Topic: Can SME replace an NT4 domain controller?

[tlicht]

We have a small network ( 10 - 15 users) with an old NT4 server as domain controller which badly needs to be replaced. Connection to the outside world (= the Internet) is handled by a dedicated IPCop machine which also runs DHCP.

The current NT server has the following main tasks:
1. User validation for connecting to the netwok.
2. SMTP server
3. Central storage for 'important' data including several MSAccess databases (the MSAccess engines are run locally on the workstations).

We are planning to replace the NT server with new hardware:
° mobo: Elitegroup nForce4 Ultra Extreme, s939 with on board
° nVRAID hardware RAID1 mirroring two SATA harddisks.
° no AGP on this mobo, instead a PCI Express x16 slot accomodates the proposed nVIDIA video controller.
° the on board LAN port is a Marvell 88E1111 Giga LAN PHY
and install SME on it.

Will SME be able to handle this hardware?

Will MSAccess be able to use the databases on an SME server?

Setting up the SME as PDC would the DHCP server have to be 'moved' to the SME server or can it still be handled by IPCop?


Thanx for your time!

P.S. what is ibay???

[girkers]

To answer your last question an iBay is a storage location where in your case you would store your MSAccess databases.

If anything SME would be a better storage location than a Windows box due to the problems associated with Opportunistic locking, but that is another story.

I have no knowledge about the compatibility of your hardware, from my knowledge SME will perfectly replace your NT4 box.  It can act as a PDC (Primary Domain Controller) thus authenticing your users, etc.

You will not have to run DHCP on the SME server, thus leaving your firewall configured the way it is.

You can use your SME box as an SMTP server fine, I know I do.  

[jackl]

tlicht,
You will most certainly have problems using SATA, on stable current release 6.0.1.

Regds
Jack

[irian]

We are planning to replace the NT server with new hardware:
° mobo: Elitegroup nForce4 Ultra Extreme, s939 with on board
° nVRAID hardware RAID1 mirroring two SATA harddisks.
° no AGP on this mobo, instead a PCI Express x16 slot accomodates the proposed nVIDIA video controller.
° the on board LAN port is a Marvell 88E1111 Giga LAN PHY
and install SME on it.

- The SATA will not work: use SCSI or IDE
- It will most likely not support the videocard, but you won't need it either. Server console is textbased, nu super graphics.
- Giga LAN will not work out of the box. Maybe there is a driver for RH 7.3 somewhere.

Advice: Use this hardware for a normal wks.
Take one of the wks and make it the server.
(The servers I have installed start with a PII-350 and higher. Just upgrade RAM and use large disks).

[hordeusr]

Hardware sata raid, get a 3ware card.  The 8506-4LP I have works perfect with SME.  Even the web-based monitoring software was fairly easy to install.  For that size of a network, a 400 processor with lots of memory, software raid, and a couple of big hard drives will be plenty.  File sharing isn't very processor intensive.

[shanen]

Keep it simple. An old reliable workstation will do the job.
Add as much ram as you can -Min 512meg
Buy 2 new hd's and use the built in software raid.
Don't use a clone pc, stick with a robust name brand workstation or entry level server like a compaq ml330. You will save yourself lots of grief if you keep it as simple as possible.
Spend the extra money on a good ups.

[tlicht]

Thanx guys for all invaluable advice!
I believe that I'll keep the new hardware for my workstation and use it for a server - it is still not too bad:

Gigbyte GA-7DXR
Athlon XP 2000+
1500 Mb RAM
2 x 120 GB harddisk

which I suppose will make a decent SME server.
If I cannot find hardware support for the PDC-20265 RAID on the mobo, then I'll use the software version in SME.