Move to client server - Linux or Microsoft

Hi - I've used the feedback and advice etc. from this newsgroup to help me
get a hybrid P2P Microsoft network up and running with W2K and XP Pro
machines. It's been going for a while now and all OK.

Just for the sake of it I'm thinking of trying a client-server set up but
couldn't justify the cost for MS server licences. I haven't investigated
the costs for Linux software to run as the server. Can anyone comment on
the suitability of Linux for the server ? I have no previous Linux
experience and the only network experience I have is from setting up and
maintaining the P2P network above.

Thanks for any ideas

Steve

Steve Sinclair wrote:

> Hi - I've used the feedback and advice etc. from this newsgroup to
> help me get a hybrid P2P Microsoft network up and running with W2K
> and XP Pro machines. It's been going for a while now and all OK.
>
> Just for the sake of it I'm thinking of trying a client-server set up
> but couldn't justify the cost for MS server licences. I haven't
> investigated the costs for Linux software to run as the server. Can
> anyone comment on the suitability of Linux for the server ? I have
> no previous Linux experience and the only network experience I have
> is from setting up and maintaining the P2P network above.
>
> Thanks for any ideas
>
> Steve

Have a look at E-smith, download a free image from http://e-smith.org/.
Burn it onto a disk, boot from the disk and e-smith installs itself
with minimum input from you.

It's a Red-Hat Linux-based program, my copy picked-up all my hardware
(you'll need a Linux-recognised modem), installed itself easily, and
I've had it running on an old P266 box for over a year without having
to reboot ever. Once set-up it has a web-based admin, so you can leave
the box in a corner without a mouse,keyboard or monitor. I use it as a
fileserver and mail-server, if I had broadband I could also use it to
host my website.

Highly recommended (like you, I know nothing at all about Linux).

HTH

--
Paul-B Reply-to address is spamtrap... use paul @ streetka dot biz
without the spaces

Thanks Paul. What you've described is exactly what I want to achieve - no
doubt more will come along. I'm off to E-Smith now. Thanks for the info.

Steve

"Paul Brewer" <spam-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:bm0gqu$h859c$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Steve Sinclair wrote:
>
> > Hi - I've used the feedback and advice etc. from this newsgroup to
> > help me get a hybrid P2P Microsoft network up and running with W2K
> > and XP Pro machines. It's been going for a while now and all OK.
> >
> > Just for the sake of it I'm thinking of trying a client-server set up
> > but couldn't justify the cost for MS server licences. I haven't
> > investigated the costs for Linux software to run as the server. Can
> > anyone comment on the suitability of Linux for the server ? I have
> > no previous Linux experience and the only network experience I have
> > is from setting up and maintaining the P2P network above.
> >
> > Thanks for any ideas
> >
> > Steve
>
> Have a look at E-smith, download a free image from http://e-smith.org/.
> Burn it onto a disk, boot from the disk and e-smith installs itself
> with minimum input from you.
>
> It's a Red-Hat Linux-based program, my copy picked-up all my hardware
> (you'll need a Linux-recognised modem), installed itself easily, and
> I've had it running on an old P266 box for over a year without having
> to reboot ever. Once set-up it has a web-based admin, so you can leave
> the box in a corner without a mouse,keyboard or monitor. I use it as a
> fileserver and mail-server, if I had broadband I could also use it to
> host my website.
>
> Highly recommended (like you, I know nothing at all about Linux).
>
> HTH
>
> --
> Paul-B Reply-to address is spamtrap... use paul @ streetka dot biz
> without the spaces

In message <RlPgb.769$(E-Mail Removed)>, Steve
Sinclair <(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>Hi - I've used the feedback and advice etc. from this newsgroup to help me
>get a hybrid P2P Microsoft network up and running with W2K and XP Pro
>machines. It's been going for a while now and all OK.
>
>Just for the sake of it I'm thinking of trying a client-server set up but
>couldn't justify the cost for MS server licences. I haven't investigated
>the costs for Linux software to run as the server. Can anyone comment on
>the suitability of Linux for the server ? I have no previous Linux
>experience and the only network experience I have is from setting up and
>maintaining the P2P network above.

It's not clear from your post just what benefits you expect to get from
switching to a client-server system. If you could clarify that it would
be easier to advise you on the best way of achieving the results you
want.

