I am not certan if this has already been done, or if there is something in the works that is doing this. If so, my apologies for submiting a redunant idea.

I would love to see a Linux Distribution which focused on use in a business. What I'm talking about here is a substitution for Windows Advanced Server with the open source equivalent.

Much of the hard to do software bits are already done. I forsee the following being used:

* Samba (SMB file/print sharing, NT domain login, Active Directory, etc...)

* Apache (Web serving, WebDAV)

* Iptables (Basic and advanced routing, most common being NAT)

* Imap and Pop3 mail.

* OpenLDAP

* Bacula (Client Backup solution)

And at this point, try to do everything possible on the following list using the open-source equivalent:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/features/compareeditions.mspx

I know that's a lot, but hey... This is WhyNot.net... Why not?

Any computer running this Server distro would be able to perform one or all of these tasks. Also, There should be an easy way for a backup of one server to be created on another, and in real time if one fails the other stepps in.

Last, make it easy to install, easy to use, and free (or cheap) for all. After all, it's open source... and while other people are trying to win the Desktop comunity, I'm thinking of the Buisness side of things.

Okay, this is my first idea posted on WhyNot.net. Flame away.

--Pathway

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