Home Server Projects
The best servers are those that don't appear to be servers at all.
Thursday 14 June 2007, 6:25 AM
Software Selects for the Linux Home Server 6-14-2007
At this point it looks like the major server applications I will be using will include:
Bacula -- for system backups, incremental backups and bare metal restores
Samba -- obviously for Windows compatibility. But not so obvious, operate it in Domain Controller mode for both Windows and Linux logon account control eliminating the need for a Win2K3 Server.
Apache, obvious choice.
MySql, again, it seems as if 90% of the applications out there need this as a dependency.
GNU C, C++ compilers
FireFox 2.0x for the web browser interface. It has an especially consistent appearance across both Linux and Windows desktops.
A DNS tertiary server coupled with a DHCP server, no choices here yet. Samba offers a DHCP service coupled with a WINS server (a good thing to have for Windows boxes) that might become the defacto DHCP service.
LDAP, I'm not completely convinced that I need this service in a small network. It might come up as a dependency at some point.
Some sort of Digital Video Recorder package with a video capture card will be a secondary upgrade item. Although it might be cheaper to buy a a DVD player with a digital output port on it instead and just use it to feed digital video to the hard drive.
I personally think that that Remote Access from an Internet location into the home network desktops is asking for trouble. I will not implement that on the first iteration of the system. Likewise serving digital media files to the Internet is again asking for trouble. DMZ's were made for these situations. I can't see most home owners wanting to invite worldwide hackers into their home virtually.
Using Kerberos, RADIUS and VPN technology for remote access and/or control is a possibility.
I can see it setup to download RSS, email, news feeds from specific sites, weather maps and forecasts from weather services, traffic updates etc.
MythTV is definitely going to be a project for the future and most likely on another computer.
PreviousComments on this post
From the wonders never cease department...
Got home today and found an email in my box from the Gorilla in Redmond telling me that I was one of the select few tens or hundreds of thousands that are allowed to test RC1 of Windows Home Server.
Guess they called my bluff, or similar sorts of mutterings. Yes I downloaded it and all the other bits and pieces so NOW I have to test it even if I was beginning to really not want to.
In any case it will be interesting to see what happens. From the propaganda on the download site it looks like the feature set isn't much different from what I skimmed out of the advertising chum on the WHS website.
Day at work was a killer, put in 12 hours, some of it spent teaching screwdriver jockies which is a lot harder than it seems.
I'll get a fresh start tomorrow night and will report if the ISO was actually possible to burn onto DVD, yes it was at least i GB of ISO with 2 other smaller isos for 300 and I think about 30 MB. So it will be a hot time with NERO tomorrow night. BCENU ( Think The Prisoner!)
At this point I'm pretty well sold on using Debian 4.0, it has been pretty painless so far. It seems as if the Debians have their own take on things. It took me a while to figure out that Ice Weasel was Firefox undercover. I use Firefox on other distros of Linux and on Windows. I especially like the fact that when it crashes (not very often) it will come back on next startup and ask you if you want to restart the previous session or start a new one. A very nice touch.
All of my posting here and elsewhere has been done using Firefox and when I have Little Debby (Debra) configured the way I need it to be, I'll be using Ice Weasel on her to post my results from the Linux side of things. I've decided that the WHS alternate personality of the Celeron test computer will be named Billyboy. I'll use Firefox on him to report the Windows side of things.
I try to limit my use of Internet Exploder to Microsoft sites since it seems as if they are the largest violator of the W3 specifications by insisting on using ActiveX and ASP pages, even when you'd think it should not be necessary. I'm using IE7 and I'm still not convinced that they've cleaned up the code enough to truly be safe to use.
I realize that most Linux hands don't really care to muddy themselves on the Microsoft banks but IE7 in the about box makes no reference as in prior versions to Mosiac or any other web browser software or copyrights held by any others besides Microsoft. So maybe IE7 really is a complete re-write.
Well Debbie's big (but younger) sister is up and running. And I'm sorry to say that it actually took twice as long to install compared to Kraken. But that included a lot of time shuffling Debian Binary CDs around. Yes in case you missed it, I downloaded and burned ALL 21 CD's of the Debian disk family.
WOW what a load!
Yes before you guys jump my back and tell me that I could have downloaded just one disk etc etc.
I wanted to have the entire distribution at my beck and call in case the DSL line trashed out and it has on very few ocassions. Its probably the only thing good about having a PHONE company deliver your data stream. They DO know how to keep the damn thing up and running even in monsoon season. Something that the TV cable ninnies (idiots etc, you catch my drift) haven't a clue about. Not to mention that the cable idiots don't seem to understand the technology of a yardgate. Thank goodness my dogs are smarter than the normal cable idiot and stay home even when the idiots leave the gate open. (Sorry, had to get that out. Its been caught down there for awhile!)
Debraserver got installed COMPLETELY without straying from the yard so to speak. Everything I wanted to put on the Linux Home Server was already available in the Debian 4.0 distro. WOW! I love it! Eat Plankton Kraken!
I also played around with IceWeasel (FireFox for Debians) I would have called it SnowFox. There is a breed of Fox called Snow Fox that start out red and brown during the summer and then turn white as snow during the winter. They are really inoffensive and small critters that live above the Arctic circle. They seem to thrive in places larger (think software bloat) creatures don't exist.
The one piece of software I know and love completely in the Linux repretory is Samba. I didn't have to do a thing to make it work but type my user name and password that I use on the remote (next to it in the desk) Windows box.
Now comes my BIG disappointment with Linux, MySql. I am NOT a database geek, never have been, don't see much reason to be and hope I never have to turn into one. I will write VB.NET programs before writing SQL queries! Here's where Linux fans need to do some work. Like in the Windows world, SQL Servers are taking over everything. I discovered that ALL of the applications I wanted to add used MySql except for SAMBA. The problem is that all of the other apps had to have MySql not only installed BUT also RUNNING. Whats with that? How about a method to run a script after an event occurs like MySql gets up and running OR do a check to see if MySql IS RUNNING before you try to install?
I said I would be evaluating this whole process from a USER viewpoint. Please don't write me flamemail. The next step is to figure out what I F'edup and learn how to fix it so I can get on with the whole thing. I wil be RTFMing it for awhile. Then later I will try to see if I can sequence the build so that MySql gets installed before most everything else that seems to depend on it.
Update follows:
OK I found a PDF that is helping somewhat. I managed to get access to my own MySql server. Always nice when the software you installed lets you run it. Something that's not always a given on the other side of the software world.
The Big Gorilla does not have a twitch (nose-clamp for horses, used to keep them focused on what's going on in front, not in back where a guy with a hammer is pounding on their hooves) on the obtuse manual market. But it might be me. I have studiously stayed away from SQL Servers as much as possible. I use them only when I have to. SO the fact that I can read the words and still not a freaking clue what they are really talking about could actually be my fault. I'll be poking at it.
I think I have Bacula installed but I'm not sure.
More to come
