This is my final entry regarding the deployment of my Astaro Security Gateway. I just wanted to comment on how easily I was able to set up the VPN. It was equally easy if not easier than the OpenVPN client from Untangle. It’s a simple download from your server and run the installer. What I like about it the most is that it’s password protected. So if someone else got ahold of it or was on my computer and tried to enable the VPN connection, they’d have to know my password. I like that.

I have two projects coming next that I will try to write about. The first one is to install Ubuntu, which is a version of Linux, on my laptop to dual-boot with Windows. Right now both my laptop and desktop run Windows XP. I want to migrate to Linux but I need to be sure my wife will be comfortable first. So by dual-booting, she’ll be able to go back to windows very quickly if she hates it.  I think it will work fine for her. She mainly just gets online and she is already used to using Firefox. She actually hates it when she has to use IE.

My second project will be more work. I want to migrate my file server from FreeNAS to Amahi. Amahi is a Linux based home server that runs on Fedora, which is another version of Linux. I just finished burning my Fedora 9 DVD. That one should be a lot of fun. I’ve a little planning to do first and it may take me a few weeks before I have time to dive into it.

So that’s it for now.

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Category: Project software

There are 3 comments

  • ¬ Kris Kelso
    #18 November 20th, 2008 at 9:15 am

    One thing to remember with Fedora is that it has a very short release cycle, and patches are only provided for each version for about 13 months after release. So, if you want to stay current, you are going to have to upgrade your OS (or rebuild your server) at least once per year. Fedora 9 is already about 6 months old, so it will not be updated after this summer.

    That’s probably not a big deal for a home server, but for most “production” server deployments, I would not recommend Fedora. You are better off with something like CentOS, which has a 12-year support cycle (if I remember correctly).

    Amahi only appears to support Fedora for now, but from their FAQ page, it looks like they have seen some interest in support for CentOS and may provide that at some point. You might wait at least long enough to see if they support Fedora 10, which comes out in a few days, and would give you a year of updates before you’d have to upgrade it.

  • ¬ Jet
    #19 November 20th, 2008 at 9:42 am

    Good points Kris. Initially I’m thinking about this for experience’s sake. I like to try new things and see how well they work. Of course, with the time I will invest getting it going, I’m sure I’ll want the investment to have a greater return. So with that in mind, I’ll hit the Amahi forums and see if they will be supporting Fedora 10. I also read that they want to support centOS and Ubuntu as well. I’ve got a centOS server already so that of course would be ideal.

  • ¬ Jet
    #20 November 25th, 2008 at 9:47 am

    Just wanted to add, I’ve been in contact with one of the Amahi guys, they are currently testing it with Fedora 10. He said while it does “work” there are some bugs to work out. He suggested sticking with F9 for a little while unless you’re really “adventurous.” I told him that for me, just taking on Amahi was adventurous enough for me. I’ll let them pound away at F10 for a little while first.

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