Hey all...was wondering if anyone out there is using linux boxes (I primarily use ubuntu / debian) in a mainly microsoft network? Are there any challenges or issues that you have run into? I predominantly use linux because I like it better and find it easier to blow through a command line then a GUI, however everyone I work with uses Windows and 90% of the servers are windows too.
Hello
Our network is mainly RM CC3 (Windows 2000) with Windows XP clients, but we have several Linux servers integrated nicely doing various bits and pieces ...
We run Zimbra on top of Ubuntu 6.06 to provide an email service to staff, students and community groups associated with the school, accessible internally and from home.
Our filtering proxy service is ran on IPCop with several addons.
We have 2 web servers which both run Ubuntu (websites + VLE)
There is also an FTP+web server for the BTEC ICT group which runs on Ubuntu.
Finally we have 2 backup file servers which run OpenFiler and Ubuntu.
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I dread to think how much money the school could have wasted if we'd used Microsoft technologies for all of those.
We have a windows active directory (inc DNS,DHCP), windows terminal servers and windows for SIMS.
Our webservers (internal and ext) are LAMP. All our student accounts are Samba on RHEL. Student email is on Zimbra on Centos. Proxy is Smoothwall (linux). Backups are done on Centos. Imaging (fog) and msi deployment (samba) is done from linux. Most of our thin clients run linux as a base O/S (thinstation), serverd from a tftp server (linux). TV service (mythweb) is run from Ubuntu. We also have a LTSP server, but it's not really used in teaching.
most people don't even know the linux stuff is there.
btw, this is a good reference:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NxMeJaLZAHwC
We run all the essential stuff on Windows (DC / AD SIMS DHCP DNS etc)
I've got two linux (ubuntu 7.10 and 8.10) servers working for me doing various jobs. The 8.10 is currently looking after the class room booking system, the 7.10 serves student generated webpages to the intranet.
The student webpage idea was setup to encourage a few interested pagebuilders / html coders. The student comes and asks for a login so I create one and create a symbolic link to the wwwroot of the apache server. They FTP in and it's easy. Probably a way to do this through LDAP but I haven't figured it out or looked.
Also our SEN dept runs dual booting XP and edubuntu machines and I've got about 10machines in an ICT suite which do the same.
I documented our FTP server that uses winbind for auth - ftp and web server howto on the wiki - have a look if you think it might be of use.Originally Posted by TwoZeroAlpha
TwoZeroAlpha (29th January 2009)
Linux is not yet ready for schools if you see my previous thread my mouse wheel will not work with ubuntu even Windows 95 would work with a mouse that has a wheel straight out the box.
Can you imagine techies in schools would have to plow though pages of command line each time a mouse was changed.
If getting a mouse to work with linux is problematic can you imaging the issues with getting other weird hardware that schools such as data loggers, visualisers and interactive whiteboards working with linux.
That's strange. I have 3 computers at home (and one at work) running various flavours of Linux, including Ubuntu, and scroll mice work fine.
Linux is ready for education; it's education that isn't quite ready for Linux (most educational software written for Windows; but thankfully this is changing with the explosion of web-based apps in recent years).
I think linux is def ready for education too. Its all a matter of adoption and how much time you want to put in to deploying technology that people aren't used too (teachers or techs). I think its sad that we don't have any linux integrated here (where I work) they are very strongly against it for whatever dumb reason.
that's why linux is not ready for full scale educational deployment. you get the software follow the instructions and it doesnt work for no apparent reason. Go look for help on the net and hundreds of people have similar but not exactly the same problems and none of their solutions work anyway.
maybe you can figure out how to make it work, against all odds, maybe you cant. how is that useful!!
I tried to make a ubuntu terminal server. couldnt even get the damn thing to authenticate against the domain. I tried about 30 sets of instructions from the internet, none of them worked properly. Maybe I'll have another go sometime. I have some additional explanation provided by an edugeeker that will probably help.
I have setup 2 squid proxies and a cacti server. they work great but they're hopelessly insecure and out of date. mostly their security is by obscurity. that kind of thing is ok in a school where the kids aren't too bright. Im making another squid to proxy the internet for sixth form laptops. gonna have to make that more secure. sixth formers are brighter and will probe. In the end it'll only be as secure as I can make the software work right. no guarantees there then!
this applies as much to any piece of edu software as it does to linux.you get the software follow the instructions and it doesnt work for no apparent reason. Go look for help on the net and hundreds of people have similar but not exactly the same problems and none of their solutions work anyway.
maybe you can figure out how to make it work, against all odds, maybe you cant. how is that useful!!
If your sensible about looking into hardware compatibility before you do your installation there shouldn't be problems. Same when you install any other piece of software really
perhaps but never found ms software remotely as tricky as linux software.
I'm gonna have to second cybernerd on that one....edu software tends to cause more trouble then any operating sytem i've ever worked on. We have a simple piece of software that runs on a MS SQL server and has a web front end. The application is pretty straight forward however there are so many people that update it, use it, tweak it, troubleshoot it, that it becomes more of a headache and research project to maintain the application then any linux software would.
UBUNTU SUCKS..... the life out of my graphics card
My server has ubuntu hh but it can only manage a screen resolution of 800x600 the graphix card is a fully working ATI 7500.
In the screen resolution options ubuntu offers me resolutions of 800x600, 640x480 & 320x240, excuse me for a second Mr Ubuntu but what the hell use are those resolutions this is 2009 not1990!!
I've been on ubuntu forums and it seems I can coax higher screen resolutions out of ubuntu if open an archaic text editor and type what seems to be gibberish for the next 15 eons, (They also said I had to do the same for a mouse that does not work properly with ubuntu hh) No No No No No, I do not want to have to type thousand of lines of text just to get a basic stuff to work with ubuntu, I just want them to work.
The Ubuntu techs have got it so wrong, I will NOT sit in front of a text editor for hours on end fixing their screw ups, if something does not work with microsoft they chuck a few dollars at the prob and issue a patch simple.
I forgot to tell you lot of the time I ran the updates that Ubuntu said needing installing, the install finished, my server rebooted, I logged in and displayed in front of me was a completely different desktop layout/colour, different Icons, and different start menu, how mad is that, crazy, crazy & weird!! would that happen with Win 3.1 No, Win95 No, Win 2k No, XP No, Vista No, not even Win ME would through a wobbler like that.
If every I dip my toes in to test the linux waters they keep get badly bitten and mauled by bugs I'm hardly likely to stay with or recommend the system am I.
Phew!!!
Redsnapper - this is where doing your research before you install $random OS on $random computer. You should have researched what support your hardware had with your OS. If your particular device doesn't work with MS Windows, I don't see you turning around to Microsoft and demanding they fix it...
Did you do some research into Linux before diving headfirst into it? It doesn't seem like it. The different layout would not throw you if you were actually willing to learn about the new OS with an open mind...
Not to mention the fact that on a server, you shouldn't be installing a GUI anyway, unless it is an LTSP server.
Sorry, but rants like yours annoy me, as it is simply you blaming your problems on the software when it was a lack of work on your part before doing something.
Also, editing the X11 config files would have involved no more than 1 command, followed by some text insertion into a file. A lot like opening regedit and editing some registry keys.
Domino (12th February 2009), powdarrmonkey (12th February 2009), webman (12th February 2009)
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