Is Ensim the easiest way?

I've just got 3 servers in the mail with no OS loaded and am going to take them to the colo facility in the near future. What I need to do is load an OS (coming from a Windows environment, I know virtually nothing of either Linux or FreeBSD) and get the servers running. I feel I'm a quick learner, and have always wanted to "know" FreeBSD or Linux as they are used in web hosting companies. I want to offer these servers as dedicated servers to clients. What's the easiest road from here?

Ensim has what looks to be a pretty easy-to-follow guide to installing RedHat 7.2 and Ensim on each server. Can anyone say whether that would be easier than using RedHat with no control panel or RedHat/FreeBSD with Plesk control panel? I'd also like to know if there are any good guides out there to setting up RedHat or BSD on a server with proper web hosting optimization, something that would also describe how to set up addtional sites, etc without using a control panel. Or should I just stick to control panels for right now? The RedHat/Ensim install looks fairly simply, I can follow directions pretty well. Just wondering if there are any alternatives... such as using no control panel at all and how hard that would be.

Though I have no Linux/BSD experience, I'm not afraid of text interfaces... I used to use the Lynx web browser back in the day from my telnet connection (couldn't get anything else at my dorm in my first semester of college in 1994). If anyone knows of any step-by-step "how to install BSD or Linux and add websites and users to your server" I would REALLY appreciate it! Any insight those on this board can lend would make my day (life)!

-The Newbie

 

 

 

 

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