Dear experts,
I got a new job and boss is asking me to build a network for his small office, ok, the situation is below:
The office already have a network buit by the other, and the structure is below:
<ISP> --- <Modem provided by ISP> --- <Router> (ip: 192.168.1.254) (for port forwarding, they claim that the router is provided by the ISP, with DNS there, not running DHCP) --- <Linux, FC4> (ip: 192.168.0.x, sorry, forget the "x", but installed with different server like DNS, Mail, web ... etc) --- <Swtich> (ip: 192.168.0.x, sorry, forget the "x" again) --- <PC1, PC2, PC3, ... PC100, Windows Server for file sharing> (ip: 192.168.0.x ... )
So, now, the problem to this network are:
1. Webmail Slow (using Horde):
When client get a lot of email in his account, the user get a very slow response when click "next page" in their email list.
2. Hacked by someone
The server is hacked by someone and there is a webpage created automatically. We just wrote a program to delete the file periodically....
I am now improving the networks, do anyone here have suggestion to the network structure?
I have few questions too:
1. Why use Swtich after linux? what good about that?
2. Why there is a router before linux? what good about that?
3. Why not directly connect the modem to the Linux?
4. The Linux now have a lot of server there, including DNS server , MAIL server (using sendmail), WEB Server(apache) ... etc, so, now, I want to build a new server to replace the Linux, I do like below:
i) install a new Linux (FC4) on a standalone machine, with minimum installation and no any server option is clicked while installing (Done)
ii) Wire a new lan cable from the router (see above network structure) to a hubs, and then share two lan cables from the hubs to my new linux, and also a windows running win2K (Done, purpose of doing that is to let my win2K communicate with the new linux)
(Purpose of wire a lan cable from the router instead of using <PC1, PC2, PC3 ... PC100> is that I don't need to pass through the old linux to do things ... )
iii) Config the network card of both my new linux and win2K. That is, make their gateway and DNS both point to the router and I statically (coz the router don't have dhcp enabled) assign ip for both my new linux (192.168.1.52) and my win2K (192.168.1.84) (Done, purpose of doing that is to make the 2 machine able to communicate and so, i can ssh to the new linux and do installation of any server)
iv) Config my new linux as a router and build a dns server, a dhcp server and set the domain name as our current domain name(Not yet done, purpose of doing so is that, i want to make my win2K go to the Internet via the new linux only, not by the router)
v) point the gateway of win2K directly to the new linux and to test if i am able to go to the internet ... if so, i think i succeed in step iv
vi) Build a mail server using postfix and make sure that it can send/receive mail to/from outside world, also, the server should support smtp, pop, and imap, send email to test ...
vii) Build a webserver using apache
viii) Install Horde or other better webmail module
ix) Create website
x) Finally, i have to replace the old linux with the new linux ...
Sorry, I don't know if it is clear to you or not, I am not new to linux, I am developer before and I use linux to do software development only, I never try server installation and it seems hard to me (it spends me 1 - 2 days to finish step i to step iii). Do you think the development planning above is ok? Any suggestion? Any good reference introduce? Thanks a lot.
Best regards,
Hing
PS: Points can be raised on reasonable request.
