Thread
Help needed with Network/Server Set-up...
Hey all,
I'm after a bit of advice on how to implement some server and network ideas I am currently planning for the next few weeks... Don't know if this is the right forum, if not Mods please feel free to move it to the right place!
Basically I am after an idea as to what software and hardware I will need, and how difficult it will be to implement certain ideas.
Equipment and connection wise, I currently have in the office:
1 dual 867 Powermac
2 G4 450 Cubes
1 Dual USB iBook
(All running Jaguar 10.2)
1 Ethernet 8 port router
1 DSL connection with 8 static IP addresses at my disposal
Rather than get people in to do the work, who I would have to call back should there be problems, I want to try and do it all myself... My aims are to:
Firstly, give all our clients an email address at our domain name... Figures wise, by the end of next year we will hopefully have about 5000 people with addresses...
I have no idea how to do this, I presume I will need a mail server etc?
Secondly host our company website from a box in the office...
I'm pretty 'savvy', having set up our internal networks, file servers etc but never attempted stuff like this. However I don't mind getting my hands dirty (thrive on it actually!)
Oh and ideally it all has to be Mac based, I really don't like (!) PCs and Microsoft, so don't want any of that stuff cluttering up the place...
Any advice would be very greatly appreciated!
Many Thanks,
Marc
I'm after a bit of advice on how to implement some server and network ideas I am currently planning for the next few weeks... Don't know if this is the right forum, if not Mods please feel free to move it to the right place!
Basically I am after an idea as to what software and hardware I will need, and how difficult it will be to implement certain ideas.
Equipment and connection wise, I currently have in the office:
1 dual 867 Powermac
2 G4 450 Cubes
1 Dual USB iBook
(All running Jaguar 10.2)
1 Ethernet 8 port router
1 DSL connection with 8 static IP addresses at my disposal
Rather than get people in to do the work, who I would have to call back should there be problems, I want to try and do it all myself... My aims are to:
Firstly, give all our clients an email address at our domain name... Figures wise, by the end of next year we will hopefully have about 5000 people with addresses...
I have no idea how to do this, I presume I will need a mail server etc?
Secondly host our company website from a box in the office...
I'm pretty 'savvy', having set up our internal networks, file servers etc but never attempted stuff like this. However I don't mind getting my hands dirty (thrive on it actually!)
Oh and ideally it all has to be Mac based, I really don't like (!) PCs and Microsoft, so don't want any of that stuff cluttering up the place...
Any advice would be very greatly appreciated!
Many Thanks,
Marc
What I don't see in this list is:
1) budget
2) number of people in the office now
3) what kind of firewall you have.
It is possible that your DSL router will provide NAT which will offer some protection for your hosts but a firewall would be advantageous.
The number of people in the office is important since that may dictate how you setup the network - i.e. using NAT/PAT to share the line, provide static IPs to each user, etc. (I recommend using NAT/PAT anyway, since it makes growing the network easier).
What's your budget? configuring a mail system for that many users is certainly possible with free software that's either already installed in Mac OS X or is freely downloadable. However, maintaining 5000 users in a normal sendmail/popd configuration using the password file is a PITA. At the very least you should look at some kind of central user database. If your budget permits look at something like Stalker's Communigate Pro. It costs $$$, especially for that many users, but it'll be easier to setup and maintain, and includes SMTP, POP3, IMAP and WebMail interfaces.
1) budget
2) number of people in the office now
3) what kind of firewall you have.
It is possible that your DSL router will provide NAT which will offer some protection for your hosts but a firewall would be advantageous.
The number of people in the office is important since that may dictate how you setup the network - i.e. using NAT/PAT to share the line, provide static IPs to each user, etc. (I recommend using NAT/PAT anyway, since it makes growing the network easier).
What's your budget? configuring a mail system for that many users is certainly possible with free software that's either already installed in Mac OS X or is freely downloadable. However, maintaining 5000 users in a normal sendmail/popd configuration using the password file is a PITA. At the very least you should look at some kind of central user database. If your budget permits look at something like Stalker's Communigate Pro. It costs $$$, especially for that many users, but it'll be easier to setup and maintain, and includes SMTP, POP3, IMAP and WebMail interfaces.
Thanks for the info, much appreciated!
With regards to budget, I want to sort it all for a reasonable as possible, but don't mind buying a box/server and extra bandwidth to run it all on etc.
As for employess, we only have 3 actually in the office for the near future so sharing IPs shouldn't be necessary...
As for a firewall, I am in the process of getting one sorted...for the immediate moment I have losts of firewall software runnning only...
Cheers,
Marc
With regards to budget, I want to sort it all for a reasonable as possible, but don't mind buying a box/server and extra bandwidth to run it all on etc.
As for employess, we only have 3 actually in the office for the near future so sharing IPs shouldn't be necessary...
As for a firewall, I am in the process of getting one sorted...for the immediate moment I have losts of firewall software runnning only...
Cheers,
Marc
(It isn't clear from your posts which machines are actively used vs. spare, so some of this is speculation that you might need to vary)
Your simplest solution would be to get a copy of Mac OS X Server (the 10-user version will suffice since there's only 3 people in the office).
It includes everything you'll need to setup a web server and a mail server for your domain.
Depending on the DSL Modem you have, you should be able to setup NAT to share the IP addresses, with port forwarding to channel port 80 (http) and 25 (SMTP) connections to the Mac OS X Server.
The Mac OS X Server mail applications will handle both SMTP and POP/IMAP for your users and should be able to handle your growth.
In all, it would cost you $500, plus a day or so to get things configured.
Your simplest solution would be to get a copy of Mac OS X Server (the 10-user version will suffice since there's only 3 people in the office).
It includes everything you'll need to setup a web server and a mail server for your domain.
Depending on the DSL Modem you have, you should be able to setup NAT to share the IP addresses, with port forwarding to channel port 80 (http) and 25 (SMTP) connections to the Mac OS X Server.
The Mac OS X Server mail applications will handle both SMTP and POP/IMAP for your users and should be able to handle your growth.
In all, it would cost you $500, plus a day or so to get things configured.
I would strongly advise against using OS X server as a mailserver for that many users. OSXS can only create full users. Do you want a list of 5000 users at login? Also, the disk space used by the creation of each user's directory (containing some default preferences, etc) would add up.
I recommend using a separate mail machine that uses a mail user database separate from the OS user database.
tooki
I recommend using a separate mail machine that uses a mail user database separate from the OS user database.
tooki
Quote:
|
Originally posted by tooki: I would strongly advise against using OS X server as a mailserver for that many users. OSXS can only create full users. Do you want a list of 5000 users at login? Also, the disk space used by the creation of each user's directory (containing some default preferences, etc) would add up. I recommend using a separate mail machine that uses a mail user database separate from the OS user database. tooki |
Hold on there a sec, Tooki.
Just because you use Mac OS X Server, it doesn't mean you have to use Apple's Mail server. There are other mail server packages that will work on their own databases and not the system password list.
In any case, as originally mentioned, he plans to start with a few users and scale up, so he can start with Mac OS X Mail and migrate to another server later.
Additionally, I wouldn't use the user list at login under any circumstances. You're already giving away half of the keys to your system for anyone who happens to be looking at the screen. Use the Accounts preference pane to show username and password fields instead of a list of accounts.