Free SME server
Out of the Box
© Philip Barker, 123RF
eBox bundles intelligent and useful services needed to set up a small- to medium-sized network: DHCP, DNS, and web servers.
If you are looking to set up a small home network with a print server, file server, and maybe even a mail server, you can be entirely satisfied with what Linux offers you out of the box. Your distribution's package manager will let you install all the software you need, although you might break a sweat when you start configuring and coordinating the individual services. This learning experience is useful but also takes a fair amount of time.
The eBox SME server can help shorten your configuration marathon. SME stands for "small- to medium-sized enterprise" and describes the typical environment for the server. That said, eBox is a useful server product for more challenging home networks and for small business offices. The software, which has Ubuntu underpinnings, offers users a unified (web) interface – similar to YaST on openSUSE – that lets you manage the full set of services. The modular system then feeds your input to the corresponding configuration files behind the scenes.
Before you deploy eBox, it makes sense to know something about networks, such as why you need a DNS server and what a DHCP server does. The manual that comes with the software [1] is dozens of pages thick, so I can only give you a short overview of the server's versatility. The modules include a DNS server, a DHCP server, a print and file server, an http proxy, a mail server, an OpenVPN module, a groupware server, a firewall, and more.
[...]
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.
-
Debian 13.0 Officially Released
After two years of development, the latest iteration of Debian is now available with plenty of under-the-hood improvements.
-
Upcoming Changes for MXLinux
MXLinux 25 has plenty in store to please all types of users.
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.
-
EU Sovereign Tech Fund Gains Traction
OpenForum Europe recently released a report regarding a sovereign tech fund with backing from several significant entities.
-
FreeBSD Promises a Full Desktop Installer
FreeBSD has lacked an option to include a full desktop environment during installation.
-
Linux Hits an Important Milestone
If you pay attention to the news in the Linux-sphere, you've probably heard that the open source operating system recently crashed through a ceiling no one thought possible.
-
Plasma Bigscreen Returns
A developer discovered that the Plasma Bigscreen feature had been sitting untouched, so he decided to do something about it.
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.