[centuren]

I don't understand exactly which version of Linux he's been deploying that makes this a time saver. You can install Linux with 95% of what you need (and nothing more) with plenty of distros, and one command gets you the rest of the way.

The rest of the work is custom (user access, software specific requirements, etc). I'm also the lead sys-admin for a dot-com company, and I think I can safely say I've NEVER had a Linux install that wasn't, in his words, something that I "can just deploy, configure and turn off what I don't need?"

That's the reason we use it.