Which Linux Distro is best for a Apache Web Server

[DaveLembke]

I am looking for suggestions on the best upgrade for my current setup, most secure and reliable, FREE distro of Linux which will be used primarily as an Apache Web Server and a remote file server through SFTP or VSFTP?

My current system is a HP Invent Celeron 700Mhz, 384MB Ram, 160GB IDE HD, running a dual boot of Windows 2000 Pro SP4 and Fedora Core 5 with latest patches etc, configured as an Apache web server and a SFTP server at my IP address:port.

I've been tempted to replace the Celeron 700Mhz 128k Cache Socket 370 CPU with a Pentium III 1Ghz 256k Cache, but not sure if there is going to be much of a performance gain other than extra clock cycles and twice as much Cache for the application as a web/ftp server.

I am a newbie when it comes to Linux. I took a course in it over last summer and my final project was this Web Server / FTP server. I would like to build a better web server for FREE if at all possible, so I will have to stick with a FREE Distro. I am also going to get about 8 Pentium II and III computers soon, that I would like to recycle into redundant web servers / ftp servers that are Linux based. The slower CPU's amd Ram will probably limit my ability to build anything really nice from it all, but Linux is so powerful and not as much of a resource hog as Microsoft OS, so maybe the PII's would be fine for the builds. I have no doubt that the PIII's would work well for the applicaton. Oh, BTW the PII's are all PII 400 - 450 Mhz CPUs and all HP Series 7 tower systems.

I have placed my Knoppix Live-CD into them and written down the drivers that are used already in case I run into any driver issues with a different build not detecting the correct driver.

Should I stick with Fedora Core 5 Linux Distro or go with a different distro.... All suggestions welcome... Thanks!! Dave  :-?

[linuxlover]

How much  RAM do the P2s and P3s have?

[DaveLembke]

The PII's have between 128MB and 256MB, and Max out at 512MB for the motherboards. They have three PC-100 SDRAM slots, so I can take say two 128 sticks and a 256 stick to max out one of the PII's if need be.

The PIII's have 256MB to 512MB, and Max out at 512MB or 1GB. They have two PC-100/133 SDRAM slots

***Also the PII's all have 8.4 GB Maxtor Hard Drives, and the PIII's both have 20GB Seagate IDE 5400 RPM Drives.

[Rob Pomeroy]

Personally I would go for a server-centric distro, from an active team, and install it minus any X fripperies.  CentOS, WhiteBox Linux and TinySofa are all good choices (in that order of preference).  They all have options for "hardening" - i.e. making them more secure.  Consider using the SELinux option at install time, if you can get it working.  

[DaveLembke]

Thanks...I will look those distros up to see which one to venture into.... Also I have played with SELinux and have had some problems with trying to get it to work correctly for Fedora Core 5. I probably gave up too early on trying to get it to work, but it seemed like I'd get the Apache Web Server working fine and SFTP wouldn't work. I'd make another modificaton to the settings to add an exception and suddenly the web server was down and SFTP was up.... The web server was using port 8080 and my SFTP was on port 22. I ran out of time before the project was due, so I shut off SELinux and presented for my A+ to show both Apache and SFTP working correctly between my home and college.

[Rob Pomeroy]

The difference is that this time you'll have lots of help (if you need it).  

[Rob Pomeroy]

By the way, I forgot to mention Trustix.  From their website:

Trustix Secure Linux is a distribution for servers with a heavy focus on security and stability. One of the main features of Trustix is its small size which combined with easy updating by the automated secure software updater swup, makes it a smooth and inviting system to administer.

EnGarde also looks promising.

[GX1_Man]

I'm with Rob on CentOS.