From owner-freebsd-current Fri Aug 23 18:21:15 2002 Delivered-To: freebsd-current@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.FreeBSD.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id BEBDC37B401 for ; Fri, 23 Aug 2002 18:21:12 -0700 (PDT) Received: from apollo.backplane.com (apollo.backplane.com [216.240.41.2]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 3200543E3B for ; Fri, 23 Aug 2002 18:21:12 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from dillon@apollo.backplane.com) Received: from apollo.backplane.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by apollo.backplane.com (8.12.5/8.12.4) with ESMTP id g7O1LBdc008188; Fri, 23 Aug 2002 18:21:11 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from dillon@apollo.backplane.com) Received: (from dillon@localhost) by apollo.backplane.com (8.12.5/8.12.4/Submit) id g7O1LBdr008187; Fri, 23 Aug 2002 18:21:11 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from dillon) Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 18:21:11 -0700 (PDT) From: Matthew Dillon Message-Id: <200208240121.g7O1LBdr008187@apollo.backplane.com> To: John Chang Cc: current@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Barebone system rackmount References: <20020823225907.970A32A7D6@canning.wemm.org> <4.3.2.7.2.20020823203246.02406df0@j.imap.itd.umich.edu> Sender: owner-freebsd-current@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk List-ID: List-Archive: (Web Archive) List-Help: (List Instructions) List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: X-Loop: FreeBSD.ORG :Do you know where I could get a good server rackmount barebones system or a :rackmount server with FreeBSD installed? : :I am looking to use it for a Web server using Apache. And would you know :where I can buy Apache that is more secure out of the box? : :I basically have very little experience with FreeBSD and Apache but since :it is one of the most secure OSs I thought I would use it. The alternative :is using Win2k Adv. Server and IIS or Apache. : :Do you think it is possible to be able to manage a webserver with very :little experience with FreeBSD and Apache? : :Anyone in Ann Arbor/Detroit Michigan with experience who can help me set it up? : :Thank you. Well, FreeBSD is like other open source OSs (for example, Linux) in that it will run on just about any PC. I can't help you in regards to finding a rackmount system but I can give you some hints in regards to FreeBSD and Apache. It's hard to find a good starting point because I don't know what experience you *do* have... for example, have you played with Linux at all? Have you ever installed Windows on a machine? Generally speaking a person exposed to an open-source system for the first time, such as FreeBSD (or Linux, or NetBSD, or OpenBSD, or whatever) has a small hurdle to leap over which is the fact that the installation sequence presumes a certain degree of knowledge about UNIX. For example even the best GUI installer gives you the chance to 'partition the hard drive'. But if you don't know what that means you can wind up stuck and confused even if the installer gives you a default way of doing things. Only so much can be hidden by a GUI installer and the more software you install and manage, the more you are exposed to the innards of the operating system. What I recommend more then anything else is: (1) Get or burn the CDs and just start playing with FreeBSD on a box you can afford to blow away (the disk) on. (2) Locate a friend or associate who already has some experience with open-source operating systems and ask him to help you get things going. Having someone show you the ropes in-person is a thousand times more effective then over a mailing list. With that all said you basically install FreeBSD from the CDRom set. http://www.freebsd.org is a good starting point. You don't have to purcahse the CDs, you can locate the ISO images, download, and burn the CDs yourself. Then install and you are on your way! Once you have the system operational you can install various ports and packages using the FreeBSD ports system. It's not really possible to go into full detail because that would take days to explain. For someone just starting out, be sure to install a -stable release of FreeBSD. Do not try to install the -current development version. -Matt Matthew Dillon To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-current" in the body of the message