[BlueOnyx:01314] Re: New user, free packages, and cost cutting..

[Chris Gebhardt - VIRTBIZ Internet]

Hi Paul,
Welcome.

> Anyhow, all installled and looking good. Just wondered if there are any free
> packages out there that i may be able to install (ideally
> clamav/mailscanner/spamassassin), or any tools that have been updated from the
> older BQ days.

Free packages?  As in the complete anti-spam suite?   Not that I'm 
aware... you're not likely to find that either.  It's a lot of work to 
put those together, and more work to keep them current.


> It's nice to see things like phpMyAdmin now installed as part of the dash -
> definately a step in the right direction!! I managed to get things like
> mysql/clam etc to automatically update from the Centos repository rather than
> pay for the continual updates on BQ - which was nice.

One thing that BlueOnyx is very good at, large thanks to Michael S, is 
that many/most of the packages that are installed are also kept up to 
date through regular YUM updates.   This is a vast improvement from the 
old days.


> One thing i've now noticed was that Nuonce was great for people like me, where
> it was a small home server, and the prices were not too high for the packages.
> Whilst i understand that some make a living from these boxes and the
> accompanying packages, most of the prices i have seen so far are well outside
> my price range (£137 will feed my family for a week!!). Brian seemed to fill
> the gap where no-one else sat - and over the years got the chunk of my ££..

Sure, we all miss Nuonce.   However, if you run through the pricing, I 
think you may be looking at this the wrong way.  Stick with me for a 
minute.

You're saying that you want to install SpamAssassin / MailScanner / 
ClamAV.   IIRC, to get that from Nuonce, you'd need to get the 
Spamassassin package ($50), MailScanner ($50), CLAMAV ($15, and came 
only with 30 days of updates).   So now you're up to $115.  OK, that's 
half what "AV-SPAM" costs for BlueOnyx from SolarSpeed (which, BTW, is a 
more effective product, and contains better support since it is kept 
continually up to date with YUM and FRESHCLAM updates).

Now toss in all the things that you are getting for free with BlueOnyx 
that you don't have to buy:  Webmail (Nuonce sold for $40), PHP5 ($40), 
MySQL 5 ($40), phpMyAdmin ($40).  That's $160 of value.

So if what you're looking for is the best value for the equivalent 
features and functionality, the math works out like this:

BlueQuartz with "cheap" Nuonce packages:  $275
BlueOnyx with "expensive" SolarSpeed AV-SPAM:  $218

I'm not trying to be Solarspeed's salesman, and believe me, I don't make 
anything off what anybody on this list sells (unless you would like to 
take a dedicated server or some colocation from us).  I'm just saying if 
you take the time to do the math, you'll see there's actually an 
argument to be made that even with the "more expensive" 3rd party 
packages, you're still coming out ahead.

> Finally - is there anything that needs changing on the default install?? With
> BQ there were always fixes etc to do - things to change, however if all is to
> be belived then it may well free up some of my time - which is always valuble
> (and the wife will be happy!!)

Well, that is a matter of personal taste.  Many of our customers are 
satisfied with the default installation, right out of the box.   Of 
course, several customers will tweak various little details so that the 
system best suits their needs.

Best of luck!

-- 
Chris Gebhardt
VIRTBIZ Internet Services
Access, Web Hosting, Colocation, Dedicated
www.virtbiz.com | toll-free (866) 4 VIRTBIZ