Which Linux Version for networking?

Ok just got a new laptop plan on 3x booting, xp,linux,vista ultimate. What I would like to know is which version of linux is used in networking i basicly wanna use this as a learning experience for the field and help with future certs.

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scheistermeister

They all are. Each is distribution is different mainly by which applications are distributed with it and the package manager (and precompiled kernel options). If you have plenty of time and want to learn I suggest Gentoo, but that is because that is what I run

CentOS is like Red Hat though.

liven

Well being a linux/unix admin I would say you could use any version of linux for networking.

However there are few flavors that are more dominate in the professional world.

Redhat, fedor, and cent are all pretty common.

Suse is also very common (a big plus here is that there is enterprise support for vmware).

So I would focus on one of those versions.

Daniel333

If this is your first Linux experience you can't beat Ubuntu, then switch to redhat as your pursue your certs.

dynamik

Don't forget about OpenSUSE. Version 11 just came out, and it looks pretty nice. Otherwise, I'd go with Ubuntu or Fedora.

remyforbes777

I would either use CentOS or Debian for learning on. CentOS is virtually identical to Red Hat which most companies use in their enterprise and Debian is another mature distro. The Linux+ is based on both Debian and Red Hat based distros.

liven

dynamik wrote:

Don't forget about OpenSUSE. Version 11 just came out, and it looks pretty nice. Otherwise, I'd go with Ubuntu or Fedora.

Keep this in mind, I work for a massive company (fortune 500) and we are migrating everything from Red Hat to SuSE10. Novell modified the kernel just to play nice with VMWARE, and there is no two ways about it virtual machines are very much the way of the future.

I expect Red hat to follow suit eventually, but SUSE is setting the path right now big time(when it comes to enterprise virtualization).

So really you can't go wrong with Red hat, ubuntu, SUSE, Cent, Fedora, or a version of debian. Just learn one distro front to back and the other distros will be pretty easy to figure out.

hypnotoad

We can tell you all the differences of the distros but in all honesty you'll just have to try them for yourself to see which ones meet your needs.

Learning CentOS, Ubuntu, one of the BSDs, and maybe the hardened security-centric distributions will teach you lots about networking and expand your toolkit as a professional.

ally_uk

I run Ubuntu in Vmware at home and have a old rig which is running Debian I mainly use it for tinkering and breaking stuff lol right now I'm toying with Webmin and playing with Samba,

undomiel

I'll cast my vote for openSUSE 11. I have been absolutely loving it since it came out. A few quirks but that is mostly KDE4. I would dare say it strikes the best balance between user friendly and expert friendly in installation and usage. I just hope you aren't afraid of the command line no matter which version you pick, because in my experience you will need to use it at one point or another. Plus things are just so much easier from the command line as well diving into config files and such.