Best OS

asmith · Post by **asmith** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 10:12 pm

Hi,

I'm about to get a linux vps server and I wanna install wine on it. The ohst is offering me these OS :

Cent OS
Fedora
Debian

I want to run some windows image converters on it. (It's tested it will work)
I wanted to know which OS I must choose to have the fastest and smoothest performance with Wine.

Thanks for your time

James McKenzie · Post by **James McKenzie** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:26 pm

asmith wrote:

Hi,

I'm about to get a linux vps server and I wanna install wine on it. The ohst is offering me these OS :

This is called flame bait but I will provide some information:

Cent OS

This is the non Red Hat supported complation of the latest RedHat
release code.

Fedora

This is basically a beta test for the next RedHat release

Debian

This may be old and creaky but it is supposed to be the most stable
release of Linux available.

You also forgot Ubuntu. I used this once, erased the CD that I put it
on and used it for something else. Of course, I was running an IBM
Thinkpad and they are very hard to get working under Linux (I've
compiled over 100 custom kernels for it.)

I want to run some windows image converters on it. (It's tested it will work)
I wanted to know which OS I must choose to have the fastest and smoothest performance with Wine.

Again, this is subject to debate. I run a Mac, and I'm a Mac snob so
you would know my answer. Linux distributions get followers and getting
them to agree on which is the best is impossible.

Here is a suggestion:

Get what you feel is the best, research on-line and then CHOOSE. You
will not 'loose' as all of these distributions are good. The best is a
real debate.

austin987 · Post by **austin987** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 12:37 am

On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 11:26 PM, James
McKenzie<[email protected]> wrote:

asmith wrote:
Hi,

I'm about to get a linux vps server and I wanna install wine on it. The ohst is offering me these OS :

This is called flame bait but I will provide some information:
Cent OS

This is the non Red Hat supported complation of the latest RedHat
release code.
Fedora

This is basically a beta test for the next RedHat release
Debian

This may be old and creaky but it is supposed to be the most stable
release of Linux available.

You also forgot Ubuntu. Â I used this once, erased the CD that I put it
on and used it for something else. Â Of course, I was running an IBM
Thinkpad and they are very hard to get working under Linux (I've
compiled over 100 custom kernels for it.)

I want to run some windows image converters on it. (It's tested it will work)
I wanted to know which OS I must choose to have the fastest and smoothest performance with Wine.

Again, this is subject to debate. Â I run a Mac, and I'm a Mac snob so
you would know my answer. Â Linux distributions get followers and getting
them to agree on which is the best is impossible.

Here is a suggestion:

Get what you feel is the best, research on-line and then CHOOSE. Â You
will not 'loose' as all of these distributions are good. Â The best is a
real debate.

Best answer, get the most updated version possible.

FWIW, Ubuntu is really popular, so more guides and such are oriented to that...

--
-Austin

asmith · Post by **asmith** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 12:41 am

Thanks for the replay.

The host is not offering me Ubuntu. Just the 3 OS mentioned above.
You probably would laugh

, But I've never used a linux for my pc. I've been on linux servers only for sites I work on, A combination of apache and php5.
I've never touched one closely.

So these names of different OS are all the same for me. (Fedora just "sound" a better name to me)

I've searched a bit for "best os for wine" or some similar. But nothing special came up. As you called it a flame bait, I guess they must be all equal but with their own pros and cons.

Still I'd like to see more replies. I've got some windows image converters, That I'd like to know how fast Wine handle executing them.

Martin Gregorie · Post by **Martin Gregorie** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 4:47 am

On Thu, 2009-06-18 at 21:26 -0700, James McKenzie wrote:

You also forgot Ubuntu. I used this once, erased the CD that I put it
on and used it for something else. Of course, I was running an IBM
Thinkpad and they are very hard to get working under Linux (I've
compiled over 100 custom kernels for it.)

That's odd: IBM Thinkpads are generally known as some of the easiest
machines to install Linux on. I've been using RedHat from 6.2 up through
7.2 and then Fedora replaced the earlier development distros. I've run
all Fedora distros from Core 1 all the way up to Fedora 10. All releases
have installed and run on my laptops without any problems[*].

