Best Linux Distro To Create Home Server (For SSH Proxy)?

A few days ago I got a HP n6395 (laptop from 2001). It has a Pentium III, 256MB of RAM, 30GB HDD and half of the monitor is dead. I decided to use it as a server (what else?).

The distro? Xubuntu. It is perfect because its system requirements are very low which means it will run smoothly on a lower-end computer and not hog too much of the system's power on a stronger machine.

Unlike ubuntu, it does not have gnome display manager but Xfce. This is a disadvantage if you would like to use it with vnc (virtual network computing). But you can overcome this problem just by downloading the gnome display manager by typing sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop and change session to gnome when you login. VNC is very useful for connecting to the computer and making changes using the graphical user interface.

After installing Apache2 (sudo apt-get install apache2) and php (sudo apt-get install php5) the site worked perfectly. Xubuntu is a perfect solution because it is easy to use compared to other OSs, fast and safe thanks to the security updates.