Ubuntu: Not A Small Business Server Replacement (Yet)
One market that Ubuntu has yet to crack is that of the SoHo server. Millions of office workers all over the world send email via, print through and save documents to a Microsoft Windows Small Business Server. But is Ubuntu ready to compete head-on against SBS? The current answer may not thrill Ubuntu fans.
Many SoHos have a physical host in their office with enough space for storing documents from their desktop, a simple backup solution and net connectivity including a firewall and access controls. Some use external hosted services providing similar features. This sounds like an ideal market opportunity for Ubuntu Server Edition.
But is it?
Most of these small businesses have no dedicated IT personnel and minimal computing expertise. For many the graphical administration tools and integrated nature of SBS are essential for them to use the computer as a tools in their businesses. With few additional skills to be learned, and simple admin tools the office worker can get on with their job, and worry less about their IT infrastructure.
There are prices to pay with this setup however. Microsoft SBS is a crippled product, with some functionality unavailable until the user pays for the premium edition. In addition users are required to purchase expensive Client Access Licenses for each device that connects to the server. There is also of course the additional aggravation and cost involved in managing viruses, mal-ware and spam, all of which can enter the company network via email or the Internet connection provided by the office server.
Calling for Ubuntu
Ubuntu has a great untapped opportunity here. With a vast repository of highly-configurable software requiring zero license fees, low resources and minimal ongoing administrative workload, it really is possible to replicate a Microsoft small office server with one running Free software. Or is it? The big headache is making it easy. Sure, any system admin worth their salt can install a SAMBA file and print server, configure an iptables firewall and provision email that is protected against spam and virus attack using Ubuntu.
But can the customer administer it?
For many years the Unix based system has been setup and maintained by the careful editing of configuration files and management of obscurely named programs and services. This is fine for the archetypal bearded geek, but more often beyond the level at which an office worker with average computing skills is prepared to go. They have better things to do than learn the intricacies of LDAP and PAM integration, SAMBA protocol versions and greylisting. What they need is a drop-in replacement for SBS in the same way that the desktop user has a drop in replacement for XP in the form of the Ubuntu Desktop.
The prospective small customer has alternatives to Ubuntu and they _will_choose them if Ubutnu doesn’t come up with the goods. It’s trivial for an office worker to configure Google Applications for Domains to provide hosted email, document storage and instant messaging, with no configuration files needed. Similarly it’s not too painful to install and setup a Windows box to provide those services to a small office – whether it’s setup optimally is another matter. We need a high quality, robust, secure and easy to use graphical administration tool for these people.
We have two options already in the form of Webmin and eBox.
Unfortunately Webmin has been missing from the Ubuntu repository for some time now for resource and packaging reasons. Is it now time for it to return from the cold and save office workers from the command line perhaps. eBox – a relative newcomer to system administration is in the standard repository and it’s going in the right direction in terms of ease-of-use. However it doesn’t yet have the breadth of features seen in Webmin and isn’t as polished as competing products such as Microsoft SBS and Google Apps.
Ubuntu Easy Business Server
Back at the start of 2007 Ubuntu Easy Business Server was heavily discussed at the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Sevilla, Spain. It was envisaged that UEBS would be the ‘new webmin’, with a new set of tools to make the setup and maintenance of small business servers a breeze. Unfortunately it seems resources have been diverted within the Ubuntu project, and as a result nothing has been seen of the brand new suite of tools since. Instead eBox was pulled into the repository as the admin tool of choice.
Perhaps in the next development cycle, starting after the release of 8.10 we will see more love given to simple administration tools for Ubuntu servers.
I certainly hope so, but I’m not holding my breath.
WorksWithU Contributing Blogger Alan Pope is the point contact for the Ubuntu UK LoCo, and a prominent voice in the global Ubuntu community.
Alan: Great post. I had not previously heard of Ubuntu Easy Business Server (UEBS). I’ve reached out to Canonical to see what ever became of the UEBS concept.
A side note: I think software as a service (SaaS) applications will increasingly compete against Microsoft Small Business Server. I suspect there will remain a market for appliance-like servers in the SoHo space, but more and more apps will move into the cloud.
As a small business owner myself, I know I don’t want to manage on-site applications on my own.
Whilst not yet a direct replacement for the MS SBS Server, Ubuntu is a very good base on which a third party may host their applications.
I agree that a GUI-based configuration is desirable. I’d love to be able to help develop that.
I’m glad that ubuntu hasn’t adopted webmin though. I think it’s design is fundamentally borked. The ‘hooks’ that the GUI requires involve an innate understanding of the package itself, and therefore can only be configured by the authors or the packages of the software. If ubuntu could provide an extension to deb for a web-based GUI, that change at the infrastructure level would make GUI based configuration much easier to acheive – and with a greater level of success.
