[thelist] Moving: NT/2K to *nix, ASP to PHP, SQL to MySQL . . .?

[databarn]

Folk,

I've got a new server for my home system, a Gateway 6400.  Only has a single processor, and a single 9-gig SCSI HD for now, but I'm looking to expand that before year's end.

Right now, everything I have is NT/2K server, IIS 4/5 web server, SQL Server database, and other appropriate tools for the platform.  Naturally, I'll have to initialize the server with a Windows configuration.  However, I want to move everything over to *nix (Linux?  FreeBSD? Solaris 8?) server, Apache, PHP, MySQL or PostgreSQL, etc..

In light of that, what allowances do I need to make now, what steps do I need to take, while the server is still in a virgin state (at the moment, it's sitting in my living room - haven't even unwrapped the power cord), so that when I do start the conversion process, presumably by installing the *nix server software, I don't have to fall back, regroup, and reinstall everything that's already there?

Along those lines, what am I going to run into moving the web stuff over from ASP to PHP?  I realize there's going to be a learning curve, but what possibly fatal pitfalls do I need to know to dodge?  I don't think the database conversion issues will be significant (I don't say they won't be vexing!), since I'm fairly comfortable there.  I've a feeling, though, that the web conversion is going to be fraught with experiences that I'd probably rather not have - at least, not all at once.

Anyone with a suggestion or two?  (Yes, yes, I know that I could probably find all this, at least ninety-nine and forty-four one-hundredths percent of it, on the web, but I'd really like to get the box up and running in a week or two, not the end-of-year time frame that would ensue if I have to research and break all this stuff from ground zero.)  Links and references appreciated, of course, but I'm much more interested in personal experiences of what didn't work, recommendations and procedures based on experiences of what did work, etc..

'Preciate any input.

Make a good day . . .
			 . . . barn
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Drive defensively . . . buy a tank! 
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