Although many Linux/UNIX diehards disagree, many, if not most system administrators nowadays are more comfortable working with a GUI, and therefore more favorably disposed towards an OS with one. But a problem with GUIs is that when they are running, but . . .
Although many Linux/UNIX diehards disagree, many, if not most system administrators nowadays are more comfortable working with a GUI, and therefore more favorably disposed towards an OS with one. But a problem with GUIs is that when they are running, but not actually being used, they take up disk space and system resources. So the ideal OS might be one that offers a GUI, but doesn't make its use mandatory for administration: one that only runs when needed.

Such an OS doesn't appear to exist, but I found a way to satisfy these requirements by combining a couple of existing software packages. The tendency with most NOSes is to activate all services by default. This makes it easier for the inexperienced admin to set up a server, but results in one that is wide open to attack. Since we're looking for a security improvement, I wanted an NOS which when installed activates a minimum of services automatically.

Specifically, I was looking for a Linux distribution that was designed somewhat along the lines of OpenBSD, i.e., "secure by default." Also, it should also give me flexibility as to partitioning and what software is installed.

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