Topic: SME8 suggestion

[wires]

a suggestion for the version 8 of sme server.. maybe a better look-n-feel administration interface or a redesigned interface i think could be a good idea. Right now it's only white & black, which, in my opinion is fine but boring too (in my opinion) , something perhaps theme-able ?

[Stefano]

wires: please raise a NFR for it in bugzilla

anyway, the administration interface is an ADMINISTRATION interface, not a website.. you should use it, not watch it

ciao
Stefano

[wires]

wires: please raise a NFR for it in bugzilla

anyway, the administration interface is an ADMINISTRATION interface, not a website.. you should use it, not watch it

ciao
Stefano

i should probably use it, you're right.

[CharlieBrady]

a suggestion for the version 8 of sme server.. maybe a better look-n-feel administration interface or a redesigned interface i think could be a good idea.

Unless you are offering to do this work, or to pay someone else to do it, then you will be wasting your time in opening a NFR. SME server software is not created by magic, or by you wishing for it.

[wires]

you guys are right..

[David Harper]

Wasn't there a clone of SME Server where the authors beautified the interface? This would have been some years ago.

[JohnG]

Kirux Kuadra maybe? Their website is dead so it's either gone or laying low:

http://freshmeat.net/projects/kuadraes

[David Harper]

Could well have been - though if the entity responsible for it is passed on, we may not get any code from downstream.

Pity.

[shawnbishop]

It is called "ClarkeConnect", but commercial after 10 users..

http://www.clarkconnect.com/

[Stefano]

It is called "ClarkeConnect", but commercial after 10 users..
http://www.clarkconnect.com/

CC has nothing to do with SME..

Ciao
Stefano

[shawnbishop]

Looks pretty much like SME to me, just a prettier interface..and of course commercial..

[Stefano]

Looks pretty much like SME to me, just a prettier interface..and of course commercial..

no, I repeat.. there's nothing between SME and CC but the source IIRC (RH)

about the web interface: I think that we don't need a prettier one.. server-manager could/should be improved maybe, but we don't need fancy icons or other.. in the normal use, you should touch it few times, not every day.. as I said, you should use it, not watch it.

anyway, as Charlie pointed out, if anyone out there wish a prettier interface, the only way to have it is to pay someone or to do on your own..

Ciao
Stefano

[wires]

i have decided to move on and to switch from SME to ubuntu server with webmin, it has everything i need and it's more bug free. Also webmin is themeable it isn't that i am only looking for a cool interface but of course i want something to work, for me.

cheers

[cactus]

i have decided to move on and to switch from SME to ubuntu server with webmin, it has everything i need and it's more bug free.

I think you are mixing up a few things. All software has bugs and I do not think SME Server has more bugs than ubuntu (just have a look at the number of open bugs in their bugtracker at the time of writing there are 53999 (SME Server has around 500) open bugs (and I know there are a lot more pacakges supported/installed on Ubuntu than in SME Server but they have over a 100 times more bugs in the open state)).

SME Server is geared towards a more restrictive function than Ubuntu is and is meant for non/minimal linux capable system administrators as well.

I would be very pleased if you would report the bugs you have found in the bugtracker, as we can fix them when we are aware of them, running away without reporting the bug will not help us improve the quality.

[wires]

I know ubuntu have many bugs like has more users who contribute on finding them, but what took me 2 weeks with SME took only 2 days with ubuntu, and to tell you the truth, i had never touched Ubuntu in my life before so in server mode i learned quick and thanks to webmin i dont need to edit conf files.

