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FAQ
I have been running a customized version Amahi for a couple years for my
Samba server. It is time for an upgrade, and I will be moving away from
Amahi, as they have abandoned Fedora for Ubuntu.


Back when I selected Amahi to replace my 15 year old NT server, I looked
around and only considered SME Server as an alternative, but they were
still on Centos 4.7 with the Centos 5 based version still off in some
future.


So I am now looking around again. My 'needs' are small: NT style
shares with mobile profiles. I only have half a dozen XP systems here.
I suppose at some point I will be adding Win7 systems.


So far I have two options:


Pull off the config files from my Amahi server: Bind, DHCP, Samba, and
probably MySQL. I had customized things enough (and few of my 'bug'
fixes made it back into the base) that I know what to pull out to make a
viable server.


Go with SME Server 8.0 which was released back in May and is based on
Centos 5.8.




So my question to all of you is, what other options are out there? A
Win7 future kind of makes SME more attractive than rolling my own. I
would NOT be using SME for my mail server. That will be in a separate post.

Search Discussions

  • Les Mikesell at Dec 5, 2012 at 5:09 pm ⇧

    On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 9:47 AM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
    So far I have two options:

    Pull off the config files from my Amahi server: Bind, DHCP, Samba, and
    probably MySQL. I had customized things enough (and few of my 'bug'
    fixes made it back into the base) that I know what to pull out to make a
    viable server.

    Go with SME Server 8.0 which was released back in May and is based on
    Centos 5.8.


    So my question to all of you is, what other options are out there? A
    Win7 future kind of makes SME more attractive than rolling my own. I
    would NOT be using SME for my mail server. That will be in a separate post.

    Look at ClearOS. I haven't used it beyond installing in a test VM,
    but it looks like it would be a suitable SME replacement with a more
    up to date code base. And it should be usable as an email server too
    whether on the same host or not. Or if you understand the configs
    well enough, just roll your own from a CentOS 6.x.


    --
    Les Mikesell
    lesmikesell at gmail.com
  • Robert Moskowitz at Dec 5, 2012 at 6:12 pm ⇧

    On 12/05/2012 12:09 PM, Les Mikesell wrote:
    On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 9:47 AM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
    So far I have two options:

    Pull off the config files from my Amahi server: Bind, DHCP, Samba, and
    probably MySQL. I had customized things enough (and few of my 'bug'
    fixes made it back into the base) that I know what to pull out to make a
    viable server.

    Go with SME Server 8.0 which was released back in May and is based on
    Centos 5.8.


    So my question to all of you is, what other options are out there? A
    Win7 future kind of makes SME more attractive than rolling my own. I
    would NOT be using SME for my mail server. That will be in a separate post.
    Look at ClearOS. I haven't used it beyond installing in a test VM,
    but it looks like it would be a suitable SME replacement with a more
    up to date code base.

    What distro is it based on? A quick browse through the website did not
    yield this info. I am going to have to get on their forums to see if
    they can provide my Win server needs, which are not so much...


    As for mail, I will have to look at it. I looked at Zarafa a couple
    years ago, and can't remember why I rejected it.

    And it should be usable as an email server too
    whether on the same host or not. Or if you understand the configs
    well enough, just roll your own from a CentOS 6.x.
  • Les Mikesell at Dec 5, 2012 at 7:29 pm ⇧

    On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 12:12 PM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
    Look at ClearOS. I haven't used it beyond installing in a test VM,
    but it looks like it would be a suitable SME replacement with a more
    up to date code base.

    What distro is it based on? A quick browse through the website did not yield
    this info. I am going to have to get on their forums to see if they can
    provide my Win server needs, which are not so much...

    The previous version was based on CentOS 5 code. I believe that for
    the current version they did their own RHEL rebuild due to the delays
    in the Centos release - and ended up taking even longer.

    As for mail, I will have to look at it. I looked at Zarafa a couple years
    ago, and can't remember why I rejected it.

    I haven't looked that recently - the older versions used postfix with
    cyrus or dovecot - and you could do a certain amount of fiddling with
    the underlying configs yourself.


    --
    Les Mikesell
    lesmikesell at gmail.com
  • Robert Moskowitz at Dec 5, 2012 at 11:04 pm ⇧

    On 12/05/2012 02:29 PM, Les Mikesell wrote:
    On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 12:12 PM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
    Look at ClearOS. I haven't used it beyond installing in a test VM,
    but it looks like it would be a suitable SME replacement with a more
    up to date code base.
    What distro is it based on? A quick browse through the website did not yield
    this info. I am going to have to get on their forums to see if they can
    provide my Win server needs, which are not so much...
    The previous version was based on CentOS 5 code. I believe that for
    the current version they did their own RHEL rebuild due to the delays
    in the Centos release - and ended up taking even longer.

    I will then check to see if it offers the functions I need.

    As for mail, I will have to look at it. I looked at Zarafa a couple years
    ago, and can't remember why I rejected it.
    I haven't looked that recently - the older versions used postfix with
    cyrus or dovecot - and you could do a certain amount of fiddling with
    the underlying configs yourself.

    I have a postfix/mysql/... server built by following something like this:


    http://library.linode.com/email/postfix/courier-mysql-fedora-12


    I like postfix and mysql. I have been working on this today, and it
    looks like most of the pieces are now there. the postfix built in
    Centos 6 is showing mysql support, so I am hoping I do not have to build
    it from srpm, as in the past. I have a few more steps to complete for
    testing this out.
  • Les Mikesell at Dec 5, 2012 at 11:52 pm ⇧

    On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 5:04 PM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
    As for mail, I will have to look at it. I looked at Zarafa a couple years
    ago, and can't remember why I rejected it.
    I haven't looked that recently - the older versions used postfix with
    cyrus or dovecot - and you could do a certain amount of fiddling with
    the underlying configs yourself.

