Got Linux?

[WiK]

There are a few topics with the words "linux" and "dedicated server" in the subject line, so I'm guessing it can be done

Can I use one machine as both a webserver and a firewall?

Phil

 

[thomasrau]

Originally posted by WiK
Question, will Unreal Tournament 2004, or any games similar to that install on a Linux system? I'm not wanting to play them, just trying to setup a game server. Would that work?


Cheers,

Phil

If you want to set up a games server at home be aware that running a server at home violates the TOS of many ISP's. Many ISP's block the ports commonly used by servers as well. Most important of all most consumer level broadband connections have limited upstream speed. Plain english translation, the users will experiance quite a bit of lag and you will be limited to the number players you can support.

 

[thomasrau]

Originally posted by WiK
There are a few topics with the words "linux" and "dedicated server" in the subject line, so I'm guessing it can be done

Can I use one machine as both a webserver and a firewall?

Phil

Yes, but not recommended.

 

[WiK]

Originally posted by thomasrau
If you want to set up a games server at home be aware that running a server at home violates the TOS of many ISP's. Many ISP's block the ports commonly used by servers as well. Most important of all most consumer level broadband connections have limited upstream speed. Plain english translation, the users will experiance quite a bit of lag and you will be limited to the number players you can support.

Well I never knew about the TOS thing, I must check that out. Primarily it would be used as a LAN server though, much easier to setup, and a heck of a lot more fun, you can yell at the person you just fragged without having to use a mic

Thanks,

Phi;

 

[thomasrau]

True enough, LAN parties can be great fun.

 

[cydermaster]

Originally posted by thomasrau
True enough, LAN parties can be great fun.

We used to play Doom and Quake over the work network at lunchtimes. We had to stop when the fragging kept moving out of the virtual world, and manifesting itself in the real world as food fights! :lol: Finding dried Pot Noodle in your hair, after one of these fights, is not nice!

 

[WiK]

Pot noodle isn't gaming food, you gotta eat takeaway pizza and drink red bull at a LAN party. Its like, traditional!


I'm not sure what I want to do with linux at the moment... I higly doubt that I'll be able to get the family to switch to using it, and I don't want to partition another pc, one has no space on the hdd, and the other my dad wouldn't let me touch... How would it work to have a linux network server with XP pc's accessing it?


(sorry, linux n00b here )


Phil

 

[thomasrau]

Originally posted by WiK
How would it work to have a linux network server with XP pc's accessing it?

Phil

Doesn't matter. Linux, Mac and Win servers all support each others clients.

 

[scm86]

Originally posted by andysrockets
Lappy is the one with all the windows essentials (Rocksim, RDAS, Altacc, Perfectflite, oh and Firefox), mainly cos it came with a licence.

Wine might be able to help there, im pretty sure that Rocksim works with it, not tired the perfect flight program yet...

Firefox for Linux (i686 arch): https://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox&os=linux&lang=en-US

Scott McNeely

Linux User 319364

 

[Daedalus]

Have tried a couple of installs in the past and trashed the hard drives (dual boot that didn't and second time overwrote the cyl/track/head data to give me a totally non functioning hard drive then fixed that and gave up).

Currently running XP home on the laptop and 98SE and XP MCE on the desktop.

MCE is soon going over onto a dedicated media PC for video and audio (once I have worked out the build and ordered a case etc.). That will be running MCE on a 40Gb disk with a 250Gb just for recorded TV. I will be storing the music files (and all my other stuff like photos) on a separate server so they are properly backed up (no backup on the MCE machine as the worst that can happen is I loose a recorded TV program). The server build could be an ideal candidate for trying Linux again so in a few months I may give that a go.

Any advice happily accepted!!!!

 

[WiK]

I'm (attempting) to use Linux for a very similar sort of thing, currently trying to use it as a fileserver for backup/storage betweek two XP machines. Going alright so far, apart from the fact the server folders are all Read Only for some reason, so I can't put anything on them.

Kinda funny, me and Cydermaster were chatting about a similar sort of media network last night.

Phil

 

[lalligood]

Originally posted by Daedalus
Have tried a couple of installs in the past and trashed the hard drives (dual boot that didn't and second time overwrote the cyl/track/head data to give me a totally non functioning hard drive then fixed that and gave up).

Currently running XP home on the laptop and 98SE and XP MCE on the desktop.

