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Recent blog posts
21
Jul

ClearOS Enterprise 5.2 Has Been Released!

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Thank you to our great development team at ClearFoundation and the many contributions and suggestions from the ClearFoundation community. With each release we improve the over-all feature base and performance of ClearOS, the leading open source linux server, network and gateway solution for small business and distributed environments. The primary ClearOS 5.2 changes include:

At ClearFoundation, we are always improving the open source environment for SMB and distributed IT environments with dedicated linux server features such as open source firewall and open source VPN packages.  We listen and deliver!  

As usual, please consult the Release Notes for specific upgrade information regarding your ClearOS version.

Have fun and thank you!
The ClearFoundation Team & Community

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08
Jul

ClearOS Enterprise 5.2 RC 1 Released

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

The first release candidate for ClearOS Enterprise 5.2 is now available.  All the major features have been implemented and upgrades from ClarkConnect 4.x and later are now supported.  The major changes since beta 2 include:

  • Fixed time zone handling
  • Fixed intrusion detection configuration handling
  • Fixed roaming profile permissions
  • Updated the protocol filter / l7-filter

There are still a dozen of bugs that need to be squashed before the final release.  We also need to finish some experimental features that will be released in ClearOS 6.x.   The final release is just around the corner!

Please read the release note for more information. 

 

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24
Jun

ClearOS Enterprise 5.2 Beta 2 Released

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

The ClearOS Enterprise 5.2 Beta 2 release is here! The big news with this release is the available upgrade path from ClarkConnect 5.0. Please keep in mind that this is still a beta, so proceed with the usual caution. Other changes since 5.2 Beta 1 include:

  • Fixed Samba winadmin password reset
  • Fixed mail aliases page
  • Fixed help links
  • Optimized LDAP
  • Added support for encrypted file systems on software RAID devices

Please read the release notes for more information.

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11
Jun

ClearOS Enterprise 5.2 Beta 1 Available!

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

The ClearOS Enterprise 5.2 Beta 1 release is here! Apart from squashing the important bugs, the big news with this release is the available upgrade path from ClearOS 5.1. Please keep in mind that this is still a beta, so proceed with the usual caution. Other changes since 5.2 Alpha 1 include: 

  • Completed password policy engine
  • Fixed disk usage report
  • Updated SpamAssassin
  • Many bug fixes

 Please read the release notes for more information. 

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05
Jun

ClearOS Enterprise 5.2 Alpha 1 Available

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

The ClearOS Enterprise 5.2 Alpha 1 release is here!  Along with updating the base system to CentOS 5.5, this release adds several administrator tools:

  • Password policy engine
  • Detailed disk usage reporting
  • Network traffic analyzer tool
  • Custom firewall tool

In addition, the release provides improved integration with third party mail services; notably Google Apps and Zarafa. Other features for 5.2 are also in the pipeline.  Please read the release notes for more information.

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02
Jun

ClearOS Scores A 9 Out Of 10 In The Linux Format Firewall Roundup!

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

It's nice to get high marks for our ease of use and integrated services!  Linux Format Magazine, the top Linux magazine in the UK, just published (June issue, page 30) their roundup of firewall distros.

From the review:  "ClearOS is by far the sleekest looking firewall distribution...But this distribution is about a lot more than sleek looks."

They found ClearOS to be easy to use and full of extra services to run your network.  Clearly the ClearOS setup, interface and configuration scores high in the roundup.  We'll keep working on it!

Get the magazine here:  http://www.linuxformat.com/

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01
Jun

Genie In A Clear Bottle - Make A Wish

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Have you ever had a wish come true?  Now you can! ClearFoundation is proud to introduce the ClearFoundation Community Wish List.  We created an innovative way to ensure that individual community members can influence the direction and development of ClearOS.  With the ClearFoundation Wish List, every community member can make their wishes come true by using their wishes to vote for specific features, ideas and functionality for ClearOS.  This gives ClearOS developers and the ClearFoundation Team direct input from the people that use ClearOS!  Like the idea? Log in and give it a try!

See you on the Wish List!  - Michael Proper

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12
May

Princess and the ClearOS Module - Part 4 of 4

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Apologies for the delay in bringing you Part 4! Too much to do...too little time.

For those joining late or who have troubles (like me) remembering what they did yesterday, let's do a quick recap.

In Part 1, our focus was to find a solution to the problem "Where has all my disk space gone". We settled on some code written by a software-engineer in the Netherlands who wrote Philesight - a web-based graphical chart of disk usage on a Linux server.

The goal in Part 2 was to get Philesight installed in our environment (ClearOS's webconfig), with a bit of an introduction to packages and RPM dependencies.

We then graduated to embedding the output Philesight provides (i.e. the graph) right into webconfig. Also in Part 3, we created the necessary localization files and took a quick peek into cron jobs and scripts.

In Part 4, we're going to package our work. Ugh....packaging. Gotta do it though, otherwise, we'll have everyone becoming experts in the command line environment and see hourly wages for Linux admins/developers plummet...can't have that on my conscience! Grab a Red Bull...we could be in for a long haul.

