Have NT server... would I benifit from a linux box?

[Unclemo]

I have 10 PC network using DSL for net and the LAN for games. A year ago I setup a Server to basically just connect all my other PCs to the net. I am curious to what benifits there would be to have it changed. I feel like I could get more out of my server and it could make me happier. Or should I just go to sleep and forget about playing?

server is PII 400 (Dual capability 1 in now), 256 RAM and SCSI hard drive.

 

[brewty]

i myself dislike any windows based servers linux would probably get you a more stable server that doesn't need rebooting, but then if nt hardly crashes or doesn't really need rebooting, then you would probably just stay with nt. if you're like me and like playing with servers and stuff, i'd setup linux on that server, install a whole lot of services to play with (www, ftp, mail, etc...)

doesn't look like you're doing much with your server right now... isn't that power a little overkill? you could accomplish what you're doing now with a p200 with 32MB of ram (in linux that is)

 

[Scarpozzi]

Brewty...you should never setup services you do not use.

NT has security holes in it, but as long as you have all the service packs and have it configured properly, it's fairly stable and secure. Unix-based systems give you a lot of options, but if you run ftp or telnet on either system(NT or Linux), remember that they are unsecure unless you run them in an SSH(secure shell) because anyone with a packet sniffer can get your passwords and account names. This is because most ftp and telnet programs use standard text verification. With SSH, it uses encryption and is secure. So, if you plan on doing any server access from the internet, make sure you pay attention to all your services, open ports, and fine security details.

 

[Akash]

i am useing nt 2k server on my ppro right now.. it works fine just needs a bit more power...wich you got i never have to restart it becuase its running its server.. its uptime is about 2 weeks... so.. what ever your choice i wanted to install linux but i couldnt configure linux for domain controller....so i just used nt works great

 

[catseye]

At the risk of starting a flame war, it is my understanding that linux serves web pages more efficiently than windows. I have also read that linux serves files about as well as Windows with Samba installed.

 

[IceStorm]

If you want to learn how Linux works, or your NT installation's running sloooow, go with Linux.

Otherwise, stick with NT. NT's TCP/IP stack is a bit better than Win9x's (and W2K's is better than NT4's). Linux != NT. You're going to be doing a lot of learning if you've never used Linux before.

I use Linux due to the flexibility it affords me and because it is free.

 

[catseye]

One other cool thing about linux is that you can recompile the kernal to use only the features you need. It's possible to compile a very fast kernal with a very small memory footprint. Kewl.

 

[R0b0tN1k]

You didn't tell us what you use the server for. If it's just basic fileserving, that system is overkill!

 

[brewty]

scarpozzi, who said i don't use the services i install? i pretty much use most of the things i install, but any which i'm playing with and don't need external access (ie, the internet) i firewall off.

 

[Unclemo]

I use the server for several reasons:
1. File server
2. Print Server
3. Internet access
4. Lastly, I use it for continuous streaming quotes

I want it as reliable as possible, but somewhat user friendly. It has to be able to serve my win 98 clients.

My profession is an off-floor options trader. Therefore, a secure and dependable system is a must. Recomendations? Is it time for me to learn linux? I have old p100 machines I could load it up on and start tinkering and learning before switching. Will my win98 (and one win 95) machines going to be able to connect to Linux easily for file, printing and Internet access? How easy is it for a NT user to learn to use Linux? Thanks for all your comments.

 

[catseye]

You should be able to do all that with linux using win98 clients with very nice performance. All the networks at school do that. Not sure about streaming quotes, but I've seen a lot of progs on freshmeat.net that stream from financial websites. For an NT person linux is ... challenging. Dependability is built in, but high security requires a bit of knowhow.

 

[Unclemo]

OK, it sounds like at some point I should switch. What book or website should I go to start learning from ground zero? Thanks for your input.

 

[Xanathar]

Bah, dont switch. THe biggest problem on the internet nowadays is linux advocates telling everyone to switch over. Stick with the NT, as it is more secure <how often do you hear of a NT machine being rooted?> All of the security flaws in NT pertain to reading of data, not changing it, not giving you full access rights like the security flaws in *nix. Also, the &quot;needs to be constantly patched&quot; like linux doesnt? It needs to be patvched even moreso but you just dont have to reboot like you do with NT, and If 5 minutes of downtime is going to kill you then relaistically you should be running ultra high end servers with solaris or similiar in redundant configs. Stick with the NT, weekly double check for new security patches and patch them and you will be fully secure and stable.

 

[catseye]

You may also wish to consider FreeBSD, an implementation of Berkely Unix. It is more secure than linux or NT but operates in much the same way as linux.

 

[Lord Demios]

To end the debate of which is better, between linux and windows. It all depends on what your trying to do, what you know how to do, and if the OS can do it for you. As a Linux user, and a NT network admin, I would recommend playing with linux. It's fun, different, and it is QUITE SECURE. (OPEN or Free BSD (not sure which) has not had a root Exploit in 2.8 years) So, I'm not going to listen to the Linux is able to be rooted.

The truth is, that you have to decide what you want. An NT box is really easy to setup all of what you want, specially if the software works with NT. But, I know that with my Linux firewall it's great for sharing Internet to people on my network. You connect your machine to my network, and without changing any setting in windows (unless it's not on DHCP) the linux box will give them an IP, setup the internet for them, and put there machine in the DNS table.

BUT, it took a long amount of time playing with linux to learn how to do this. So, what does all this mean. Load RH linux or Mandrake or other Linux's onto that P-100. Play with it, get use to it, and start shifting things over to it, as you see fit. If you think you can't manage a linux server yet, then don't make a linux server.

Just my 2 cents.

LD

 

[Damaged]

As to running ftpd, httpd, or even named (BIND) for that matter, securely...I run them all chroot'ed. PERIOD. The it doesn't matter if they get a password. They're in chroot jail. End of story. Unless they get root. Different story there, but different measures are taken for that type of thing...like NOT telneting into a box as root. Heck not telneting in as anyone these days. Not unless you're a on known secure connect, and even then I'd only do it in an emergency.

As to the point of the thread. You will have the learning curve ahead of you, but I think it's worth it. OTOH...if it's not broken don't fix it.