MCE is soon going over onto a dedicated media PC for video and audio (once I have worked out the build and ordered a case etc.). That will be running MCE on a 40Gb disk with a 250Gb just for recorded TV. I will be storing the music files (and all my other stuff like photos) on a separate server so they are properly backed up (no backup on the MCE machine as the worst that can happen is I loose a recorded TV program). The server build could be an ideal candidate for trying Linux again so in a few months I may give that a go.

Any advice happily accepted!!!!

As a linux n00b, NEVER EVER NEVER install for dual boot on a single drive if you can help it--especially if you're using your Windoze box for so much stuff! The odds of you picking the wrong option and/or wrong partition increase exponentially as the value & amount of your data increases.

The best & most surefire way to sample Linux is to get yourself a spare hard drive (one with a few gigs is plenty more than adequate). Open up the case of your PC and install the hard drive. After all, if you can install Linux, you can install another hard drive! (That way you are using all of the same hardware except for the hard drive.) Unplug your HD that has M$ on it & move the cables to the (so-to-be) Linux drive. Install Linux & get used to it there, in an environment where your M$ data cannot be altered and/or at risk. As your confidence & knowledge of Linux increases, (figure out how to) add the M$ drive into the picture (It can be done!) Did you totally hose up your Linux install somewhere along the way? Or do you want to try a different distribution of Linux? No problem, you can do the (new) install all over again if need be... No (valued) data is at risk

HTH,

 

[lalligood]

Originally posted by WiK
Going alright so far, apart from the fact the server folders are all Read Only for some reason, so I can't put anything on them.

Odds are extremely likely that you are running into a rights issue (meaning you don't have 'em!). Ahhh, the beauty of Linux. You cannot alter or get to what you don't have rights for

 

[tbzep]

I still have dual boot capability, but I never boot into Vista anymore, so I chose the first option. If not for the nagging thought in the back of my mind that I might run across something that I can't get to work in wine, I'd get rid of Vista completely.

Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy

 

[andysrockets]

Wow @ 3yr+ thread resurrection!
(But for the record, Main PC = Gusty Gibbon, 2nd PC = Gusty Gibbon, Server = FC4, Laptop = OSX/Gusty dual boot)

 

[James Duffy]

I suspect that each and every person reading this thread has a least one device running linux somewhere in their house. Just taking a quick look around, I can see two devices that are probably linux-based: my Tivo box, and a Sony Blu-Ray player (which takes *forever* to boot up!). I also do live sound, and I know that the digital desk I use is linux-based.

Do imbedded OS implementations count? <G>

James
______________
James Duffy
[email protected]
www.rocket.aero

 

[skippy-2]

My main computer, the one I'm on now, runs Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon. Firefox for the web, Evolution for mail. Open Office, Xara Xtreme, Gimp. Wine works well enough.

Laptop is a dual boot Ubuntu and XP.

The kids (2) computers run XP.

Other museum pieces around the place run RISC OS:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RISC_OS

Microsoft products are only used when they absolutely have to be. Not an ethical issue, it's just that they are bloaty, slow, and over rated.

 

[lalligood]

Anybody downloaded (or apt-get dist-upgrade) to the just released 8.04 Hardy Heron Beta yet?

The first thing I noticed when booting the CD is that you now have a choice to run it as just a Live CD *or* jump right into the install, which is a time saver considering the previous versions required that you boot into the GUI then do the install from there.

While not fully refined (again, it's a beta), you can tell there's going to be a more polished desktop than ever when they get all the kinks out. Very, very cool...

Also, another safe way for a Windows user to try out Linux is to use Virtual Box (https://www.virtualbox.org/) VB is free (open source) & is a virtual machine that allows you to run an operating system within the confines of another operating system.

 

[DexterLB]

I am using ubuntu linux all the time. I tryed it 2 years ago, I worked 15min on it, then booted windows. Then windows was looking to me as something very difficult to operate. Then I booted linux again, started partition manager and formatted the windows sys partition. That's my story's happyend.

 

[andysrockets]

Also, another safe way for a Windows user to try out Linux is to use Virtual Box (https://www.virtualbox.org/) VB is free (open source) & is a virtual machine that allows you to run an operating system within the confines of another operating system.

I do it the other way... Win2k in Linux. Happily runs all the major altimeter software with USB passthru for USB serial lead, and Rocksim too (v7 at least).

Linux in Windows is limited by Windows relative paltry file size limit afaik, but you can configure multiple virtual drives.

 

[hokkyokusei]

I voted use it as a black box, as it forms part of the smoothwall firewall I run.
We also use it at work, for server-type applications where it makes perfect sense. Where I don't use it, is as a desktop, though I've tried on a number of occasions. It's just too much like hard work. As I never tire of saying "linux isn't ready for me yet".

