cheers,

From what I have seen Ubuntu is popular for th Desktop OS but not as much on the server side. In my honest opinion I would stick with Redhat based distros for the Linux+ (CentOS, Fedora, RHEL etc...) but mixing it up with Debian wouldn't hurt. Since you can download most Linux distros for free go for it.

Pash

sthomas wrote:

Pash wrote:

After my ms exams are gone im gonna delve into the world of linux even more than I have been. Not only am I gonna do my security+ studies but also I would like to expand my knowledge of linux on the way. I have been playing with CENTOS v5, set up the full LAMP, reading countless security guides on securing my server.

But I keep hearing that the popularity of Ubuntu outweighs many other distribs when playing with linux. Is there really any difference between distribs for learning purposes, bare in mind I could play with the idea of eventually studying for some cert's?

Also after a discussion with a techy friend the other day he seems to think apache is getting old now, many use lighthttpd in it's place. Maybe I am losing touch with web development but I don't know...anyone with experience care to eloberate?

Cheers,

From what I have seen Ubuntu is popular for th Desktop OS but not as much on the server side. In my honest opinion I would stick with Redhat based distros for the Linux+ (CentOS, Fedora, RHEL etc...) but mixing it up with Debian wouldn't hurt. Since you can download most Linux distros for free go for it.

Cool, thats handy then. I am gonna have a real play and gradually do little "projects". Probably gonna start by rebuilding the server a few times, using text mode to create the partitions and mounting the drives etc. Gonna use telnet to do most of my remote work as well, keep everything to the bare minimum so I learn from the top down.

Cheers for the help guys, really.