gea wrote:
if you want to compair it against openfiler, i would suggest
> not to use opensolaris itself (too much desktop stuff) but a
> more server like opensolaris distribution like eon (minimal
> opensolaris + napp-it) or nexentastor community edition (free
> version of their commercial storage server based on osol build
> 134 with web-gui) or free nexenta (core) edition with my free
> napp-it web-gui.
I am amazed that you believe OpenSolaris binary distro has
too much desktop stuff. Most people I have come across are
firmly of the belief that it does not have enough.
You do know about "pkg uninstall", don't you? And turning
off services that you don't need? And that the bare metal
system installed from the liveCD/liveUSB stick is bereft
of those desktop apps you appear to disparage ?
What is your *actual* problem with OpenSolaris binary distro
as a base for a NAS system?
James C. McPherson
--
Senior Software Engineer, Solaris
Oracle
http://www.jmcp.homeunix.com/blog
hello james
i suppose it`s a matter of me.
so let me tell the whole story.
i come from the mac/ windows world with less
unix and no solaris knowledge, working at a
university of design in germany - but experienced
with computer since the old cp/m 8bit days.
two years ago, when apple announced to adopt zfs
i took a deeper look at zfs (+ opensolaris).
i was very impressed about the features of zfs and
i decided to switch our ad-windows smb file- and
webserver to machines with zfs asap. (hoped it would
be on a mac)
i installed opensolaris and my first impression was very
disappointing. the gui was slow and not very intuitive
and the only thing thats's running fine was the browser.
i then was looking how to install the needed things for a
ad-cifs server and a lamp server.
some hours/ days/ weeks later whith the help of google
i investigated what sunXX whatever package is needed or
not needed - to discover ad integration is a hell with
unix mappings, nobody knowing how to do it in a simply
running manner - each howto more complicated than the other.
it took me days to see, its just simple, do it the minimalst
way by assigning just domain-admin to root and do all the rest
from my windows machine.
or other example is acl integration. if you want to use the
beast just to replace a windows server, you have to go the hard
way to understand the concept behind quite deeply.
google was no help. it seems nobody is using it just as a simple
mac/ windows server replacement - each howto much more complicated
than the other.
i decided NOT to use opensolaris due to lack of usability.
it's not funny to handle it from a mac/ windows user view. my job
is running a computer center with user, storage, video and multimedia,
network-administration, server and services in mind -
not low level os administration. i´ve got stomach ache when things
that should be just simple are so complicated.
i then discovered nexentastor. that seems to be the solution -
a stripped down installation to those things i was really needing:
zfs, smb-server, webserver, iscsi + nfs server. i installed it, start the
web-gui and to say it with a ad-word from apple: "there is no step three"
everything was just running - (not working to be honest). but up to
then i had learned to handle the un-needed complicated things like
user-mappings and chaotic acls and storage-defaults to have it function
much like a simple smb or nas-server.
not beeing satisfied with the nexentastor gui, wanting to have newer
features from current opensolaris builds or to install other applications,
preferring open software, i tried free nexenta (core) and eon, a stripped
down opensolaris. and i have to say: thats the way i could live with.
vs opensolaris:
after installing nexenta in a few minutes, its just a running zfs server.
thats much more easier than opensolaris. there you must install these server
things AND you must deinstall/ deactivate not needed things. for a server
i only need a (missing) remote management capabilities not a full
featured gui.
if opensolaris will be simple, not as simple as a mac server - but
simple enough,
i would be the first to use.
beiing inspirated from thinks like openfiler i began to write my own web-gui
named napp-it to handle those things, i will need, together with a how
to make
a zfs server just running for simple needs and for non unix/ opensolaris
people.
for this i use nexenta or eon as base system, although it would run on
opensolaris without change as well - but i do not need more than those
things that
are included in a minimal installation + some things that are also not
in a fresh
opensolaris installation. if someone will try it -its free.
i write these things to you because it may help to improve opensolaris
and zfs
technologie in a way it become more usable for "the rest of us".
- people like me who are saying, a intelligent person must be able to
handle it
not beeing a certified cisco/ oracle/ microsoft/ sun or whatever engineer.
zfs is really "next generation"; opensolaris not
(technically yes but not from user experience)
- not for a server
- not for a desktops
- not for a user.
but - i must agree: zfs and all of the other things from current
opensolaris are so
hot - they are worth to learn - yes worth but you should not need.
guenther alka
also known as gea
--
H f G
Hochschule für Gestaltung
university of design
Schwäbisch Gmünd
Marie-Curie-Str. 19
73529 Schwäbisch Gmünd
Guenther Alka, Dipl.-Ing. (FH)
Leiter des Rechenzentrums
head of computer center
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