Open Source Community Guide

EMCO Remote Deployment Kit allows you to install or uninstall applications silently and remotely across your LAN. You can even view a detailed list of applications deployed across various systems

Mass deployment of applications across a LAN is a laborious task that deviates time and resources from other crucial tasks. Let's suppose, a new anti-virus solution needs to be deployed. While doing so, it has to be ensured that all user machines have been updated. Normally,one would need to visit each machine individually and install the required anti-virus application. which is a really laborious task. To help ease out such monotonous and time-consuming tasks, remote application deployment is the need of the hour. It helps you to remotely install or uninstall routine applications on user machines silently, ie, without bothering the user.

There are quite a few remote deployment software available that allow you the luxury of doing such tasks quite effortlessly. EMCO Remote Deployment kit is one such software in this domain. Here, we guide you on how to achieve mass application deployment using this software. It costs around $165 (INR 8250 approx) for 100 nodes. The software can be used to deploy all the routinely used applications such as Acrobat Reader, WinZip, Real Player, MacAfee, Norton anti-virus, MSN messenger, etc. In addition, you can build a deployment kit for your own applications.

Links: http://www.emco.is/remotedeploymentkit/features.html Google keywords: Remote Deployment Kit

A big advantage of this software is that you don't have to keep the setup files in the repository. You simply need to install the software on thedeployment machine. Before getting into details, let's build a scenario, so that you can understand the implementation process easily.
We assume that the organization is using active directory for user authentication and all the machines are trusted in a domain. Plus, all machines are using Windows OS.

Step 1: InstallationTake a Windows XP/2000/2003 based machine as your deployment machine. Register this machine with your domain controller and install EMCO Remote Deployment kit on it. You can download a 30-day trial version from the link provided. Once you have installed the software, rebootthe machine. Identify frequently used applications in your organization and install them on the deployment machine. Here, we installed Acrobat Reader, Real Player and Norton anti-virus. These are typical applications across workstations in an organization.
Select the machine where you want to deploy the application from the Machine Tree on the left. Drag it to Machine Queue window on the right

Step 2: Using EMCO Launch EMCO Remote Deployment Kit from the deployment machine that you have created. Its console is divided into two parts. The left panel shows you details of all the scanned machines across the LAN. The right panel shows remote deployment jobs in queue. On the same panel, at the bottom, you will find an Install/Uninstall button, where you need to select the application, for remote deployment. Now, go to the left panel and click on 'Enumerate LAN.' This will start the scanning of all machines on your network. You can even scan on the basis of domain and range of IP addresses. Once you get the list on the left panel, select the machines and drag and drop them to the right panel. With this, the EMCO deployment kit is ready to use across the selected group of machines.
Before installing/uninstalling any application on a remote client, you will be shown an application list. The ones with a green dot can be deployed while those with a red can't

Step 3: Application deploymentNow, select the application that you want to deploy on the target machine. In the right panel, click on 'Install/Uninstall' button. You will get a list of applications that EMCO can deploy on the target machines, remotely. If you look carefully, you will find green and red dots in front of application names. The applications with green dots denote that the application already exists or has been installed on the deployment machine, and so can be deployed on the remote machines. Whereas red ones denote that these applications are not installed or do not exist on the deployment machine, and hence can't be deployed. Therefore, you can only select applications with green dots.
This window shows a detailed analysis of all remote machines. You can see the number of drives, OS names, protocols, Mac addresses, etc for each machine
After this, click on the Install button. This will start the deployment process. Once the deployment process is complete, you will get a 'successful completion report' with a list of changed parameters on the remote machines. Finally, on the remote machine, check the status of the deployed application.
Note: In windows XP sp2 workstation, you have to add ports in the exception list of the Windows firewall. Add the ports 136, 139 and 445.

