Gameserver with weak hardware - Which Linux Distribution?

Question

Which Linux Distribution should I use for a server with really weak hardware? My acer X1700 has the following specs:

- 500GB HDD
- 1GB RAM
- Intel Quad-Core 2 Q8200

It will a tiny homeserver to play minecraft and use teamspeak.

Answer 1

I suppose the answer to this just depends on your priorities and how much work you are willing to put into the server.

The honest truth is, it's desktops and GUIs that use up most of your resources. If you are ok running a server with just command line access, most linux distributions are lightweight enough for your needs.

Here are some options in order of work required to get your system working:

Linux From Scratch

This is not really a distribution--it's instructions to build a Linux system from the ground up.

Pros:

• You have total control of the software that gets installed, meaning that you can keep it very minimal. Only install exactly what you need.
• You will learn an incredible amount about how a Linux system works

Cons:

• Getting games/services to run will require much more effort on your part.
• "learn an incredible amount" means you will probably mess up several times and have to start over.

archlinux

Archlinux is very minimal and light weight. In their own words, they "try to keep it simple". Again, this distro will require more work than one of the more popular ones, but will also leave more resources for processing things that you want.

Pros:

• Easier to set up than Linux From Scratch
• Excellent documentation
• Actually has minecraft and teamspeak packages ready to install

Cons:

• Like LFS, probably will require more effort and understanding of linux to manage in the long term.

Ubuntu Server <- I can't post a link because apparently I don't have enough rep.

You've heard of Ubuntu. It's getting pretty popular. This is probably the easiest solution.

Pros:

• Very easy to set up
• Most software will work (and even have packages you can install through the package manager)
• This distro is popular enough that any questions you have can be answered with Google.

Cons:

• Technically, not as lightweight as the others
• You don't get to be cool and different and brag that you set up LFS.