To me eBox is almost as trivial to setup as Google Apps for Domains. Google Apps is more refined and user friendly the only shortfall I see in eBox is no CalDav implementation yet. Ties LDAP, email, file amp; print sharing and jabber all in together really nice though. They have an easy install CD which will install Ubuntu with eBox together, all I see missing is a complimentary client CD that would install Ubuntu with the LDAP configuration already in there, or it asks for address info on install to make it easier for the admins to set it up. To me eBox is the most promising tool as a replacement to SBS besides Zimbra — can’t believe you forgot that, its the most polished and thorough one but has some limitations on how you use it (corporation version should be if not already available soon in the Ubuntu/Canonical store).
SBS is the FrontPage of servers. Remember how Frontpage made your average person feel like a web designer? The tools were SO easy! Put a here, drop in a blink tag and a dancing bear GIF there… SBS is the same way in that it “empowers” many people who should be trying to run their own server.
Most business owners or part-time techs who try to set up SBS 2000, 2003 (and I’m sure 2008 will be the same) make a few fundamental mistakes. These end up on a broad spectrum from “placing the entire business data at serious risk” to “not maximizing the value to the business.”
The real value of SBS is in four parts:
– its ubiquity. Almost anywhere in the world you can find someone who knows Windows Server and SBS operations well enough to keep it up and running, hands-on, without bothering the business owner too much.
– inclusiveness. It includes all the parts for an essential, reliable, moderately scalable server for an under 25-seat operation. I know it supports bigger offices than that but beyond 25 users it’s time to look at something with better redundancy and performance.
– mobility is in the box. Outlook web access is good, Outlook Anywhere (rpc-over-http) is a real benefit, and being able to sync iphones and windows mobile devices is a big plus. Want blackberry instead? Install Blackberry personal edition for a one-time fee of $100 per user and run it on your own server. None of the third-party services and add-ins like Zimbra, scalix, and open-xchange need. (last time I checked, correct me if I’m wrong)
– one box, one install. Slap in your SBS disk, go through a bunch of wizards, and you’re done. Of the other solutions I’ve tested (admittedly only a few) Scalix is the only one that competes on a “hassle-to-go-live” score. Otherwise you need to build your centos, Ubuntu, or etch box and get the stuff you want from there. Much more flexible but a lot more work in my experience.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not a Microsoft fanboy. I don’t like the direction of their current offerings. I would LOVE to see a Ubuntu variant of something like Scalix (I come back to that one because, out-of-the-box it’s most like SBS in terms of installation experience and capability.)
Another thought. Calling SBS Standard “crippled” is a stretch. The difference in 03 is ISA (Many business prefer a separate firewall device anyway) and MSSQL (Many businesses have a non-MSSQL line of business app).
SBS 03/08 standard is a perfectly viable product for its market.
In MY opinion sbs 2008 is too expensive and needs too much hardware. In the SBS groups they’re taking about 08 wanting 8-12GB of RAM to run efficiently. And if things weren’t confusing enough before there are now different client access licenses whether you’re using 08 Premium or Standard.
I’m hoping the world will start to see the value of lower-energy computing, straightforward licensing, etc.
The idea of running an entire company’s IT operations using under 1kW of electricity is pretty exciting.
The closest thing to the MS SBS is the Xandros server and the Apple Server.
Ubuntu needs to work on an end to end desktop and server solution like Xandros and Apple server does.
Also DIRECTORY SERVICES that are easy to use like Open Directory on the Mac or AD on SBS. Xandros does not have Directory Services but their Bridgeway tool makes it appear that they do.
Web management is cool, but people are used to using PC tools like MMC on Windows or Workstation Manager on the Mac.
Also it needs to be scalable! That is an advantage! This is the killer for things like Clark Connect and SME server. Not scalable. Your business grows and you have issues.
Nice article admin, er, uh Alan?
I have been working with Ubuntu Server for a few days now and I must say that it is not trivial. All I want is a working, nat gateway/firewall/email/file/print server on one box for my staff (me) to use on my single static IP address. So far I have spent way too much time and have not been 100% successful.
So, I will be working with the server team to make changes to allow this. I agree the SoHo market is a great space for Ubuntu Server as well (as the desktop!).
Whats needed for and successful Ubuntu SOS (SmallOfficeServer) is not rocket science. Maybe a bit of computer science and priorities though. Its simple. We need an out of the box configuration with LDAP/Samba DynDNS/DHCP Email/Calendering with outlook connector support. rcp over https and a web panel with built in rdesktop client. And most of all a centralized management utility that easy to understand.
Like so many things on Linux, all the pieces are there, but they just haven’t been put together and packaged up for the entry level user.
Which is why I’ve commented before that Ubuntu server is a disappointment to me. Yes, I know the value of CLI administration, etc etc. But Ubuntu is supposed to be the ultimate “newbie distro”. So where is that on the server?
There have been various SME/SBS/SOHO server ideas kicked around on the ubuntu wiki for years, which I have watched with bated breath, but nothing has come to fruition. Maybe someone just needs to do a derivative?
