What Linux to use for this server?

[AgaBoogaBoo]

What Linux distro or modification should I use for a file server?

I have an extra copy of 2000 Pro which I can use but if I can get the job done with Linux to be a file server, nothing else, I'd like to do that and try it out. Any informati/help/links would be appreciated.

 

[pitupepito2000]

I would use Debian Here are some links
http://www.debian.org/
http://linuxiso.org/distro.php?distro=4
http://www.tldp.org/
http://us2.samba.org/samba/docs/

Good luck,
pitupepito

 

[cleverhandle]

Since you mention W2K, I assume you're serving Windows clients. In that case, it would depend a lot on what your needs are. Will the server auth against a domain? What kind of user management do you have/want - AD, LDAP, local? Do you need full ACL support? RedHat 9 has nice config tools to get things rolling quickly, but the kernel won't support POSIX ACLS and/or XFS, and configuration tends to be less flexible than Debian. SuSe might be another good choice, since they tend to be more business-oriented (hence integration-oriented), but I've never tried it. Those three would, I think, be your best choices. But you need to provide more details about what you hope to accomplish.

 

[Nothinman]

Debian.

 

[jonmullen]

Debian and SAMBA will get it done.

Edit spelling

 

[dblevitan]

Another vote for debian - I recently installed it on my server and it works beautifully

 

[darktubbly]

You can use any distro you have handy. All the choices mentioned above are good, but as long as you have the necessary tools, you're not limited to anything really. RedHat does have a nice configuration tool for Samba if you'd rather do it via point-n-click, but it's fairly easy enough to do by hand. There's lots of tutorials available on Almighty Google, and here's a few selected ones:

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

 

[Panther505]

Gotta stop following Nothingman around

now I debian on the brain

getitoff !! getitoff!!! ARRRGGGHHH must install Debian....

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Will Debian work for serving Windows Clients? Also, I may end up putting our printer on this server as well, will that have any problems with it? Its an HP Laserjet.

cleverhandle, I understood half those big words you used, partly because I've never heard them, hehe.

• Will the server auth against a domain?

I really have no clue what you mean by 'authorize against a domain' What we will be doing is using it within our internal network, so NO OUTSIDE access whatsoever under any circumstances to share files within our home network. It will be run through a router.

• What kind of user management do you have/want - AD, LDAP, local?

I'm not sure what you mean the last 3 words are to be. Basically, we will just have one Administrator account which will run everything on the server itself. Also, there will be different users connecting to it for keeping files, but again, this is a home network for internal use only, so only 5 other computers will have access to it.

• Do you need full ACL support?

Does that mean Access Control List? If so, we will want the server to allow NO OUTSIDE connections, just the ones from our network, all with the same IP except for the last 3 digits.

Also, is Debian a full fledged server or just a program to make it simpler?

 

[Panther505]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
Will Debian work for serving Windows Clients? Also, I may end up putting our printer on this server as well, will that have any problems with it? Its an HP Laserjet.

cleverhandle, I understood half those big words you used, partly because I've never heard them, hehe.

• Will the server auth against a domain?

I really have no clue what you mean by 'authorize against a domain' What we will be doing is using it within our internal network, so NO OUTSIDE access whatsoever under any circumstances to share files within our home network. It will be run through a router.

'authorize against a domain' means will you use a Domain Controller to authenticate the users? ie do you have an existing setup that you will want to leave in place? No outside access is a good thing.

• What kind of user management do you have/want - AD, LDAP, local?

I'm not sure what you mean the last 3 words are to be. Basically, we will just have one Administrator account which will run everything on the server itself. Also, there will be different users connecting to it for keeping files, but again, this is a home network for internal use only, so only 5 other computers will have access to it.

AD LDAP and local- 3 methods of authenticating users. Active Directory, Light Weight Directory Access Protocol, and Local (guessing that he meant local user authentication)

• Do you need full ACL support?

Does that mean Access Control List? If so, we will want the server to allow NO OUTSIDE connections, just the ones from our network, all with the same IP except for the last 3 digits.

SAMBA will allow you to control access at the netmask level. ie you can specify only the following network like this 192.168.1.0/24 which would only allow 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.254 (255 is the broadcast addy)

Also, is Debian a full fledged server or just a program to make it simpler?

Debian is a distribution of GNU/Linux just like RedHat, Mandrake, and Gentoo. It is the operating system, and tools that allow you to interact with the system.

 

[Nothinman]

I really have no clue what you mean by 'authorize against a domain' What we will be doing is using it within our internal network, so NO OUTSIDE access whatsoever under any circumstances to share files within our home network. It will be run through a router.

He means, will the Samba server be joining an already established domain. You can setup Samba to send all authentication requests to another server and it allows/denys access based upon whether or not that server says the username/password combo is good.

I'm not sure what you mean the last 3 words are to be. Basically, we will just have one Administrator account which will run everything on the server itself. Also, there will be different users connecting to it for keeping files, but again, this is a home network for internal use only, so only 5 other computers will have access to it.

He means what user database backend will you use; Active Directory, LDAP (which AD is based on anyway) or a local smbpasswd file.

Does that mean Access Control List? If so, we will want the server to allow NO OUTSIDE connections, just the ones from our network, all with the same IP except for the last 3 digits.

He most likely means ACLs on files. Out of the box Linux has standard unix rights only, if you want ACLs you need a specially setup kernel and filesystem.

Also, is Debian a full fledged server or just a program to make it simpler

Debian is whatever you want it to be, it's a Linux distribution that does everything with pretty simple setup IMO.

 

[cleverhandle]

Wow, don't you guys like, go barbecue and drink beer on the 4th? I've been explained quite well in my absence, at least. So you're looking to serve a small number of users, no fancy authentication, and don't have complex access control needs. If you want to get things rolling quickly, I'd use Red Hat - its Samba admin tools are pretty decent and it should be easy to install and get running. If you have time and motivation, use Debian - ultimately it's a much more flexible and powerful distribution, even though it won't get you any extra functionality over Red Hat in your setup.

edit: added last phrase

 

[Panther505]

cleverhandle- just picking up the slack for the beerdrinkers.... Not a lot to celebrate on this fouth as my mother-in-law is in the hosp following bypass surgery on her 60th B-day. So I stayed at home and lurked on the boards for a bit.

 

[cleverhandle]

Ah... sorry to hear that, Panther. I recently spent several fretful days at the hospital in a similar situation, but I can only tell you what you likely already know - find strength in friends, family, and loved ones, and try to look forward to better times.

 

[Panther505]

Cleverhandle - NP thanks for the support though... Now go look for my Debian question