Web Server on iMac G3

[lyetZ]

Hey all!

I have an iMac G3 with 512MB of RAM. I would like to run a web server
on it for development purposes. I basically need apache, php, and
mySQL. Would OS X server work? If so, what version?

I was thinking Linux may be a great alternative, yet I'm not sure it'll
install on the PowerPC. Any help is much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
lyetZ

[Stephen Harker]

Post by lyetZ
I have an iMac G3 with 512MB of RAM. I would like to run a web server
on it for development purposes. I basically need apache, php, and
mySQL. Would OS X server work? If so, what version?

I have not used OS X server and so cannot comment.

Post by lyetZ
I was thinking Linux may be a great alternative, yet I'm not sure
it'll install on the PowerPC. Any help is much appreciated!

It certainly will install, you just need an appropriate distribution.
Two fairly general sites that you can consult are
<http://penguinppc.org/> and <http://www.ppcnux.com/>. I personally
use YellowDog Linux on an old 7600 (although oldworld is not
officially supported) and an iBook G4. There are plenty of
distributions to consider, see
<http://penguinppc.org/about/distributions.php> for a list of
distributions. You will need to check the possible distributions for
support for your model iMac G3, but they are newworld machines and
support is generally quite mature and widespread.

From <http://penguinppc.org/mac/>: A variety of well-known Linux
distributions run on Macs, including Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, Mandrake,
SUSE, and Yellow Dog. See the complete list for your favorites. Look
for information specific about your model as much as possible, I would
expect someone with more specific information will reply but otherwise
a google search will turn up some good hits.

[Keith Keller]

Post by lyetZ
I have an iMac G3 with 512MB of RAM. I would like to run a web server
on it for development purposes. I basically need apache, php, and
mySQL. Would OS X server work? If so, what version?

This is offtopic, but I suspect that hardware is not quite enough to run
OS X with decent performance. I have a G4 with 768MB of RAM, and it
bogs down quite a bit when I do a compile (e.g. using fink).

Post by lyetZ
I was thinking Linux may be a great alternative, yet I'm not sure it'll
install on the PowerPC. Any help is much appreciated!

I have used both YellowDog and Slackintosh. If you're already familiar
with Slackware, Slackintosh is an excellent choice.

Another poster mentioned NewWorld; IIRC not all G3s were NewWorld Macs.
Make sure yours is, or you'll have moderate to enormous headaches
getting quik (one of the more common OldWorld bootloaders) configured
and installed properly. (It probably is NewWorld, but it never hurts to
be sure. I believe any Mac with built-in USB is NewWorld.)

--keith

[Stephen Harker]

Post by Keith Keller
Another poster mentioned NewWorld; IIRC not all G3s were NewWorld Macs.
Make sure yours is, or you'll have moderate to enormous headaches
getting quik (one of the more common OldWorld bootloaders) configured
and installed properly. (It probably is NewWorld, but it never hurts to
be sure. I believe any Mac with built-in USB is NewWorld.)

All iMac G3's are NewWorld. It is the PowerMac G3's that might not
be. The older 'beige' PowerMac G3's are OldWorld, while the
blue&white G3 PowerMacs are NewWorld. However, the capabilities of
the various iMac G3 does vary. See, for example,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMac_G3>,
<http://www.apple.com/support/imac/g3/> or
<http://lowendmac.com/imacs/index.shtml>.