Topic awaiting preservation: Server Scripting & Servers Questions, Advice wanted...

Hey all. It's time for me to make some changes in my workflow and career goals and I'd like your advice on a couple of things.

I've got a lot of time on my hands from now until about February 2002 and I wanted to spend this time bolstering my skill us much as possible before I start Uni. After much consideration I've decided to ditch my earlier thoughts of studying ASP and other MS technologies in favor of PHP / Unix stuff. However, I live in Brisbane, Australia, which is a very MS dominated market in terms of Web Server software and Web Development, but I doubt I'll stay here forever (Hopefully not!) so I thought sticking with the free and open source technologies would be a better option. However, that's not what I was seeking advice on, I just wanted to provide some background info on my current situation, but if you think I?m making the wrong decision in this area then by all means, let me know.

What I would like some advice on it server software and Operating systems. When it comes to web server software I know nothing, and very little about OS's except for Windows 9x and some basic NT4 networking stuff. I'm thinking about picking up a copy of Windows 2000 as the price had dropped a little since XP's release. I'm also thinking about partitioning my Hard Disk and setting up a dual boot with Win2000 and Unix. I'm thinking this would give me the ability to really learn how Web Servers work, how to set them up with various server technologies and languages and how to administer a web server. Since I know nothing about these two OS's and the kind of software I?m planning on learning about, I just wanted to know if I was making a good decision. Would I be better off going with different OS's or just a single boot and or two different PC's (I don't know if I can afford that!)? I'll still need some version of Windows to run my design apps on so I don't want to go completely Unix based, but I might be able to pick up second-hand Pentium to network with my current PC to run Unix on.

I want to learn as much as I can about web servers and how their setup and run. How do you set up mail and ftp servers and all that kind of stuff. I also want to learn how to use Unix at some point. Yes, many many things I've always wanted to know, and there's never a better time than the present I say. I don't really know what I doing but I know what I want to accomplish so any advice you could give me would be a big help.

Thanks heaps in Advance.

Drac.

Read lots of books. And practice with it loads.

Unix is a powerful operating system, it could be fun, but you might want to try BSD or Linux based system. It would be a much cheaper solution.

If you can afford it, go for two separate comp's, one simpler (read cheaper/used) for liux/unix.
That way you can practice setting up network stuff as well as run remote admin through ssh from win to unix and so on. You can also really test serverside code written on windows but run on unix and trap all stupeid case-sensitive errors and similar that we all do now and then.
/Dan


-{ a vibration is a movement that doesn't know which way to go }-

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

hmm. personally I'd pick up a cheap pentium (try ebay...) and a standard Linux dis, like Redhat or Suse. You could even download these if you have a flatrate, and don't mind waiting a couple of nights...
Pros for the second PC:
-You're not wasting time waiting for the other Os to boot.
-You'll learn something about TCP/IP networking
-you can use a state-of the art browser (ie IE) to visit the server on the Linux box.
-when your windows crashed once again, you can play something on the linux box.
-you can get it really cheap, since you probably won't install any of the fancy KDE/Gnome stuff, wich uses a lot of ram and shouldn't be on a server anyway.

disadvantages
-costs
-takes up room and consumes energy.
-depending wether you bup a second monitor, or just a switch for keyboard and monitor this can get confusing. (I always grab the wrong keyboard when I start typing. no matter what...)

so long,

Tyberius Prime
"If you can't make one up, use this witty quote instead".

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

Humm, Looking in the local trading post and I don't really think I can afford another PC right now. I think I'd perfer to get another 30 Gig HDD instead .

I'd perfer to start out with a dual boot system, then try and con an old PC from my friend in the Networking biz. He's always re-fitting networks with new PC's and he often get's give the old ones, which he lets go for next to nothing or free if you butter him up well enough.

Telling him I'm finally going to learn Unix should do the trick, the only downside is that I'll have to wait untill he has some spare PC's...

I remember A thread a while back where people where debating over which Unix distro's would be good for beginners, I think I'll run off and read through that now.

Thanks for your advice guys, I really appreciate it.