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Linux and Windows Compatible |
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I know I need a eServer and gateway but I don't know anything about Linux.
How can I be sure that Linux is the right choice to run my company's server?
I want my office to be connected but we can't afford a full-time network administrator.
What advantages are there to having a server in-house rather than at the ISP?
Is the eServer and gateway a firewall?
I want to be able to access the server remotely. Can I do that?
Do you have a program for people who want to resell your product?
Where can I find more detailed technical information about the e server and gateway?
Does eServer support Front Page extensions?
Does eServer support Active Server Page (ASP) scripting?
Can I use the eServer and gateway with an ISDN connection?
Why doesn't the eServer and gateway use the Linux 2.4 kernel series?
You don't need to. From the start, our mission was to design a server and gateway that was fast, stable and extremely user-friendly. If you can use the web, you can use the e server and gateway. You manage the entire system from a simple control panel on your web browser. And you need never see a Linux prompt. This makes the e server and gateway perfect for customers with no Linux knowledge.
The beauty of the e server and gateway is that you don't have to change: you can drop our product into your existing network and it will work seamlessly with any combination of Microsoft Windows, Mac or UNIX machines. The look and feel of your desktops won't change. The only differences you'll notice will be improved performance and lower costs.
Many thousands of large and small companies around the world already use Linux in a wide variety of environments. And thanks to its superior reliability and performance, the use of Linux-based servers has grown at an incredible pace. International Data Corp. (IDC) research states that Linux paid shipments grew faster than any other server operating system over the past two years. IDC figures for 2000 show Linux shipments represented 28 per cent of the shipments for the server operating system market, up from 15.8 in 1998.
With the server and gateway, you don't need a network administrator. The software is extremely easy to use and intuitive, which means you'll be up and running in no time. And as an eServer customer, you'll have the security of knowing that our technical team is standing by in the event you need advice or assistance.
There are a number of significant reasons why it can make sense to host your own server.
Performance: In a typical office, much of the communication flow is internal. When you install your own server, e-mail and files exchanged between employees never leave the premises but are routed internally. This can result in significant time and cost savings compared to routing everything through an ISP.
Security: Every time you send information outside your network, you increase the risk of being hacked. When you host your server internally all internal traffic stays internal. This can significantly reduce the risk of intrusion.
Cost: While the prices charged by ISPs to host your e-mail and web site vary from region to region, there can be a significant cost savings in hosting your own server.
No product can ever be 100-per-cent secure. That said, eServer has taken great pains to ensure that our product is as secure as we can make it, which is why we feel comfortable recommending it for most offices. For example, our software:
uses best-of-breed server applications (for example, shipping with qmail
instead of sendmail) for greater security
excludes or disables software that is known to be insecure
automatically configures server applications using the most secure settings
possible
automatically enables packet filtering and TCP wrappers to provide additional
layers of security
These things are not done in typical Linux distributions, but are key features of the e server and gateway. As developers of the world's leading open-source server for small and mid-sized businesses, eServer automatically does the things that an expert system administrator would do. Every appropriate security precaution is implemented automatically and it is based on RedHat Linux Server.
Yes! The e server and gateway includes a full firewall
configuration. This includes IPChains rules on top of IP masquerading, for
services which are only accessible via the internal LAN. In addition, all
non-essential network services are disabled, TCP wrappers are enabled, server
programs are configured to communicate only with machines on the local network
(where that is appropriate), sendmail has been replaced with qmail to increase
security and performance, and all remote login facilities are disabled.
Yes. The e server and gateway provides several different ways to access your server from a computer on your internal network or outside your site on the Internet. All of these operations are easily configured from the web-based eServer manager.
If you plan to access your e server remotely, we strongly recommend that you use a secure form of authentication and encryption. One option is ssh (secure shell), which provides a secure, encrypted way to login to a remote machine across a network or to copy files from a local machine to a server. The e server provides both the ssh client programs as well as an ssh server daemon and supports both the SSH1 and SSH2 protocols. A number of different companies provide ssh client software for Windows or Macintosh. Examples include SecureCRT, F-Secure and SSH Secure Shell from SSH Communications, the original developers of the secure shell application and protocol. SSH Secure Shell for Workstations is available free of charge for non-commercial use, including use by universities, charities and public libraries.
In addition, the e server and gateway allows the creation of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) using the Point-to-Point Tunnelling Protocol (PPTP), which was developed by an industry group consisting of Microsoft and several other remote access companies. A VPN is a private network of computers that uses the public Internet to connect some nodes. If you have a remote Windows system (for instance, a laptop or a home computer) that has access to the Internet, you can use PPTP to quickly and securely access the information stored on your e server.
A third method of accessing your server remotely is telnet. However, allowing
public telnet access greatly reduces the security of your server. For that
reason, we recommend that you avoid enabling telnet unless absolutely necessary,
and then only for as long as required.
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Yes. For detailed information about our Partner program for systems integrators and other solutions providers, please e-mail info@safaltech.com or call 91-44-8206074 / Fax : 91-44-8255180
Absolutely - in fact, this is exactly how the eServer Authorized Partners program works. We recognize that most small businesses prefer to purchase their IT solutions from a local systems integrator or value-added reseller, rather than dealing directly with the vendor. As a result, we've designed an Authorized Partners program that supports Partners so they can support their customers. In a nutshell, here's how it works: Our Authorized Partners are entitled to register servers with us at a substantial discount from the suggested list price. They are then free to set their own price for end-users and to charge for related services as appropriate. Customers who require support deal directly with their local Authorized Partner, who in turn is eligible for unlimited escalation support from eServer for each registered server.
Our development site, at http://www.safaltech.com, includes a wealth of additional information, including an explanation of our design philosophy, an architecture overview, system requirements etc.
eServer does not currently support Front Page extensions, although we have heard of people successfully adding this functionality to the e server.
We are considering support for FPS extensions in future versions, although we are inclined against it due to the inherent security risks. Front Page is a very large, unauditable application with a history of security vulnerabilities.
If you want to proceed on your own to add FP extensions, we suggest you consult this Microsoft howto:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q202/1/98.ASP?LNG=ENG&SA=ALLKB
In addition, Ready-to-Run Software has a page with information about support for FP on Linux/UNIX servers:
ASP is a Microsoft proprietary technology designed to run on Microsoft's web server products. It is not available on the e server and gateway. However, there are a number of extremely powerful web scripting languages and interfaces available as open source software. They include:
The e server and gateway comes with build-in support for mod_perl and the PHP scripting language. Many programmers consider either of these alternatives far superior to ASP.
If you still require support for ASP on your e server, you can also consider one of the following options:
The e server and gateway can be used with many types of ISDN equipment. These generally fall into one of three categories, two of which we support as part of the service provided to registered eServer subscribers.
You may also find it helpful to refer to Red Hat's site for some ISDN
examples:
http://www.redhat.com/support/hardware/intel/62/rh6.2-hcl-i.ld-14.html
eServer does plan to move to 2.4, but we believe it is too early and see no pressing need. In any event, for 1 and 2 CPU machines, it wouldn't make much of a difference to performance.
Users who attempt to upgrade to the 2.4 series themselves will encounter multiple complications:
What is eServer? Product Brief Why is it Unique? System Requirements Applications Schematic Diagram
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