Business server running linux questions ~

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floodhound2
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Business server running linux questions ~

Post by floodhound2 »

Alright - True I am a windows nerd, but a Linux server is my next project. I am told by the boss to set up a Linux server running on an older dell PC.

Questions :

1) I have fedora core 10 and think that this would work for now. - Need your comment on this.

2) Website on the server? This pretty straight forward or does it take a ton of work?

3) Email server - need details? Can I block spam. I am sure it is feasible but just asking.

4) Printing from windows boxes and print drivers? Comment please. We have several printers that run on windows. Is there a cure?

Please lace this thread with all you got also be prepared to get hit with more of my questions.

:wink:

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Post by bad_brain »

1. well, of course I recommend Debian (come on, you knew it :lol: ), Fedora is imo more focused on desktop usage, but well, if it installs well there is no reason not to use Fedora.

2. that's the easiest service to set up, if you don't need multiple sites on vhosts it shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to have a fully working web server environment (on Debian I can do it in 5 8) ). but ok, how long it finally takes to find the optimal config for Apache, MySQL and PHP depends on a lot of parameters like amount of visitors, used scripts, available RAM, etc.....but that's just fine tuning.

3. email server setup can be a little tricky, but as long as you use one of the big ones like Exim it's no problem because there is a great documentation available. spam filtering is maybe even more complicated than the email server setup itself, Spamassassin for example is one of the most used apps for this....but what I don't like about Spamassassin for example is that it is not really filtering the spam, it just marks it...the actual filtering is done by the email client that utilizes the set marks.
you can "hack" Spamassassin to remove spam on the server already, but there is always the danger of false positives...personally I prefer to use RBLs (realtime blackhole lists), mails of listed hosts are rejected on the server then, http://www.spamhaus.org/ for example provides very good ones. additionally you can blacklist IPs/addresses manually in the mail server config. if you decide to use Exim I can provide you with my personal blacklists.

4. if the printer is working on Linux it should be no problem to use the Linux box as CUPS server that Windows boxes can access too to print documents, to check for Linux compatibility of a printer have a look at http://www.openprinting.org/printer_list.cgi

:wink:

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Post by computathug »

Floody, if i can do it, you definately can, debian really is as easy as people say and the documentation is second to none on finding info that you need with tuts to do so etc.

If you like the gui side of windows to control things also take a look at isp config, ok it can go pretty deep into server admin but this gives you a nice easy feel around as windows would.

Another option to use which i have set up but not used on my server as i have no need as my emails are from mabs server so no need but its ready for testing is 'squirrelmail.'

There are plenty of options to go for but as b_b said really there is only debian at the moment in contenders in my opinion in server administration.

The thing i do like about debian is you can always use the desktop like windows and search through the file system but you may later need to work through shell to the folder to work on it as root so i wouldn't say it is completely out of bounds for any competent pc user to get to grips with.

I would say try it at home and get ready to reinstall it a few times till you are happy with what you are doing. Here this is where i would basically cheat and look at my options. Ok this shouldn't be classed as a cheat but as a pure genius of thinking to people like us. Now if you could set up the computer at work and also replicate the system from home, it would be also be used as a back up.

If you work on the one at home or visa versa and one goes down you can alwas divert the domain name to your home server till you got the other back up and running from back up till you became familiar with the system at your own comfort.

By the way my home sever runs off a dell dimension 4800 with no upgrades and have no problems at all. 512 ddr memory, running compiz too and have no issues with the way it runs at all. Needed a little configuration but nothing you cant manage. :wink:
Last edited by computathug on 27 Mar 2009, 22:22, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by floodhound2 »

Ok thanks so far fellas I have another question before I set this up.

How about using a printer on this Linux server? I am sure that ill need a Linux driver for each specific printer, this is true right?


Also, currently we have a wireless network should I place the server between the wireless router and the internet or behind it like the other computers? Pros and cons?