curtosy PCQuest , Jobsonit.com blog

1 Preface2 Acknowledgement3 Introduction 4 Recommended packages5 Services / Files6 Configuration Details 7 Major Files / Path 8 Troubleshooting9 Snapshot of the projects 10 Feature 11 Mailing solutions in market 12 Business Implementation Benefit 13 Online Help 14 Conclusion

Preface

Linux open source based implementation gives a new dimension to the web based implementation, now the software industry is moving from the client based access to the internet technology adaptation which given birth to Yahoo, Google, Gmail and other companies to redefine the business stragedy for next generation computation and the fittest will survive for the same,
Advantages of Linux include: no license or royalty costs, full control over your project, no vendor lock-in, you decide on the priority of bug resolution, full access to all source code (with the right to publish, adapt and recompile the code), in terms its gives the ROI in the first implementation phase only. Squirrelmail is a web based mailing solutions which uses the technology advancement of LAMP (Linux, Apache (web server), Mail (Send mail Server) and PHP,
SquirrelMail is a standards-based webmail package written in PHP4. It includes built-in pure PHP support for the IMAP and SMTP protocols, and all pages render in pure HTML 4.0 (with no JavaScript required) for maximum compatibility across browsers. It has very few requirements and is very easy to configure and install. SquirrelMail has all the functionality you would want from an email client, including strong MIME support, address books, and folder manipulation and much more features to be added in next few years to come

Introduction
SquirrelMail is a standards-based webmail package written in PHP4. It includes built-in pure PHP support for the IMAP and SMTP protocols, and all pages render in pure HTML 4.0 (with no JavaScript required) for maximum compatibility across browsers. It has very few requirements and is very easy to configure and install. Squirrelmail has all the functionality you would want from an email client, including strong MIME support, address books, and folder manipulation and much more features to be added in next few years to come
The whole project is divided into 7-phased implementation plan
1. IP Address Configuration2. Basic File configuration 3. Apache Web server 4. Send mail server configuration 5. Fetch mail Server configuration6. Firewall Implementation 7. Squirrelmail Configuration
Recommanded Pacakages
• Redhat Linux or Any Unix / Solaris / AIX based system • IMAP/POP/ PHP/Perl/ All he Networking and System Admin Tools • If you use MySQL for the address book• Squirrelmail RPM from the website http://www.squirrelmail.org/
Services and Files
Apache /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf /etc/init.d/httpdSendmail /etc/mail/sendmail.cf /etc/init.d/sendmailFirewall /etc/rc.d/firewall.basic ./root/firewall.basicFetchmail /etc/rc.d/fetchmail Hosts /etc/hosts

Configration Details
IP Address configraiton
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:09:6B:37:BD:07 inet addr:10.0.0.111 Bcast:10.0.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 UP BROADCAST RUNNING PROMISC MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:982722 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:771688 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:100 RX bytes:733948168 (699.9 Mb) TX bytes:283998800 (270.8 Mb) Interrupt:10
eth1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:0B:BD:02:3A:03 inet addr:72.35.77.164Bcast:72.35.77.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:630028 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:678647 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:7 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:100 RX bytes:184172666 (175.6 Mb) TX bytes:72127388 (68.7 Mb) Interrupt:10 Base address:0x7000
lo Link encap:Local Loopback inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0 UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1 RX packets:380374 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:380374 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 RX bytes:160377585 (152.9 Mb) TX bytes:160377585 (152.9 Mb)

Host Configration/etc/hosts
# Do not remove the following line, or various programs# that require network functionality will fail
127.0.0.1 localhost localhost.localdomain72.35.77.164 tmnetworx.com
Apache Configration
1. User creation2. Configuration changes on /etc/httpd/conf/httpd/httpd.conf 3. Restart of the services 4. Check the Initial configuration
/etc/httpd/httpd.conf
ServerRoot "/etc/httpd"User tmnetworxGroup tmnetworxServerAdmin root@localhost#ServerName new.host.name:80 ServerName tmnetworx.com:80#DocumentRoot "/var/www/html"
#DocumentRoot "/var/www/squirrelmail"DocumentRoot "/usr/share/squirrelmail"
Change these lines accordingly and restart the httpd services /etc/init.d/httpd restart

