OS suggestion and coniguration

[troyd1]

I am going to move from a windows based server to ispconfig3. I have am looking for some suggestions. I have a static IP with a router. My current windows server which I am going to replace has an ip address of 192.168.2.x and I am doing a pass through of all traffic. I want to be able to use joomla as well. I saw the 10 easy steps to setup joomla, so that should help.
Here are my questions:
1. What version of Linux would you suggest. I have tried to research it, but everyone thinks a different one is the best. I am looking for ease of installation and ease of use with ispconfig3.
2. Are there any configuration things I should worry about with how my network is configured?
3. Are there any configuration issues that I should consider with my linux install or my ispconfig3 install with regard to joomla?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, I really appreciate it.