Which OS to use?
 

For a Network router and proxy cache using the latest Squid release?

I've been messing around with Mandrake and having fun with the soft raid options, but really its a memory hog.

I would like to be able to set up this server as easily as possible and then just run it from a command line interface instead of graphical.

I'm relatively new at this... and would appreciate for the patience of any of you who have experience doing this.

Thanks,

-MikeX²

Server Specs:

AMD 3200+
1GB DDR
4x WD 40GB HDD's in RAID-0,0+1, or 5
Abit-NF7-S2G(yes I know)
2x Linksys eg1032v3 Gigabit NIC's(replacing soon since they suck and wont install)
Netgear GS108 switch.


I'm looking to do a real professional job here even though its only for my home. I hope you can see I'm serious by the hardware I'm using.. :)

Debian is a good solid platform for that type of application... or you could check out linux from scratch (LFS) and build from source... the second option isn't very easy, but you will learn a-lot about linux systems on the way.

This can be done with any distro, you just don't need to install X (and it's many DE/WM's) for server use.
If you're feeling comfortably using Mandrake/mandriva, just remove all the graphical bloat(your X-server or just your DE) and continue in CLI mode.

PS: if disk space isn't a problem, you don't even have to remove anything, just make "init 3" you default runlevel.

Hmm.. well if I choose to build it myself... are there any good tutorials online that could help me?

Or if I stick with Mandrake, what do you reccomend I do to make it as efficient as possible.

Also what types of monitoring programs are there that I can monitor not only loads and usages, but cache items, how many requests made, etc.. from either a CLI or graphical menu..

And how could I administer this from a Windows based PC? If thats not possible its no big deal.. just want to get rid of some clutter.

-Mike

Also which DNS program should I use? The one that comes with Mandrake... I assume its bind... fails when I try to configure it.

Yea I'm a noob... can a moderator please move this to the right forum?

Moderated forums for over 5 years and I can't even open my eyes... :tisk: :rolleyes:

Since your question is about Squid, it seems that you are in the right forum. If you want to ask for the thread to be moved, you need to click on 'Report'.

I've been meaning to have a decent look at Squid myself. Links I bookmarked included a wiki, a guide, squid-cache.org and a howto.

I just finished getting Squid up in the most basic sense... I'm still having trouble downloading from servers but mostly everything works great.

I need to set up an http server in order to get the cache manager cgi script to work.

Also, I need to find a good caching DNS program... bind comes with mandrake but I can't figure it out.

I agree with jens, if you are happy with mandrake you can keep using it, just go through what's installed and remove anything you are not using with rpm -e. You can trim down the boot time and memory usage somewhat by not starting unneeded services (not sure what mandrake runs by default) at boot.

If you want to go more hard core on it, then LFS might be a good idea, because you can build the system up as you need it, rather than trimming the fat off. bind should be good for dns, but it can be a pain to debug your config - just post the issues you are having, perhaps someone can help.

Also, distros like ubuntu and fedora and others have server installs that you could try out. I've tried countless distros over the years and I find fedora very easy to admin as a server - all the tools are there and it has a big community.