[*] My original laptop was an old Thinkpad 560Z which would only boot
off HDD or floppy. It wouldn't run anything later than Fedora core 1
(the final kernel 2.4 distribution) because the kernel 2.6 installers
won't fit on a floppy. I now have this Lenovo Thinkpad R61i which goes
like the clappers under Fedora 10.

Get what you feel is the best, research on-line and then CHOOSE. You
will not 'loose' as all of these distributions are good. The best is a
real debate.

Good advice. The only cost of doing so is download/install time and a
fresh DVD (unless you use rewritable media and reuse it).

Martin

Sjors Gielen · Post by **Sjors Gielen** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 5:41 am

asmith wrote:

Thanks for the replay.

The host is not offering me Ubuntu. Just the 3 OS mentioned above.
You probably would laugh , But I've never used a linux for my pc. I've been on linux servers only for sites I work on, A combination of apache and php5.
I've never touched one closely.

A VPS is wrong to start with if you want to do things like that. Ubuntu
is really easy for beginners; what I think is best for you is to install
Ubuntu either on your own (separate partition or something) or another
PC, and then start using it. Learn to use Wine and learn to do things on
Wine with it.

You should note that the VPS does not just come with a graphical server.
A Windows VPS would be something you, for example, "VPN" into and you
get a graphical interface; you SSH into a Linux server mostly and get a
raw console where you can input commands. Of course you can install an X
server there, then a VPN server, and then you could VPN into your
graphical environment. No doubt that would also make it much easier to
run those Wine programs - if they take options through their graphical
interface, you either have an X (graphical) server running on that
server, or you run it on your own PC and when you break the connection,
the program dies; probably not what you want since I understand you're
talking about a long process you want to run in the background.

So these names of different OS are all the same for me. (Fedora just "sound" a better name to me)

I've searched a bit for "best os for wine" or some similar. But nothing special came up. As you called it a flame bait, I guess they must be all equal but with their own pros and cons.

Still I'd like to see more replies. I've got some windows image converters, That I'd like to know how fast Wine handle executing them.

Wine works just as fast on all these platforms, it is really a matter of
preference.

What I think would be best for you, is to first run Ubuntu on one of
your own PC's, and then really use it for a while, try to get those
programs for Wine working, then if you still want the VPS, choose for
Debian. Once it's installed, upgrade to testing (squeeze AFAIK), then
install an X server and VPN server (google for that). Debian is very
much related to Ubuntu, so you will be able to use what you learned on
your Ubuntu machine. After you installed X and a VPN server, you can use
a VPN client on your PC to connect to the machine and have the graphical
interface right away. Then you'll be able to run those Wine programs to
your liking.

So you probably shouldn't get that VPS until you're sure you're
comfortable with the environment, and sure you can use those Windows
programs correctly in Wine.

Good luck,
Sjors

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tparker · Post by **tparker** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:24 am

asmith wrote:

The host is not offering me Ubuntu. Just the 3 OS mentioned above.

Ubuntu is Debian based, but I do not know how many of the tutorials and
reference materials would be common between them.
You should be fine with any of the three choices offered. They are all
well known, well supported distributions. Fedora and Debian may be
better known on the client/user side then Cent OS, that might be a
consideration if you decide to do non-server work related to your server
system. A google search on each distribution with the word 'server'
added should return some reading for you that would give you an idea how
each handles things server side, but if one of the three holds an
attraction to you go with it and you should be fine.

James Mckenzie · Post by **James Mckenzie** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 2:17 pm

Sjors Gielen <[email protected]> wrote about Re: [Wine] Best OS

asmith wrote:
Thanks for the replay.

The host is not offering me Ubuntu. Just the 3 OS mentioned above.
You probably would laugh , But I've never used a linux for my pc. I've been on linux servers only for sites I work on, A combination of apache and php5.
I've never touched one closely.
A VPS is wrong to start with if you want to do things like that. Ubuntu
is really easy for beginners; what I think is best for you is to install
Ubuntu either on your own (separate partition or something) or another
PC, and then start using it. Learn to use Wine and learn to do things on
Wine with it.