One of the main problems was that i was trying to use 2 Harddisks on the SME machine but SME never was able to report it working correctly, i did many reinstalls thinking that maybe SME will finally install the 2nd hdd in raid correctly. I have even tried mounting the 2nd hdd in fstab but SME server-manager dont have the capabilities to use it with SAMBA. Ubuntu did this in matter of seconds. I am currently running everything perfectly in ubuntu, the only last thing i am looking for is the TFTP server module for webmin and everything will be done with the server and i will be able to finally rest my head and enjoy intranet! I even installed Xubuntu on my IBM pc which is now connected to my 40" tv running compiz

SME and Ubuntu are similar in many ways.... so i guess that's the reason why i had no problems picking up Ubuntu.

cheers

[Stefano]

but what took me 2 weeks with SME took only 2 days with ubuntu,

this is probably a PEBKAC problem, not a SME one

and to tell you the truth, i had never touched Ubuntu in my life before so in server mode i learned quick and thanks to webmin i dont need to edit conf files.

you don't need to edit any conf file in SME..

One of the main problems was that i was trying to use 2 Harddisks on the SME machine but SME never was able to report it working correctly, i did many reinstalls thinking that maybe SME will finally install the 2nd hdd in raid correctly. I have even tried mounting the 2nd hdd in fstab but SME server-manager dont have the capabilities to use it with SAMBA.

if you feel something is wrong or unsupported, please report in bugzilla

SME and Ubuntu are similar in many ways....

ubuntu and SME similar? ROTFL
they are like pears and bananas..

just think about the fact that with linux (generally speaking) you should know what you are doing because if setting up is quite easy, solving any raising problem could be quite difficult..
in this way SME is far better than ubuntu+webmin because almost everything is documented and it's fron one source (Contribs.org and the community).. if you have any problem with ubuntu+webmin you have to find what's the source of it.. and (personal experience) it could be a nightmare

anyway, good luck with your new toy

Ciao
Stefano

[cactus]

and thanks to webmin i dont need to edit conf files.

You did use the server-manager I hope as that is the SME Server webmin equivalent so you do not need to touch your configuration files, at least most users do not need to. The benefit of the template system is that you can easily revert your system to it's original state by removing them, AFAIK Ubuntu does not have that, so once you want to revert you will need to remember original configuration settings or have to have a backup.

SME and Ubuntu are similar in many ways.... so i guess that's the reason why i had no problems picking up Ubuntu.

I think this states that you did not dive into SME Server deeply enough as this is far from the truth: they are both linux indeed, but derived from a different upstream OS, Ubuntu focuses at functionality where SME Server focuses on stability.

[wires]

you guys are right

maybe add the possibility to choose the server manager ? (server-manager, webmin, ebox) .....

[cactus]

you guys are right

maybe add the possibility to choose the server manager ? (server-manager, webmin, ebox) .....

For it to be considered it need to be in the bugtracker, but I do not give this a high chance as the server-manager is heavily tied into the template system and the event system, I do not think the administrators see a benefit of providing/supporting  different configuration interfaces as they already have enough on their hands supporting the current setup.

[Stefano]

maybe add the possibility to choose the server manager ? (server-manager, webmin, ebox) .....

please explain WHY you need something different from server-manager.

SME doesn't need anything else  (and could not support anything else) than server-manager.. if you want to know why, please read the developers manual

Ciao
Stefano

[CharlieBrady]

you guys are right

maybe add the possibility to choose the server manager ? (server-manager, webmin, ebox) .....

Those are all completely different and incompatible management systems. You choose  ebox or server-manager by choosing a distribution which includes it. webmin is a little different, as it can be used with any linux system that you would otherwise configure by manually editing configuration files.

If you want anything other than server-manager, then you don't want SME server.

[wires]

well i am not downgrading SME server it has so much to offer and i see the effort developers put into it. It just dont feet MY needs and my configuration needs.

It never detected my second hdd correctly and that at several occassions. I am honest and there's no reason to put SME server down since it's just a personal choice, SME server is faster in many ways but i can cope with that since my server once configured will be on 24/7. I just found out that webmin isn't supported by ubuntu server and that ebox is recommended instead. By any means, i will be waiting for SME 8 and give it a try once it comes out.

Main reason i guess for my personal choise is that i am not good to provided debug info and wait for a fix, i just need something to work for ME out of the box.

cheers guys and keep it up, i'll be waiting for SME 8

[CharlieBrady]

It never detected my second hdd correctly ...

Did you report your problem via the bug tracker?