Firewall Configration
This is a not a Linux Build file we have created a file for the basic firewall / proxy / gateway featured file
FWVER=0.63
# 0.63 - Added support for the IRC IPTABLES module# 0.62 - Fixed a typo on the MASQ enable line that used eth0# instead of $EXTIF# 0.61 - Changed the firewall to use variables for the internal# and external interfaces.# 0.60 - 0.50 had a mistake where the ruleset had a rule to DROP# all forwarded packets but it didn't have a rule to ACCEPT# any packets to be forwarded either# - Load the ip_nat_ftp and ip_conntrack_ftp modules by default# 0.50 - Initial draft#
PTABLES=/sbin/iptables#IPTABLES=/usr/local/sbin/iptables
#Setting the EXTERNAL and INTERNAL interfaces for the network## Each IP Masquerade network needs to have at least one# external and one internal network. The external network# is where the natting will occur and the internal network# should preferably be addressed with a RFC1918 private address# scheme.## For this example, "eth0" is external and "eth1" is internal"## NOTE: If this doesnt EXACTLY fit your configuration, you must# change the EXTIF or INTIF variables above. For example:## EXTIF="ppp0"## if you are a modem user.#EXTIF="eth1"INTIF="eth0"echo " External Interface: $EXTIF"echo " Internal Interface: $INTIF"echo -en " loading modules: "
# Need to verify that all modules have all required dependencies#echo " - Verifying that all kernel modules are ok"/sbin/depmod -a
# With the new IPTABLES code, the core MASQ functionality is now either# modular or compiled into the kernel. This HOWTO shows ALL IPTABLES# options as MODULES. If your kernel is compiled correctly, there is# NO need to load the kernel modules manually.## NOTE: The following items are listed ONLY for informational reasons.# There is no reason to manual load these modules unless your# kernel is either mis-configured or you intentionally disabled# the kernel module autoloader.#
# Upon the commands of starting up IP Masq on the server, the# following kernel modules will be automatically loaded:## NOTE: Only load the IP MASQ modules you need. All current IP MASQ# modules are shown below but are commented out from loading.# ===============================================================
#Load the main body of the IPTABLES module - "iptable"# - Loaded automatically when the "iptables" command is invoked## - Loaded manually to clean up kernel auto-loading timing issues#echo -en "ip_tables, "/sbin/insmod ip_tables
#Load the IPTABLES filtering module - "iptable_filter"# - Loaded automatically when filter policies are activated
#Load the stateful connection tracking framework - "ip_conntrack"## The conntrack module in itself does nothing without other specific# conntrack modules being loaded afterwards such as the "ip_conntrack_ftp"# module## - This module is loaded automatically when MASQ functionality is# enabled## - Loaded manually to clean up kernel auto-loading timing issues#echo -en "ip_conntrack, "/sbin/insmod ip_conntrack
#Load the FTP tracking mechanism for full FTP tracking## Enabled by default -- insert a "#" on the next line to deactivate#echo -en "ip_conntrack_ftp, "/sbin/insmod ip_conntrack_ftp
#Load the IRC tracking mechanism for full IRC tracking## Enabled by default -- insert a "#" on the next line to deactivate#echo -en "ip_conntrack_irc, "/sbin/insmod ip_conntrack_irc
#Load the general IPTABLES NAT code - "iptable_nat"# - Loaded automatically when MASQ functionality is turned on## - Loaded manually to clean up kernel auto-loading timing issues#echo -en "iptable_nat, "/sbin/insmod iptable_nat
#Loads the FTP NAT functionality into the core IPTABLES code# Required to support non-PASV FTP.## Enabled by default -- insert a "#" on the next line to deactivate#echo -en "ip_nat_ftp, "/sbin/insmod ip_nat_ftp
# Just to be complete, here is a list of the remaining kernel modules# and their function. Please note that several modules should be only# loaded by the correct master kernel module for proper operation.# --------------------------------------------------------------------## ipt_mark - this target marks a given packet for future action.# This automatically loads the ipt_MARK module## ipt_tcpmss - this target allows to manipulate the TCP MSS# option for braindead remote firewalls.echo ". Done loading modules."