    I have a postfix/mysql/... server built by following something like this:

    http://library.linode.com/email/postfix/courier-mysql-fedora-12

    I like postfix and mysql. I have been working on this today, and it looks
    like most of the pieces are now there. the postfix built in Centos 6 is
    showing mysql support, so I am hoping I do not have to build it from srpm,
    as in the past. I have a few more steps to complete for testing this out.

    I think ClearOS uses LDAP under everything including your initial user
    list which is something that made it sound attractive - and should
    make it easy to have multiple servers with the same user base.
    However I haven't needed it enough to set one up completely. I used
    to use several SME servers in remote offices (and generally was
    comfortable giving the local office administrator the root password to
    add users and shares where I would never have done that with a normal
    linux distro). But, due to business changes, now headquarters is
    elsewhere and I'm in a small remote office... I did help a friend
    set up a couple of the previous ClearOS versions for home and small
    office use and they are still going a couple of years later.


    --
    Les Mikesell
    lesmikesell at gmail.com
  • John R Pierce at Dec 5, 2012 at 5:41 pm ⇧

    On 12/5/2012 7:47 AM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
    So my question to all of you is, what other options are out there? A
    Win7 future kind of makes SME more attractive than rolling my own.

    I don't understand that justification? Samba is Samba, the configs are
    pretty straight forward.
  • Les Mikesell at Dec 5, 2012 at 6:04 pm ⇧

    On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 11:41 AM, John R Pierce wrote:
    So my question to all of you is, what other options are out there? A
    Win7 future kind of makes SME more attractive than rolling my own.
    I don't understand that justification? Samba is Samba, the configs are
    pretty straight forward.

    SME is a little more than a config writer - it combines some concepts
    across applications into a simple web interface. Define a group in
    the web interface and you get both an email list and a unix/samba
    permissions group. Enable an application and you get the port(s) open
    in iptables. Specify an IP address, name, and MAC address and you get
    both DHCP and DNS configs. Create a file share (i-bay) and you get
    web, ftp, and samba access with optional permissioning by groups. And
    so on. With bare linux you not only have to understand the
    configuration of many different applications, but the relationships
    among the applications. ClearOS takes the same task-centric, not
    application-oriented approach.


    --
    Les Mikesell
    lesmikesell at gmail.com
  • Robert Moskowitz at Dec 5, 2012 at 6:23 pm ⇧

    On 12/05/2012 01:04 PM, Les Mikesell wrote:
    On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 11:41 AM, John R Pierce wrote:
    So my question to all of you is, what other options are out there? A
    Win7 future kind of makes SME more attractive than rolling my own.
    I don't understand that justification? Samba is Samba, the configs are
    pretty straight forward.
    SME is a little more than a config writer - it combines some concepts
    across applications into a simple web interface. Define a group in
    the web interface and you get both an email list and a unix/samba
    permissions group. Enable an application and you get the port(s) open
    in iptables. Specify an IP address, name, and MAC address and you get
    both DHCP and DNS configs. Create a file share (i-bay) and you get
    web, ftp, and samba access with optional permissioning by groups. And
    so on. With bare linux you not only have to understand the
    configuration of many different applications, but the relationships
    among the applications. ClearOS takes the same task-centric, not
    application-oriented approach.

    What he said :)


    I really could not use SME's email in the past, as it would not allow an
    email address to occur in multiple domains. Or rather the hoops you had
    to jump through were extreme. This addr I am using here is in a number
    of my domains that I run. I like it that way.


    Even if I use the same base, I will run my Share server and Email server
    on separate systems.
  • Robert Moskowitz at Dec 5, 2012 at 6:19 pm ⇧

    On 12/05/2012 12:41 PM, John R Pierce wrote:
    On 12/5/2012 7:47 AM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
    So my question to all of you is, what other options are out there? A
    Win7 future kind of makes SME more attractive than rolling my own.
    I don't understand that justification? Samba is Samba, the configs are
    pretty straight forward.

    Well yes and no. And I DO have working configs from the Amahi server to
    'run' with. But there is more to it if I want to have a system that can
    add users and systems with some level of ease. It HAS been a couple
    years since I have fiddle with the configs, and thus my point about more
    than just running the configs...
  • Johnny Hughes at Dec 5, 2012 at 7:52 pm ⇧

    On 12/05/2012 12:19 PM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
    On 12/05/2012 12:41 PM, John R Pierce wrote:
    On 12/5/2012 7:47 AM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
    So my question to all of you is, what other options are out there? A
    Win7 future kind of makes SME more attractive than rolling my own.
    I don't understand that justification? Samba is Samba, the configs are
    pretty straight forward.
    Well yes and no. And I DO have working configs from the Amahi server to
    'run' with. But there is more to it if I want to have a system that can
    add users and systems with some level of ease. It HAS been a couple
    years since I have fiddle with the configs, and thus my point about more
    than just running the configs...

    What I did in the past was use the samba RPMs from enterprisesamba.org:


    http://www.enterprisesamba.org/samba-packages/red-hats-rhel/rhel-6/


    With the LDAP rpms that come with CentOS.


    I also used the application called LDAP Account Manager to add new users
    and groups:


    https://www.ldap-account-manager.org/


    In my case, I was doing e-mail in a separate system ... but several
    e-mail systems read from LDAP accounts, so this can be used for e-mail
    accounts too if needed.




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