Mandrakelinux packages Linux for small businesses

Mandrakesoft recently made a move into offering pre-configured Linux-based file and e-mail servers to small and midsize businesses. The products are being offered through Linux consulting and services firm Connect Computing, and are aimed at enticing small business users off of Windows-based servers and onto Linux.

The Mandrakelinux Dedicated File Server software is the primary product in the offering. The server offers Windows-compatible file/print services and is based on the widely-used Samba open source software package for Window/Linux/Unix interoperability. The server package is a new bundled product from Mandrake aimed at small businesses.

The other SMB-focused server package is the Dedicated E-mail Gateway. The server is based on open source packages, such as Postfix e-mail server that supports SMTP, POP3 and IMAP e-mail protocols. It also includes the SpamAssasin free software package from Apache. The Dedicated E-mail Server uses ClamAV anti-virus scanning software, which is also an open source, free software package. The ClamAV package - licensed under the GPL - scans outgoing and incoming attachments for virus and other malware content.

Connect Computing specializes in Mandrakelinux products, and also offers pre-bundled open source packages, from database servers to accounting and CRM application platforms based on SQL Ledger and XRMS. The company says its products take out the hassle that can be involved with wrapping together multiple open source packages, such as Linux, e-mail, Web and other application packages, into useable, stable systems.

The Mandrakelinux Dedicated File Server and E-mail Server products are available for US$1,000 each off of Connect Computing's site: http://www.connectcomputing.com/