From owner-freebsd-current Fri Aug 23 19:35:23 2002 Delivered-To: freebsd-current@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.FreeBSD.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6E77C37B400 for ; Fri, 23 Aug 2002 19:35:19 -0700 (PDT) Received: from changeofhabit.mr.itd.umich.edu (changeofhabit.mr.itd.umich.edu [141.211.144.17]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id CC7F043E4A for ; Fri, 23 Aug 2002 19:35:18 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from johnec@umich.edu) Received: from mycpu.umich.edu (dsl-65-189-16-169.telocity.com [65.189.16.169]) by changeofhabit.mr.itd.umich.edu (8.9.3/3.2r) with ESMTP id WAA15165; Fri, 23 Aug 2002 22:35:16 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <4.3.2.7.2.20020823220711.02345070@j.imap.itd.umich.edu> X-Sender: johnec@j.imap.itd.umich.edu X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 4.3.2 Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 22:38:18 -0400 To: Matthew Dillon From: John Chang Subject: Re: Barebone system rackmount Cc: current@FreeBSD.ORG In-Reply-To: <200208240121.g7O1LBdr008187@apollo.backplane.com> References: <20020823225907.970A32A7D6@canning.wemm.org> <4.3.2.7.2.20020823203246.02406df0@j.imap.itd.umich.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Sender: owner-freebsd-current@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk List-ID: List-Archive: (Web Archive) List-Help: (List Instructions) List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: X-Loop: FreeBSD.ORG I am a system administrator for Win2k/NT and Apple servers but have very little experience with linux/freeBSD and Apache. At 06:21 PM 8/23/2002 -0700, Matthew Dillon wrote: >:Do you know where I could get a good server rackmount barebones system or a >:rackmount server with FreeBSD installed? >: >:I am looking to use it for a Web server using Apache. And would you know >:where I can buy Apache that is more secure out of the box? >: >:I basically have very little experience with FreeBSD and Apache but since >:it is one of the most secure OSs I thought I would use it. The alternative >:is using Win2k Adv. Server and IIS or Apache. >: >:Do you think it is possible to be able to manage a webserver with very >:little experience with FreeBSD and Apache? >: >:Anyone in Ann Arbor/Detroit Michigan with experience who can help me set >it up? >: >:Thank you. > > Well, FreeBSD is like other open source OSs (for example, Linux) in that > it will run on just about any PC. I can't help you in regards to > finding a rackmount system but I can give you some hints in regards to > FreeBSD and Apache. It's hard to find a good starting point because > I don't know what experience you *do* have... for example, have you > played with Linux at all? Have you ever installed Windows on a machine? > > Generally speaking a person exposed to an open-source system for the > first time, such as FreeBSD (or Linux, or NetBSD, or OpenBSD, or > whatever) has a small hurdle to leap over which is the fact that > the installation sequence presumes a certain degree of knowledge about > UNIX. For example even the best GUI installer gives you the chance > to 'partition the hard drive'. But if you don't know what that means > you can wind up stuck and confused even if the installer gives you a > default way of doing things. Only so much can be hidden by a GUI > installer and the more software you install and manage, the more you > are exposed to the innards of the operating system. > > What I recommend more then anything else is: > > (1) Get or burn the CDs and just start playing with FreeBSD on a > box you can afford to blow away (the disk) on. > > (2) Locate a friend or associate who already has some experience > with open-source operating systems and ask him to help you get > things going. Having someone show you the ropes in-person is a > thousand times more effective then over a mailing list. > > With that all said you basically install FreeBSD from the CDRom set. > http://www.freebsd.org is a good starting point. You don't have to > purcahse the CDs, you can locate the ISO images, download, and burn > the CDs yourself. Then install and you are on your way! Once you > have the system operational you can install various ports and packages > using the FreeBSD ports system. It's not really possible to go into > full detail because that would take days to explain. > > For someone just starting out, be sure to install a -stable release of > FreeBSD. Do not try to install the -current development version. > > -Matt > Matthew Dillon > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-current" in the body of the message