ClearFoundation

Helo ClearOS(linux) Tech's,

i would to ask some advise and other questions about building a ClearOS machine. because i' very new in this operating system you can tell me anything off it , if you tell me it can make coffee in the morning i believe you , so lett me take some babysteps in this matter , don't make it to dificult because i'm suffering from some illness ( you can always take a look at my profile) , i hope the message is in the wright place -so moderator don't shoot me if not

ok let's start with the hardware , have some 1U supermicro machines.
1. Motherboard P4SCE CPU P4@2.8GHz Mem 2*256Mb DDR SD PC3200 Dual Gigabit Lan intel pro/mt chipset SB 82801ER ICHR5R 2*HD Raid 1
2. Motherboard PDSMi+ CPU Core2 E6420@2.13GHz Mem 4*1Gb DDR2 Dual Gigabit Lan intel pro/pl-pm chipset SB82801GR ICH7R 2*HD Raid 1

in any case if have put a 3th betwork card in the choosen machine because off two dsl lines.
i was thinking to put a card from intel in with 2 or 4 ports depending the machine (old machine can only have a pci card in it not a pci-e card) so that i can tak more dsl line in the future ( 4 kids and online gamen ) so all of it has to behave like a loadbalancer.
i have three domains where i process the mail of one off it and a domain(dynamic ip) that i have to process fully including ns server.

used software ...very easy ClearOS., but here i have a lot off questions for it that i don't can ask in one time but i try.
1 . i read somewhere that Cos uses dnsmasq...but with that i can't setup a dns server for admistrating a domain. is there a solution like dnsmasq for internal use and installing bind for ns server.
2. is Cos multi-domain f.e i get some mail for domain1.xxx it is processed by internal mailserver , if i get mail for domain2.xxx it is send to mailserver2 by direct or by internal server functioning as mailbag.
3. same for webserver can it handle more then one domain?, so it has a request for domain1 it serves domain1.html and and if it hets a request for domain2 it serves domain2 ect....so real multidomain. i believe the users under one domain has it own space , maybe that here a wysiwyg editor can be build in that is reachable by address builder.user.domain.xxx ( just a tought )
4. can webserver handle .asp documents.( future request ).
5. can i route a request for a https site trough one interface , f.e. if request https//:blabla.com sent it trough interface 1 if it comes from group 1 but trough interface 2 if it comes from group 2 , don't ...never do loadbalancing on https sites because it does not work authorisation faults if you go from int1to int2 in one session).
6 i read Cos can setup pppoe session on a interface but can it make more then one pppoe session on that interface ( in belgium whe have a company belgacom named wich uses bbox2 routers (sagem fast3464) , with most commercial routers you can't create a pppoe line trough it, but some people told in forums that they could setup a connection with a linux machine) , the reason for more then 1 pppoe connection that the bbox2 cap's the connection so if you have 25mbps downstream you have lets say 12..15 downstream in one connection , if you setup a second connection you loose some speed on the connection but you have 2 connection of 10..12 mbps downstream togheter its 20 to 24 mbps downstream. this is by one provider.
the second provider provides me with a static ip , here a have to create a ns server for.
these connections has to be used for loadbalancing.
7 is it possible to have a swith in the web interface to set shell access for admin and maybe for other users ( like someone who knows a lot of linux, so that they can help you out if needed ) , visible/settable for admin only.
8. maybe some apps build in like a forum a csm ect. if user tics the option csm , Cos will install this for the user including the setup for database.
9. i couldn't find it , but is it possible to administer a database extern with a application( like navicat through http/shh) or a build in webapp/userbased.
10. any ip over lan ? network range is 192.168.x.x and someone come at your place and has a static ip setted ( let's say 192.155.x.x ) on his machine , with this option tou don't have do reset his settings but you can connect his machine on the router/firewall and it works.maybe this option can have its own firewall rules and options and has f.e. no option for mail and other functions on Cos.

you see i have a bunch off questions and maybe a lot off them are ideas to implement in the future , this project is something to keep me busy and to get my mind in action ( what is needed ).

so if someone can help me out here , lot off thanks , i try to learn linux and ClearOs as fast i can... and maybe i can be at help later on

thanks
Erwin

ps : some free sources where i can learn linux would be nice.
ps2 : its possible there are some spelling/write errors.....this due tremens as off one off the side effect of my dessease.

