Posts Tagged → server
Apple Mac appreciation
In contrast to my other post, I have had some positive experience using Apple computers recently…
I decided to set up a small, low-power server in one of our offices at AdvoCard. It’s not our main server (that’s a PowerMac G5 on the other site), it simply has to serve files to an office comprising eight PCs and one printer.
I hit upon the idea of using an old Apple Mac Mini G4. As I say, they are small, quiet, have low power consumption, and can be picked up cheaply on Ebay. Debian GNU/Linux is an available distribution which is still supports the PowerPC processor (unlike Apple itself, which stopped supporting PowerPC on its last but one release of OS X (10.5 – Leopard) – see rant.
There’s even a site dedicated to this kind of set-up:
http://sowerbutts.com/linux-mac-mini/
I set up the server 50 days ago and according to the logs on the system, it’s been running smoothly ever since. Here’s to the next 500 days!
Debian Linux for Servers
I’ve built quite a few Debian-based office servers in the last few years. Recently, I used this tutorial which was very helpful (given that I don’t do this every day, I can’t always remember every step – so tutorials are good for me).
There are lots of good reasons for using Debian. My main ones are:
- It’s a (relatively) straightforward OS to install on many machines
- The aptitude package manager allows for easy updates/upgrades
- The range of packages available is amazing
- The security is good, by default
- Debian is a great for stability – servers can run for years without rebooting
My most recent server build has been installing Debian on an old Apple Mac Mini. It’s based around the PowerPC processor, which Apple no longer supports. I’ll be blogging again soon about my this experience.