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SME 8B6 in a real environment

Offline charlien

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SME 8B6 in a real environment
« on: October 26, 2010, 08:01:10 PM »
Has anyone set up SME8B6 in a real environment? I need to set up a small file and mail server and was wondering if anyone is using it extensively. I read the warning about not using it in a production environment. Looking for some opinions.
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Offline fpausp

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Re: SME 8B6 in a real environment
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2010, 10:49:51 PM »
At the moment I am using sme8 as a backupserver (rsync) only until my customer is ready for the change to sme8.
Viribus unitis

Offline janet

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Re: SME 8B6 in a real environment
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2010, 11:59:28 PM »
charlien

There are indications in these forums that many people are using SME8beta releases in production situations and I do not hear people complaining greatly. Newer motherboards require Centos5.x support and users require php5 & mysql5 which are there by default in SME8bx.

Officially SME8beta6 is not recommended for production use, but you are the person to make the judgement call whether to use it or not. I personally do not see any serious risk in using SME8b6, as the code base appears quite stable as is.
You should assess if any add on contribs you need to use will run OK. See the main wiki page for links to Q&A documents re SME8.

I am sure the developers have been using SME8 for over a couple of years now, any small issues that arise they quickly fix.
Re doing routine upgrades, you should test new upgrade beta releases before deploying them in a "production" server. I do that anyway with current SME7.x releases just to play safe, but it is probably a more important methodology to follow if using a beta release in production.

SME8beta6 is well advanced, some people would say it is not really beta quality software (meaning the code base is stable), it's just a case of it not yet being a final release due to lack of volunteer effort to get the product to final release stage.

I have used SME8betas in test for over 2 years now and never had problems, despite bug reports & fixes being regularly released. There is an issue with USB drive identification that is being worked on, which is considered a blocker to a final release.

If you need Centos5.x support, I think SME8beta6 is OK to use, just monitor updates carefully to avoid downtime.
Please search before asking, an answer may already exist.
The Search & other links to useful information are at top of Forum.

Offline charlien

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Re: SME 8B6 in a real environment
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2010, 03:20:59 AM »
Thanks Mary. Exactly the advice I was looking for. I think I'll give it a try and maybe help get it to a final release.
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Offline purvis

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Re: SME 8B6 in a real environment
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2010, 04:35:50 AM »
I have played with version 8 and it loaded great on my test computers.
It would appear to me that version 8 does well with the basic needs.
I have to assume that advanced uses is where any troubles would be if any, because of special demands of the server have gotten bigger over the years.
I personally keep my demands of what the sme server does low as to keep trouble at bay.
You can then always experiment on a second or third  sme server as as Mary suggest, keep tabs on any postings or run a sme server version 7 also.
With the low cost of equipment, a second active server can always be useful.

 

Offline chris burnat

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Re: SME 8B6 in a real environment
« Reply #5 on: October 29, 2010, 04:48:23 AM »

SME8beta6 is well advanced, some people would say it is not really beta quality software (meaning the code base is stable), it's just a case of it not yet being a final release due to lack of volunteer effort to get the product to final release stage.

The biggest problem at the moment is to find testers to carry verifications.  Still some 40 bugs to verify, and very few takers. If some of you could assist, it would be great.

Quote
There is an issue with USB drive identification that is being worked on, which is considered a blocker to a final release.

This issue has now been fixed and verified.
- chris
If it does not work out of the box, please fill in a Bug Report @ Bugzilla (http://bugs.contribs.org)  - check: http://wiki.contribs.org/Bugzilla_Help .  Thanks.