New Linux Server

I have been busy building a new server for home… our current ClarkConnect server runs out of support in a few months, and it’s so heavily changed from the standard install that I am unlikely to want to try and upgrade it. So it’s been back on the Linux distro trail again. I’m going down a CentOS 5.2 path with Xen virtual servers to try and segment the tasks that my server does.

The new server will eventually replace the current box and will be running an internal wiki, this blog, data storage with Samba, LDAP, email, webmail, and a raft of other bits and pieces, so it’s going to be a complex process running up the ‘host’ and 4 virtual machines, backups, etc. But the end result should be a better situation than now.

So far I have setup the Dom0, 3 virtual DomUs, LDAP, Dynamic DNS, DHCP, bacula, wiki, CUPS, MySQL, NTP, RAID, Smartmontools,  and am documenting every step… Samba next, then the fun that will be webmail…

No external world access to the server at all yet. That can wait until it’s finished and hardened… Steep learning curve with some of this stuff, but very satisfying. I have to say I do like MediaWiki for use internally. Had to do some fiddling with it to get it to run how I like, but with some cool little extensions it’s now running sweetly.

Ever onwards! The family history stuff is taking a bit of a back seat while I do this….