Some folks have a problem reading:

The OP is going to access a hosted computer that is provided by the VPS (ISP). The OP HAS NO CHOICE IN WHAT DISTRO TO USE, THERE ARE THREE AND ONLY THREE. Please limit comments to only those that the OP can use.

Now that that is in the clear. Ubuntu is great for beginners. However, I started with RedHat Linux after a somewhat ten year absence from the community (Slackware fit on a 1.44 MB floppy days.) I would recommend going to CentOS as this is the community version of RedHat Enterprise Linux and probably has the most support. However, Debian is a good choice as well. I would not run ANYTHING production on Fedora, it is a beta test suite and I've been bitten by it more than once (fortunately, it did not kill my Thinkpad.) Again, the choice of Linux is up to the OP, we can provide help. Suggesting that he go 'outside the box' may not be a good idea in the long run.

James McKenzie

Sjors Gielen · Post by **Sjors Gielen** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 4:50 pm

James Mckenzie schreef:

Sjors Gielen <[email protected]> wrote about Re: [Wine] Best OS
asmith wrote:
Thanks for the replay.

The host is not offering me Ubuntu. Just the 3 OS mentioned above.
You probably would laugh , But I've never used a linux for my pc. I've been on linux servers only for sites I work on, A combination of apache and php5.
I've never touched one closely.
A VPS is wrong to start with if you want to do things like that. Ubuntu
is really easy for beginners; what I think is best for you is to install
Ubuntu either on your own (separate partition or something) or another
PC, and then start using it. Learn to use Wine and learn to do things on
Wine with it.

Some folks have a problem reading:

The OP is going to access a hosted computer that is provided by the VPS (ISP). The OP HAS NO CHOICE IN WHAT DISTRO TO USE, THERE ARE THREE AND ONLY THREE. Please limit comments to only those that the OP can use.

Since you seem to LIKE USING CAPITAL ALPHANUMERIC CHARACTERS, let me
assure you I read the original comment and KNOW HE HAS NO CHOICE IN WHAT
DISTRO TO USE (ON HIS VPS (ISP)), THERE ARE THREE AND ONLY THREE. Since
he said this was his first real contact with Linux, I advised him to
install Ubuntu either on your own or another PC - let me repeat that,
that is "either on your own PC or on another PC" (for example, another
PC at home). This is to let him get more experience with using a Linux
distro, using Wine, and using his image conversion programs, before he
actually spends money on a VPS that may otherwise be a useless
disappointment. Some folks have a problem reading, which is not a
problem, if they wouldn't be so agressive in telling other people *they*
can't read

Other than that, it's quite easy to migrate a remote Debian machine to
Ubuntu since they are so much related. At least it is if you have got
the experience for it, so I wouldn't advise it for this user.

Sjors

asmith · Post by **asmith** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:06 pm

Thanks for the replies.

I guess it is a good idea for me to try the Linux OS on a pc and just look what it is and try everything locally first.

Is it possible I install the Linux on my pc which has windows as well? (running both at the same time)

Martin Gregorie · Post by **Martin Gregorie** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 2:50 am

On Fri, 2009-06-19 at 22:06 -0500, asmith wrote:

Thanks for the replies.

I guess it is a good idea for me to try the Linux OS on a pc and just
look what it is and try everything locally first.

Is it possible I install the Linux on my pc which has windows as well?
(running both at the same time)

Yes. Many distros offer a 'live CD'. You can boot from this without
installing Linux and without altering your hard disk in any way. It will
run quite slowly, both because CDs are much slower than hard disks and
because everything is compressed on the disk, but it will give you a
feel for the OS.

If you have 15 GB free on your hard disk you can set up a dual boot
system (this fairly complete development Fedora 10 system uses 10 GB of
a 160 GB disk) but you can't run Windows and Linux at the same time
unless you use Linux as the main OS and run Windows under it in a
virtual PC.

