How do I set up a...

[Pandamonium]

My desktops will be running some form of Windows. I want to log in from any machine and access a roaming profile stored on the server, so that I have one virtual workspace regardless of which physical workspace I happen to be at.

I also want some form of an exchange server, so that my virtual workspace also has a uniform email system. I also want the email server to have some form of webmail (ideally similar to Outlook web access).

The server would need to also share files, printers, etc. I own a few domain names, and would like to move away from web hosts and host my own space.

Assuming I get a dedicated line in the near future, what hardware/software am I looking to purchase in order to make this happen?

I feel like going 100% MS would simplify things, but that seems a bit expensive for a basic home server. Would linux/samba/sendmail/apache be able to mimic a MS domain/active directory/exchange server?

Also, I'd be rewiring for GbE, but want to retain wireless access. So would I need to go Pipe>Server>Switch>Wireless AP, Desktops?

 

[MegaVovaN]

ftp server: filezilla. open source, windows, works perfectly for a year now at my server
sharing printers/files = windows tools/FTP

how powerful your hardware should be depends on how many users and what programs. for a basic FTP/web server, you could easily do with a Pentium 2 machine. I have a AMD 1600+/512 RAM/NF1 mobo server that easily reaches 95 mbit avg speed on my home 100mbit network!

 

[Genx87]

Look into Small Business Server 2003 from Microsoft. It has IIS, Exchange 2003, Server 2003. It sounds about what you are looking to do. Cost of it is about 500 bucks and comes with 5 client licenses.

 

[nweaver]

yes, this will cost a bit...more then I want to spend on a home setup (but I'm cheap, and have been infected with the GNU bug).

SBS is the LEAST expensive MS route.

 

[Pandamonium]

Is there a non-MS route that will is fully compatible with Windows clients? I plan on researching the hardware and going live around the time of Vista's release. This way, I'd have time to configure a *nix alternative if it were possible.

 

[Rilex]

Not for what you're looking for.

 

[Nothinman]

It's definitely possible, you just have to decide whether you have more time or money to burn. You'll need a good amount of time in both cases because setting up AD properly is non-trivial and I've seen enough people set it up incorrectly and have absolutlely no idea why things aren't working right. And adding in Exchange just exacerbates the problem. I haven't used SBS so I don't know how much simpler (i.e. restricted) it is, but setting up Exchange properly isn't as easy as clicking next in a wizard, creating an AD account and hoping for the best.

I would ditch the roaming profiles/AD idea unless you have like 5 or more machines and you move between them a lot. Even if you use Windows for the server it'll probably be more hassle than it's worth.

As for the Linux side, yes it's possible too:
Samba can be a domain controller (not sure about AD though, I know it's being worked on but I don't know how close it is yet) and provide roaming profiles.
A good combination of an SMTP server (postfix), IMAP server (Cyrus or Courier), webmail (Horde/IMP) and AntiSPAM/Virus (mailscanner I think) can replace Exchange as long as you don't want the calendering crap it provides.
And of course Web and DNS is fine on any unix platform.

Personally, I find the Linux solution a lot simpler. Yes there's more pieces but they're easier to debug and it's usually easier to isolate any problems since the pieces are completely seperate. But if you don't have any previous unix experience the learning curve will be pretty steep, so you had better be prepared to be spend a lot of time reading and getting acquainted with the system.

 

[stash]

but setting up Exchange properly isn't as easy as clicking next in a wizard, creating an AD account and hoping for the best.

It's pretty damn close to that in SBS. You don't have to worry about any of the installation of Exchange, and the CEICW wizard will walk you through configuring it (and other components) to work correctly. If you take the time to actually read the dialogs in the wizards, it's ridiculously easy.

 

[Nothinman]

If you take the time to actually read the dialogs in the wizards, it's ridiculously easy.

That would be the key phrase there though: "read the dialogs". I'm not saying anything about the OP since I don't know him/her, but I can count on one hand the number of Windows people that I know that read the dialogs of any installation wizard, they all just click next over and over until it's done.

 

[stash]

but I can count on one hand the number of Windows people that I know that read the dialogs of any installation wizard, they all just click next over and over until it's done

And you think Linux is the answer for this kind of person?

 

[Pandamonium]

I currently have 3 machines that I rotate through. The main reason I want AD driven roaming profiles is so that I don't run back and forth all the time trying to figure out which machine has the most updated version of an ongoing document, for example. If I consolidated all of my work to one profile, it would make my life a lot easier. Right now I'm leaning towards a Windows SBS server because some of my earlier websites are coded in ASP and my more recent work is in PHP. I figure with SBS I can host both versions natively and not feel the urge to recode my older code. (I am not aware of any low-cost ASP-enabling *nix package.)

FWIW, I haven't delved into *nix that much because I don't quite understand how all the documentation is organized and it gets frustrating after a while. That was years ago though, so things might have changed/I might have developed more patience/etc.

 

[Nothinman]

And you think Linux is the answer for this kind of person?