It is possible to get a Linux (or BSD) distribution for nothing. It will
include all of the software you need to set up file-sharing on a Windows
network. It will also include software for serving web-pages and for
setting up an SQL database server. You can download the software for
nothing or buy ready-made CDs from any number of suppliers.

You could buy a boxed Linux distro, with the disks you will get a manual
and some support. The current bargain is version 8.2 of SuSE Linux
available cheap from amazon.co.uk because version 9 has just been
released. If you have the budget get version 9 for about the cost of an
expense-account lunch.

Several Linux suppliers offer special server distros. They include some
more specialised tools and usually some commercial software in addition
to the free stuff. I'd advise starting out with a basic Linux distro
before moving on to the more expensive stuff.

This probably isn't on-topic in uk.comp.home-networking so you should
probably subscribe to uk.comp.os.linux and ask future questions there.



--
Bernard Peek
London, UK. DBA, Manager, Trainer & Author. Will work for money.

Bernard Peek wrote:

> Several Linux suppliers offer special server distros. They include some
> more specialised tools and usually some commercial software in addition
> to the free stuff. I'd advise starting out with a basic Linux distro
> before moving on to the more expensive stuff.

I run one of the expensive server distros at work (SuSE's Enterprise
server) and the only advantage it offers me over one of the
cheap-or-free ones is the support. There is support from SuSE, and, more
importantly, as I run Oracle on it, I can get support from Oracle
whereas I couldn't if I used the Professional edition. I havn't ever
needed support from SuSE, Linux is not difficult, but Oracle is another
matter entirely and I have definitely needed this.

For a home file etc. server this won't be relevant so go with one of the
cheap ones. The cost of a commercial Server Linux is comparable with a
Microsoft one anyway, about $800 a server.

> This probably isn't on-topic in uk.comp.home-networking so you should
> probably subscribe to uk.comp.os.linux and ask future questions there.

I don't see that it's actually OT here as it certainly appears to be
about a home network, but I agree, if you ask questions in ucol there is
much more Linux experience available there. Several of us who use it are
familiar with the issues of networking Linux with Windows too.

Regards, Ian

On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 10:25:18 +0100, Steve Sinclair wrote:

> Thanks Paul. What you've described is exactly what I want to achieve - no
> doubt more will come along. I'm off to E-Smith now. Thanks for the info.
>
> Steve
>
> "Paul Brewer" <spam-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:bm0gqu$h859c$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Steve Sinclair wrote:
>>
>> > Hi - I've used the feedback and advice etc. from this newsgroup to
>> > help me get a hybrid P2P Microsoft network up and running with W2K and
>> > XP Pro machines. It's been going for a while now and all OK.
>> >
>> > Just for the sake of it I'm thinking of trying a client-server set up
>> > but couldn't justify the cost for MS server licences. I haven't
>> > investigated the costs for Linux software to run as the server. Can
>> > anyone comment on the suitability of Linux for the server ? I have no
>> > previous Linux experience and the only network experience I have is
>> > from setting up and maintaining the P2P network above.
>> >
>> > Thanks for any ideas
>> >
>> > Steve
>>
>> Have a look at E-smith, download a free image from http://e-smith.org/.
>> Burn it onto a disk, boot from the disk and e-smith installs itself with
>> minimum input from you.
>>
>> It's a Red-Hat Linux-based program, my copy picked-up all my hardware
>> (you'll need a Linux-recognised modem), installed itself easily, and
>> I've had it running on an old P266 box for over a year without having to
>> reboot ever. Once set-up it has a web-based admin, so you can leave the
>> box in a corner without a mouse,keyboard or monitor. I use it as a
>> fileserver and mail-server, if I had broadband I could also use it to
>> host my website.
>>
>> Highly recommended (like you, I know nothing at all about Linux).
>>
>> HTH
>>
>> --
>> Paul-B Reply-to address is spamtrap... use paul @ streetka dot biz
>> without the spaces
I used Smoothwall (http://www.smoothwall.org/) for aout 6 months and I was
very impressed with it. I stopped using it because it was too easy, I
wanted the hassle and frustration of building my own solution, I think
it's called a learning experience.......

Mark.


--
Power by online prescription drugs, getting 27% better mileage and
no credit card debt. I can't wait to tell my Nigerian friend about it!