Topic: what other distro if emith fails?

[hanscees]

Hi,

I just saw the tragedy of e-smith being dumped by Mitel. I have contributed in small ways in the past and surely hope e-smith will remain a living distro.

But I must also think ahead for my web-server with multiple domains and so on.
So if the new open-source e-smith project would fail, what other distros can we jump to?

I am very much attached to the multi-domain setup of e-smith. I have multiple websites and hope I will never again  have to right my own apache samba and email-server config files. Is there another distro that (partly) delivers these tools?

greetings

Hans-Cees

[Boris]

Has your server stopped working in the day of announcement?
Most distributions based on RedHat Linux are facing the same decision - what’s next? And many of then will adjust to situation and will survive.
Maybe instead of panic and looking for replacement (none at the moment is really as good and feature full as E-Smith/SME ) you could help to keep it afloat and enjoy using it for long time in the future?
Similar projects comparable by the features are Clarkconnect, NetMax etc., by my favorite is still SME.

[Arne]

I do agree. I think a e-smith of today can still survive for some time and still be a good server. What the e-smith really is is a more or less standard linux with a very smart configuration system at the top.

Most of the building blocks of the e-smith is system modules it has in common with a lot of other Linux distribution. If a secutiry hole is found in one of theese system blocs lets say as an example the sshd semon, the general Linux sosiety normally will make a revision that norally will be avalable, after some time, more or less for all Linux distibutions, including the e-smith.

When it comes to issues related to security and security updates I think the e-smith is not only a Mitel produckt but also a open source Linux produckt. So even if the Mitel company should stop this project, "the Linux and open source part of it" will still have the oportunity to live further on.

[hanscees]

I am not panicking nor giving up on e-smith. But merely wondering what to do if there are such problems that I might want to move away. I think that is a valid option of thought.

I have chosen for e-smith long ago and are not eager at all to move away.
But I will start to wonder if I cannot get security updates. A second reason might be that I really want the latest kernel.

So I am just wondering what the options are. And I am asking because I do not know a second product this feature rich. But many know more than one.

greetings

Hans-Cees

[%sig%]

[Herculito]

Hi all,

Merry -x-mas to you all. I have been wondering the same. I mean what if..... as an administrator it is recomendable to have a backup pIan just in case of!....

I have been running tests on whitebox linux (www.whiteboxlinux.net) and up till now it's performing perfectly. I have also been experimenting with engarde linux (http://www.guardiandigital.com/products/software/community/) although I'm having trouble configuring some much needed apps. If staying true to the e-smith concept (small size, no GUI, secure from the box, easy installation etc) is what you are looking for then I would take a hard look at engarde linux.

Hope this helps!

Herc

[BrianB]

I also believe that the e-smith/SME or what ever we end up calling it will be  around for a while HST, I do remember talk on the forums about an e-smith fork. Does anyone know if this got off the ground?