light installable linux with SAMBA server for old pc

[John Jay Smith]

I am looking around for a light installable (to a hard drive) linux with
SAMBA server for old pc [celeron 333, 64-128 mb ram, 4 gb hard disk]

This machine will have 2 mor disks and play the role of a file server.
So it will just boot up, and stay on... as a server

It will have to have some sort of X-windows GUI since I am not good at
command line....

I have looked at puppy linux, seems nice but I didnt see the SAMBA server on
that distro...

also I would like it to be really easy to set up a directory with samba... I
only
want to share one directory as a file server, nothing exotic.

Slax seemed good, but I think it cannot be installed on a hard disk....

any recommendations???


THANKS!

 

[Kurt]

I am looking around for a light installable (to a hard drive)
linux with SAMBA server for old pc [celeron 333, 64-128 mb ram, 4
gb hard disk]

This machine will have 2 mor disks and play the role of a file
server. So it will just boot up, and stay on... as a server

It will have to have some sort of X-windows GUI since I am not
good at command line....
[...]
any recommendations???

Take a look at DamnSmallLinux. You can install SAMBA on DSL fairly
easily. Plus DSL will absolutely run as a screamer on your old box.
www.damnsmalllinux.org

Another possibility (and probably better) would be to go with MEPIS
SOHO server edition. It uses KDE for desktop GUI and would also run
easily (and has SAMBA already installed, all you have to do is
configure it. www.mepis.org

HtH

 

[Meat Plow]

I am looking around for a light installable (to a hard drive) linux with
SAMBA server for old pc [celeron 333, 64-128 mb ram, 4 gb hard disk]

This machine will have 2 mor disks and play the role of a file server. So
it will just boot up, and stay on... as a server

It will have to have some sort of X-windows GUI since I am not good at
command line....

I have looked at puppy linux, seems nice but I didnt see the SAMBA server
on that distro...

also I would like it to be really easy to set up a directory with samba...
I only
want to share one directory as a file server, nothing exotic.

Slax seemed good, but I think it cannot be installed on a hard disk....

any recommendations???


THANKS!

Knoppix boots/runs off the CD but I don't know if it's too bloated for
your hardware.

 

[Craig]

I am looking around for a light installable (to a hard drive) linux
with SAMBA server for old pc [celeron 333, 64-128 mb ram, 4 gb hard
disk]
....

It will have to have some sort of X-windows GUI since I am not good
at command line....

I have looked at puppy linux, seems nice but I didnt see the SAMBA
server on that distro...

also I would like it to be really easy to set up a directory with
samba...

All of the *lightweight* distos running samba involve varying degrees of
"roll-your-own" type configuring. Crux, Core Linux & Domainix would
prolly be the zippiest but GUI? How do you feel about compiling?

Don't give up on your dog just yet. People @ Puppy are working on a
samba project right now and would love your input. Of course, this
assumes you'd like to help potty-train.
http://www.murga.org/~puppy/viewtopic.php?t=6136&highlight=samba
http://www.goosee.com/puppy/

Damn Small Linux is further along in the process...
http://www.mainframecomps.com/Images/dsltutorial/DSL-fileserver.pdf
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

Here is a list of other lightweight disto's for reference...
http://www.linuxlinks.com/Distributions/Mini_Distributions/

Please let us know what you've decided (& why!)

-Craig

 

[Morten Skarstad]

John Jay Smith skrev:

I am looking around for a light installable (to a hard drive) linux with
SAMBA server for old pc [celeron 333, 64-128 mb ram, 4 gb hard disk]

Any distro should run from this computer. I'd stay clear of big-ass
desktop environments, though. Especially if you only have 64 MB RAM.

Anyway, if you are not familiar enough with Linux to use the command
line effectively maybe you should try the web-based approach. If your
computer is supposed to be a server you don't want to have a screen and
keyboard attached to it anyway. Just give it power and a network feed
and shove the box into a corner.

There are a few distros that does out-of-the-box home server stuff with
a web-based GUI. http://www.clarkconnect.com/ is an example. Besides,
most generic distros (SuSe, Debian, Fedora, Slackware, whatever) will do
a similar job once you install something like http://www.webmin.com/

[...]