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04
May

Migrating domains, Samba musings. part 1

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Many who use ClearOS for home servers or gateway services may wonder why so much effort has been placed by me and John Terpstra to the improvement of the Samba services in the core of ClearOS. The reason for me writing this is not to justify or rationalize the work and effort that has already been done and that will yet take place but rather to open your mind to the potential that ClearOS has as a platform for services.

 The strength of the emerging technology capability in ClearOS is not the file services at all but rather the directory which powers the backend, and the authentication processes that occur. When your platform has this capability and does it well, you change a significant dynamic from just being a UTM, or small office server. You now have the power to authenticate, authorize, and provide access control to YOUR data, YOUR services, YOUR resources.

Now we move into possibilities of scalability, portability, inter-operability, and flexibility. The cost that must be paid for these improvements is convenience. When you implement these big business best practices you need to remove features which allow access without security. This causes heartburn for some people who just want to use ClearOS as a simple network USB drive equivalent. To these people, I apologize, there are bad guys who will exploit that and while we're not crippling the underlying software which provides this if you HAVE to have it, we will be making it more difficult to create this behaviour. If you have to have it, you will need to know more than you know about how it works and perhaps when you know more, you will choose not to do it that way. This is why UPnP is something you have to get in the forums and even though it would be trivial to add, we won't do it (not if I have anything to do with it). ClearOS is easy to use. This is its greatest strength and its greatest vulnerability.

 The goal here is to make ClearOS, a distribution tailored for <50 users, capable of doing all the things that big businesses would need. This way compliance, IT best practices, competitive services, and robust architectures are also available for small business ... and homes. Open source makes this possible. ClearOS supports you, and thanks you for your support.

 

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27
Apr

Shad Lords Joins The ClearFoundation Team

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Shad Lords has joined the ClearFoundation Team as a core ClearOS developer. With Shad's background with SME Server, Shad brings a wealth of experience in Linux development. Key members of the SME Server Foundation - Charlie Brady, Shad Lords and Greg Zartman - have been on the ClearFoundation Committee for some time. There is obvious synergy between SME and ClearOS since both are Red Hat derivations.

"ClearOS is really exciting. The ClearFoundation Team is a solid group with a clear development path. It will be fun to contribute new ideas and develop new features for the ClearOS roadmap." Shad Lords added, "I believe ClearOS will lead the open source market with new, powerful innovations for small business and distributed IT."

Shad - Welcome to the Team!

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22
Apr

Princess and the ClearOS Module - Part 3 of 4

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

In Part 2 of "Princess and the ClearOS", we managed to drink our way into oblivion after getting Philesight installed and displaying the disk usage graph for our ClearOS server.

Before we move on, let's make sure we give credit where credit is due and extend the customary "I'll buy you a beer if I'm ever in..." traditions.

Zevv...thank you for your contribution to ClearOS and OSS in general!

Today's goal is relatively straightforward...we're going to create all the necessary files to have Philesight update the summary database once per day and display as a menu item in ClearOS's webconfig interface.

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21
Apr

ClearOS Roadmap Update - Version 5.2 and 6.0

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

In case you missed it, Red Hat just announced the availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Beta.  We heard unofficial timelines earlier this year and adjusted the roadmap to reflect the expected Red Hat release dates.  Up until recently, we were not sure if the post ClearOS 5.2 release was going to be 5.3 or 6.0.   It's official -- it will be 6.0.

Just to update you on the expected release dates for ClearOS, a 5. 2 alpha/beta will be available in May/June with a final release available in June/July.  Let me pre-empt the question that many people will ask -- when is 6.0 coming?  The answer is ... drum roll ... when it's ready.  Yes I know...  a cliche. 

Here's why...

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10
Apr

Princess and the ClearOS Module - Part 2 of 4

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

In Part 1, we found an ideal solution in Philesight for determining where our disk space usage is being consumed.  In part 2, we'll get this software installed on our ClearOS server and functioning.

Put on your developer hat (no, not that kind of developer), and let's get started. Unfortunately, due to this being a 4 part blog, at some point, I'm going to have to assume a base level of technical knowledge.  Accessing the Unix command line, basic shell commands and using a text editor falls into that 'required knowledge' category.  If you're really new to Linux and have yet to jump into to the command line, you'll find some useful resources here, here and here.

Most software for Linux will have dependencies.  A dependency means the software you are intent on installing requires (or is dependent on) other software having been installed correctly, and of a compatible version.  Rather than re-writing a library to perform some task that's already been written, developers are naturally lazy beings and will jump through hoops not to create work for themselves.  Hence, they rely on other software libraries, applications or even languages to be installed, in order for their 'widget' to function properly.

Installing software on a Linux distribution can really be a quick turn-off to a new user coming from the Windows world when one gets into dependency hell.  In part 4 of this series, our goal will be to make installing this module simple (i.e. one click on a page in Webconfig). For now, because we're breaking new ground on this module, we need to follow the installation requirements listed on the Philesight website so that it will function correctly.