#CRITICAL: Enable IP forwarding since it is disabled by default since## Redhat Users: you may try changing the options in# /etc/sysconfig/network from:## FORWARD_IPV4=false# to# FORWARD_IPV4=true#echo " enabling forwarding.."echo "1" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
# Dynamic IP users:## If you get your IP address dynamically from SLIP, PPP, or DHCP,# enable this following option. This enables dynamic-address hacking# which makes the life with Diald and similar programs much easier.#echo " enabling DynamicAddr.."echo "1" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_dynaddr
echo " clearing any existing rules and setting default policy.."$IPTABLES -P INPUT ACCEPT$IPTABLES -F INPUT$IPTABLES -P OUTPUT ACCEPT$IPTABLES -F OUTPUT$IPTABLES -P FORWARD DROP$IPTABLES -F FORWARD$IPTABLES -t nat -F
echo " FWD: Allow all connections OUT and only existing and related ones IN"$IPTABLES -A FORWARD -i $EXTIF -o $INTIF -m state --state ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT$IPTABLES -A FORWARD -i $INTIF -o $EXTIF -j ACCEPT$IPTABLES -A FORWARD -j LOG
echo " Enabling SNAT (MASQUERADE) functionality on $EXTIF"$IPTABLES -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o $EXTIF -j MASQUERADE
echo -e "\nDone.\n"

Sendmail Configration
/etc/mail/sendmail.cf
This is the main backbone file .. please have a look in this file because lot of time we make some silly mistake in this file and the whole setup never comes up .
We never really makes changes to this /etc/sendmail.cf files directely . Its always a best practice to make changes to /etc/mail/sendmail.mc file and recompile with m4 compiler
After the recomilation please check for the below mentioned changes in /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
V9/BerkeleyCwlocalhostC{Accept}OK RELAYFR-o /etc/mail/relay-domainsO MaxMessageSize=600000000Fw/etc/mail/local-host-names#Dj$w.Foo.COM
/etc/mail/sendmail.mc
These are the areas where we have to make changes as per our need we can change the seting on the same
define(`SMART_HOST',`smtp.your.provider')DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port=smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA') LOCAL_DOMAIN(`localhost.localdomain') MASQUERADE_DOMAIN(localhost)
Recompilation of sendmail.mc file
# m4 /etc/mail/sendmail.mc > /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
Restart of the Sendmail services
# /etc/init.d/sendmail stop# /etc/init.d/sendmail start

/etc/submit.cf
This is a same as sendmail.cf with some basic changes!

Fetchmail Configration
Fetchmail is a full-featured, robust, well-documented remote-mail retrieval and forwarding utility intended to be used over on-demand TCP/IP links (such as SLIP or PPP connections). It supports every remote-mail protocol
# vi .fetchmail.rc
poll 202.46.200.81 protocol pop3, user kowshik@tmnetworx.com with password pravgaha, is kowshik here###poll mail.vsnl.com protocol pop3, user mercator with password shakira7, is vsnl here Ipaddress Protocol POP3/IMAP ,User with , Alias
copy this file to anywhere in root and run this basic script
# vi script while truedofetchmailsleep 60done
Acessing rights
/etc/mail/access
# Check the /usr/share/doc/sendmail/README.cf file for a description# of the format of this file. (search for access_db in that file)# The /usr/share/doc/sendmail/README.cf is part of the sendmail-doc# package.## by default we allow relaying from localhost...localhost.localdomain RELAYlocalhost RELAY127.0.0.1 RELAY RELAY
Check Every Services through setup,remove unwanted services like pcmcia , restart every services /etc/init.d/xinetd restart , go to the browser and check for the http://server/ ip address
Main mail config files
/etc/mail - all the configration file like sendmail / submit.cf /home/mail/ - all user home directory /etc/mail/access - the acess relay file /usr/share/squirrelmail/ - main configration of SquirrelMail config.php /var/spool/squirrelmail/attach all the attachment /var/lib/squirrelmail/prefs all the user mail and address books

