Gentoo - Introduction - Warning
From Kolab wiki
Contents |
The problem
The Kolab groupware server is a rather complex system of about fifteen different software components. Kolab2/Gentoo adds a few additional extensions on top of this base. Some of the parts are in an early development stage. And in addition many of the components used provide very extensive configuration options. On top of that every user has his own specific environment with widely varying demands. It is usually necessary to adapt the server configuration to these demands.
What does this mean for me if I try to install such a server?
In the most simple words: You will fail.
What can I do to succeed?
Yes, these servers run in production. People are actively using it and so there must be a chance of getting it to work. The success of this largely depends on your knowledge in a variety of different areas so that you are able to deal with the problems that you are likely to encounter when running a Kolab2/Gentoo server in production.
You should feel comfortable and at ease when you ask yourself the following questions:
- How does LDAP work? How do I debug an OpenLDAP server?
- How do I configure postfix and debug the mail transport?
- How does amavisd handle spam and virus checking and how can I verify that this works properly?
- How do I use the cyradm tool? Am I able to run a disastery recovery of the cyrus IMAP server?
- How do I configure Apache in a virtual hosting environment?
If you nod for each of these questions then I reverse my initial statement and would say that you have a reasonable chance of running the server in your specific environment.
Do I really have to know all this?
Well, if you just want to install a standard machine, with a single domain, installed on some server on the internet so that it has a fixed IP and working DNS and you plan to include no modification whatsoever to the configuration templates then there is also a good chance that it will work.
But you should not underestimate the problems that might occur while running the machine. The initial installation is only one step of the process. It might be far harder to keep the machine up and running through a series of upgrades and patches. This project is still in beta stage after all.
Is that all?
Yup. Go ahead and install. Have fun.
