Ubuntu server for our company?

[tankduck]

Hi there,
first post so hello everyone!!!

Anyway, we are a small company of 5 architects who are good with computers in terms of cad/3d/photoshop and building/tinkering with machines.....etc but in no way servers.
Basically at the moment we have 2 nas units which are running on an old version of samba which I believe is not upgradable to v3, an xp machine that shares the plotters/printers. Our email is outsourced to fusemail.com and our website is hosted elsewhere again.

I have 2 machines that are spare, and I'm considering building a file server using something like freenas, but also am considering building an actual ubuntu server but what would the benefits of a server be for us? Our internet is about 7mb down and I think 1mb up, so I don't know if its suitable to host email or net...etc.

Just some initial pointers would be really appreciated.


Cheers

[hyper_ch]

if you want to host your own email you will require a static ip address. Most mailserver will not accept emails coming from a non-static IP.

[tankduck]

you mean static ips on the network, that isn't a problem as we have set that all up with the router.

Without sounding too stupid, presumably a server means that you log into the server when you boot up the workstations, as you would at schools, uni's ....etc. Is this something that you do with ubuntu server?

I think our basic needs are a decent email solution, good file server system, and a vpn solution, again is this something I should look to do with ubuntu instead of forking out for windows server. Obviously exchange server is one of the things we'd love about windows server, but aside from that it seems that ubuntu can do it all.

[Bucky Ball]

I am thinking about setting up a server just for my home LAN over the christmas break so on the brink of learning more. But one advantage I will mention about an Ubuntu server over a ******* is this: security.

[hyper_ch]

no, I mean a static public IP

[tankduck]

oh right, yeah we have a static public ip, at least i think so, we have an ftp server for which the router forwards the ftp port to the relevant place, thats right isn't it?

[hyper_ch]

well, a static IP will be given to you by your ISP and it's the public IP the router has. If you don't have a static IP I wouldn't even try to run a mailserver.

Besides, mailservers can also be complicated (well, it just takes somewhile to get used to) or you can use some custom made ones like Zimbra or Citadel.

However, IMHO, the most reliable and useful combination would be GMail Business Hosting - if you don't mind that Google snoops into all your emails ( http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/b...s/details.html ). Having Google Mail and Calendar together with Remember The Milk and the according plubings for Firefox/Thunderbird is quite nice and very straight forward to setup. However if you have confidential emails then I'd not use Google and setup an own mailserver.

[MJN]

If you don't have a static IP I wouldn't even try to run a mailserver.

It is perfectly acceptable to run a mailserver without a static IP as long as you ensure your outgoing mail is relayed via a 'trusted' 3rd party (e.g. your ISP's SMTP server which will have a static address).

Before anyone asks If you're going to offload outgoing mail to the ISP then whats the point in running your own mailserver?, well - full control over spam/virus filtering, no limits on the number and size of mailboxes, reduced reliance on 3rd party services, full monitoring capabilities of outgoing mail, mail backup for other domains, etc etc

To put it another way there is more to a mailserver than just sending mail...

Mathew

[hyper_ch]

It is perfectly acceptable to run a mailserver without a static IP as long as you ensure your outgoing mail is relayed via a 'trusted' 3rd party (e.g. your ISP's SMTP server which will have a static address).

I guess you have a point there

Yet still, "I" wouldn't even try to run it

[MJN]

I know there are issues with it for the uninitiated and that your statement was made with good intentions... but... I am keen to ensure anyone's innovation isn't stifled by the often-repeated 'rule' that without a static IP all bets are off...

Mathew