Which OS to install?

Once you have assembled your computer, you must now install an operating system. Here are your choices:

• Windows 2000
• Windows 2000/2003 Server
• Linux
• FreeBSD

In the following section I will break down the pros and cons of each choice. Generally, however, most people would be fine with a standard Windows 2000 professional installation.

Windows 2000

Windows 2000 Professional is marketed as a consumer OS, and granted that, it is. However, it also is a very stable, if not secure, server OS. Web, FTP, and all other types of servers can run reliably on Windows 2000 and I generally enjoy using Windows 2000 as a server operating system. However, there are a few drawbacks. As mentioned previously, security is a major concern with any Windows release, but more so with Windows 2000. There have been more critical security flaws in 2002 and 2003 with Windows 2000 than ever before. With a patch management system, though, you should be able to keep the beasts at bay. The other issue with Windows 2000 is one of expandability. Because Windows 2000 was not designed as a server operating system, it has lessened support for serving Microsoft .NET applets and other Microsoft-specific server technologies. However, casual webmasters will usually not need such extended .NET support. Basically, if you are looking to start a website, run a fileserver, or host games, Windows 2000 should fit your needs just fine.

Windows 2000/2003 Server

Windows 2000/2003 Server releases suffer from the same security issues as Windows 2000. However, they have a few unique advantages over Windows 2000 in the Microsoft department. First of all, you are able to setup a domain controller with Windows 2000/2003 server; this is a must in any Windows office environment. Windows 2003 Server seems to have reached near perfection with domain policy management. Also, these two server releases offer strong .NET support and other Microsoft-specific features.

Linux

Although I am just as much of a Linux “freedom fighter” as any other guy, I would have to discourage the average guy from trying to run a Linux server. Although Linux is secure, Linux is also near impossible to configure for server usage. The sheer number of programs that have independent management interfaces and configuration text files that oftentimes conflict each other will confuse the budding server administrator and will most likely eat up quite a bit of his time. Second, Linux has many design quirks and flaws that are cumbersome at worse, but certainly will make a newbie intimidated. And, of course, why fix something that isn’t broken, right? If Windows 2000 fits your needs, then by all means, use Windows 2000.

FreeBSD

FreeBSD is the ultimate secure operating system. However, FreeBSD is definitely *not* user-friendly, despite what any open-source nut will tell you. Therefore, only users familiar with UNIX should even attempt using FreeBSD as a server OS. Personally, I am familiar with it but it took me a few months to get into it, so to say, and it is not worth the massive amounts of time that are spent configuring.

FYI

For purposes of this tutorial, I will assume that you use Windows 2000 Pro as your operating system as it is a very popular choice indeed. The next page will describe the installation of Windows 2000 Pro.