Hi all,
I've got a company that does Network Administration in several clients, but up until now we've only worked with M$ systems.
I'm starting to use linux (just brought a machine home to install it), and my goal is to try to find out if with Linux we'll be able to replace some of our clients systems.
One of my newbie questions is about what distro should we use. We need something that's not very complicated to start with, but that allows us to implement good server solutions.
Right now I'm trying to choose between Red Hat and Suse. One of my friends (who is a Red Hat fan) told me that he didn't like SUSE because we were a bit dependant on their configuration tools (I think he mentioned YAST).
Can you please tell me if SUSE would be the best distro for me to start with, and why?
I'm also in the process of evaluating Suse, but I'm coming from an entirely different direction than you are. I've been using Linux for >6 years now and have never looked as a commercial product until now. Given that, I'm more familiar with the DIY aspect of many of the distributions. I'm assuming that, given your history with Windows, you are not as accustomed to DIY as Debian, Slackware, and Gentoo might require. That said I have two points which might help you sort this out. Point One: You are going to have to close the doors, lock everyone out, and just try each of these out yourself. You have to live with it. Every distribution has it's own idiosyncrasies that you will have to work with. And eventually you will find one that doesn't drive you crazy (or less so) Point Two: A number of people I know who have been long term RedHat users (and contractors) have recently switched to Suse. This was based on RedHat 9.0 comparisons to Suse 8.2. What information I have received from them seems to imply that Suse 8.2 has a much better job with the Administration and SysAdmin management of the installations. I think this difference is more apparent with larger installations.