FW: [Malvern] Recommendations for File Servers

[Darren Beale]

> Surely if one machine got infected, somehow, then without the
> internal software barriers up the virus etc could spread without check?

I just make sure that my 'doze machines run some sort of AV software
that's it's up-to-date. The servers don't run any windowing software
and have minimal services running, I've never even considered that I
would need to run AV software on them. This is probably a oversight on
my part but I've just never considered it.

> No one has mentioned anything about running the server without mouse /
> keyboard attached, nor buypassing the log ons on boot up.  Can this be done?

Turn the machine on without keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) attached. On
boot up if it doesn't complain then there are no BIOS constraints from
not having them attached. Plug them all back in and build the server.
Now imagine for a moment that you don't need X + KDE/Gnome, you can
build the basic file server very easily with a basic install of your
preferred distro. Once SSH is on that machine and networking works you
can pull the KVM back out and SSH to it to finish the job off (e.g.
install samba). You've a terminal open on the machine but no KVM
attached; this is headless mode.

Where my knowledge dips rapidly is trying to do this with a windowing
system on the machine. My understanding is that one can get X to
forward its screen to another machine. Erm, else run VNC on the
headless machine so you get a remote desktop, failing that are there
Linux based windows RDC servers that you can run??

If this all sounds far too much like hard work, buy a KVM switch:
USB: http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=113292
PS2: http://tinyurl.com/yznzw4

> 1.  Load Ubuntu server on with Smoothwall and an AV and maybe LAMP too just
> cos I can

No, smoothwall/IPCop are stand-alone specialised distro's. They'll
wipe the Hard-drive and use the machine for one thing only. If you
don't have two machines forget it.

> 2.  Use Samba as the internal access to the file server

Samba is the file server, giving you the ability to create windows shares

> Could the set up be done from my standard PC - this is so that I can have a
> bash myself without having to rely on one of you guys -

Yes, VMWare server is free. Install that on your windows machine and
you can build the as many virtual machines as you like to try out the
concept.

If you go this route then you can save even more time by using an
off-the-shelf appliance:
http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/

Threre's a FreeNAS one:
http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/168

D