Topic: Other distributions like SME?

[Andy]

Are there any other Linux distros that does web, mail and ftp?

Andy

[Curly]

Clarkconnect at www.clarkconnect.org

[byte]

Doesnt SME do the job then? If not the smoothwall or ipcop

[Bill]

Trustix Linux and Immunix Linux are good for the seriously paranoid. Then there is Gentoo which can be anything you want it to be.

[Ed Form]

Andy wrote:
>
> Are there any other Linux distros that does web, mail and ftp?

One that doesn't get mentioned here very often is Netmax...

http://www.netmax.com

The bit that's good about this product is the way they sell it and do support. I really do wish the Mitel people would offer a commercial version with a similar support policy.

Ed Form

[Robert]

We've been using a supported version of SME for several years. Support has been very good. The commercial version is called the Mitel Networks 6000 Managed Application Server. Info here:
http://mitel.com/products/products.cfm?p_id=151

Robert

[Samer Pharaon]

> We've been using a supported version of SME for several
> years. Support has been very good. The commercial version is
> called the Mitel Networks 6000 Managed Application Server.
> Info here:
> http://mitel.com/products/products.cfm?p_id=151

But, how much does it cost. I was trying to find out this information for a long time, with no avail. Contacting Mitel was not helpful since they forwarded my emails to a local dealer who did not provide any useful information.

Any ideas how much getting a supported verion of SME would cost ???

[Robert]

I think the annual cost for up to 100 users (including support, upgrades, antivirus, etc.) is around $1,300.

I can give you the name of the reseller we use, if you like -- he's been quite responsive. Send me an e-mail off-list if you like.

Robert

[Ed Form]

Robert said...

> This message was sent from: General discussion.
> http://forums.contribs.org/index.php?topic=8981.msg33935#msg33935
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> We've been using a supported version of SME for several years. Support
> has been very good. The commercial version is called the Mitel Networks
> 6000 Managed Application Server. Info here:
> http://mitel.com/products/products.cfm?p_id=151

It costs a lot of money and, in many cases, the support isn't needed. With Netmax the policy is that you buy support when you need it at so many dollars per incident. A version of SME with all the good bits in it that the commercial version has, but with support on a per-incident basis would sell like hot cakes.

Ed Form

[Dan Brown]

...of course, the "good bits" that the commercial version has include the antivirus system, which Mitel isn't at liberty to give away, as they didn't write it.

To answer Andy's question, just about every Linux distribution on the planet will serve http, mail, and ftp.  Some, of course, are easier to configure for certain things than others.  Andy, what do you want to do that SME doesn't handle?  That might make recommendations a bit more useful.

[Samer Pharaon]

Dan Brown wrote:
>Andy, what do you want to do that SME doesn't
> handle?  That might make recommendations a bit more useful.

Host and create DNS records (primary and secondary).

[Andy]

>Andy, what do you want to do that SME doesn't handle? That might make
>recommendations a bit more useful.

Well, I am sure that SME can handle everything I need, but after much research and many questions in this community, I still don't know how. I realize that e-smith.org is not an official support forum, but virtually all of my questions on both the general and experienced forums have remained unanswered, which I assume means that noone knows the answers to these newbie questions.

I am asking for the names of other distros so that I can give it a last try with another dstribution before going back to Windows... My experience with Linux so far is that I am now willing to pay the £600 to buy Windows Server 2003 but not the £600 to buy the supported version of SME...

I am not being critical of SME, I am sure it's a wonderful solution to many people, but I think that I need better documentation and a more knowledgable community to interact with, in order to be able to use it.

Andy

[Harold]

Andy wrote:

> I am not being critical of SME, I am sure it's a wonderful
> solution to many people, but I think that I need better
> documentation and a more knowledgable community to interact
> with, in order to be able to use it.

You don't need to interact with a community if you buy the supported version of SME, you get professional support.

H

[Andy]

>You don't need to interact with a community if you buy the supported version of
>SME, you get professional support.

I realize that, but since my only experience with SME is this community, I am not convinced that the paid support will be more knowledgable. The funny thing is that I won't even be using MS support if I buy Windows, but I know that I can find the answers to my questions easily.

Thanks for your reply.

Andy

[Bob King]

Andy

I have been installing and using Mitel SME (E-Smith) servers for a little over 3 years. I knew very little about Linux in the beginning but found these forums to be very supportive and help. The developer community is very active and I have always been able to find someone on the forums to help with problems.

The thing to remember is that when using any GNU software, all the help & support you receive is voluntary. People giving freely of their valuable time, a few kind words will get you a lot more than an arrogant attitude, threats or accusations.

Just my 2 cents worth.