[ale] Suse vs. Ubuntu. Is is worth the time to switch to ubuntu?

[Brian Pitts]

James Sumners wrote:
> 2) Ubuntu is about as userfriendly as SuSE. A lot of things are
> easier, administration wise, in SuSE due to Yast2. But Ubuntu is okay.

Yast2 does give SuSE an edge, but this may change once Ubuntu integrates 
eBox. I wasn't aware of eBox until recently; it seems to be a cleaner 
alternative to webmin. Here's what it currently supports:

* Objects
       Creating network objects allows a high level management of IP 
address that eases the administration of the firewall and other tools.

* Network Configuration
       Network interfaces in the machine are configurable through the 
eBox administration interface. It?s possible to create virtual 
interfaces, 802.1q-enabled trunk interfaces and also set up the default 
gateway, static routes and dns servers

* Firewall
       It has a secure default configuration and lets the administrator 
filter packets, do NAT and manage the access to all services provided by 
other eBox modules.

* Software
       The administration interface allows the update components of both 
eBox and the operating system.

* Transparent Proxy and Content Filter
       It provides a caching HTTP proxy that speeds up web browsing and 
lets the administrator choose what contents can be accessed by each user 
by filtering pages based on content and black lists. It allows custom 
file extension and MIME filter as well. This module uses: Squid DansGuardian

* Users and Groups
       An LDAP servers stores users and group accounts, which are shared 
by all the modules that need them. This module uses: Open Ldap

* Windows PDC/File Sharing
       eBox provides your network with a Primary Domain Controller, 
allowing your Windows machines to authenticate against it. Your users 
will be able to use roaming profiles, share directories and so on. If 
you do not want a full-fledged PDC you can run ebox just as a file 
server in a Windows network. This module uses: Samba

* Windows Printers Server
       It makes it possible to share printers over the network for 
different users and groups of users. This module uses: Samba CUPS

* Mail
       eBox will store your mailboxes, filtering non-desired mail and 
viruses, or simply will act as a mail relay with the mail filter at your 
choice. This module uses: Postfix Spamassassin ClamAV

* Jabber Server
       eBox provides Instant Messaging system for your corporate 
environment, allowing the connection with the world-wide jabber IM 
network. Integration with eBox platform let you adjust your needs of 
Jabber users and administrators. This module uses: Jabber

* DHCP Server
       A DHCP server is included. Its configuration interface lets the 
administrator manage IP address ranges, MAC address based IP 
assignments. This module uses: ISC DHCP Server

* DNS Cache
       The DNS cache included accelerates name resolution. This module 
uses: Bind

* Date and Time Server
       eBox can act as an NTP server and synchronize its time and date 
with external NTP servers. This module uses: NTP

* 802.1q VLANs
       eBox supports the 802.1q protocol supported by most switches, 
allowing to have network interfaces on several VLANs through one 
physical network interface.

* Backup
       eBox allows you to make configuration backups and restores of all 
services supported in eBox. Furthermore, full backup gives you the 
chance to store all logs, shared data among other things.

Ubuntu is also adding AppArmor support to the next release. I wouldn't 
rule out Ubuntu for a fast-moving server deployment.

https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/ebox
https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/apparmor-gutsy

-Brian