It would be much better if I had a second ethernet port on the server so I could get updates and download stuff etc while it was connected to other PCs.
Beyond that, Mac OS X and Ubuntu are cousins, Mac OS X being based off of FreeBSD/BSD, and Ubuntu being Linux based, which are two separate branches off of UNIX. I only have a few qualms with this server setup. Essentially, Ubuntu is free due to it's Open Source licensing, Mac OS X due to being closed source, isn't. I have tried time and time again to get a server setup with other distros, but with FreeNAS I was finally able to get many services up and running without breaking a sweat. It took about ten minutes to install, the rest was configure the network service from the webgui. With only a 20GB HD running as storage I went with the thumbdrive option.
FreeNAS has a cool option to install to a external memory stick or other such media. FreeNAS is a distro based off of BSD and is a welcome alternative to commercial NAS setups. I downloaded a small iso is called FreeNAS. Now Rocky Linux is available as a standard distro, with images available for x86-64 and ARM. Founder Gregory Kurtzer christened the distro in memory of his friend and original co-founder of CentOS, Rocky McGaugh. Recently I got interested in setting up a NAS (network attached storage). Rocky Linux describes itself as a community-based distro that aims for '100 bug-for-bug compatibility' with RHEL. I would like to install a version of Linux that The Debian vs Ubuntu debate, like the Fedora vs Ubuntu conversation, has been raging for several years now. I want the server to be as secure as possible and will be following the recommendations on the book "Hacking Linux Exposed" to configure Linux. This server will be configured as my web server and database server. (4) Intel Xeon 3.0Ghz CPU's W/ 8mb Cache/667mHz FSB Linux based OS like Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora are great options especially for running business enterprises where substantial computing power is mandatory. I purchased a HP Proliant DL580 G3 with the following configuration: I'll try to explain what I'm trying to do to see if it helps in making a recommendation. The version that you end up using should ultimately be the best for what you are trying to do. I read several posts that try to compare Slackware, Debian server, and Ubuntu but the message I got is that each version has its pros/cons. I'm very new to Linux and I'm looking for some guidance on which version of Linux server I should install.
Debian server vs Ubuntu server vs Slackware for Quad Xeon DL580 G3