Have a business that i’ve done work for in the past. Recently it was decided they needed a new server for “file storage”. Their current network is a SBS setup so it stood to reason to just get another SBS box and join the domain, transfer files and we are all set….Not sure where the problem came in, told the customer exactly what system they needed due to them wanting to get it on their own.

Went the other day to do the job and opened the box the new “server” came in and realized they ordered what appeared to be a used server. Well it was a case that was not only worn out but had rust on it…Should of known then it would become a problem. Continued to open the box and fired it up. Low and behold I see the words “UBUNTU” appear on the screen. Looked in the box more and there isa burned cd with Ubuntu on it and a piece of paper saying it was a basic setup and good luck.

If I was smart I would of said “H*** No” this is not going to happen. But, instead I figured what the heck i’ll give it a shot. My experience with Ubuntu is I run it on a Mini I own to play with. Other then that I don’t use it, i’ve used Red Hat in the past and some other flavors but not for a legitimate business setup. Well after loading Samba and fa few other things and it not wanting to become part of the domain nor pull the active directory, I decided I didn’t need the domain. I decided to edit the conf file and set it up that way instead. Went to a workstation mapped a drive and all looked good. Next thing I know mapped drive says disconnected, clicked it a few more times and it connected. Figured it must of been a fluke, but that was not the case. No matter what tweaking was done it stayed the same. Did a search on Google and it appeared about 20 other “Pages” of people have had the same problem and nobody had a clear fix.

So after hours of doing this job I decided it’s not going to happen. They can either order a SBS box and we use that and put the Ubuntu in the corner for the time being or they contact another company and to that I say “best of luck”….

Found the specs for it from the ad on Craigslist:
File server for sharing files in Windows or Mac network, hotswap RAID5 – $1499

A file server allows multiple computers to access the same files and directories on the network. This is a file server using a robust RAID5 setup in a hot-swappable drive cage. One of the hard drives can fail, but the data are still there. The array will continue to serve files in a slightly degraded mode. Simply slide the bad disk out, slide a new one in, and type a few commands. The server will rebuild the array and pretty soon you’re as good as new. The best part is, while the repair is happening, users can continue to access their files and probably won’t even notice anything different.
The server runs Linux (Ubuntu 8.04.3 Long Term Support which is supported until 2013). The server has a Samba share on it that can be configured to work in your Windows, Mac, Linux, or mixed environment to provide any level of security/authentication that you need. These are the basic specs, which are easily customized. Specs include:

-Intel Dual Core CPU
-1GB DDR2 RAM
-10/100/1000 Gigabyte ethernet
-320 GB of total hard drive capacity
-160 GB of RAIDed storage accessible by other computers on your network
-Hot-swappable drives in a convenient slide-in enclosure with activity indicator lights