Since this thread's been resurrected, I thought I'd give a quick update:

The smoothwall firewall died (well it was my _first_ PC 486 circa 1991, it had a good innings) while I was away working in the US and my eldest son replaced it with an anonymous piece of white plastic - adding wireless capability as he did so.

At the office the spread of linux continues, SUSE spread from our servers to our desktops to replace cygwin for desktop development, though recently most of us have switched to ubuntu. Some of us run it in a virtual machine, though many have "gone native". Interestingly some of the hardcore geeks have gone OSX because they "prefer BSD to linux". We have a couple of vista users but they're generally sales and marketing type people. Even our videotelephony products are now Linux based - a Texas Instruments version of MontaVista. We hope to ship our first product of this generation later this year.

At home I'm still, just, using windows, but I use Ubuntu in a virtual machine to VPN to work. There's an issue with the video card in this old machine, but when I upgrade windows will almost certainly be gone.

 

[m85476585]

I downloaded Ubuntu 8.04 beta too, and I like the installer. I installed it on VMWare Server (free), and I was surprised at how well virtualization worked. I have a relatively old desktop with a 3GHz P4, and it wasn't that slow. Of course it helps that I have 4Gb of RAM.

One of the cool things about VMWare Server is that it lets you connect to virtual machines remotely, so I can use my laptop as a thin client. It was slow over wireless G (at 12-24mbps), but it was completely usable on a 100mbps LAN connection. If I had wireless N, it would be perfect. Of course I could skip the virtualization and just run VNC (which is faster in my experience), but that wouldn't be as fun.

I'm planning on using an old PC running Linux as a router since I want something that can prioritize traffic. I am just waiting for another NIC card and a switch to get it set up.

 

[stealthfixr]

Very happy with Ubuntu Linux...works very well. Even have Rocksim 8.0 running in WINE without problems.

If there was just a little more support for software for Linux, I think there would be a max exodus from Microsoft. And, you sure cannot beat the price---FREE!

 

[DexterLB]

Yeah.
Rocksim 7 has no chance to work under WINE, but rocksim 8 works.
Except for the ubdate stuff - rocksim cannot update under WINE.

 

[quinn]

I'm an otherwiser, since I don't use it on my workstation, but it's very much part of my everyday life. The software development company where I work has used Linux as its primary development and hosting platform since 1994, and we're extremely happy with it. Our servers generally run for around a year between restarts, and when we do reboot, it tends to be for hardware upgrades. The first time I installed Linux myself was in '91.. that was Kernel release 0.11... it installed off two floppy disks.

My workstation is an Apple laptop, though.

--Sebastian

 

[cjl]

I use and love Vista, but I do have my main comp triple booted to XP and Ubuntu as well, and I tend to use Ubuntu for basic internet/word stuff, and XP only sees action for SolidWorks (the darn thing wouldn't work on Vista at all, and I couldn't get the newest version that does). Vista is still my main OS, but Ubuntu is quite nice for occasional things, especially in class for notes and such (I like the battery monitoring capability and the fast boot).

Though, with regards to boot and (especially) login times, Vista SP1 greatly sped things up.

 

[DaveCombs]

I tried Slackware for a while, and ran Apache's web server to host my pictures. But between it and my router, there was more downtime than uptime. I'll admit that I didn't give it enough time or troubleshooting to give it a fair shake, so I might revisit it some time in the future.

At home right now, I'm trying out Mac OS X. It's a very different feeling, and I have to say I like it. I've been running Winders all my life, and I figure I need to branch out a little. Who knows, I might just make The Switch...

 

[WiK]

Vista is still my main OS, but Ubuntu is quite nice for occasional things, especially in class for notes and such (I like the battery monitoring capability and the fast boot).

Wow, Vista must be rather slow if it makes Ubuntu's boot time seem fast

 

[noise]

I chose Linux as the server platform for our business going on 8 years ago, I have also used it on again/off again as my desktop, but I'm currently using windows (although my email client is still on a linux box...don't ask).

We do everything in java/jboss, so dev platform isn't relevant and as an occasional gamer, windows is the only choice.

As a server platform for small companies (that have access to the right skill base) it just makes the most sense.

In my opinion the best way to play with linux is to load it in a vm like vmware. In fact all our test/dev servers run in vm's.

 

[Bullpup]

Mythbuntu baby.....

Who needs Tivo...

No commercials for me... yeah....