Which linux for ftp/apache/php & webmin access

Yep thats the right page, i686 iso is probably the one you want unless you have reason for wanting x64.

EDIT: just saw you said easy to use gui, but as you mentioed server tools i.e ftp,apache,webmin I still think arch is the best choice :p It will do a GUI if you follow the beginners wiki and install gnome or kde.

Otherwise Ubuntu maybe the easier choice for you.
 
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I reccomend CentOS 5

Free, enterprise based off RH 5. Excellent support to go with it. Has the tools you want by default, Apache, MySQL, PHP etc.
 
Options lads?

Easy to use GUI would be cool

and free

I know you post a lot on the Windows forums, but I've never seen you on the linux forums before - do you have any linux experience?

if yes, then as tntcoder stated, Arch is ideal. A very lightweight distro where you only install what you need - almost: there are some forced dependencies whilst using pacman, but nothing near rpm or deb based installers. Of course, you could play with ABS and fix that as well... Might be worth looking into debian or Gentoo as well.

if no, then you're probably better going for one of the bigger distros like Ubuntu or OpenSuSE. (although, I personally have never used Ubuntu, there is a huge user base and therefore the most support.)

EDIT: If you're new to linux, you'll probably want to look into iptables (kind of the de facto standard in *nix for firewalls) as well if you're running a web facing box. There are lots of good front ends for it to help out the configuration.
 
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thanks walls

i'm a linux newbie as you said tbh, i did a tiny bit of red hat in uni, but that was basically just using wget and ftp, so super basic commandline stuff

i can do 10x more with cmd than i can in linux (at the moment)

just want to learn more of it, instead of just knowing windows + iis

i've dabbled with ubuntu, kubuntu and fedora core (only really used firefox + a few apps in them before though)
 

No problems mate :)

If you really want to learn and don't mind a fair bit of RTFMing and have a lot of patience, then Gentoo is the way to go (or maybe Sabayon - which is a gentoo fork, but pretty by default)... but I think it really is just too much for people who are new to linux as there is little to no hand holding, even with the gui installer! After that, one of the pre-compiled binary distros I mentioned above (as opposed to compiling your own packages from source on gentoo) where you still need to RTFM, but you don't need to worry about use flags, etc - but still get your hands dirty, as it were - so you learn more in a shorter space of time.

If you stick with it, after a while you'll realise that CMD really isn't that powerful and you can do 100 x more with the shell in linux!

Let us know how you get on :)
 
.walls, i realise linux shell is a lot more powerful, i was just saying that so you'd know how lame i am at linux :)
 
i'd like to learn it, but i'd rather stroll out from the shallow end, than dive in head first at the deep :)
 
I use arch for both desktop and server roles, GUI on both but SSH and screen on the server for remote control, works wonders.

It can't really be any simpler to install and the wikis on the site are pretty decent for most things.

Before that i tried Debian, Fedora (3) SUSE and slackware, Arch seemed the most stable yet functional.

In the end distros are personal preference more than anything.

I will say arch is bleeding edge, whereas some more established distros stick with a particular software version at release and only patch vulnerabilities etc. which could be more suited for your server.
 
I run Gentoo, CentOS and Ubuntu on production servers currently.

Gentoo is good because you know exactly what is on your system and what isnt, but its also the worst for maintenance. Packages are bleeding edge (so you are vulnerable to 0-day exploits), must be compiled individually after every update etc etc. Any speed benefits are negated by the ridiculous amount of time you spend compiling things.

CentOS is demanding compared to the other two I run but it is the best documented and most stable. Being based on RHEL you know that all of the major packages are going to be there for it and that they will work. IME, it is the most secure straight out of the box too (I suppose with Gentoo it depends on what you install and what you don't etc).

Ubuntu is childsplay to install and get up and running with, apt is far and away the nicest package manager out there at the moment. Between this and CentOS, if you are a relative newbie I would choose this because you wont be using it in a production environment. You can transfer the skills you learn from here to the other, more complicated distros but you wont be overwhelmed with complex configuration choices from the get-go.
 
On my Internet Server I am running Ubuntu, which runs Webmin, FTP/Apache/MYSQL/Shoutcast & other things I find it easier to get support for installing anything (Quick google usually brings up an HOWTO) :)
 
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