I’m aiming to set up a home network with some fairly specific needs. My main ‘concern’ is finding the right OS for the server at the heart of my network, and I’m hoping that someone experienced with networking will be able to give me an honest opinion - out of the different options available, is OpenSUSE the right choice for me to deliver these requirements?
Network hardware
I’m looking to set up a home network consisting of:
HP ProLiant G7 N54L MicroServer (OS to be decided)
Windows 7 (Home) laptop
Windows 7 (Home) desktop
Windows XP desktop (can live without)
Android-based wireless tablet (can live without)
OpenSuse 13.1 laptop (can live without)
TalkTalk wireless router
Requirements
The ideal set up would include (in order of importance):
MicroServer as file server
MicroServer as SQL database server (very low demand)
Remote management of server (within local network or VPN)
Access within the workgroup is as free as possible (no internal security required)
VPN so can access server from different location (access to files)
VPN so can access server from different location (server management)
Supports an internally deployed web application (PHP based - again, very small)
Scheduled backup / sync to other part of VPN.
At this point, you might be thinking “geez, does he want a cure for cancer and world peace as well?” Well, I’m aiming high and accepting that I may not get everything that I want. Ridiculous as it sounds given the above list, I’m looking for a solution as simple as I can get away with.
My knowledge
Whilst nowhere near an entry level user, neither am I a computing expert - let alone in the field of networking for which my knowledge is rudimentary. I’m okay with using command-line, but much happier with a GUI. I’m experience on OpenSUSE linux, which I’ve run at home for many years and have tinkered in a wide range of software, but never professionally.
Which database product do you want to run?
You will get no problems with open source products like PostgreSQL or MySQL (or it’s fork MariaDB), but if you want to run free versions of commercial closed source products (Sybase, Oracle ,…) things may look different. They are usually certified/supported only for the “big” server linuxes (RHEL, SUSE Enterprise).
But, if you’re willing to pay a little bit, you can install SUSE Small Business and all should be more or less setup for you already. https://www.suse.com/promo/
Thanks for the replies. I would have responded sooner but for the gecko’s little illness. It sounds like my requirements aren’t phasing respondents at all, which is an encouraging sign. I guess I shall suck it and see (and probably do a tutorial of what I did should it go well).
One thing I would be intrigued by: - I’m going to set the server up as a file server, but I’m not sure what the best approach is. Redundancy is NOT an issue (low volumes, low impact, external backup), but I’d like to span multiple volumes. LVM? RAID?
phual wrote:
> Thanks for the replies. I would have responded sooner but for the
> gecko’s little illness. It sounds like my requirements aren’t phasing
> respondents at all, which is an encouraging sign. I guess I shall suck
> it and see (and probably do a tutorial of what I did should it go well).
>
> One thing I would be intrigued by: - I’m going to set the server up as a
> file server, but I’m not sure what the best approach is. Redundancy is
> NOT an issue (low volumes, low impact, external backup), but I’d like to
> span multiple volumes. LVM? RAID?
LVM allows you to span multiple disks/partitions etc and IMHO has no
downside, so I would use that. You say you don’t need redundancy, so I
probably wouldn’t bother with RAID.
BTW, you also mentioned security and you said you had a TalkTalk router.
In other threads, people have been noticing that some ISPs have back
doors into their routers. Yours hasn’t been mentioned but if you’re
paranoid you might think about putting an extra router of your own
behind the ISP’s, then you can leave your network fairly open, except
for the wireless.