Linux Server - Which Software?

[Savan_P]

OC Community,

I am currently in the process of making a server for a small-medium office of around 6 workstations. The hardware is now built, all I now need is the software.

Ideally I would have got some form of Windows Server, however the licence costs are ridiculous and I cannot feasibly buy the licence for the relatively small amount of staff I have.

Now I have seen various forms of linux server packages, with my main criteria:
- domain controller
- free / very cheap
- easy to use and set up as I have little to none linux coding knowledge
- be secure and reliable due to the data being stored
- The main data will be stored on another computer so it must be able to let the data computer set permissions for various folders according to the users in the domain

I have seen lots of packages with fancy GUIs accessed from another computer on the network via the browser - is this the kind of thing they all are?

Any kind of feedback is more than appreciated.

Thanks!
SP

 

[Savan_P]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I think LizardKing has summed it up. 1K does seem like a large amount of money, but could be more cost effective in the long run due to the potential consultancy charges.

I will look into both options and see what I get.

 

[Savan_P]

Windows 2012 R2 Essentials for approx £300 seems like the answer.

No CALS required for Essentials so as long as you have the client OS, you're good to go. Supports up to 25 users/devices.

Just to add to what others have said - if you don't have any Linux experience, don't go there especially if the business relies on it.

WOW! Thanks for letting me know about this. Seems like quite a cheap option actually as there are licences going on ebay for around the £200 mark.

One question - I am currently using Google Drive to backup my data, as the network drives are effectively within the Google Drive folder stored on the "Server". Does this version of Windows Server allow Google Drive to be added as a cloud backup in the same way?

 

[Savan_P]

Just as an update..

I have been doing some research. It seems that Server Essentials is exactly what I have been looking for. I have also found a licence for £100

Only thing I need to do now is workout how I can get Google Drive installed onto it so that it backs up some folders to it.