SmartCache 2 has died - Having trouble with Squid

[JamesGHBray]

Morning all,

 

My SmartCache 2 has been falling over a lot recently, and so I would like to replace it with something else.

 

I currently only use smartcache to log the web traffic in the school. All web filtering and anti-virus is dealt with by a proxy upstream, and so I just need something robust on site to log traffic tied to a users AD username.

 

People have been talking about just installing squid, but I am having a real hard time finding answers to a few questions:

 

1. Does squid log web traffic?
   
2. Is there a decent web UI available to run reports on internet use?
   
3. Can I get squid to point to an upstream proxy?
   
4. What would be the best linux distro to run squid on?
   

 

If anyone could help me out, it would be much appreciated!