Ever since Qwest announced its DSL service will be assimilated by the Borg ..(err Microsoft)..
And @ home has reported to be in financial difficulty, many people have voiced the need for a Wireless high-speed network throughout Bellingham to keep us connected to the internet.
Michael Dodd works at OpenAccess.org, a Non-Profit ISP in Bellingham providing dial-up, DSL, and internet hosting to companies non-profit and regular.
Wireless Notes:
* Have interested BLUG members serve as relays, and get a discounted access price (around $20/month)
* Antenna is a white tube that connects to an embedded Linux system which serves as a gateway to everything on the relay.
* Speeds would be up to 11mb/sec throughout Bellingham, but 1mb to the internet. As more people join, possibility of increasing Bandwidth
* No major companies to go through, (no Qwest or AT&T)
* No TOS.. Run all the servers you want and you can request a static IP for your server.
* In order for the link to work, we need to place relays in strategic places such as:
– Alabama Hill
– BTC area
– Squalicum Harbor
– Lummi Island
– Toad Lake
– And more, depending on how far we wish to expand.
We have started mapping out some existing BLUG members who have submitted addresses in the past. If you wish to submit your address, send an Email to japerry@bigfoot.comand we will add you to the map.
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In other topics, John Blanford introduced to BLUG the E-Smith server. It is a web-administration server which allows easy control of a Linux machine without needing to know a whole lot about Linux.
E-smith is its own server, meaning you cannot install it over a preexisting system, but it is built on Red hat 7, so anything that runs on RH7 will work with E-Smith.
Some of E-Smith’s Features:
– E-smith Manager: a simple Web-Interface for your network. You can create new users, change system security, change email settings, set up shares, etc.
– Gateway & Firewall: Can act as a firewall out to the real world or just forward your internal clients
– E-mail server: Secure (Qmail) reliable email server for POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP accounts.
– File and Printer Sharing: Supports both Windows, Linux, and Mac networks for file sharing and printer sharing.
– i-Bays: Allows a single folder to be shared throughout the network and even the Internet.
– VPNs: Support windows VPNs using PPTP.
– Secure Webmail: Access your mail safely anywhere on the net.
– SSH: Provides a secure connection to your server for console commands.
– Web Server: Works with Apache and also comes with MySQL and PHP.
– FTP Server: Allows people to share files over internet
– DNS Server: Reduces IP address look-up by storing repeatedly used addresses locally.
– Proxy Server: Temporarily stores information that is frequently accessed for better network performance.
– Tape Backup: Can backup to Tape to prevent data-loss.
– RAID1 support: Protects Hard drive Failures
– Company Directory: Provided through LDAP
– Server-Only mode: Allows addition servers to be on the network that don’t act as Gateways
– DHCP: allows clients to dynamically receive IP addresses.
– Dynamic DNS Service: Provides an automated way to notify dynamic DNS services when your IP changes so it can publish a new record for your domain.
– Netlogon: Uses the NT PDC for centralized login
For more information on E-Smith, including the ISO to burn to CD, go to: http://www.e-smith.com