[plug] Query - Best Distro for Enterprise Web and Proxy Server

[Rob Davies]

Afternoon,

On 26/05/2005, at 12:26 PM, Peter T Spicer-Wensley wrote:

> Peace, Pluggers! 'Lo Leon,
>
> My query is this: I have been running with RedHat for ten years now  
> but want the Enterprise level of security and stability without the  
> cost. (Don't we all.)
>
> I have seen CentOS 4 and it looks like RH enterprise without the  
> pricetag (or support) but my CentOS 4 isos wouldn't download & burn  
> cleanly - is there anywhere in Perth I could BUY the 4 CDs of  
> CentOS 4? How much IS Redhat Enterprise for Education anyway???
>
> Also, reading the reviews from Distrowatch, LinuxQuestions etc it  
> looks like many are using Whitebox and even Slackware to do what I  
> want. Others swear by (and occassionally at) Debian...
>
> Do any of you have any advice on which to go with? (I've been using  
> Linux mostly CLI since the early 90s but mostly for internet  
> gateway and proxy purposes. I set it up and forget it. It just  
> works and works and works. Gotta love Linux! The way of the Penguin  
> is a wonderful path.
http://ipcop.org

Will do all of this! With a very usable interface available from any  
GUI.

> The server will be used primarily as a Squid proxy server with  
> squidGuard redirector. It will also be a LAMP server running  
> phpHelpDesk, Moodle, the occassional WIKI, WebGUI and bits and  
> pieces like blogs. It will be available from the Internet as well  
> as the school's intranet so needs to be reasonably secure and  
> maintainable.
With addons it will meet all proxy requirements, the other servers  
should be run inside of the gateway so hence on another machine built  
with a Distro that supports said servers. Debian I recommend as, ease  
of use, works, secure if seems a little eccentric go for Ubuntu. I  
would use the big box for all of that and build another machine for  
IPcop as it does not require great horsepower just ram for Squid  
Proxies and at least 3 ethernet cards, even an old retired machine  
could be this machine. Visit website for specifics.

> The server is a single CPU P4 3200 with 2GB RAM on an Intel  
> SE7221BK1-E Server board in a Rackmount case (For what that's  
> worth). The Hard disks are twin 36GB SATA 10,000RPM HDD. It has a  
> DVDROM, 2 X Gigabit Ethernet ports and a Dlink Gigabit Fibercard  
> (PCI Express!) with twin 1000SX fiber ports (sweet!) connecting  
> directly to a DLINK DES6000 chassis switch.
>
> I've tried installing the CentOS (with no luck so far) I can't  
> download the DVD iso 'cause it's bittorrent and the DET WAN  
> obviously blocks bit torrent ports <groan>. Knoppix boots fine (of  
> course!) and I have many distros (Mempis, Ubuntu, Yoper, Debian  
> 3.0r2 on DVD, Xandros v2, Morphix and of course Mandrake, Redhat 9  
> and Fedora) on CD and DVD but thought that before I tried  
> installing them all to see how they perform, whether someone on the  
> list might have some recent experience with setting up similar  
> hardware for similar purposes and have any recommendations or  
> experiences to share.
>
> Who said I was verbose?! Eschew obfucation!
>
> Peter Spicer-Wensley
> System Administrator
> Swan View Senior High School
> Gladstone Avenue
> SWAN VIEW  WA   6056
> Mob: 04 1893 4218
> Mail: petersw at svshs.wa.edu.au
>
> "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm  
> not sure about the the universe." ( Albert Einstein)
>
> "Other kings said I was daft to build a castle in the swamp, but I  
> built it all the same." (Herbert's father the King)
>
> _______________________________________________
> PLUG discussion list: plug at plug.org.au
> http://www.plug.org.au/mailman/listinfo/plug
> Committee e-mail: committee at plug.linux.org.au
>

Cheers!

Rob Davies
rob at rjdarts.com
"You can always tell if you're working on a Mac or a PC," he said.  
"Just take your applications and stick them in and see if they run  
(Gates 05)." If it does Welcome to Mac OS X! (RJDarts 05).