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Contributor TheFinePrint on Gnome

Graphical Server  
Written by ct2193 the 8 Feb 10 at 18:09. New
Traditional server installations tend to be command line only.
The more you install, the more there is to be hacked with.
Ease of configuration can increase security.
The harder it is to properly configure, the easier it is to improperly configure.
Improper configuration can decrease security.

Apple and Mac OS X Server are very easy to configure compared to most other server environments. Learn what Apple is doing right and implement it. Learn what they are doing wrong and improve upon it.

I believe an intelligent GUI for a server platform is a critical thing to at least offer. People who don't want a GUI could choose to not install one. People who want a GUI can have one.

People who understand why both are good options could temporarily use a GUI (ideally very similar to Mac OS X Server) as a startx command. Basically, configure and maintain with a GUI, but drop out of the GUI for general uptime.
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Solution #1: Graphical Server
Written by ct2193 the 8 Feb 10 at 18:09.
- Include a GUI with server
- Improve the GUI to be exclusively server oriented, not a generic desktop with server apps.
- Review Mac OS X Server for GUI concepts and implementation and learn from what Apple is doing right.

(Note: OS X 10.6 Server is currently available as a free trial! See http://seminars.apple.com/contactme/SnowLeopardServerEvaluation/)
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Solution #2: Create a Meta-Package specifically for adding a GUI to a server installation
Written by jamesisin the 13 Feb 10 at 01:27.
There doesn't strike me a reason to create a new server installation. However, it would be handy to be able to perform a standard server installation and then sign into that server and install a robust GUI Meta-Package (X, Gnome, blahblahblah) with a single line of code (like sudo apt-get install Ubu-Server-Gnome-Meta). Then reboot and it works, eh?
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Solution #3: Create Web-UI that programs can hook into
Written by Immanuel the 13 Feb 10 at 10:43.
essentially, why should the server itself need a graphical environment when it can simply serve a webpage to the admin? Features it should offer:
1) central login (with control what plugins are shown to which users)
2) plugins so different projects can expose their settings through it.
3) Shell emulation/file editor for programs that don't provide a plugin (again with regard to user rights)

In short term programs that currently provide a Web-UI themselves can just populate their respective URLs in the program so it serves as some kind of jump-pad to the system (but then the benefit of a central login is somewhat lost)
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Solution #4: Web UI to configure everything !
Written by alexplante the 13 Feb 10 at 20:08.
During Ubuntu Server setup, you could choose a Web Managment. This way, no need for SSH and/or typing the command to install a server. The web interface would have a package similar to synaptic to install package. I mean, you could type SERVERIP:1234 from another computer and you can configure it as you want. Real time ressources (CPU, TEMP, HDD usage ... ) would be nice to have in this little "control pannel". You could choose to "auto-install" ISP Config server, mail server and anything else just clicking on a button.

See the 4 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 8 Mar 10 at 14:28) >>