SME Server is an open source and completely free Linux operating system that can be used by many individuals and organizations (both commercial and non-profit) as their primary network server and gateway. It was previously known as e-smith, and it is currently used in many countries, on thousands of server machines, by small-business customers and non-profit organizations.
Features at a glance
Key features include ease of administration, file and print sharing, the ability to share a single Internet connection between multiple machines, a robust email server bundled with spam filtering, webmail and anti-virus protection, as well as a network firewall to protect against Internet intruders. It also provides secure remote access, directory services, a web application server, RAID and backup functionality, automatic updates, and support for multiple languages.
Based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Among the open source server technologies used in the SME Server operating system, we can mention Apache, MySQL, PHP and Python (LAMPP). This server-oriented distribution uses the open source Red Hat Enterprise Linux sources, and provides free support via its dedicated community. At the moment, three different branches are available for download (7.x, 8.x, and 9.x).
Availability and installation instructions
The distribution is simple to setup and use, secure and stable to operate, extendable, cross-platform, and free. It is distributed as an installable-only CD ISO images, supporting both 64-bit and 32-bit architectures. The installation takes only a few minutes and does not require advanced knowledge of UNIX technologies, as everything is done step-by-step via a text-mode and intuitive interface. A comprehensive tutorial is provided by Softpedia at http://news.softpedia.com/news/Installing-SME-Server-7-2-60923.shtml.
Bottom line
All in all, because it is based on the CentOS Linux operating system, we strongly suggest to take SME Server for a spin and see if it meets your needs, and if it helps your company to consume less resources and save money.