I have looked at puppy linux, seems nice but I didnt see the SAMBA server on
that distro... [...]
Slax seemed good, but I think it cannot be installed on a hard disk....

Those two are designed to run from removable media like CDs and
thumbdrives. You're probably far better off with pre-packaged servers or
more generic distros like the ones mentioned above. Get a web-based
interface running, or get a Linux newsgroup to help you set up a
suitable Samba configuration. Once it's done it should require zero
maintenance. If you are running this box on your local network only it
will also be zero risk of people from the World Wild Web trying to pwn
it, so strictly speaking you wouldn't even have to apply security patches.

 

[Mark Carter]

I am looking around for a light installable (to a hard drive) linux with
SAMBA server for old pc [celeron 333, 64-128 mb ram, 4 gb hard disk]

Slackware. I found the samba server easier to set up than Ubuntu.

BUT, you may want to try OpenFiler:
http://www.openfiler.com/
It's purpose is to create a NAS - a place for you to store files. I've
never used it myself, so it's a case of caveat emptor. Hopefully, it is
tailor-made for what you're looking for. You administer it using a web
interface, and all the brain damage associated with setting up SAMBA on
Linux should be eliminated.

There's another project called FreeNAS:
http://www.freenas.org/
which is the same idea, but is based on FreeBSD instead of Linux. It's
much smaller, but doesn't appear to be ready for serious use. Something
to tune into much later, perhaps.

If what you're looking for is to have some storage space available over
a network, then it looks like OpenFiler is the way to go.

 

[El Gee]

I am looking around for a light installable (to a hard drive) linux with
SAMBA server for old pc [celeron 333, 64-128 mb ram, 4 gb hard disk]

This machine will have 2 mor disks and play the role of a file server.
So it will just boot up, and stay on... as a server

It will have to have some sort of X-windows GUI since I am not good at
command line....

I have looked at puppy linux, seems nice but I didnt see the SAMBA server on
that distro...

also I would like it to be really easy to set up a directory with samba... I
only
want to share one directory as a file server, nothing exotic.

Slax seemed good, but I think it cannot be installed on a hard disk....

any recommendations???


THANKS!

Ubuntu has a "server only" install that is pretty lightweight. Couple
that with XFCE and I think you could do it. I was running with a
Celeron 400 and 256 RAM using GNOME and was running it as a server (I am
now at 512 RAM). The drawback to the default install of Ubuntu is that
it install a lot of useless stuff. I would like to see them make the
menu ask you if you have a dekstop or laptop and that way you would only
install what you need.


--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
El Gee // www.mistergeek.com <><
Know Christ, Know Peace - No Christ, No Peace
Remove .yourhat to reply
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[Lew Myschkin]

Hi

any recommendations???

I am running Debian Sarge without any problems on a K6-2 266 MHz with 128 MB
Ram. THis is not optimal - transfer rates are quite low - but it works.
And I surely can recommend debian.
regards
Martin

 

[any]

I am looking around for a light installable (to a hard drive) linux
with SAMBA server for old pc [celeron 333, 64-128 mb ram, 4 gb hard
disk]

This machine will have 2 mor disks and play the role of a file server.
So it will just boot up, and stay on... as a server

It will have to have some sort of X-windows GUI since I am not good at
command line....

NASLite is a simple SMB fileserver for free.
http://www.serverelements.com/naslite.php
NASLite-Smb click on floppy img & download

 

[hownowbrowncow]

I am looking around for a light installable (to a hard drive) linux with
SAMBA server for old pc [celeron 333, 64-128 mb ram, 4 gb hard disk]

This machine will have 2 mor disks and play the role of a file server.
So it will just boot up, and stay on... as a server

It will have to have some sort of X-windows GUI since I am not good at
command line....

Have a look at the SME Server ...

http://www.contribs.org

Cutting-edge tech, based on CentOS, can run headless & be administered
with a web browser. EASY to set up, VERY powerful. New version 7
might be too much for 64 megs RAM but will run OK w/128, better w/
192 or 256. Older version 6 will run fine w/128. Check it out ...
it's
actually amazing.