Which Server : Mac OS X Server or Linux ?

[fab5freddy]

I am going to get a dedicated server and wanted
to know what to get : Mac OS X Server or Linux ?

I am going to be hosting FTP, email and storage.

Which is best ?

 

[mason.kramer]

Uhh...

No offense, but the what you've phrased your question leads me to believe that you are not an experienced sys admin. Here are a few data points for your consideration.

1. Xserve is a computer model, and Linux is an operating system. It doesn't make much sense to compare them. I'll assume you mean Mac OS X Server vs a Linux server installation.

2. You realize that you need to pay a lot of money for a an internet connection with a static IP address to have a server, right?

Without really going into detail, I'll go ahead and say that Linux is going to be better for you. It's cheaper, runs on cheaper hardware, and it doesn't have stuff you don't need like active directory support and other stuff you don't need.

 

[Cromulent]

I am going to get a dedicated server and wanted
to know what to get : Xserve or Linux ?

I am going to be hosting FTP, email and storage.

Which is best ?

Just get a reseller account with an established hosting company, it seems more in line with what you are likely to be able to manage.

 

[fab5freddy]

yeah, that's what i meant. Mac OS X Server Vs. Linux !

 

[Winni]

You won't find many companies that offer dedicated OS X Server machines (in this case: Xserves), so this could already end the discussion before it's even begun.

Dedicated Linux machines are usually cheaper to get and they do out-of-the-box what you need/want. And they usually come with a nice web-interface (e.g. Plesk).

You can also give Windows Server a thought. It can also be administered remotely via Plesk, if the provider offers that, or through a Remote Desktop Connection -- which works great.

In my experience, Windows Server is a very reliable and robust solution, but more comfortable to use and administer than Linux. Also, you might want to go beyond just having eMail, but also want to use a real groupware solution like Exchange + Sharepoint.

 

[belvdr]

Without really going into detail, I'll go ahead and say that Linux is going to be better for you. It's cheaper, runs on cheaper hardware, and it doesn't have stuff you don't need like active directory support and other stuff you don't need.

Linux has AD support, but then again, if you're only running one server, why choose an AD model when you can use other forms of LDAP. Additionally, you can run your sites from a dynamic IP, but you'll need a dynamic DNS service. Naturally, that's not really good for a business, but for personal use it is fine.

At any rate, I use hostmonster.com for my domain, and it allows all you have specified and more.

 

[fab5freddy]

What does AD and LDAP stand for ?

 

[belvdr]

Active Directory
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

 

[joecool99]

10.7 mac mini server or Linux Ubuntu server ?

anybody tried Ubuntu server on mac mini server ?

i need stable SMB service and define permissions (ACL). the current 10.6.8 server occasionally has issues and runs into file permissions error as 8 Windows 7 clients are acesing the files.