Zaragoza, Spain-based eBox Technologies announced the availability of version 1.0 of its Ubuntu Linux-based eBox server distribution.The open source eBox 1.0 features LDAP, DHCP, NTP, DNS, and email servers, among other features, and provides a new development framework for building add-on modules, says the company.

This article shows how to run a file- and print-server for small and medium enterprises (SME) on one single Ubuntu 8.04 server. It is very easy to set up, and management is done with an easy-to-use web interface called eBox so once the system is set up, you can forget about the command line. eBox was developed to administrate advanced services for corporate networks.

eBox is a server framework and platform that allows administrators to set up network services such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) or a firewall from scratch relatively easily. eBox does not offer management of every option found in all service configuration files.

eBox Platform is an open source small business server that allows you to manage all your services like firewall, DHCP, DNS, VPN, proxy, IDS, mail, file and printer sharing, VoIP, IM and much more. These functionalities are tightly integrated, automating most tasks, avoiding mistakes and saving time for system administrators.

"A very complex technology to make network management simple." That's what the developers of the eBox platform promise small and medium sized organizations, and it's certainly an attractive idea.

Ubuntu announced that they will feature their own build service soon. Also, the next Ubuntu version is supposed to have a default installed server management web interface, eBox. In the meantime, development is underway to create a user friendly snapshot manager: TimeVault.

Linux is an excellent choice for a server operating system, no matter what the size of business. However, it is still not very easy to administrate. Recently many distributions have launched their own interface to configure these server components, but really failed at delivering an easy-to-use interface to configure it. eBox is trying to fix this particular issue.

eBox Platform is a unified network server that offers easy and efficient computer network administration for small and medium-size businesses. It can act as a gateway, an infrastructure manager, a unified threat manager, an office server, a unified communication server or a combination of them.

"A very complex technology to make network management simple." That's what the developers of the eBox platform promise small and medium sized organizations, and it's certainly an attractive idea.