We can choose any Linux distro, such as Debian or Ubuntu to build a Mail Server. What we need is a distro and someone who understand how to build a Mail server in the distro we choose. What Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora or Opensuse provided are common distros which we can build any services we need. Linux is about options. There’s a lot of options, or opensource software to build a service. To some of us, options are always good. Especially if all options are already availabled free. To some others, option are also creating new complications. When we need to build a server: Mail Server, Fileserver or Web server, what we need is buying time to provide the server immediately. Build a Mail server from general purpose distro like Ubuntu or Debian, will take some time: from instalation, get the fit software packages from repository, configure and test them all. Here it comes Linux Appliance, come to front, at least, give us shortcut options in shorter time.

Linux Appliance

Linux Appliance is not a brand new thing from Linux world. It is a Linux ready for a special need. It can be based on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Opensuse or other distros. But we just know that it’s a distro for special needs, such us: mail server, fileserver or gateway. There are a special distros out there for special needs. To mention some of them are: ClearOS for Router and Gateway, Untangle for UTM (Unified Threat Management), Openfiler for NAS/Storage Server, etc. There are special distros for special needs, but it doesn’t make sense to learn all of those special distros. Those special Linux distros developed based on a bigger distros, such as Openfiler is based on CentOS/Redhat. While our system administrator might have been comfortable in Debian environment. It’s the same Linux, yet slightly different. And it is not wise to maintain more than one distro flavour to just serve our special need.

Linux Appliance is more simple than that. It’s is a common distro which already repackaged to meet our needs. It’s not a brand new distro. The distributions of Linux Appliance is not always in an iso based files. It could be a virtualization image of VirtualBox, VMWare, KVM or Xen. I think it’s common sense to only maintain one or two Linux distro in our organization. There are a lot of reasons behind that. Even a newbie like me understand that.

In about last two or three years, I’ve seen some good geek already distribute an image to be used in virtualization environment as a way to distribute Linux. There are image of Ubuntu/Debian/Opensuse in an image of VDI or VMDK. I noticed that DSL is also distributed in VMDK way. It’s a good new way of distribution. But what we need is more than just a common distro. It’s a special distro, such as a common Ubuntu for a special needs. I found what Turnkey do is an excellent way. It’s derived from Ubuntu (currently 8.04.3, I think soon will be 10.4, since it’s also LTS).

VMWare has came with new marketplace for his virtualization appliance. It’s new way to embrace ISV to join and develop appliance in VMWare virtualization platform. Novell expands its appliance platform in SUSE Studio. Zenworks Configuration Management virtual appliance is one of the new technology portofolio of Novell built with SUSE Studio. SUSE Studio is reported to generate 100,000 appliances and more than 40,000 registered users worldwide.



Prepare Your Own Studio

I would not talk as something like Suse Studio. But it’s simplified version of what’s in SUSE Studio or VMWare. We have to provide hardware to build a custom distro we need. But if we can’t provide the bare metal, we still can use virtualization way. I’d prefer to have VirtualBox or KVM than VMWare. These are item list of what we need to build our own Linux Appliance Studio:

  • VirtualBox
  • Installed Ubuntu
  • PCLinuxOS or Ubuntu iso
  • Enough hardisk space and RAM

There is no special programming or scripting skill needed to build a special distro we need. Then if a common Linux user like me can build it than an experienced system administrator or Linux developers would found it easy and fun. The reason why it’s not a lot Linux appliance distributions out there, because the geek see no reason to provide it. But for the SME business point of view, it could be different. They need the solutions: reliable, fast and affordabled.

The case is not just to maintain and backup server configuration, but also to deploy the same server solutions to several branch. Linux appliance is the shortcut to provide those special needs. A common distro that already remastered as a Fileserver, a Mail server, or a Router.

Remastering PCLinuxOS is an easy way. It’s sloghtly different with Ubuntu, but I think PCLinuxOS remastering is more natural. Here they are the steps:

  • Prepare a blank disk or enough hard drive space, make two primary partitions: ext3 and swap.
  • Root partition (/) at least 3GB (based application you will need, and at least 2 GB swap partition.
  • Booting your computer with a CD of PCLinuxOS (download or buy).
  • Install PCLinuxOS on your hard disk by clicking on Live-CD install icon on the desktop.
  • Follow every step, until PCLinuxOS installed on the hard drive and boot.
  • Make the desired changes, eg uninstalls unnecessary applications (with synaptic), increase / decrease or change user settings, change the display: wallpapers, styles, icons, window-decoration and so on.
  • su from the console.
  • mklivecd eg. mklivecd remastered.iso (additional option mklivecd can you read the documentation).
  • open K3b burn the results on the CD iso image.
  • Booting with CD burning results, so we’ll get results.

Remastering Ubuntu isn’t that hard. But the result is a Linux Appliance of what we need. Note that Ubuntu remastering is using Ubuntu Desktop LiveCD. So, during remastering, if necessary you can change the desktop kernel to be server kernel image and remove all of X applications (desktop applications). There are some of kernel choices to fit our needs in Ubuntu: generic, server, virtual and ec2. PCLinuxOS is one of the easiest distro to be remastered. The mklivecd and remasterme script of PCLinuxOS ease a lot of things. It’s too bad PCLinuxOS not providing 64Bit kernel and software packages. But since pae kernel is enabled, then PCLinuxOS based derivation will recognize more than 4GB RAM.

The whole process or remastering can be done in the virtualization environment, such as VirtualBox. Later we can try and test the result also in the virtualization environment. The rematering process can redo from start to refine the result to meet what we really need.

Turnkey is the best site of Linux Appliance provider based on Ubuntu. They’re already repackage and rebranding Ubuntu as new derived distro. We don’t have to go that far direction as Turnkey. This just a simple remastering with the additional effort of install and uninstall software packages. They key effort is on the remastering. I choose Ubuntu as one of distro to remaster, because of popularity, familiarity and the richness of Ubuntu software repository. Popularity is reflected to the mirror number. This later would ease us to maintain the installed Linux appliance.


Virtual Appliance Image

When we already have installed, customized and configured the distro in the virtualization environment, we could also distribute it directly as virtual appliance image, as VDI of VirtualBox or Img of KVM/QEMU. It’s a new flavour of appliance distribution. When I first found somebody out there distribute Linux distro as a virtual image, I realized is just a matter of time to find a custom built Linux from any distros. Now there’s Turnkey provide them, and VMWare commercially setup new Virtual Appliance marketplace.

There’s Open Virtualization Format. Open Virtualization Format (OVF) is an open standard for packaging and distributing virtual appliances or more generally software to be run in virtual machines. Current supported platform are VMWare and VirtualBox.


Conclusion

What Turnkey provided is a new flavour of distro. True, it’s derived from Ubuntu, but the focus it’s not on the distro itself, but more on the function, service and our special need. If Turnkey hasn’t provided yet or we haven’t really been familiar with Ubuntu, we can build or own Linux Appliance Studio easily. We don’t need SUSE Studio or purchase SUSE just to get Linux Appliance we need. Ubuntu already provided all we need to build our own studio and PCLinuxOS provided the easy and smooth remastering way to customize its content. It’s about buying time to deploy a special need server in many machines. Please note, we can do it all with fun. It’s serious project with fun touch, anyway.