"readymade" home server distro / easy to follow guide.

ozt9vdujny3srf · 11-02-2008 02:18AM #1

Hey guys, I've just gotten myself a cheapo server from dell. I want to use it for the following things:

A File Server for the local network.
A Proxy server with web caching
A DNS Server
A Print Server
I will also want to stick a couple of daemons on it that will need web connectivity.
And also possibly a router.

I dont have a monitor to connect to it nor do i have any need for a GUI.
I'm just wondering is their a distro available that will do all this for me with the least amount of tinkering possible. And i would prefer if it had a webUI that i could control most things on the computer for. Failing a ready made distro, a fool proof guide would be as good!

I'd also appreciate any other cool suggestions for things that i could use it for. It is a dual core opteron server with a gig of ram so its probably totally overkill for what i want it for!

So, in short:
Me want handy home server for lots of things
me very lazy
me want distro tht has most of the work done for me!

The network layout i have in my head is:

Modem<-Ethernet->Fileserver/Router/Firewall/Printserver<-Ethernet->Linxsys WRT-54g set as wireless ap<-Ethernet and Wireless->Home Network.

But if some other layout would sut my needs better thats cool.

The home network is a mixed windows / mac network.

The closest thing I've seen to what i want is http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/home-router-howto.xml or http://www.smoothwall.org/ but gentoo seems a little bit too complicated for me and I' not sure if smoothwall will be any good for installing additional apps.

PogMoThoin · 11-02-2008 08:53AM

I setup my server following this easy to follow guide.

Orion · 11-02-2008 09:42AM

This might be what you're looking for.

ozt9vdujny3srf · 11-02-2008 10:57AM

They both look pretty close to what i want. On the ubuntu guide he firewall used seems to be a bit sparse on features. I currently use a DD-WRT installed router and i would like the box to have similar functionality. In fact I am already quite happy with the rouer / firewall i already have bu to get what i want i think i need to use the setup i outlined in my post above (Not sure about this, any other solutions would be welcome).

Th ubuntu solution seems almost perfect, i just would like a nicer firewall package.

On ClarkConnect. Could be thats exactly what i wanted! 2 Helpful posts, I'll probably end up trying both solutions.

Orion · 11-02-2008 12:03PM

iirc Clark Connect is actually Ubuntu customised with what you're looking for. Best of luck

Red Alert · 11-02-2008 12:05PM

I used FreeBSD before for doing pretty much everything bar the routing part.

ntlbell · 11-02-2008 12:40PM

Amber Low College wrote: »

They both look pretty close to what i want. On the ubuntu guide he firewall used seems to be a bit sparse on features. I currently use a DD-WRT installed router and i would like the box to have similar functionality. In fact I am already quite happy with the rouer / firewall i already have bu to get what i want i think i need to use the setup i outlined in my post above (Not sure about this, any other solutions would be welcome).

Th ubuntu solution seems almost perfect, i just would like a nicer firewall package.

On ClarkConnect. Could be thats exactly what i wanted! 2 Helpful posts, I'll probably end up trying both solutions.

Putting your internal file server external to the internet to also act as a router/firewall isn't the greatest of ideas in the world.

Why don't you use the dell box for your internal server as above and leave the ddwrt box there?

Or if you have a spare machine try something like OpenBSD running PF as the firewall and the dell box behind it.

rmacm · 11-02-2008 12:51PM

Amber Low College wrote: »

The network layout i have in my head is:

Modem<-Ethernet->Fileserver/Router/Firewall/Printserver<-Ethernet->Linxsys WRT-54g set as wireless ap<-Ethernet and Wireless->Home Network.

If you're happy with your firewall setup at the moment why not just leave it as is and leave out the firewall section of the Ubuntu guide?

I'd reccommend the Ubuntu guide from above as well. Had a similar set up myself before and will do again soon and I was very happy with it.

Damn ntlbell bet me to it.

PogMoThoin · 11-02-2008 06:49PM

Shorewall firewall used in the guide i posted is not short on features. In the guide its just a guide to a very basic setup and will have the capability to do any of the features you use at present. Its also easy to set up with webmin. Its not the only option as firewall there's also linux firewall & other modules

BTW, Macros42, is ClarkConnect available 4 free or is there a basic package? I got a friend wanting a similar set-up to mine & want to explore all options.

