Linux small business servers compared

Out of the Box

For Professionals

A Windows client can only log on to the Windows Resara domain with a domain-compatible version of Windows (i.e., not Windows 7 Home Edition). The process of switching from local login to domain operation should be familiar to Windows administrators: Click on Control Panel | System and Security | System and then on Change settings under the Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings section.

However, the network settings of the respective client must be checked to ensure that it can resolve the DNS entries from the DNS zone of the Resara domain. For this, the Resara Domain Controller must be specified as the DNS server in the network settings. Additionally, the Resara operator must also become administrator on the Windows system and configure the current time.

In the Main

Characterizing the Linux-based small business servers named in this article is easy: Zentyal and ClearOS are designed as typical all-rounders. Functionality can be customized by administrators to fit their individual needs.

Both of these servers offer a web interface for management and are available in a community version as well as various commercial versions. The interface makes a more professional impression in the Red Hat/CentOS-based ClearOS, whereas the Zentyal GUI is rather reminiscent of the no-frills Webmin.

Under Zentyal, the desired package groups are already chosen during installation, but more functions can be added later. ClearOS comes as a minimal system and relocates all functions in apps that are installable via the Marketplace. ClearOS currently only supports use of the commercial Active Directory Connector app to dock onto an existing AD domain. Zentyal has promised AD integration for the upcoming version 3.0, which should be available by the time this article is published.

For the Resara Server, Samba 4, or the realization of an Active Directory-compatible (Windows) domain, is the focus of the product philosophy. However, Resara is the only candidate that offers a native admin tool for all major OS platforms and does without a web interface.

Infos

Univention Corporate Server: http://www.univention.de/en/products/ucs/
"Zarafa on the Univention Corporate Server" by Thomas Drilling, ADMIN , Issue 06, 2011, pg. 44
Zentyal editions: http://www.zentyal.com/pricing-editions
Zentyal subscriptions: http://www.zentyal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012_full_zentyal_edition_comparison_chart_en_USD.pdf
Zentyal 3.0: http://trac.zentyal.org/milestone/3.0
Download ClearOS: http://www.clearfoundation.com/Software/downloads.html
ClearCenter Active Directory Connector: http://www.clearcenter.com/Software/active-directory-connector.html
ClearCenter Store: http://www.clearcenter.com/Store/store.html
ClearOS with Zarafa: http://www.clearcenter.com/Software/zarafa-collaboration-platform.html
Resara LLC closes: http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Resara-LLC-closes-Resara-Server-to-be-open-sourced-1651235.html

The Author

Thomas Drilling has been a full-time freelance journalist and editor for science and IT magazines for more than 10 years. He and his team make contributions on the topics of open source, Linux, servers, IT administration, and Mac OS X. Drilling is also a book author and publisher, advises small and medium-sized enterprises as an IT consultant, and lectures on Linux, open source, and IT security

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