Troubleshooting
IMAP server no connecting Check for the IMAP / Portmap, Restart the services POP account is not working Setup check in ipop2/ipop3 restart servicesWeb page not displaying Check httpd.conf file and restart httpd servicesHttps Service getting failed Check for the setting and restart the services Could not determine the server's fully qualified domain name Check the setting of httpd.conf for the Servername option , its gives error due to that option The requested URL was not found on this server Document root option on httpd.conf is not proper Error connecting to IMAP server: localhost.111 : Connection refused Server IMAP Is not compatible with Squerrilmail /default.pref don’t have the permission /var/lib/squirrelmail/default.pref suppose to have the permission for the user to write on the sameERROR: Connection dropped by IMAP server. Sendmail services are not configured

Go to the browser and check for the http://server/ ip address
1. Login screen

2. User Authentication

3. Virtual Keyboard

4. Inbox layout

5. Reading mails

6. Composition of mail

7. Options to change the settings

8. Options

9. Address Book

10. Calendar

11. Search Feature

Feature

• • Folders have rules to direct incoming mail automatically• Support automatic forwarding of incoming mail to a different address• Support vacation messages (autoreponders)• You can use interface on any system that allows web browsing with cookies and frames.• Interface is faster when you push CPU/Memory/IO intensive tasks to imap/webserver and these servers share their resources among all interface users• Outlook can track documents that are used user

