I have been a Software programmer for about 4 years and working on the web just as long. I am very familiar with Unix on a user level but lack some admin knowledge.
I have been on a virtual host for about 1 year now, and I am looking to offer my services next year to the public. So now I am starting my research. I have decided pricewise to go with a Pentium 4 2.8 GHZ with 2 GB RAM. Now, I have some questions,

Since I am a Unix guy, they offer Plesk Server Admin free with it?

Should the host offer the directory structure pre setup so that I have a public html and secure area, or is that my job?

They say that "Redhat 7 Pro with Plesk Server Admin installs and sets up Apache to support SSL (BenSSL), SSI, PHP3, and CGI. Also, included within the installation are MySQL, Q-Mail, proFTPD, DNS/BIND, and FrontPage Server Extensions". Does this mean it is ready to go, or I need to do it using the Admin tool?

How difficult is it top set up PHP4 with Zend Optimizer?

Does RatHat 7 Pro have a C compiler?

Is crontab available?

What E-Commerce solutions tend to be included, what should I look for?

Thank you

[HarborNetworks]

Go check out http://www.redhat.com to get answers to most of your redhat questions. Yeah it has a c compiler, and yeah it has crontab, but like any other server you have to install them. All of the c, and development libraries are on the redhat cd and the same with crontab..

If your going to be reselling space, I would recommend getting cpanel instead of plesk, due to the fact that many will prefer cpanel then plesk.

[HarborNetworks]

LOL why don't you ever hear anything about H-Sphere? It's always Plesk or cPanel. (wOOt)