I need to begin studying various methods of writing networking applications, to be more precise JSP pages. Here's the comp I have got for the job: P2 360 192 mb ram Its old, a junker comp. The first distro I slapped on it was Mandriva LE 2005 and that just crawls like a turtle, (takes about 5-10 seconds just to bring up a right click on the desktop) so I figure I need something a lot lighter. Now the only distro's I am familiar with is Ubuntu, Fedora and Mandriva and none seem eligble for the job. I need a distro which isn't bloated like Mandriva but supports great security for severs such as sshd, httpd, jsp web-server, any opinions? Just a final note, this sever isn't for public use or anything, just for me to begin studying jsp and other web related languages.

Any linux distribution will produce a reasonable performance on that box. But with that rather low-end (;)) configuration you should think about using a different windows manager.
First you should start the configuration tool of your distri and remove what you dont need on that box. For example you wont need OpenOffice, mozilla suit etc, all that stuff; just remove what you dont need.
I guess mandriva uses KDE or gnome. Try out some more lightweight like fluxbox, windowmaker, etc. Or you might think about disabling X at all and just use textmode, should be enough for a server.

good luck

If you boot up the Ubuntu install CD and type server at the prompt, you will get a more minimal server install that doesn't include X and GNOME and such.

Your best bet is to install Ubuntu, then replace the window manager with something minimal like IceWM, Blackbox, Fluxbox, *box, or something similar. Setting up LAMP, svnserver, webmin for quick configuration, and so on, couldn't be easier. Not to mention, Ubuntu installs from a single CD.

If you're looking for a headless server (e.g. no monitor attached, and does not run a Window manager at all), then it's possible to do this with Ubuntu... I have it running on my P2 233 64mb, and it runs like a charm.

If you'd like assistance setting this up, drop me a line; I don't mind helping :)

You could try Damn Small Linux, or use something like Ubuntu or Fedora and switch to a light weight window manager.

But your best bet for running a server on older hardware is to get comfortable with the command line and not even install X. It'll run fast, and once it's set up, you won't need a monitor or keyboard for it - you can just log in from another computer with SSH.

That was kinda my plan, a headless server which if I need to control I can just SSH into from another machine on the network.

I'll take the Ubuntu suggestion (since I have it lieing around) and just do a minimal server install. How will this lead me along tho when it comes to installing a JSP compatible server (like Blazik), with a minimal server install will I even be able to build/compile-install apps? (g++ etc)

This computer also needs to be accessable via windows network and a linux network but I'm sure SAMBA can deal with that job regardless of the installation. Even though I've never been able to get Windows to see a Linux share, but Linux can always see my Windows shares.

MatrixCubed, I will probably take you up on that offer. Once I get started.

Any further tips?

Quote: Original post by Halsafar
with a minimal server install will I even be able to build/compile-install apps? (g++ etc)

No, nor will you be able to do so on a default install...
A quick sudo apt-get install build-essential will fix that pretty quickly though.

Most common stuff should be available through apt (sudo apt-get install package). It's a really nice tool. It looks like it doesn't have Blazik, though.

Quote: Original post by Halsafar
That was kinda my plan, a headless server which if I need to control I can just SSH into from another machine on the network.

I'll take the Ubuntu suggestion (since I have it lieing around) and just do a minimal server install. How will this lead me along tho when it comes to installing a JSP compatible server (like Blazik), with a minimal server install will I even be able to build/compile-install apps? (g++ etc)

This computer also needs to be accessable via windows network and a linux network but I'm sure SAMBA can deal with that job regardless of the installation. Even though I've never been able to get Windows to see a Linux share, but Linux can always see my Windows shares.

MatrixCubed, I will probably take you up on that offer. Once I get started.

Any further tips?

When you're going through builds of different software, it helps to be able to understand the various tools at your disposal on a *nix system.

Since Ubuntu has the apt-* suite of applications, searching for and installing missing software is usually a simple matter of:
apt-cache search some_app_or_lib | grep dev (to look for development tools related to the lib or app)
apt-get install app_or_lib_name

It's important to obtain a good list of apt-repositories early on. There are good ones posted on http://ubuntuguide.org/ or http://ubuntuforums.org/

Setting up Windows-visible Linux shares is not terribly difficult; I have a media-dump on my Linux server I share up around the house, and it's visible from other Linux desktops as well as Windows ones.

Yes I've been learning the wonders of apt-get. I got the universe repositories added. I've installed nearly everything via apt-get that didn't come with the system.
I was spoiled with Mandriva and its GUI.

I finally got the comp to share just fine on windows and linux comps. It is necessary since as well as being a private server for JSP it is also the backup housing for the area.

Thanks for all your help.