Hi Erwin, I will try to answer some of your questions

1. Yes ClearOS uses dnsmasq, some users have managed to setup dhcpd with bind which has some more flexibility, but requires some familiarity with the command line
2. ClearOS is not intended for a multiple domain environment, in fact support for virtual email domains was removed (use to be present in Clarkconnect 5.0) as it interferes with the integration of other services. If you really need this setup, consider setting up ClearOS within a virtual machine
3. Web server still supports virtual domains / hosts. You can permit upload access to users
4. No I don't think so
5. No again
6. I've seen posts where someone has tried to setup 2 pppoe on one interface, but again not directly supported without some command line hacking
7. Yes you can enable the hidden 'shell access' feature then enable for individual users. By default only the root account has shell access
8. No at present no preinstalled modules for CMS or Forums...generally they are straight forward to setup and custom to each users individual needs so not really practical. Download, unpack, create a database, and run the install / setup script.
9. Mysql is managed through the webconfig interface, which uses PHPMyAdmin (www.phpmyadmin.net/)
10. ClearOS has a HotLAN function for users who need net access but seperated from your LAN. They would need to use DHCP or an IP in the range of the gateway however.

Hope that helps! there is a lot of info on the forums, and the docs are in continuous development, and for a lot of linux stuff stick to learning (i.e. googling) about Red Hat Enterprise or CentOS as this is was ClearOS is built on.

Tim

Well Erwin, you already got some great answers from Tim and there's really not much for me to add. As you see, the support on this site is great and as I have been helped so well a few times already, I really feel tempted to help you whereever I can. The only thing I can offer is a closer proximity to Flanders. I come there often and would be more than happy to help you. Just send me a PM.

@Tim and @Roel lot off thanks for replyng, as i told before this project will be be an adventure for me....... and a brain trainer. @roel again as i understand and if i'm correct your dutch speaking, hoop ik toch ....het soms heel moeilijk mij uit te drukken in het nederlands laat staan in het engels.

ok as i understand i would install serveral Cos on one machine so i think that the first machine would not be an option to use, correct me if i'm wrong?.

as i understand i should install first a virtual machine ..... is there a os with virtual machine included , does this exist or do i have to install a os first with another install for virtual machine (this would be the first time that i use virtual machines)

the best would be a linux machine to start with virtual machine and install 2 Cos's but i'm not shure that there will be no interferences ..... as i see it in my mind i use a linux system as main system with virtual machine installed the main system would do the ns server thing (bind), the first virtual Instal would be a gateway install so i have a router/firewall for my network , the second virtual install should be a standalone install ( or have i have ti install it in gateway ) for the domain where i get mail from but it must send to another server ( mailbag ) i could use also Cos for this so i don't need the other server anymore (what should i do?)
also does it not interfere with eachother if i install 2 gateway Cos systems? if a packet comes for a domain on a certain ip and the other domain has the same ip does Cos now where the packet must go.

ok i learned a fraction af what i should now for running linux systems now , i gonna search goed information of red hat and centos.

just one big question leaves here for this message , the main linux system in have to install wich system schould i install ( try it be a free one , medication cost a lot of money ) and wich virtual system schould i install ( also free system ) or oes there exist a linux system with virtual system build in ( also free ).

many thanks for the reply to all , and for the help , if i'm stuck i'm gonna yell so hard everybody hears me , this is a thing I must do to boost my knowledge back to a level off 6 years ago.

Just another maybe stupid question ( maybe other can learn also from it ) should / can i install the main linux system with virtual support as 64bit system and can i run the two Cos's as 32 bit or 64 bit?

and if i do the install use the raid of the motherboard or is this overhead for the system and i beter use a second big disk for storage and backup(system backup, something like acronis in windows)

tia
Erwin

Erwin,

I am a Dutch speaker so if you ever have problems expressing in English just send me a PM in Dutch. If you have problems expressing yourself in writing we can exchange telephone numbers or Skype addresses via PM.

Your old machine would qualify for a single ClearOS system. It would be satisfactory as a gateway and mail/web server. Not sure about the dual Belgacom DSL lines and how to balance between both external lines. This is not usual ClearOS territory although it may be possible. As Tim explained it will certainly take command line hacking as ClearOS itself does not provide for such behaviour.

Your new machine would be an excellent virtual computer running multiple ClearOSs. Do not bother about interference. Linux was made with true multi-user, multi-process capabilities in mind and this is where Linux really shines.
Personally I have had excellent experiences with running SUN's virtual machine software (VirtualBox) on a Linux computer system. This software is free, well-documented and it provides extensive networking possibilities. I especially liked the possibility to use a raw hard disk, partitioned into several raw disks, each containing a seperate Linux system.
Downloading and examining the user manual will probably answer some of the questions you originally had.
The hosting Linux system could be anything but if you use CentOS you already use the basis of ClearOS and your education path would be more efficient.