[soprom]

Using Ubuntu server must be in the minds of many, given its popularity. And this thread brings an interesting point.

A few threads away, we were comparing SBS ans SME. Now we're talking about Ubuntu and SME.

ebox is said here to be recommended (don't know by whom)...

Here are some quotes from Ubuntu Community about ebox:

ebox for Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) has several bugs that severely limit its usefulness

ebox for Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) is broken and cannot be installed

Although Ubuntu forums/wiki are really great, it will take a long time to reach the level of this one because we all talk about the same thing. The only real arguments are over the use of the forum vs the bugtracker (!!!).

If someone needs help and advise, it's here. For general howto, Ubuntu's is fine.

I am no expert in linux but because of sme-server, I can manager over 15 servers with ease. Because the purpose is to use the services, not to try and play with configs.  When there is a problem, these guys here know what to do.

If I recall correctly, ClarkConnect used to be based on debian and is now on Centos. This too should noted.

That's right that php5/mysql5 are needed nowadays and sme-server is falling behind. But it is easier to patch sme-server than to switch to a different OS.

Making a mistake configuring a server can bring heavy consequences...

[janet]

wires

It never detected my second hdd correctly and that at several occassions.

That behaviour would have been "as designed" or more correctly "as not designed".
There is specific guaranteed behaviour, but beyond that the outcome is indeterminate.

There are Howtos that advise the right way to add a second drive:
http://wiki.contribs.org/AddExtraHardDisk
http://wiki.contribs.org/AddExtraHardDisk_-_SCSI


Release notes indicate the drive setup possibilities.
See these from sme7.0.
Automated RAID installation
NOTE: All disks must be the same size for SME Server 7.0
- Single disk provides one-way RAID1
- Console screen allows simple addition of second disk to provide mirroring
- Two disks are configured as a RAID1 mirror
- Three to five disks are configured as RAID5 (/boot partition is RAID1)
- Six or more disks are configured as RAID6 (/boot partition is RAID1)

From sme7.2
Disk redundancy
---------------
- The default disk layout has changed. A hot spare drive is
  automatically created if the system has more than two drives.
  A new boot option "nospare" has been added if you are certain that
  you do not want to create the spare. You should only use this option
  if you are aware of the consequences of running without a hot spare.
- Errors from add_drive_to_raid are now displayed in the console
- Adding drives with invalid partition tables now works without a reboot
- Attempts to manually add RAID devices to systems without RAID shows an
error

sme8 uses similar/same design concepts (allowing of course for changes that the newer underlying OS supports).

[johnp]

It seems that this has gone off topic from:

I want a pretty management interface to:
Ubuntu let me add my hard drive easily:

The beauty of SME is in it's ability to be set up quickly, with little or no understanding. For most applications, once set up there isn't any need to reconfigure.

As to wires needs, I cannot say except a desire for a pretty management interface and the ability to add a hard drive without reading instructions.

If one wishes to discuss RHEL/Centos vs Ubuntu, that should be another topic IMHO.

[janet]

wires

... maybe a better look-n-feel administration interface or a redesigned interface i think could be a good idea. Right now it's only white & black

Perhaps you are referring to the "text based" server manager which is accessible from the admin console, ie log in as admin & select server manager from the menu or login as root then type console.

The web based server manager is accessd via http://yourserverdomain/server-manager is a GUI interface with pretty colours etc.

Sounds like a lack of user knowledge to me, again maybe a case of needing to read the manual to learn the feature set.

[Stefano]

Did you report your problem via the bug tracker?

he has been told to do.. AFAIK he never did.

BTW, if I remember correctly, OP has 2 hd of different size and he wants:
- to have raid 1
- to have the spare part on the bigger hd been available via samba..

Ciao
Stefano

[wires]

i dont need raid lol and i agree that this topic went off - topic somehow beyong my hands..

now, i tried raid but it didnt work, and wikipedia tells the truth each time

[Stefano]

i dont need raid

so, what you need?

Stefano

[wellsi]

Closing the thread, it has strayed somewhat...