We just finished migrating an .ASPX/MSSQL website to PHP/MySQL for a bunch of reasons we tried to roll it out on our existing MS-based hosting discountasp.net. Our code runs fine, but we're having issues with time-outs on a daily cron job that we need to run to email PDF reports to users.

I don't have anyone inhouse who is smart about Linux/VPS, and would like to move this over to Linode. Nothing unusual about our code, I just need someone to set up Linode for me (I'd hack through it myself, but am very busy right now), and to help me work through DNS issues (registrar is GoDaddy, but discountasp.net has the DNS for our domain). Also help with securing the site.

Once set up, would like to tutoring on how to manage it (I run Ubuntu as my desktop OS, so I'm good with all of this). Our lead developer in Europe, and he will be fine moving stuff around etc... once Linode is setup.

Can you help on this? if so what's your availability. I potentially would like to do this next few days?

This seems pretty strait forward.

1) I can setup a new Linode with Centos Server which is what I recommend.

2) I will install the Lampstack on the server.

3) Once the server is set up we can import your MYSQL databases from your old set up to your new one.

4) Configuring your server with Godaddy dns is trivial

5) Once done will configure a shell script to back up your mysql database and websites to the cloud using Tarsnap.

If I have missed something or this is not what you want please explain more.

Why do you recommend it?

Its based off Red-Hat very stable and secure.

You've got to be kidding me. If that's all you can bring forth, maybe doing system administration for clients shouldn't be what you do.

Compared to what? The choice of distribution has pretty much nothing to do with security; security is how you configure it. As far as stability, I'll give you that RHEL is stable. But CentOS is not RHEL, any more than Fedora is RHEL.

- Les

(Rnowak)
You've got to be kidding me. If that's all you can bring forth, maybe doing system administration for clients shouldn't be what you do.




I'm sorry for offending you. I didn't know you needed a entire essay on Centos nor do I have

the time to write it up for you. if you were a system admin you would not even need to ask the question. Please move along the Ubuntu kiddie pool is calling.

You're offering your paid services to someone that solicited them on a public forum. Expect to be put under scrutiny by community members that do not want people to get screwed over by clueless twats such as you. If you cannot give an explanation of why you would choose CentOS other than "Its based off Red-Hat very stable and secure." then you just failed the test.

If you were a system admin, you would not get butthurt when your choices are questioned, instead you would give a thorough explanation to your potential future clients. That is, if you actually had any good arguments for your choices.

Ubuntu Server is an excellent enterprise product that is well supported, and has a predictable and consistent release schedule and a well defined support life-cycle with the LTS releases. There's a reason why Ubuntu is the only distribution showing consistent marketshare growth in the global webserver market, while every other distribution is either remaining flat or shrinking. CentOS is also a good enterprise distribution, although its unreliable release schedule has kept it from growing beyond the 29-30% where it hovers.

I wouldn't trust anybody throwing around laughable statements like "Ubuntu kiddie pool" to administer a server for me. It shows a huge amount of ignorance that destroys the credibility and sense of professionalism of the person uttering it.

No.

CentOS is RHEL - branding - paid support + minor package modifications to achieve the -branding part. RHEL is upstream of CentOS and Fedora is upstream of RHEL.

I'd say RedHat has about a BILLION reasons why your statement is wrong.

The only REAL enterprise class Linux Distro is RedHat, period. With CentOS and Scientific Linux and Oracle Unbreakable (..pause while I throw up a bit in my mouth..) Linux riding on their success.

Ubuntu might be well received by web developers, but I know of no serious CTO/CIO, network engineer, etc that would pick Ubuntu (affectionately known as Unoobtu) over Redhat and still keep their jobs.

Personally I have no clue why people would pick Ubuntu over Debian, but it's a moot hypothetical question, sense we run a complete RHEL/CentOS/SL shop/lab/dev center (or at least we do for our file/db/3D rendering servers - all our desktops and directory servers are Windows).

_________________
Either provide enough details for people to help, or sit back and listen to the crickets chirp.
Security thru obscurity is a myth - and really really annoying.

A billion eh? Go on then.

Why would people pick Ubuntu over Debian? That one is easy: predictable release schedules and pre-defined support lifecycles. I know pretty accurately when the LTS release will come out in 2014, and I know precisely how long it will be supported for. That said, Debian's market share is still significantly higher than Ubuntu Server's, although at this rate, that may change eventually.

I won't argue that RHEL isn't an enterprise-grade Linux distribution. It is, a well-supported one at that, that doesn't suffer the "when we feel like it" issues that CentOS has. But it is also in fourth-place in terms of web server (not web developer) market share with ~12% share.

I believe Wikipedia is mostly hosted on Ubuntu servers. That's a few billion reasons per month right there.

I can only imagine what the original poster for this thread is thinking by now.

RHEL is licensed, CentOS isn't. I agree that CentOS would be the best recommendation to set up a basic LAMP stack. There are many resources available for it and it's more common of a deployment than others are making it out to be. Unless a user has a specific distro preference, CentOS would be a pretty safe bet for stability.

As for Ubuntu, I personally use it since it's consistent among my desktop development and my server, but in all reality Debian and Ubuntu are almost as scarce as BSD from my experience, though it might be more common on VPS/cloud.