Will Linux Do It?

jmc160

Hi all. I'm lookimg for a Linux distro that will be as light as possible on resource usage and is able to network with Vista PCs to act as a print server. That's pretty much all I want it to do - just sit under the stairs, possibly run as a headless machine, and do nothing but act as a network interface for a USB printer. The actual print jobs will be coming over wi-fi from laptops running Vista.

Anyone know of a distro that will do it?

fwor

It does depend on how ancient and resource-limited the machine is. Ubuntu will do what you want - including running a remote desktop so that you can operate it headless, and it will run on a small HDD (4Gb or less) and 128Mb memory, though it does take a while to boot... If you want lighter, then Xubuntu is designed for older, less capable hardware.

There are of course distros like DamnSmallLinux - which I've tried briefly. I suspect that you would have to customise that a bit, though.

LardyCake

I would say any distro you care to choose will do this. From personal experience I would recommend Debian (etch/stable). Whatever distro you go with, just install samba to handle the print server bit.

jmc160

Thanks guys. The machine's not too bad, but it's not current by any stretch of the imagination. I think the processor's about 800MHz. I think I'll try Xubuntu first and see if the laptops can connect to it. Cheers!

fwor

You should have no problems at all with an 800Mhz processor.

Incidentally, I haven't tried Xubuntu for about a year (I think I tried Feisty), but with that release I found it harder to get to work on older kit. If you can't get Xubuntu to install, try the full Ubuntu Gutsy release, as it seems to be better at handling some of the vintage stuff (e.g. older power management schemes).

jmc160

Right I'm gonna try that one. I take it that's the Gutsy Gibbon one is it? Ubuntu 7.10?

spud17

I don't want to get involved in an argument, but my PC is only 1.3mhz and I dual boot with XP.
I found Gutsy to be less stable than Fawn, in that the updates stall and gave errors causing it all to crash.
I'm a real Linux newbie but the best I've found is PCLOS this was easier to configure for boot order and setup my printer without breaking sweat.

jmc160

Thanks Spud, I'll give that one a go as well. I'm happy to test as many as I need to until I find one that'll be the best for my requirements.

sniperpenguin

It might be worth mentioning to look out for any USB related issues you may come up with regards to the distro and the older USB chipset.

Xubuntu, Fedora (Free version of Redhat) and SuSE are all decent choices... alternatively if the kit isnt hidden away, simply grab a USB print server for about £20 that will so exactly the same job (Unless you want it as a File Server also)

jmc160

sniperpenguin wrote: »

It might be worth mentioning to look out for any USB related issues you may come up with regards to the distro and the older USB chipset.

Xubuntu, Fedora (Free version of Redhat) and SuSE are all decent choices... alternatively if the kit isnt hidden away, simply grab a USB print server for about £20 that will so exactly the same job (Unless you want it as a File Server also)

Where from? The ones I've seen have always been quite expensive.

Red_Rose_Exile

You could also try puppy, not the worlds greatest, but you might find that an older machine will handle it quite well, uses CUPS. Boots from cd or USB drive