[CentOS] CentOS for non-tech user

[Florin Andrei]

Matt wrote:
> 
> Just wandering if anyone is using the 'Ubuntu Server Edition's'?

On a whim, I installed it on my home mail/web/* server. It was due for 
an upgrade anyway.

So far, so good. Running a boatload of services (low load though), no 
crashes, solid.

The "Ubuntu experience" is the same. When I had to install stuff like 
the MythTV backend, or the MediaTomb UPnP server (*) or things like that 
(including multimedia things like libavcodec or libdvdread), there was 
no need to add all sorts of repos to the system, which may or may not 
conflict each other or replace the base packages. I just did "sudo 
apt-get install somepackage" and, voila!, I was done.

So I think I prefer it even on the server, if it's a small home server 
like this. At work though, what with Oracle RAC, high-end storage and 
things like that, Red Hat and its derivatives are still the choice.


(*) - It's great to have a system up-n-running 24/7 anyway (for email, 
web, DHCP, printing and whatnot). In that case, you can put a UPnP 
server on it, and dump all your multimedia files (MP3, JPEG, movies) on 
the hard-drive, then comfortably browse them on your TV with some sort 
of UPnP client (a game console like the PS3, or one of those tiny UPnP 
boxes they sell on the Internet).
Then put a MythTV backend on the server, and install the frontend on the 
gaming PC connected to your TV - you do have one, right? :-) The gaming 
PC can dual-boot, Mythbuntu for MythTV, Windows for games.
It's a great setup, and yes, it can be done on CentOS or just about any 
Linux distro. But with Ubuntu everything is just there, so the 
install/admin effort is greatly reduced.

-- 
Florin Andrei

http://florin.myip.org/