It’s a keeper!by Jim
30 Sep 2008
6:09 pm2
The long search is over. I’ve finally decided on my official Linux server distro: ArchLinux. I’ve spent the last few weeks (and many, many hours) trying out a few different distros and have found the one I want to stick with. Recently, I installed a trial copy of Windows Home Server after hearing a few recommendations. This meant that my Linux server (where this blog is hosted, among other sites) would have to make room for another OS. I don’t think I could survive without a Linux server, though, so I chose to take the virtualization route. I tried out a few different virtual server programs and found Microsoft’s Virtual Server the most useful. I wanted to use Sun’s VirtualBox, but Microsoft’s product has a web interface for configuring and controlling your servers: very cool. Besides, it also automatically starts up as a service, just like it should.
Anyway, I would have used the same distro I had on the machine before installing Windows Home Server, but my version of Ubuntu didn’t seem to like being virtualized and it would freeze nearly every morning. I got tired of reseting it, so I started looking for more distros. I tried Fedora: too bloated — especially for a virtual server. I tried Debian, but it didn’t like living in a virtual environment either; it couldn’t get anything from the repositories. Then I found Arch (thanks to Antony). It was just what I wanted: robust, but simple. Simple meaning complexity, not ease of use. Arch is not for the faint-hearted. I consider myself a fairly experienced Linux user, so I gave it a whirl. As you can see, Arch doesn’t have the freezing problems Ubuntu had. I’m glad I finally found something that works well. Arch is here to stay.
A Close Callby Jim
11 Dec 2007
12:12 am0
Well, after having so many issues with my server in Utah the last couple days, I decided to move the Wishlist to my own server here in Cali. Less than 5 minutes after I got it up here, I tried to get back on my server in Orem, and my connection was dead. Fortunately, the transition went smoothly and only took a few minutes. (Otherwise I would have had to wake up Jon at 1 AM to go kick my server and reboot it.) Anyway, now that it is on my (apparently more reliable) server here at home, there shouldn’t be any more hitches. Have fun Wishlisting!