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Looking to upgrade our OS to a 64-bit version.

Server Purposes:

  1. Web Server (Apache Tomcat)
  2. Share Drive (Accessed through Windows domain and able to manage permissions)
  3. Firewall

Initial Thoughts:

  1. Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard
  2. Microsoft Windows Web Server 2008

Linux is also a possibility but not sure if any distributions will be able to handle our shared drive needs.

EDIT:

Based off answers from Will and SirStan.

  1. Would any of the other Windows editions be relevant?
  2. Will a linux distribution be able to handle all of these needs?
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You want Windows Server 2008 Standard. That will give you everything you need. File sharing is better, and Active Directory is not installed on Web Edition (Well it wasn't in 2003 at any rate).

Web Server Edition is only good if you're going to make a dedicated web hosting box for hosting ASP.NET IIS applications. It's specifically stripped down for that purpose.

Standard is more better rounded for your purposes.

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  • Yes go standard. You'll be unhappy with the 10 connection limit of web edition. Especially if you're going to have multiple people mapping drives to the web content.
    – Tatas
    Jul 31, 2009 at 4:33
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This is from another post:Server 2008 Web Edition limitations

From http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/editions-overview.aspx

Windows Web Server 2008 is designed to be used specifically as a single-purpose Web server, and delivers on a rock-solid foundation of Web infrastructure capabilities in the next-generation Windows Server 2008. Integrated with the newly re-architected IIS 7.0, ASP.NET, and the Microsoft .NET Framework, Windows Web Server 2008 enables any organization to rapidly deploy Web pages, Web sites, Web applications, and Web services.

Check out this page: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/compare-roles.aspx

Web edition does NOT support File Services.

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  • thanks for the answer, I have looked at those documents but did not find them very helpful. what is "File Services".
    – Berek Bryan
    Jul 30, 2009 at 17:28
  • "File Services" are shared folders; WWS won't do item 2 on your list.
    – Maximus Minimus
    Jul 30, 2009 at 17:31
  • It means that Server 2008 web edition will not allow you to do the file sharing you indicated you wanted, in other words, use server 2008 standard.
    – RascalKing
    Jul 30, 2009 at 17:33
  • Yeah. You'd probably want to get Windows Server 2008 Standard since it supports all of the web server edition. For firewall, like SirStan said below, you'll want the firewall seperate from your file/web server.
    – Will
    Jul 30, 2009 at 17:35
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Firewall

You really don't want your webserver/fileserver on the same machine -- let alone both with a firewall. Look at a standalone appliance firewall -- and consider using VMWare to segment the fileserver/webserver.

What is fileservices

File sharing. \servername.

Linux is also a possibility but not sure if any distributions will be able to handle our shared drive needs.

Do you have special case that you know they can't handle, or simply unsure how to configure them?

Do you have an existing domain? Is this for internal development?

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  • Q1, i am unsure how to configure a samba client on a linux distro that use a windows domain to connect to it. Q2, yes there is an existing domain and yes for internal development.
    – Berek Bryan
    Jul 30, 2009 at 17:37
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What specifics do you need for the "Share Drive?" Everything else you listed seems almost tailor-made for a/some Linux boxen so I'm curious to know what your specific needs are.

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  • authentication with a windows domain and folder permission management.
    – Berek Bryan
    Jul 30, 2009 at 19:06
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Q1, i am unsure how to configure a samba client on a linux distro that use a windows domain to connect to it.

I by no means am suggesting you use Ubuntu -- but as an example, googling for 'ubuntu windows samba authentication' includes a link here with a wonderful step by step guide for enabling Windows user/password authentication. Why not use the existing server/domain controller for file sharing?

Q2, yes there is an existing domain and yes for internal development.

If price is a concern -- you know Tomcat will run just fine on a Windows XP system right, and work great for a group of developers. If you don't need more than 4GB of ram, Windows XP 32 will work great, and likely you have a spare machine kicking around you could use for this.

I prefer, in all cases, for Firewalls to be distinctly seperate systems -- not even virtualized. You can install one of the numerous Linux/BSD systems designed for firewalls on any clunker you have in the office. I would use your WRT54G as a firewall before I used my fileserver.

Will a linux distribution be able to handle all of these needs?

Yes -- BUT DONT DO IT. As I stated above -- keep your firewall logically separate from any data. I would even caution against sharing a development server and file server. Use VMWare/Xen to segment the file/development server if at all possible.

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