However, the configuration details can be used on any platform
that can run the components.
Which Platform?
Our choice of platform may be influenced by company policy, personal preference,
or simply what we have to hand in terms of hardware, software, and experience.
Although the installation instructions differ between each platform, there should be
no discernible difference in the end result.
As we will see shortly, there can be a significant discrepancy between the latest
available version of a component and the version available for our platform.
However, our choice of platform should not be made simply because it has the latest
versions available. Unless our server is going to remain completely isolated (highly
unlikely) we need to consider how it will fit with the rest of our network??”a decision
we may not have control over. Other considerations include licensing. Although the
components concerned are available under a free (or equivalent) software license, the
underlying operating system may have its own license restrictions.
Linux
If we have the necessary skills available to operate a Linux server (or the desire to
learn), then it provides an almost ideal platform for our server. Because it is free,
both in terms of software and licensing, dependent on distribution, and happy to run
on hardware that other operating systems would shun for being underpowered, we
can re-purpose any machine to become our server for no cost except time.
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