What version to download and where is the link to download?

mikecwu

I want to turn my computer into a web server, and make my own STMP mail server. Which operating system to install and where is the link to the download site? I have a static IP address. Appreciate all the help.

Mike

Goineasy9

Almost any Linux distro can be made into a web server. The most common distro for making web servers is Debian and its website is here: http://www.debian.org/ . Just follow the getting started section to download Debian and follow the instructions for installation.

Turning your installation into a webserver, however, is not as simple as installing Linux on your computer. I would advise reading up on debian, the apache network software, mySQL and PHP, which are the most common applications needed to run a webserver. There's also network security that you must apply to a web server, so, reading up on how to secure a web server is also important. The apache software manual should explain that a bit in it's security sections.

Since your also interested in SMTP, you might want to also look at: http://goo.gl/pjwK2 which explains how to set up a mail server.

Once you familarize yourself with the basics, we can help you answer more specific questions.

mikecwu

Thanks GoinEasy9 for the reply. I went to Dibian.org to download installation file, and it asks me to choose the right version for my processor architecture: amd64 armelk freebsd-i386 kfreebsd-amd64 i386 ia64 mips mipsel powerpc sparc

My computer processor is Intel Pentium II 233. Which version should I download?

Thanks again.

Mike

Goineasy9

A pentium II machine is a minimal machine for runnning any Linux distro. Debian will work on that machine, you will use the i386 version. It needs a minimum of 128mb of ram, although 512mb is recommended. The PII machine I have has a 6Gb HD, I hope you have at least that, since, Debian requires a minimum of 5Gb. I don't know all the specs of your machine, so, I'll assume it meets the minimum requirements.

The Installation Manual for Debian with i386 is linked here:
http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/index.html.en

Good Luck, and let us know if you have any other questions.

mikecwu

Thanks for the information you provided. I check my machine and it only had 64 mb or ram, so that one won't work. I have a slightly newer laptop that is an Intel Pentium III M 1000MHz 532Mhz, with 256 MB of ram. Which version should I use for this machine? And if possible, can I keep the existing Window's operating system along side the Linux?

Goineasy9

Hey mikecwu

I would still try AntiX first. Even 256mb of ram is small enough to use a minimal distro. It is based on Debian, and, its creator is a very helpful fellow with a friendly community. You might even be able to run a desktop envronment like LXDE if you want to make it look like a shiny feature filled OS.

If you look at this mirror, http://mirror.cs.vt.edu/pub/MEPIS/antix/ , the version you should choose for your hardware is the antiX-M11-486.iso. The AntiX home page is here: http://antix.mepis.org/index.php?title=Main_Page#Downloads . Look down the page and you will find the different download mirrors if you feel the one I linked to in Vermont is not close enough to your location.

Now, you didn't tell me how large of a hard disk your present laptop has. In order to keep Windows on the laptop, you will need to have free disk space large enough to hold Linux. My advice is to use Windows defrag twice (yes twice) and then go into the utility in Windows that lets you resize the partitions and see how much room you can free up by doing the resize. You won't know how much spare room you have until you look. Heh, unless you already know.

I've run AntiX on old laptops with 256mb of memory that have 5-6Gb of free hard disk space. But, if you want to do anything other than surf the Internet with it, you might want to have at least 10Gb of free hard disk space.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Let me know also if you decide to dual boot with Windows, so we can make sure you have everything set up correctly before you start. Dual booting with Windows is sometimes a bit tricky, although from what I remember, AntiX sets up the dual boot automatically for you during the install.

Hope this helped.

mikecwu

Thanks for the reply. My laptop has probably enough space (20 GB or so, currently has 15 GB free space), so I should be able to run both operating systems.

So I should download this file from a mirror site, not from Dibian.org? Can I download it to the hard drive and install from there? Or do I have to burn a CD and boot from CD? I would like to keep the Window's os if possible, since I might need some old documents there one day.

I intend to use this OS just to have my own web server, so I can set up my own SMTP to send emails out. I might also want to host my own web page. I do not have any other plans at this point so I guess my usage should be very minimum, right?

Thanks again for all the help.

Mike

Goineasy9

You shoulld download it from the mirror site and burn it to a CD. I haven't used AntiX in a while, but as I remember, you can use it as a live CD before you decide to install it. Try it out first, make sure you are comfortable with installing it.

mikecwu

I finally got that one installed (after damaging many CDs during burning process). But seems linux does not have a big library for drivers, and now my wireless connection is not working. Not sure how to fix it.

After I get it to work and connect to the Internet, I can then go to http://goo.gl/pjwK2 to get information on how to install SMTP server, right?

Thanks!

Goineasy9

Linux home networking is a great place to get information.

BTW - Linux does have a big library for drivers, most are already included in the kernel. If you go to a terminal and type:

lsusb

Then copy the lines that have the word network or wireless here and we can give you some information about your wireless.
Sometimes you have to enable a different application repository and download the driver from there. We won't know until we find out what wireless hardware you are using.

2nd BTW - Congrats on you successful install.

mikecwu

lsusb shows the following:

Bus 001 Device 001: ID ld6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

no other lines.

In front of the cursor it says Mike@antiXl:~$

mikecwu

I plugged in the ethernet cable and the linux system can browse the web. My wireless card still not working though.

My top priority now is to make this computer a server, so I don't have to pay a server to host a website or to send out emails. Could you tell me how to do it? The link you gave me earlier, http://goo.gl/pjwK2 , seems about how to set up an email system to receive and send emails via another server. That is not what I need. I need to be a server myself. Please help.

Thanks!

Goineasy9

Let us see the output of:

lspci

I find it strange that lsusb is only showing a usb 1.1 device.

BTW - Even when someone sets up his own Internet server, he/she has to connect to an ISP to do the bulk emailing. Bulk Mail Servers are owned by the Big ISPS like AT&T, Verizon, Earthlink etc.. I'm sorry to have misunderstood what you were trying to do, but, you can set up a mail server, say, with postfix. Here is the link:
http://www.postfix.org/documentation.html

Postfix is available in my Fedora repository, and most likely in the Debian repository. You should really read all the documentation on the postfix link and see what it takes to set up a stand alone Bulk Email Server. It's a lot more complicated than setting up a home server and attaching it to a Mail Server from an ISP like AT&T or Verizon or Google etc.

mikecwu

The link you provided seems to be written for someone with a good knowledge base of Linux. For someone brand new to Linux, is there any simple step by step instruction on how to set up the mail server? Or is there a CD I can purchase to install it without knowing any coding? Or any service out there I an pay to get it installed? I'm under timeline pressure to get it done and I'm willing to pay someone to set it up for me. If I had time I could start with Linux 101 and learn to do it in one semester. Once it's set up and I start playing with it, I can become more knowledgeable over time.

Thanks for the help!

Goineasy9

Hi mikecwu

Like MasenM said, there is no simple way of setting up a mail server. You can install the components, but, if you don't know how to configure it and set up security properly, you're looking for a whole lot of headaches.
If you want to learn, take the link that I gave you, and learn each step as you go. If you have problems along the way, one of us can answer questions, but, running a mail server is not as easy as just installing the software.

Now that you have Linux installed, the first thing to do is play with it a while, then, start to learn how to do things from the terminal, learn about where files and folders are kept, and, how security works. When you have a basic knowledge, and can understand what's going on in the link I gave you, then, you might try to administer a mail server.

Good Luck.