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linux flavors
Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:55 am
by Burrito
I know this isn't a linux forum nor a mysql forum but a php forum....but they're all hand in hand...well sorta.
I have a few quick questions about which flavor of Linux I should install here at work and a good method for setting up mysql.
We're building an application that will will have a php front end (ahhh so yes, it is a php question

), and that will run on a w2k server. The backend will be mysql that will run on a linux server and the key is that it needs to be scalable (room for significant growth *hopefully significant*).
1st question: I have a few choices here (of Linux flavors to install) I have RedHat 9.0, Free BSD 4.9, and Fedora Core. Which of these options, in your opinions would suit my situation best.
2nd question: can someone provide me with a good resource to use for installation methods for the newest version of mysql.
Burr = linux newber...
thx in advance for your time,
Burrito
Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:57 am
by timvw
use the distro you know best (or people that are willing to help you know best).
btw, FreeBSD != GNU/Linux
Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:59 am
by Burrito
well that's just it, I know NOTHING and the people who are willing to help me are YOU!
so what is freeBSD..I have a copy of it sitting here on my desk, but no clue what it is
Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 10:25 am
by timvw
i would'nt install a server in a production environment without knowing how it works...
time to start reading....
http://www.freebsd.org the cookbook
http://www.tlpd.org the beginner howto
Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 10:43 am
by Burrito
timvw wrote:i would'nt install a server in a production environment without knowing how it works...
I wouldn't *normally* either...but unforunately I dont' have the luxory of foregoign this project...
Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:29 am
by pickle
Of those three flavours you suggested, I'd go with RedHat, simply because I think the installation is simplest. Of all flavours though, I'd suggest Mandrake. I installed it on my server from 4 discs, in under an hour. Apache, MySQL, and PHP were all working right out of the box, with no configuration needed. If you don't have the discs, you can download the ISOs like I did.
Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:37 am
by hedge
I think you'll find different opinions here. I would personally go with freeBSD (it's BSD not linux) and I have found it very stable. My least favourite would be RedHat (I consider it the 'windows' of linux distros).
If you want to stay with linux I'd suggest going with Debian or gentoo.
Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:40 am
by Burrito
hedge wrote:
If you want to stay with linux I'd suggest going with Debian or gentoo.
why those vs Fedora Core 3?
Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:43 am
by hedge
burrito wrote:hedge wrote:
If you want to stay with linux I'd suggest going with Debian or gentoo.
why those vs Fedora Core 3?
well I thought Fedora was the 'experimental' distro of redhat (has that changed?) ... not what you want for a production server.
RedHat you have to pay for but you do get support if that's important to you.
Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 8:33 pm
by feyd
Moved to Linux..

Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 8:37 pm
by Burrito
doh! I didn't even realize there was a forum dedicated to Linux...my bad.
boy oh boy
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 2:34 pm
by mediaphyte
Ok, first, I'm confused by the 'frontend' app running php on win2k? What's this? Is this really a frontend or is it a backend separated from the mysql db for some reason?
Sounds like maybe some major tweaking could be going on here. My experience is that if you want a server... go with linux unless there is a real reason to run Win for some proprietary reason (i.e. php, IN MY OPINION, works better on linux... less quirky)...
Now about the part you were actually asking... I'm a big-time debian (or variation) fan. But I'd also have to agree whole-heartedly with timvw, don't run a server if you don't know how to run a server.
So, more importantly than the question itself, I'd like to answer the un-asked: Yes! I do think you should simply hire someone to take on this portion of the project. Save yourself time/energy/money trying to learn LAMP, etc, and help out our community of well-talented developers. Heck, pay my $35/hr & I'll help out (probably cheaper in the long run, if you're serious)
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 2:40 pm
by Burrito
You're 2.5 months late....

Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 12:38 pm
by Pyrite
He is asking what server OS he should run MySQL on, that's it. His main server is Win2k (as he already said). I do this at my work, having a database server on a seperate machine to balance the load. Having php/apache on Server 2003 and MySQL on a Linux box beside it. It is a good implementation.
I would say, of your choices, Redhat 9 or FC3 (they are really the same thing actually).
yep, that's how it sounded
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 1:16 pm
by mediaphyte
I thought that's what it sounded like too... so, a question: you haven't noticed a decline in performance by splitting the web&SQL? Just curious. I've worked in this scenario with Point-of-Sale systems (even these generally run a local DB for the immediate, then update the main server), but have always been concerned with latency & network issues.