Sure, it doesn't even give them the "mindlessly click next" option so they have no choice but to treat it seriously =)

And at the risk of taking this even farther off topic, a friend of mine recently installed Ubuntu on a new notebook and everything in the thing (video, network, wlan, sd reader, sound, etc) worked out of the box with no extra setup from him. I was really surprised and impressed, Windows would have taken a lot more work to get going since pretty much everything would have needed 3rd party drivers be installed after the initial setup. So some things (given the right variables) are easier in Linux =)

 

[nweaver]

for a fairly simple to setup *nix mail server, with calandering, web, spam, AV, etc look at Zimbra, or (not sure on this one) Hula

 

[Nothinman]

The main reason I want AD driven roaming profiles is so that I don't run back and forth all the time trying to figure out which machine has the most updated version of an ongoing document, for example.If I consolidated all of my work to one profile, it would make my life a lot easier.

How about you just consolidate all of your documents into one central location and leave the profiles local? It's a lot less work to setup and less chance of something going wrong in the future. Just put a shortcut to the UNC path holding them on each machine and you're done.

FWIW, I haven't delved into *nix that much because I don't quite understand how all the documentation is organized and it gets frustrating after a while. That was years ago though, so things might have changed/I might have developed more patience/etc.

Actually once you get a feel for it the organization of a Linux distribution is usually a lot higher and makes a lot more sense than a Windows installation. But while the GUI stuff has seen a ton of development and I'm sure the documentation for it is better than it was 5 years ago, the docs for the server stuff are going to be very similar because in general there's nothing to fix. A lot more stuff will 'just work' out of the box (give an Ubuntu Live CD a try and see) but for the stuff you're talking about you'll still have to do a bit of reading and trial and error. So if the latter's changed and you feel you might be more up for the required learning give it a try, otherwise you might as well not waste your time.

 

[Pandamonium]

How about you just consolidate all of your documents into one central location and leave the profiles local? It's a lot less work to setup and less chance of something going wrong in the future. Just put a shortcut to the UNC path holding them on each machine and you're done.

I thought of that, but I want my mail folders to also be consistent. I suppose it is possible to force outlook to use a networked PST file, but I feel like workarounds will ultimately give me a headache. I've had the opportunity to play with roaming profiles in a corporate environment a few times, and I will admit that I am somewhat drawn to the cool factor as well.

 

[Nothinman]

but I want my mail folders to also be consistent.

Isn't that the whole point of wanting Exchange though? And if you don't go with Exchange you can still use IMAP, it's what I use.

 

[stash]

I suppose it is possible to force outlook to use a networked PST file

This isn't a supported config.

 

[stash]

And if you don't go with Exchange you can still use IMAP, it's what I use.

You can also configure Exchange to do IMAP (and POP).

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

If you take the time to actually read the dialogs in the wizards, it's ridiculously easy.

That would be the key phrase there though: "read the dialogs". I'm not saying anything about the OP since I don't know him/her, but I can count on one hand the number of Windows people that I know that read the dialogs of any installation wizard, they all just click next over and over until it's done.

If they arent willing to read the dialogs I dont think putting them on Unix or Linux will magically solve their problem.

 

[Nothinman]

You can also configure Exchange to do IMAP (and POP).

I know, but Outlook isn't exactly a great IMAP client and if you're going to use Exchange you might as well use it's native protocol.

If they arent willing to read the dialogs I dont think putting them on Unix or Linux will magically solve their problem.

Most people are more willing to read things in Linux because they know they don't know what they're doing, but most Windows users assume they know what they're doing in Windows after like 6 months of web browsing and ignore half of the dialogs that appear. Whether they'll have the patience and capacity to actually work through it is another issue completely.

 

[stash]

I know, but Outlook isn't exactly a great IMAP client

That's an understatement

 

[Genx87]

Most people are more willing to read things in Linux because they know they don't know what they're doing, but most Windows users assume they know what they're doing in Windows after like 6 months of web browsing and ignore half of the dialogs that appear. Whether they'll have the patience and capacity to actually work through it is another issue completely.

That is a laughable explantion of why somebody who doesnt pay attention should move to Linux. Because it is linux, they will suddenly pay attention and read dialogs.

I understand the agenda to push Linux everywhere one can, but for what he is doing, SBS 2003 is ridiculously spoon fed and provided he takes the time to read the dialog boxes wont screw it up.

And if he is that worried about screwing it up, a 30 dollar SBS 2003 book from Amazon or Barnes and Noble and a couple of hours worth of reading will solve most any questions he has.

 

[Nothinman]

I understand the agenda to push Linux everywhere one can, but for what he is doing, SBS 2003 is ridiculously spoon fed and provided he takes the time to read the dialog boxes wont screw it up.

And pays the huge licensing fees to get a copy.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

I understand the agenda to push Linux everywhere one can, but for what he is doing, SBS 2003 is ridiculously spoon fed and provided he takes the time to read the dialog boxes wont screw it up.

And pays the huge licensing fees to get a copy.

500 bucks is a "huge" licensing fee?

 

[Nothinman]

500 bucks is a "huge" licensing fee?

For a non-profit home server? Hell yea! Especially when I can get arguably better software for free. And I don't remember the specifics but I know that SBS is limited in certain ways compared to 'normal' Windows Server + Exchange.