Thanks

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Post by bad_brain »

well, depends a little on the distro you use...on mainstream ones like Ubuntu you will have a better chance that the printer works out of the box because such distros have also closed source drivers onboard....while strict distros like Debian are 100% open source.
so if a printer isn't working out of the box you will have to look for a driver...I have to say that I am not very experienced in this field, so I can't say how good the support for Linux is for the different manufacturers, but I am pretty sure at least the 4 big manufacturers provide at least Linux installers.

about the server placement in the network....again, it depends.. :lol:
what is the purpose of the server? will services be only provided in a LAN/WAN or also to the internet?
in the first case (LAN/WAN) it would be better to place it behind the router like a regular client...this way you can protect it much better from outside attacks.
in the latter case (internet too) it would make more sense to place it before the router...this way you can use the whole Linux powers by turning the box into a relay with stateful inspection firewall for the incoming traffic. BUT because of the direct connection to the net the server would be in permanent danger, so a good configuration is a must.

it also depends on the files on the server....are there also services or files that should be only available to members of the company network? in this case the focus have to be on the safety of sensitive data and the server should run behind the router again.

so if the router has a well configurable firewall and you prefer a "simple but safe" solution over a "powerful but much config" one keep it behind the router..... :wink:

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Post by floodhound2 »

Nice BB
Thanks for the clarification. My head has been in the electronics side of things lately thus I tend to loose the computer skills a bit.

As far as behind the router or in front of it I am still not sure what I am going to do. The boss has not decided on what the server will be needed for other than printing and file storage. he even mentioned a web server so who knows.

So I am going to do as Thuggy mentioned - set it up at home and tweak it to death. Hell I got some time.

I brought it home so I can set it up this weekend.

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Post by computathug »

Start with the simple things first floody to get used to the shell. At first its hard to forget dos and use the linux commands but you soon get used to it. First of all follow b_b's tut on updating the system. Leave the repositories as they are though for now as adding 'contrib non-free' upset the system.

At first check whats installed and i would check see if sound is installed too. You can try this with one of the apps and if no success open a shell as root and then type 'alsaconf'. This will run through the sound config for you.

After that try removing iceweasel and install firefox. A good tut for this which works but you will need to modify the versions can be found here

Code: Select all

http://www.deviceguru.com/lenny-lights-up-an-old-laptop/
I also forgot there is an installation guide there too but you can use different settings like gnome, kde and xfce to mention just a few. Test each just for personal reference each time you start again as you probably will do. At first its always much easier to start again than rather fix the problems. Suppose that could be said of any OS until you become familiar with it.

B_B found a good tutorial on setting up compiz which can be found here

Code: Select all

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/how-to-install-compiz-fusion-on-debian-lenny/
Another program to install for a start would be a firewall too. I know people will say use iptables but for a beginner this will be no easy feat, and i myself use guarddog at the mo as it easy to configure and i can have it all up and done in a few mins. You can install guarddog via 'apt-get install guarddog' and the start for this program has to be done with admin permissions, so we then open a shell again as root and type 'guarddog' for the program to start and its fairly straight forward from there.

Getting used to downloading software and installation is a must too. Depending on the file package also depends on how its installed but using the apt command is probably the easiest to use if its available. there are other ways like downloading tar files and also .deb packages. There is other ways too like synaptic or using wget. I suppose it depends on how the software is available but there is always info on how to get past all these obstacles.

You can also check sourceforge out as they have some good server installation tuts available. There is 2 available and both are similar but both have different information which can be used in conjunction with each other for example one may show more on one topic and visa versa which gives a better understanding of what you are doing eventually.

Any way its after 5 am and i am paint balling in a few hours so i better try get some sleep. If you need a bit of assistance to get you started buddy just drop me a message :wink:

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Post by Lyecdevf »

Fedora is not stable and it has dependency problems. Even suse is more stable.
We will either find a way, or make one.
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