Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 22:55:51 -0000 From: "Dave" <dave@g8kbv.demon.co.uk> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: new user questions. (Before I back myself into a corner!) Message-ID: <4CEC4677.7554.3BF9432E@dave.g8kbv.demon.co.uk>
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If I've not already done so. Hi. Sorry, this goes on a bit.... New to FreeBSD, but long time served PC nut and user, from the before DOS days onwards... I've not long ago put together a small FreeBSD V8.0 system, primeraly as a GPS derrived NTP server, following instructions from here:- http://blog.doylenet.net/?p=145 The hardware is a small form desktop PC, with a P3/700 CPU, 15G drive, but only (at the moment) 256M of RAM. I have not installed any of the X system, it's all command line stuff, only. It seems to work well, no issues with that, at the moment. In my original plans, I wanted a headless "appliance", and that's what I've got, and as above it works fine. However, I'd like to move some services off another PC (that is in dire need of some hardware maintenance) onto this one, and though I've read some of the "Handbook", and many links from it, I'm still a bit unsure as to what best to do. I'd like to:- Have a ssh login via LAN available, I believe that's a standard feature, but I expressedly disabled that (well, told it not to implement it) when I orignaly installed the OS. Or have a VNC server running. Have a small web server, again I've read that Apache can do a good job, but I don't want (nor need) all it's facilities, in particular I need to lock it down so no "Put's" can happen for a start! The web pages are simple flat form, text and static graphics, with a little client side scripting, purely to find the client's local date and time, to select the graphic to serve. Have a FTP server, so I can automate some of the web page graphics updates, from other systems that generate the data, and can FTP files across the LAN, also of course for general web page maintenance needs. It'd be nice to have a VPN endpoint, but not esential, as that is currently living on another W2k box. But in the long term perhaps. The only complication with that, is I need to be able to tunnel a UDP VoIP stream over/throug it. (I currently use Hamachi on Windows for that, it works well.) Also, the "other end" needs to live on a XP (or later) Laptop. I have done all that on Win2k, Using FileZilla server, and over time various web server app's, plus some 3rd party free VPN solutions on another machine, but that machine is in dire need of a major hardware overhaul, plus I have other plans for it when that is done, so moving the server tools to the F'BSD box seem like a good idea at the moment. I've just spent a couple of hours with the FreeBSD on-line manual (Handbook) trying to get a simple FTP server working, but in all honesty, I'm out of my depth with that, in some ways, not enough detail, in other ways, too much detail. (A very simple worked example of the various .conf files would be nice to see.) I've found:- http://forums.freebsd.org/showthread.php?t=591 That sounds in the face of things what I want, but am unsure of the implications of doing that. Is it "better" (ie, easier for a novice to manage) than the native OS based FTP server tool? I would preffer to have FTP login's that are in no way related to any system login users. Lastly, I have everything so far (on the Win2k box) working well with highly non standard (high numbered) ports. Even thoug it's "exposed" (via port forwarding in the router) to the outside, there is next to no "noise", (script kiddies, chinese hackers etc) poking arround my back passage. Of all the stuff I've read so far in the FreeBSD handbook, and a few other places, not one mention is made (that I can see so far) of how to set services for alternative port numbers? Lastly, as I don't want to break the existing NTP server, I may find another PC of similar spec, to mess with, witn some sort of impunity. Unless there is a compelling argument to, I'd prefer to stick with V8.0 too. Advice please (and perhaps a little hand holding.) Cheers. Dave B. PS: I run one of these.... http://www.ncdxf.org/beacon/monitors.html
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