OOOOOhhhhhhh Baby, I love seeing this happen.
Welcome to the Good Side!!
OK, you need to learn a few key points to drive your effort.
1) In linux, "samba" is the file and print sharing service that you could implement without bothering your workstations. When done properly, the clients cannot tell that linux is handling their file and print shares. Always a nice first step to impress your boss.
2) In linux, MS Exchange server functionality is hard to duplicate IF you are using shared calendars. It can be done with various groupware products available for free, but it's not a typical default in linux.
3) Linux email solutions are diverse with many options for anti-virus, anti-spam, mailing lists, forwarding, and lots of options for redundancy to avoid loss of service. This makes the decision a little hard when starting out.
I prefer qmail as the "mail server" (MTA in linux parlance). Others are sendmail (the defacto MTA on most distributions, but beastly hard to understand), postfix, exim, and a host of others.
Why do I prefer qmail as MTA? It's fast, secure, well documented and has many plugins for various functionalities I need (AV, Anti-Spam, forwards, etc). qmail is not for the feint of heart to install, but it is EXTREMELY good at doing its job when implemented well. This webserver guide is the most excellent way to put together qmail with a bunch of goodies. Don't be scared at its length, just follow along - its a recipe.
4) As for "which linux", this topic has been the source of millions of lines of passionate arguments by backers of specific distributions. Very much a preference-based discussion with strong biases towards "the one I like".
What I think you should know is that distributions vary on a handful of key points:
a) Support. Do you want paid support or are you content to live with the documentation posted on the 'net.
b) Package management. Inevitably your softwares need updating to address bugs, security issues, or new functionality. How does the distribution provide new packages to the user community, how often, and how much of a pain in the ass is their package management tool to use
c) Target functionality of the OS. Many linux distros are bred for special purposes such as embedded computing, sleek firewalls, CD-ROM runnables, and general use. You are looking for a distro that can be installed on generally any machine you'd need it to.
d) Cost. Some distros are free, some have a fee (see "a" above). Paying a fee DOES NOT directly correlate to the quality, usability, or anything else about the product. Paying the fee SHOULD get you SOMETHING extra beyond what the free distros offer.
I find that a number of distributions are offered as "server", "workstation", and "advanced something" versions of their linux. I view these dimly because these distros are also generally the ones for sale (see "a" and "d"
. In reality, linux distros are generally installable in whatever clothes you want to put them into - you just need to make conscious decisions about whether the machine needs to function as a server, workstation, firewall, etc. The decisions generally resolve around which packages you want to install (see "b"
such as a GUI, mail server, DNS server, productivity applications, etc. ALL GENERAL PURPOSE DISTROS offer these choices. Those that don't are either Special Purpose (see "c"
or are trying to get you to pay more for something that was free elsewhere.
Please don't hesitate to ask specific questions of us in this forum. I know we all have a great deal of experience and would like to help you in making the decisions and selling the change.
Best of luck.
Dave.
Surfinbox.com Business Internet Services - National Dialup, DSL, T-1 and more.