Mailing solutions in Market / Market Survey
Servers
ArGoSoft Mail Server ProBinc IMAPBynari Insight ServerCommuniGate ProCourier-IMAPCyrus IMAPDBMail DovecotDwarf Mail ServerEudora Internet Mail ServerhMailServerIMail ServerKerio MailServer? 5.0MDaemonMerak Mail serverMercuryMicrosoft ExchangeMirapoint Email ServerQuickMail? Pro - might have issues with message structure parsingSendmail Advanced Message ServerSendmail Mobile Message ServerUW IMAP ServerMacallan Mail Solution (http://macallan.club.fr/MMS/)Unidentified IMAP software Bali MailBecky! Internet MailCitadelCommunicatorDatuladkimapDroplets EmailEasyMail? (.Net Edition/Advanced API/Objects)eOn Voice Processing System Hamster IMAP APIIMAP ForceIMAP4 Server SDKInsta EasyXS?IP*Works! IMAP/S ComponentIshmailISMailJava Apache Mail Enterprise Server (aka James)JavaMailBusiness Implementation Benefit
Defining Return on Investment (ROI) Return on investment (ROI) is a key financial metric of the value of business investments and expenditures. It is a ratio of net benefits over costs expressed as a percentage. This formula can be expressed as: ROI = [(Monetary Benefits (Tangible and Intangible) - Cost of using Web Services Technology) / Cost of using Web Services Technology] x 100 An Example of ROI Calculation As an example, the IT group within a company determines that there is a 10 percent increase in the automation of software development following the implementation of Web Services for an organization's IT project. Other data from the IT group reveals that each one percent increase in the automation of software development is equal to increased annual revenue of 25,000. Furthermore, it is known that the Web Services implementation will cost 75,000. For this example ROI is calculated as follows: [(250,000 - 75,00) / 75,000] x 100 = 233% That's 25,000 for each one percent increase, for a total of 250,000 for a ten percent increase. This means that for every 1 invested in the Web Services implementation, the organization realized a net benefit of 2.33 in the form of increased revenue from the automation of software development. Payback PeriodROI is just a percentage, so include the payback time to make it persuasive. For example, if a 100,000 investment in Web Services technology is generating 400,000 a year in profit, it pays for itself within three months. Costs divided by monthly benefits yield the number of months to payback. Discounted Cash Flow Analysis In the discounted cash flow ROI analysis methodology, the expected cash flows relating to investments for a new technology or IT-related project spanning several years are discounted using an appropriate rate to determine an NPV and/or IRR. If the NPV is positive, then the project's present value exceeds its required cash outlay, and the project should be undertaken. When a project has a positive NPV, the NPV decreases as the discount rate used increases. Similarly, if the IRR is greater than the cost of capital for the company, then the project should be undertaken. Payback Period Analysis In the payback period ROI analysis methodology, the period of time it takes for a new technology or IT-related project to yield enough returns to pay for the initial investment, or to break even, is considered.
ROI Analysis Becoming a Necessity . ROI analysis is gradually becoming a core requirement for the kick off of any new project or use of new technology, as well as for measuring the success or failure of any existing project. A good ROI analysis can lead a new project or introduction of any technology to lower costs, improved business performance, and competitive advantage. ROI and Web Services A company should calculate the implementation and ongoing costs associated with Web Services including software, hardware, system integration, and future production support expenses. These cost estimates should be carefully examined to determine the ROI for the proposed solution. ROI Not Just About Technology Whatever the underlying technology for which ROI is being calculated, there is always a set of business and personnel factors that have a great impact on it. We cannot stress enough the fact that technology alone will not produce the quantifiable results and benefits as projected in any ROI matrix or calculation. Several business factors, such as the speed of rollout and systems adoption rate, play a critical role in determining the final numbers. Calculating ROI of Web Services How do you measure the ROI of Web Services? Well, there is a right way and a wrong way to measure ROI. The wrong way is to measure the time representatives save in reduced paper work, or in revenue the company saves by reducing the need for data entry. The right way is to measure the amount of reduction in operational and developmental costs. The ROI on Web Services comes from the increased operational efficiency and reduced costs that are achieved by streamlining and automating business processes, reduced application development cycle time, and increased reusability of applications in the form of services. Factors to be included in ROI calculation The relevance and importance of each of these factors will greatly vary from company to company, application to application, and implementation to implementation. If all these factors are considered together, however, you can get a pretty decent result from the ROI model used for Web Services. The factors we will look at are: • Costs and expenses. • Technical benefits. • Business benefits. Costs and Expenses These factors break down into the following elements: • Hardware requirements • Software requirements • Training requirements • Network bandwidth requirements • Monitoring tools • Operational costs and vendor consulting • Collaborative business activities
There may be other direct and indirect benefits for the usage of Web Services, such as faster time to market, increased process efficiency, and increased efficiency through business process automation. These also have to be accounted for in your ROI calculation.
ROI and Risk Management These factors break down into the following elements: • New technology • Standards not matured or finalized • Web Services development tools and servers • Services Security

Online Help

SquirrelMail http://www.squirrelmail.org/docs/admin/admin.htmlPHP http://www.php.net/IMAP http://imap.org/Sendmail http://sendmail.org/FetchMail http://fetchmail.berlios.de/Apache http://apache.org/OS http://www.redhat.com/

Conclusion

Web Services run through industry standard protocols and offer the potential of eliminating the need for proprietary hardware, software, and network protocols. Companies will be able to lower their investment costs greatly in terms of increased ROI by implementing Web Services. There is no fixed model for calculating ROI of Web Services as of now, and the ROI in each company would greatly depend on how the technology is actually employed in solving software and business processes related tasks. Any model used for calculating ROI should take into account the risks associated with the usage of Web Services.

Open Source Community Guide

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Open Source Meet

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

System admin Video for Fresher

Monday, October 13, 2008

Thought of the Month

Thursday, September 18, 2008

How to Make the Live Linux on USB

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Access Online Unix Console and download Live CD for Pratice

Remotely Deploy Apps across a LAN

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Webmail on Linux Implementation

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