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09
Apr

ClearOS Enterprise 5.1 User Guide...Now Available In All Its Glory

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

We know you've been asking for more documentation and we've delivered.  ClearOS Enterprise 5.1 now has a much more robust user guide.  It's available on the ClearCenter website. 
http://www.clearcenter.com/support/documentation/clearos_enterprise_5.1/user_guide/start

 

The user guide includes:

  • System Preparation
  • Install/Post Install
  • Directory Modules
  • Network Modules
  • Gateway Modules
  • Server Modules
  • System Modules
  • Reports
  • Appendix

 

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01
Apr

Schwarzenegger Endorses ClearOS!

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Its always open season on the execs on April 1st! The ClearCenter Team conspired to trick our fearless leader Michael Proper with an endorsement by Arnold Schwarzenegger! With a bit of creative programming and some bold faced plagiarism, we mocked up a fully functional copy of the Sacramento Bee web site in our internal servers and spiced up a recent Arnold quote with a raving endorsement of ClearOS! We even included a few juicy comments by celebs and a photo caption!

We had him until he hit the April fool's date at the end of the article. Good for a laugh!

Happy April Fool's Day from ClearCenter!

See Screenshots of the prank below.

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29
Mar

Princess and the ClearOS Module - Part 1 of 4

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Ever have the feeling "ClearOS is good piece of software...maybe even great. I just wish it had __________".  All around the world, in 22 different languages, I'm sure the ending to that sentence has been completed with an equally broad range of functions - from running a media server used for streaming music and movies to your TV to cooking up a corn-beef on rye. For those that are interested, the former is coming soon while the latter...well, maybe never and definitely not from me...I'm not a big fan of the salted beef.

At any rate, I had this exact feeling over the weekend when I started wondering how I managed to fill up a 140 GB hard disk drive on my ClearOS server at home.  Seems the combination of having two girls under the age of 5 has a rather exponential effect of disk space usage with:

a) the number of digital photos of the two of them growing up (Doh! I had to buy the 15.1 megapixel model)

b) the astounding number of princess movies one can downlo....ahem, collect

But I digress, and I'm only going to get myself into copyright trouble. I know about Bash's "du" using a wack of parameters and possibly having to resort to piping the output to yet more cryptic bash commands...

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23
Mar

l7-filter Finds a New Home with ClearFoundation

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

l7-filter -- the Application Layer Packet Classifier for Linux -- Finds a New Home with ClearFoundation

The L7-filter software is a vibrant open source project.  The software is an application layer packet classifier that can differentiate types of network traffic by protocol; for example it can identify bittorrent, IRC, SIP and many other types of traffic.   In turn, these classifiers can be used to block or shape traffic according to a defined network policy. L7-filter is a very reputable project that has been integrated with ClearOS for some time.

ClearFoundation has been handed the reins and will take on maintenance for the project!  That means the capable ClearFoundation development team will be maintaining the code base, improving features, co-ordinating with other developers and updating software as needed. Documentation, bug tracking, testing, protocol filter definitions, and user feedback round out other maintenance tasks.  With the already thousands strong community and an open source not-for-profit foundation supporting the initiative, maintaining l7-filter is a good fit.

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05
Mar

ClearOS Enterprise 5.1 Service Pack 1 Released

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

March is here and so is Service Pack 1 for ClearOS Enterprise 5.1!

From time to time, Service Packs are released with all the latest updates and bug fixes included.  If you have the original release installed, there is no need to re-install or upgrade.  All you need to do is install the updates from the ClearCenter > Software Updates page in webconfig and you will have an up-to-date system.   You can find technical information in the
Service Pack Release Information Notes
.

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24
Feb

Call For Participation From The Russian Community

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

The following is an excerpt from a message read last week in our first developers web conference.  The ClearFoundation exists to facilitate collaboration between all types of peoples and cultures to advance the usability and proliferation of ClearOS around the world.

"My name is Valeria and I am representing Pavel Vorko from Dimitrovgrad (Russia) and Maxim Savin from Moscow (Russia) who are here to represent the Russian speaking community of ClearOS and we are glad to greet all members of the ClearFoundation.

We realize the large scope and significance of the project. We also understand that the founders and developers expect active participation and contribution from the international community. We are ready to collaborate with ClearFoundation in the following ways:

  • Provide help in project organization and interacting between our communities.
  • Revision of existing modules/components, development of additional modules, and the distribution of ClearOS in Russia and neighboring countries.
  • Teaching and certifying of computer professionals and creating resource materials for Russian speaking people.

We would like to thank all the members for your attention."

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17
Feb

ClearOS Development Meetings - Update

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Hello everyone.  This is a follow up to the previous announcement.

The meeting time has been moved 90 minutes to accommodate commute times in Europe and the west coast of North America.  It is now scheduled for Friday, February 19 @ 12:30 pm Eastern time.  Apologies for the time change!  We will be using the Dimdim online web-conferencing tool for the meeting.  You can learn more about Dimdim and sign up for the meeting here.

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