Orion · 11-02-2008 07:52PM

There's a community version which is suitable for small offices/home networks. It's limited to 10 mailboxes if you want to use that service and no DMZ or tech support. Full comparison of the versions is at http://www.clarkconnect.com/info/compare.php

I haven't used this myself yet btw. But I did some research on it a few months ago and this was the one I choose for whenever I get up of my ass and set it up

ozt9vdujny3srf · 11-02-2008 08:05PM

Clark connect is based off red hat. Is having your firewall also a fileserver really that bad an idea? If someone manages to hack a firewall will they not have access to the network anyway regardless?

Sometimes my router freaks out when downloading torrents (which i rarely do i guess) but other then that its good. Was kinda hoping a dual opteron serer would be able to cope with a few more connections!

I guess i could just set up a server for now that isn't a firewall while i learn the linux basics. And then if I decide i'd like a more powerful router i can rearrange my network afterwards.

Decisions decisions!

ntlbell · 11-02-2008 08:25PM

Amber Low College wrote: »

Clark connect is based off read hat. Is having your firewall also a fileserver really that bad an idea? If someone manages to hack a firewall will they not have access to the network anyway regardless?

Well, when it's a home server obviously depending what's on it. maybe doing the basics is too much to ask.

generally if they've "hacked" into the firewall, they would be "sitting" on your home network but will still need to gain access to each machine/device that holds your data e.g. in my own house the only thing they could get near after "hacking" the main firewall would be an old P 133 running squid after that there's no where really to go.

The more services that are running on the box the more complicated the rule set the easier it is to make a mistake, the more opportunities for a demon to be compromised etc again if it's worthless data and you don't care too much fair enough do what you like.

ozt9vdujny3srf · 11-02-2008 08:52PM

I'm not questioning your knowledge, I'm just curious more then anything else. I think i will keep the current router running for the moment anyway and get the rest of the stuff working for a while and then when i know a bit more myself about the security aspect of things and how to use the box in general i will think about changing my set up again.

I also want to ot **** up the house internet while i'm learning how to use linux!

So this is what I'm going to try:

Modem<-Ethernet->Linxsys WRT-54g set as wireless router<-Ethernet and Wireless->Home Network with server.

I'm thinking i should be able to configure the router to let me connect to the server for certain remote apps over a webUI.

I'm gonna motor on with that now, so i guess i should have something up nd running in the next few hours. I'll keep you all posted as to how i get on. Thanks for the help - This is actually the first thread I have ever seen on boards with no spam/bull**** answers
So the layout I'm going to do is:

SouperComputer · 12-02-2008 12:40AM

Another vote for ClarkConnect community. Dead easy to setup, light on resources and decent support forums. Its based on FedoraCore, formerly known as Redhat but is now the "consumer" distro for Redhat. CC is predominantly web-page based config thru an SSL connection. That said, id still avoid pointing the config ports outside of your internal network.

Failing that ubuntu server is good, but will need a lot more setup.

I also agree that you should keep the hardware firewall you have in place. But it looks like you are doing that anyway.

for experimentation, consider virtualbox too.

I hope you dont plan wasting an opteron server on this? TBH, sell the parts and buy more HD's for RAID/backup/UPS, much more beneficial. Web based torrents, you can install torrentflux which is a very decent web-based Torrent UI. a 1ghz machine with 256MB (even much lower) will do the job that you mention above just as well as the Operton system. Unless you plan running a CPU intensive game server of some description or a video rendering/encoding machine of some description, sell/use the stuff, buy a socket 370board and some RAM for pennies and a HD controller card for multiple HD's

Your router should be WELL able to handle torrents, even with lots of connections. Just be sure that the appropiate INCOMING port is forwarded to the correct internal IP address in your router config. Later if you want to get hardcore, you could install QOS software, which is handy if you are using VOIP for example.

Also, if you have a few computers on the network, its probably worth considering a GB switch and a GB card for the server. Set each client to 100MB and you have good availabilty for all clients at any given time.

ozt9vdujny3srf · 12-02-2008 02:49AM

SouperComputer wrote: »

Another vote for ClarkConnect community. Dead easy to setup, light on resources and decent support forums. Its based on FedoraCore, formerly known as Redhat but is now the "consumer" distro for Redhat. CC is predominantly web-page based config thru an SSL connection. That said, id still avoid pointing the config ports outside of your internal network.

