Linux Distribution - Recommendations

[compuwatch]

Dear All,

We are successfully running a XP My SQL ODBC - BASE setup in my office with five workstations. I wonder if somebody could point me in the right direction regards to compatibility with BASE and if a particular distribution of LINUX is recommend above others. I played around with SUSE 10.3 .... consider UBUNTO. Any recommendations are appreciated.

As always,

Kind regards,
HANS

[ccornell]

Everyone will have their favorite Linux distribution... and loads of reasons why they use it over other ones. Personally I use openSUSE, and have for 10 years. I have used, and do use Ubuntu at home and at work... as well as Red Hat and others.

The best I can recommend for anyone (without starting a holy war over which distribution is better) is to try a couple of the mainstream distributions and select the one that provides the tools you need, and that "feels right" to you.

For beginner users I would suggest looking at at least these three:
- openSUSE
- Ubuntu / Kubuntu
- PCLinuxOS

I would recommend that you pick a Linux distribution that has some form of built in package management (eg apt-get in Ubuntu... or YaST and/or smart in openSUSE)

In the end, it is still Linux, and essentially the same regardless of which you choose.

As for Base and MySQL.... both should work equally well on Linux as in Windows. What compatibility are you looking for or wondering about?

[AndrewZ]

As a long-time Fedora user, I don't recommend Fedora for general use. It's too bleeding edge and the support cycle is too short, so I've learned CentOS is a much better choice for many applications---especially servers. I noticed certain Ubuntu versions have LTS (long term support), so those would be good choices.

I can't speak for SUSE or PCLinuxOS.

Do you need to authenticate Linux logins against a Windows PDC? Do the Linux users need Windows file sharing? While all Linux distros should be able to handle it, I remember Novell/SUSE working on something to make that particularly easy. (I've haven't tried it this way. I have only used NIS/YP and local accounts in Linux.)

Whichever you choose, I recommend you uninstall its modified version of OpenOffice.org and get the "mainstream" version from http://www.openoffice.org which seems to be more stable at the cost of a few fun features.

Typed on Fedora 7....

[ccornell]

As a long-time Fedora user, I don't recommend Fedora for general use. It's too bleeding edge and the support cycle is too short

That is especially true for a new user. The more bleeding edge a distribution is, the more tinkering you need to do.

so I've learned CentOS is a much better choice for many applications---especially servers. I noticed certain Ubuntu versions have LTS (long term support), so those would be good choices.

Hmmmm hadn't thought of that. Good point. For LTS, and even commercial support, then maybe you could also look at the top tier of the supported Linux versions... so for example: SLES / SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server/Desktop) or RHEL (RedHat Enterprise Linux.

Do you need to authenticate Linux logins against a Windows PDC? Do the Linux users need Windows file sharing? While all Linux distros should be able to handle it, I remember Novell/SUSE working on something to make that particularly easy. (I've haven't tried it this way. I have only used NIS/YP and local accounts in Linux.)

SUSE builds almost all of the admin level functionality into YaST... some people hate YaST because it "hides" the traditional command line admin functions behind a fairly simple to use GUI. Personally I like it and really miss it in other distributions... although, I notice Ubuntu is working on providing similar functionality in upcoming releases.

[Villeroy]

There have been many reports about Base not properly working with several Linux builds. As you can see in my signature, I use a rather old Ubuntu LTS. It came with some rudimentary but free version of Java and OOo2.0.2 with some undocumented "extra features". That combination did not work well with Base. Quite a few contributors to this forum recommend to replace any distibution's compilation of OOo with the original ones from Sun.

Searched oooforum.org for all 3 "Ubuntu Sun install"
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.phtml?p=265605

Same search here:
http://user.services.openoffice.org/en/ ... tall#p4813
Vanilla report builder does not work:

Now the exception I mentioned above - and this may only be for SUN Report Builder - if you are using one of the Linux Distro versions of OpenOffice.org then you may need to install a version of Report Builder also built by that distro - the reason is the java support. One example of where you must do this is the 64bit Ubuntu ( in my case Kubuntu ) version of OO.o.

[DrewJensen]

To follow up on that -

There are 64bit builds of the standard OpenOffic.org and Report Builder available for Linux. This weekend I shuold be testing both the latest OpenOffic.org 2.4 developers build ( 680_m6 ) and the upcoming Report Builder 1.0.2 under 64bit Linux. Time permitting ( and it is looking grim for that at the moment ) I would like to also test the 2.3.1 64bit vanilla OO.o and Report Builder 1.0.2 which would be a good thing as the verson I'm getting from apt-get is still the Report Builder 1.0.0

[Hagar Delest]

My 2€ post:
Have tried Debian, SimplyMepis and Ubuntu, using each one around a year. Debian is best for someone wanting to have the exact system matching his needs and his machine. SimplyMepis is really good for hardware support (sometimes better than Ubuntu). I kept Ubuntu because: the LTS I use works fine on my HP laptop (had issues with previous versions on another Compaq laptop, which I have kept running SimplyMepis) and it comes full featured, no need to install yourself all what you need like in Debian. NB: I tried Ubuntu 7.10 and in live CD mode, I don't have any panel at all, I can't do anything

Many issues have been reported concerning Base under Ubuntu, the usual fix is to install the Sun version: install the official version of OOo : [Ubuntu] Installing OOo on Debian and Co.

[kingfisher]

I endorse PcLinuxOS as a good distro to start. It has a choice of Package Managers (Synaptic and Smart) and a gui interface for many system configurations. I have not been able to find a distro that is so simple and reliable.

I don't know how Base works with it. I have seen no complaints. It would not take long to find out. You can run the system from the live cd without installing it if you wish.

[compuwatch]

Thank you for your kind recommendations. I appreciate - Thanks

[NiksaVel]

Since noone mentioned it I'll drop in my suggestion - if you're looking for general desktop use, try Linux Mint... I was a long time Ubuntu user, but have become a strong mint devotee.... have it installed on all 4 comps in my house and noone ever complained