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Help me convert my SMB's windows server to linux server! ($?)

Categories Forums > Operating Systems > Linux/Unix/BSD
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~TaJMoX:iconTaJMoX: Apr 30, 2008, 9:26:53 PM
I recently got placed as the IT director at a medium sized non-profit.
My previous experience is minimal, but my 12 years of being a computer fanatic made me a reasonable candidate for the job.

They're running Microsoft Exchange 2000 for mail and using Windows 2003 as a domain controller. They're actually running separate boxes for the DNS, File, and Print servers..

They have two firewall boxes and a VPN box. I am no expert but they are definately set up as an enterprise business network; With a DMZ, proxy, 2TB SATAoE raid, and 5 brand new still-in-box cisco switches.

I'd like to re-birth it as a simple, efficient, secure Linux server. There are only about 50 clients, and all they need is email and file sharing and remote access of any type. The complexity of this setup with the lact of maintenance resources is going to cause problems.

My Idea:
Set them up with a simple POP/FTP/DNS system. This way they still keep the functionality of Outlook, and can mount the LAN FTP server as a drive. (Is this possible?)

I only work part-time there, and their current setup requires mega maintenance. Can anyone recommend a solution that will require the least ammount or administration? Perhaps come cheap consulting for a fellow deviant? :relaxed:

Thanks!

--
Get paid to do other things - [link] and [link]

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*exsecror:iconexsecror: May 1, 2008, 5:12:01 AM
Microsoft Exchange can be replaced with the Kolab project but you need to be very familiar with Cyrus-IMAP, LDAP and Samba to use it. VPN can be replaced with the PPTP patchsets in 2.6, DNS can be done with powerdns or BIND (BIND preferred due to SRV record support) and SAMBA can handle the Krb5, LDAP, and Sharing services
~TaJMoX:iconTaJMoX: May 1, 2008, 11:55:15 AM
What about my idea of just using POP3 and FTP/SAMBA?
They don't use application sharing, so the VPN is useless, right?

Then I will just need a calendar/contacts sharing thing probably offsite, like Google Apps or something..

--
Get paid to do other things - [link] and [link]
*exsecror:iconexsecror: May 1, 2008, 11:57:11 AM
POP3 will still require a server (such as Cyrus, Courier or Dovecot) and has no relation to SMTP (which is different and requires Sendmail, Postfix or Exim). VPN is for more than just sharing applications, it's for getting into a network remotely and is generally necessary for things that require immediate attention rather than driving into an office. Though for Corporate environments I strongly recommend against POP3, IMAP is a lot more organized (shared inboxes, etc).
~dvnull:icondvnull: May 7, 2008, 12:28:28 PM
TajMox, I do this on a daily basis with small businesses in the Greater Seattle Area.

To keep it as as convenient as possible for your users, I recommend the following.

OpenLDAP for user accounts, Samba can use LDAP as a password store as well.
You can setup Zimbra which will give your users a very rich web client as well as POP3/IMAP accessibility.
Zimbra also comes with a Jabber Client so you can have your internal IM network.
Use OpenVPN for your VPN needs as it is much easier to authenticate vs the LDAP store than pptp is. With pptp you have to configure radius/ldap and the radius part can be annoying.

If you do not wish to go the Zimbra route, then you can still setup Cyrus+SASLAuthd+LDAP.

Your users can change their password using the windows password change tool and it will be synchronized for all services.

--

If you need more info on how to do this, feel free to PM me or contact me via googletalk at pramod@dvnull.org
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