So, here’s the thing…
I have an IT company, i do IT for small businesses that have somewhere between 5 and 30 users.
What i often lack is a clear migration guide… i think NethServer could benefit from this.
as many of my collegue’s in the field, we are deploying Windows Small Business Server.
You may be aware that its mainstream support will be ending soon, and i am looking for a replacement.
one scenario would be to move to Windows 2012(or '16) and move half the stuff into the cloud (think exchange) but i have some clients who, due to privacy concerns, do not wish to do so…
That leaves either an on-premises Windows 2012 with exchange 2013 and all the wishywashy, but that would cost huge amounts of money.
Money some clients either can’t or wont pay.
The alternative is looking to Linux, which is what i am currently investigating.
NethServer, Zentyal, ClearOS, etc etc… they all seem wonderful solutions with only a quarter of the costs, if any costs at all.
However… what i have yet to find is a descent migration guide that helps me move away from Windows onto Linux.
I really feel NethServer could benefit from this, as it will allow myself and others to make the switch more easily.
I know i’m dreaming, but preferably i just say “okay, SERVER01 is the Windows server, get your stuff from there” and NethServer connects and imports the exchange data and file shares etc.
Obviously, this is not how things work, so the next best thing would be a guide, and a checklist to make sure i haven’t forgotten anything. (i shall create a draft for a checklist)
Then there’s backups. Currently i run Windows virtualised on an ESXi (vmware) server, since i have several servers running for different tasks. Let me tell you, backups are hell!
My clients dont want to leave their laptops at the office during nightime, so i am forced to either use a dedicated machine, or spend a huge amount of money on either vmware or good backup software.
I have, on the other hand, my own powerfull server at home. It would be nice if NethServer could “replicate” itself over VPN,
so i always have a descent backup-system at hand without the end user having to worry about shuffeling disks and all.
The later i am sure is allready possible, but i have not yet found a descent guide for NethServer on how to do this
Maybe i am looking in the wrong places, i dont know… But these are my thoughts about how to make NS even better
Ultimatly, i would like this topic to become the place where such migration guide gets created and shaped before we wiki it (or make a PDF out of it!) so any help/tips/idea’s anyone can offer is highly apreciated
I will try to document my every step in migrating to Linux, in the hopes that others might benefit from it