Ubuntu

which programs for a home server is ebox ok?

Asked by Vincenzo

i am trying to set up a server in my home. three pcs windows and one ubuntu plus the server.
i would like to share
files, music, treat it like a media server
but still have the option of adding extras maybe a voip system.
x10 connecting to the alarm system
i have looked at linux mce but do not have the hardware fitted. also feel that other programs added slowly might be a better way.

i have problems with setting up the server as i am not used to commands via terminal. so have installed ubuntu hardy desktop version. i have tried to add ebox but no success to work.
i have seen ebox is suitable but cant get this to work. i now have downloaded a complete version from the box site but am hesitant to wipe the existing version.

anyone suggest a set of programs or advise if ebox will work with other programs. such as voip or x10 control

Vinny

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Thomas Kluyver
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Thomas Kluyver (takluyver) said : 		#1

I don't think ebox is what you're looking for, judging by it's description in apt.

If you install Samba, you should be able to share your files (including music files) with Windows computers (and Linux computers with smb-client).

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Vincenzo (vincenzo-iaciofano) said : 		#2

i have samba installed but would like to add other programs. i guess looking at microsoft home server is one part that i would like. i have the server set up on a desktop ....

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Vincenzo (vincenzo-iaciofano) said : 		#3

i meant that its not the server version but the desktop but has the features enabled....
Vinny

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Best Thomas Kluyver (takluyver) said : 		#4

OK, having a look on Wikipedia at what Microsoft Home Server can do, I reckon you can get most of the equivalent functionality in Linux:

- File and printer sharing: Samba (there's also NFS for file shares, but that won't work with Windows)
- Backup: rsync is a good backup system for Linux, and there will be frontends for it, like grsync, as well as graphical backup tools using other systems, such as Keep, which uses rdiff-backup. Rsync, including the server ("rsync --daemon") is installed as part of a normal Ubuntu installation, I think--if not, install the package rsync. On Windows, a program called deltacopy can be used to tie into rsync. Or you can expose a Samba share and copy files using a windows tool like Synctoy.
- Shadow Copy (backups going back through time): Decent backup software can handle this--Keep does it by default (Keep's what I use), and I know that you can do something clever with rsync to copy a folder without using any disk space and then record the changes.
- Health Monitoring (checking other computers AV and firewall state): This bit I don't know that you can do--Linux doesn't have a security software monitoring system as Windows does, and I doubt anyone's bothered to write a way to check Windows machines from a Linux box...
- Headless Operation (remote access, basically): definitely. For a simple command prompt access, you can use ssh (package openssh-server), which can be accessed on Windows using Putty. For a full graphical interface, you can use VNC (vnc4server) or RDP (krfb or xrdp). If you have "Remote Desktop" installed on Windows, you can access RDP already, if not, I'm sure searching for "VNC client" or "RDP client" will find things.
- Remote Access Gateway (sharing internet access): This can definitely be done (many routers and so on actually run Linux), although I don't know how to go about it.
- Media Streaming: You can, I think, stream to other computers over Samba. For things like the Xbox, you'll need a UPnP media server--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPnP_AV_MediaServers#Software
- Data redundancy: Linux can certainly deal with RAID, although again, I don't know much about it.

Neat idea, though. I've often thought that a Linux based home server, compatible with different OSs, would be a good idea.

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Vincenzo (vincenzo-iaciofano) said : 		#5

thanks for all your help and suggestions. i was hoping it would be a one box solution. but as you point out. i have a lot of reading to do and configure....
Vinny
thanks