OTOH, if you have an older PC that's now too slow to run current Windows
it may run rather well under Linux. My house server is an old Pentium 3
box (IBM NetVista with an 866 MHz P3, 512 MB RAM and a 40 GB hard disk).
that happily ran the Linux desktop in 256 MB RAM. I run a large
background load as well as the Gnome graphical desktop on this machine:
the extra RAM just makes it a bit faster.

HTH

Martin

Gert van den Berg · Post by **Gert van den Berg** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 2:57 am

On Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 05:06, asmith<[email protected]> wrote:

Thanks for the replies.

I guess it is a good idea for me to try the Linux OS on a pc and just look what it is and try everything locally first.

Is it possible I install the Linux on my pc which has windows as well? (running both at the same time)

Virtualbox.... (VMware server / MS Virtual PC might work as well, but
Virtualbox beat the free versions of those...) (And a virtualized
environment is probably a good test, since a VPS is a virtualized
environment as well...) You need lots of RAM though, since you need to
give the VM a decent-sized chunk...

Or create a partition and dual boot... (Most live-CDs can do this,
shrinking partitions is risky though...)

For debian: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Win32-loader_%28Debian%29
For Ubuntu: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wubi_%28Ubuntu%29

Note: I have a VPS with VPSLink and they offer quite a few OS
choices... (In general: You need to take a decent amount of RAM
though, which might get expensive and Xen seem te be a better choice
than OpenVZ, at least for small amounts of RAM...) (Several VPS
providers exist, shopping around is probably not a bad idea...)

Gert

asmith · Post by **asmith** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:03 am

I have 4G ram and my CPU is quad core q6600. I think I can handle having them both easily.

A live-cd sounds good. How about I download ubuntu and install it on a virtual box or MS virtual pc?
I'll give both a try.

ps. Why everybody replying to my thread is a guest ? XD

James Huk · Post by **James Huk** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:19 am

2009/6/20 asmith <[email protected]>

I have 4G ram and my CPU is quad core q6600. I think I can handle having
them both easily.

A live-cd sounds good. How about I download ubuntu and install it on a
virtual box or MS virtual pc?
I'll give both a try.

ps. Why everybody replying to my thread is a guest ? XD

Download VirtualBox->Download ISO of Ubuntu->Install VirtualBox->New

Virtual machine->(here you will select options like ram amount(I suggest
minimum 1024 MB), virtual disk size and so on)->select you new added
machine->select its virtual CD/DVD Drive->add and select Ubuntu iso->start
virtual machine and proceed with Ubuntu installation (it is very simple -
just follow instructions)->After installation of Ubuntu, install
VirtualGuestAdditions (DEVICE->GuestAdditions(this should mount
additions.iso - if nothing happens first unmount any virtual CD/DVD and then
try again - if I remember correctly... in Ubuntu additions installation is
automated, so just follow the steps again)->Restart... that is it->Enjoy

This may sound complicated but it is not – believe me.
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James Huk · Post by **James Huk** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:22 am

2009/6/20 asmith <[email protected]>

I have 4G ram and my CPU is quad core q6600. I think I can handle having
them both easily.

A live-cd sounds good. How about I download ubuntu and install it on a
virtual box or MS virtual pc?
I'll give both a try.

ps. Why everybody replying to my thread is a guest ? XD

And I forgot... for you original question – I suggest you chose Debian,

because it have BIGGEST community, also most of Ubuntu guides also work for
Debian and vice versa, and of course Debian IS one of most stable and secure
distributions aviable.
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Gert van den Berg · Post by **Gert van den Berg** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 7:47 am

On Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 11:03, asmith<[email protected]> wrote:

I have 4G ram and my CPU is quad core q6600. I think I can handle having them both easily.

A live-cd sounds good. How about I download ubuntu and install it on a virtual box or MS virtual pc?
I'll give both a try.

http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

(MS Virtual PC had some issues with other operating systems (Solaris)
last time I tried it...)

ps. Why everybody replying to my thread is a guest ? XD

Mailing list users....

Gert

asmith · Post by **asmith** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 1:14 pm

I'm impressed with all the help

You guys are great.
Thanks a lot.
I'll update here when I get it to run.