Failing that ubuntu server is good, but will need a lot more setup.

I also agree that you should keep the hardware firewall you have in place. But it looks like you are doing that anyway.

for experimentation, consider virtualbox too.

I hope you dont plan wasting an opteron server on this? TBH, sell the parts and buy more HD's for RAID/backup/UPS, much more beneficial. Web based torrents, you can install torrentflux which is a very decent web-based Torrent UI. a 1ghz machine with 256MB (even much lower) will do the job that you mention above just as well as the Operton system. Unless you plan running a CPU intensive game server of some description or a video rendering/encoding machine of some description, sell/use the stuff, buy a socket 370board and some RAM for pennies and a HD controller card for multiple HD's

Your router should be WELL able to handle torrents, even with lots of connections. Just be sure that the appropiate INCOMING port is forwarded to the correct internal IP address in your router config. Later if you want to get hardcore, you could install QOS software, which is handy if you are using VOIP for example.

Also, if you have a few computers on the network, its probably worth considering a GB switch and a GB card for the server. Set each client to 100MB and you have good availabilty for all clients at any given time.

i only paid 200 for it new. I doubt i'd et much for it!

my main pc is dated as hell though, fx51 cpu and 6800gt graphics card. I wonder is there any way i can offload game hysics to the opty server?

Ubuntu installation is running wihout hitch, but i keep getting this "bad pbr signature" error thing. Pain in the nuts.

Update: I'm going to bed. Ubuntu seems to install fine, but when i try and boot after an install i get the "bad pbr signature" error. I then do a "recovery" from the ubuntu disc. If i install grub on the other, blank hd then i can get into grub bootloader. but every drive/aprtition i try either doesnt exist or cant be booted from.

NIGHT

(Its as if this thing is trying to convince me to run windows server :'()

Red Alert · 12-02-2008 02:39PM

Does your server have a poweredge RAID card in it? That could explain the non-booting. My setup at the moment is a Ubuntu server (pretty bog standard AMD Athlon w/ AMCC 3Ware 9500 hardware RAID attached to 4 discs), but I don't have it doing the routing.

rmacm · 12-02-2008 04:32PM

I've seen Dell servers with this problem before and I think it was something to do with the Dell recovery partition messing things up...I cant' remember off the top of my head what was done to fix it but a quick google will probably find a solution for you.

Jackz · 12-02-2008 09:28PM

SouperComputer wrote: »

Another vote for ClarkConnect community. Dead easy to setup, light on resources and decent support forums. Its based on FedoraCore, formerly known as Redhat but is now the "consumer" distro for Redhat. CC is predominantly web-page based config thru an SSL connection. That said, id still avoid pointing the config ports outside of your internal network.

Failing that ubuntu server is good, but will need a lot more setup.

I also agree that you should keep the hardware firewall you have in place. But it looks like you are doing that anyway.

for experimentation, consider virtualbox too.

I hope you dont plan wasting an opteron server on this? TBH, sell the parts and buy more HD's for RAID/backup/UPS, much more beneficial. Web based torrents, you can install torrentflux which is a very decent web-based Torrent UI. a 1ghz machine with 256MB (even much lower) will do the job that you mention above just as well as the Operton system. Unless you plan running a CPU intensive game server of some description or a video rendering/encoding machine of some description, sell/use the stuff, buy a socket 370board and some RAM for pennies and a HD controller card for multiple HD's

Your router should be WELL able to handle torrents, even with lots of connections. Just be sure that the appropiate INCOMING port is forwarded to the correct internal IP address in your router config. Later if you want to get hardcore, you could install QOS software, which is handy if you are using VOIP for example.

Also, if you have a few computers on the network, its probably worth considering a GB switch and a GB card for the server. Set each client to 100MB and you have good availabilty for all clients at any given time.

+1 I have it setup with multi-wan.

ozt9vdujny3srf · 01-07-2008 12:35PM

Jus as a qucik update, I have been running Clark Connect since this post and it has been doing everything that I was looking for without a hitch.

Cheers folks for the help.

NullZer0 · 01-07-2008 02:37PM

http://www.howtoforge.com

Red Alert · 09-07-2008 06:44PM

I've downsized a lot in the meanwhile at home since I can have stuff on the network in college now, so I've got a Mini ITX running SME Server. It now just takes care of some backups.

"readymade" home server distro / easy to follow guide.

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