Could the host be 64 bits with the guests running 32 bits? I assume this would be no problem as the guests use their own 32 bits drivers, but I'm not sure.

Your question about using hardware RAID or a manual backup system like Acronis is a challenging one. As I said I was amazed by the raw disk possibility of VirtualBox. It must be the most efficient way to run a virtual system as there is very little host overhead. But you still have to devise a good backup system that meets your needs. Whether this outperforms a hardware RAID solution on the host side I just don't know.

Roel

1. Yes ClearOS uses dnsmasq, some users have managed to setup dhcpd with bind which has some more flexibility, but requires some familiarity with the command line


Former versions of ClarkConnect needed a lot of commandline knowledge.
Now you easily do it from within webconfig.
Under the network tab you'll find 'local DNS'. I suppose you need a module installed.
I've used it in combination with the DHCP server to give my TV a static IP adress.

About Dual BGC connection. I can't comment on this, but I'm using BGC for years with CC (former ClearOs). Since sMultiwan has been documented, this should not be a problem.

Virtualbox is a good option to virtualize. My former server waf a ubuntu server where the ClearOs was running in Virtualbox. Lately I've migrated the VM from Ubuntu to a Mac Mini.
Mac OS X has the advantage it lets you create working copies of the OS while running.
(No fan, lower energy consumption)
AFAIK MacOS X is 64 bits, at least it is capable to run both 64 and 32 bit appliications,so this might answer a previous question. (My version of ClearOS is 32 bits)

OK ...thanks i decide to take the new machine so i can experiment on it before i go online.

I'm in doubt what the base will be proxmox ( i'm looking in the docs at the moment ( slow process I'm very tired on a short time ) , it looks interesting ) or the proposed virtualbox .. where i have to look on one of these days.

I wonder if proxmox is not better because it supports clustering ( i suposse that clustering is a sort of raid / system mirror ? or is this wrong ).

as this will be not a work machine ( i will try to setup a linux partition on my work machine , supermicro dual xeon 6mb full buffered memory with areca controller for raid 6 support, but this for later on. ).

the idea was at the moment to install proxmox as base ( but if virtualbox is beter tell me please ) and install a small debian vm for running bind so that i can administrating my domain. than then eventually centos if i want to work on the machine , and two clearos's for two domains.

i start first with ordering a few larger disks so that i can create later on streaming server ect... but that's future music

i keep you informed

to all ....my skype address is not a secret ... so if you want to hook in this is the address erwin.van.onderbergen i have a philips skypephone but if you call keep in mind with time difference ( belgium timezone GMT+1 )

@geert
the problem with the new bgc vdsl2 modems is that practically no router can make a connection trough the modem , even trying to set the modem bridged is a problem where it was not with first BBox 1 Modem/router thsi was easy to set it bridged. some people told taht they could make a pppoe connection trough the modem so you could set the pppoe interface off in the router and make it in that way bridged , so this is a thing a would try. but with two or more pppoe connections ...on one line . the other dsl line is not from bgc , (this line has a static ip )

to all greetings from belgium .

hi,

i'm looking for the new hardware...... and I'm wondering should i take 2*500Gb disk or 2*1000Gb disks i'm not shure how many space all the vm takes so , and if i want to create a media server to.... for the price i don't have to leave it
1* WESTERN DIGITAL 640GB 32MB Sata300 7200rpm Caviar Black WD6401AALS = 60Euro the 500mb is not in stock
1*WESTERN DIGITAL 1000GB 64MB Sata300 Intellipower Caviar Green WD10EARS = 79 Euro
1*WESTERN DIGITAL 1500GB 64MB Sata300 Intellipower Caviar Green WD15EARS = 100Euro

i want to set them raid mirror .... or is this overhead?

also i have to take a 3th network card .... but i was thinking to take a Intel® PRO/1000 MT Dual Port Server Adapter (PWLA8492MT) card but I'm not sure that it is supported by linux

greetings
Erwin

after reading a lot about the wd drive it seems that there are a lot off problems with it , there is as i understand and read support from kernel version 2.6.31 . but i saw that CentOs ( if i take that as base with virtualbox ) has kernel version below that , 2.6.18.
so I'm thinking that i go to have problems with it .... i read someting about parted or fdisk but can i change parameters while installing or do i have to change something in a file on the iso.

just thinking ....if it gives to much problems i take other disks.

is there someone who has experience with it ?

greetings.
Erwin