Disappointed with Ubuntu Server, could be used by such a wider audience

[Stephan Hermann]

Hi Anthony, all,


On Fri, 1 Aug 2008 00:33:54 -0700 (PDT)
Anthony Watters <tonyozwatters at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Fair comment, maybe a "Ubuntu Personal SOHO server" could be a
> spinoff from Ubuntu Desktop, namely provide ClarkConnect
> (http://clarkconnect.com) type install options when installing Ubuntu
> Desktop?

Well, I don't know this particular product, and I can't say if it will
help the normal homeuser...it will help small companies (medium
companies will and want to use something else), where only one or two
admins are working. Administration work is timeconsuming, even when you
only have a handful of servers, without using automations and admins
are consuming money, too.

But what do you (not you in particular) want to do at home?

Setting up a webserver is easy...and adding a drupal or blog software,
too. The default apache2 package from debian/ubuntu gives you most of
the needed setup from the time after installation. You just need to
adjust at least your IP or your hostname, but that's it. No need to
install dangerous third level tool which are playing with the config
and adding mostly uneeded stuff.


I know usecases where those ui tools are necessary, e.g. in a small
company (mostly <50 people) where the son of the boss is playing the
admin because he heard of linux and he heard that internet^Wwww is
easy to setup and needs to install a webserver for the homepage of this
small company. Most likely those servers are hacked (or more
scriptkiddied) in no time, and are used as spam gateway or whatever. I
really can't recommend that.

Yes, even admins are using UI tools like phpldapadmin, but those tools
are not used to "setup/install/administrate the server in general", but
gives a simple and plain ui for adding data to it (btw....apache
directory studio is much better for it ;))

but there is a difference between really doing admin work, where you
need to touch the config files in /etc or whereever and the simple work
you need to do at home..I know those lamp tools from windows, and it's
horrible how those packages are degrading your system to a potential
security risk for you and your family, because it's too easy to do
something really stupid.

People who are in need in having those services at
home, they do already know what they need to do. 
People who don't know anything about those stuff, they should ask first
someone who knows it. It's sad, that there are many companies and
people who are announcing the easy setup of internet services (where
internet == www in most cases).

Back to my FMS ,

\sh
> 
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Stephan Hermann <sh at sourcecode.de>
> To: ubuntu-devel-discuss at lists.ubuntu.com
> Sent: Friday, August 1, 2008 2:32:00 PM
> Subject: Re: Disappointed with Ubuntu Server, could be used by such a
> wider audience
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I don't want to comment this mail in particular, but regarding the
> difference of SysAdmins and HomeAdmins: There is a difference of
> people who are used to "graphical configuration stuff which hides a
> lot of important things which are important to real sysadmins".
> 
> IMHO the usecase for Ubuntu Server is to reach the server market like
> debian or rhel or sles does...not to feed the person who is coming
> from the windows xp "I'm the admin" user.
> 
> Yes, you can use even the desktop version of Ubuntu to install server
> services like apache, icecast, ftpd etc. But this is not the server
> usecase. 
> 
> And on a sidenote, I don't think web uis for admin work will help
> to secure a root server for personal homepages. And with this web uis
> I don't mean webapps like RHN or Landscape.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> \sh
> 
> On Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:14:06 -0700 (PDT)
> Anthony Watters <tonyozwatters at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> > [...]
>