What you guys are looking for, is called SME Server. http://www.smeserver.org
This is by far, the easiest server I’ve ever met. It has web/file/database/email/LDAP/Samba servers/firewall/web proxy, all managed through a simple web interface.
Additional functionality is available as well (http://wiki.contribs.org/Category:Contrib).
Download page at http://wiki.contribs.org/SME_Server:Download
Documentation (manuals etc) at http://wiki.contribs.org/SME_Server:Documentation
Blurb from the main doc page
Server Features
The SME Server server and gateway installs automatically on a PC, converting it to an industrial-strength communications server that optionally allows all of the computers on your network to share a single Internet connection.
In one simple, easy-to-install package, you get:
* A high performance email server that handles email to and from your users.
* Enhanced security features that reduce the risk of intrusion.
* A central file server enabling seamless information exchange among Windows, Macintosh and Unix machines.
* A web server to host your company web and/or intranet site.
* Browser based server-manager software that makes it easy to add new user accounts, control remote access, configure network printers, set up workgroups and connect additional networks.
* Special services that speed web and Internet access, improving the performance of your network.
* A shared email address book that is maintained automatically.
* i-bays, a unique communications and collaborative facility that makes it easy for users to work together on projects.
* Quota Management – you have the ability to set a limit on the amount of a disk space a user can use for files and e-mail.
* Windows 2000 and XP domain logon support – Previous versions have allowed the server to act as a domain controller for client computers running Windows 95, 98, ME or NT. This version now extends that domain logon support to Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
* USB printer support – It is now possible to connect the SME Server to a printer via the USB port.
* Improved Macintosh file sharing support – The server now includes better support for Macintosh file sharing and eliminates some previous cases where Macintosh users were unable to access i-bays.
* Experimental ISDN card support – While our software has always supported external ISDN adapters, this version now includes experimental support for using an internal passive ISDN card.
* Use of unmodified packages from upstream providers – Packages from Centos 4 (2.6.9 kernel), Mitel, and other packages from atrpms and rpmforge are used unmodified whenever possible. The result is that any other Redhat EL4 or Centos 4 RPMS should work without modification.
* Installation on a system with 1 hard drive is automatically set up half of a RAID1 mirror, ready to accept a second drive. Systems with 2 drives are set up as RAID 1; 3-5 drives as RAID5; and 6+ Drives as RAID6.
* Secure email enhancements. POP3/SSL, IMAP/SSL, SMTP/SSL, SMTP AUTH over SMTP/SSL.
* Webmail has been upgraded to the latest versions of Horde, Imp, Turba and Ingo from horde.org
* SMTP Email reception is now handled by qpsmtpd. Advanced but simple to use plugin system to easily install extra functionality and write local rules. Almost all features are implemented in plugins.
* Antivirus email and hard drive scanning is now provided by ClamAV. Virus definitions are kept up to date automatically, and program updates will be available automatically via the software installer (yum).
* Email attachment handling: Including the ability to block EXE, ZIP, PIF and automatic conversion of TNEF or UUENCODE encoded attachments to MIME.
* Spam Filtering with Spamassassin. Automatic tagging with X-spam-status headers, and optional filtering and subject tagging. Configurable rejection levels.
* Enhancement to the pseudonyms panel. You now have the ability to send (e.g.) support@domain1 and support@domain2 to different places, and you can now enter pseudonyms of pseudonyms.
* Yum based Software installer panel. Approved contribs and official updates can now be installed in the server-manager. Selectable “Automatically install updates” option.
@Another Alan The noobie side of Ubuntu (desktop) can be utilized as a server just fine. Everything is there. I agree that the server might have potential to be easier, but it is not that hard. What is needed is the proper documentation and install patterns to enable what is needed out of the box. A GUI does not make a server easier to manage.
Who ever would want to have a server without Raid-1 mirroring?
Ubuntu server LTS Hardy 8.04 is a scam because it does not really support Raid-1 and the Ubuntu server team is still discussing what (if ever) they will want to backport to Hardy 🙁
If Ubuntu Intrepid server will become a usable, stable, however not long term supported release, is still an open question.
@tricky1
What do you mean when you suggest that Ubuntu Server doesn’t support RAID1?
I have multiple Ubuntu installs that use Linux MD – Software RAID1.
What I think everyone is missing is Adobe. no photoshop .no dreamweaver, no illustrator,no Air for linux, Ok you can emulate it ,but its not native to linux, If Adobe would just add some effort to help linux ,then linux would rule !! Wake up Adobe and do your thing .
Ebox is a quick install for ubuntu and works really well as a small business server. I install it for small businesses all the time and it’s fairly simple yet very powerful. That’s a good combo. For the record, I think Ubuntu is very much ready for business.
The areas I think it’s hard to convert for are non-profits (due to specialized accounting packages), artists (although the art packages are getting better all the time), and gamers. The only reason I keep windows around is for CS and gaming. The non-profit accounting will probably change over the next 5 years though leaving the other two to contend with.
As a side note, I use mirroring raid on ubuntu servers (ever since 7.10) and haven’t had problems with it.