Ten key web-based Linux tools
Jack Wallen 
Published: 15 May 2009 12:01 BST
There are plenty of web-centric Linux tools, but the trick is discovering which one will best suit your needs, says Jack Wallen.
Linux is an outstanding operating system for serving up applications. From content management systems to web-portal creation tools, Linux has just about everything you need. Among those thousands of tools, a few stand out. Here are my top 10.
1. Drupal
Drupal is one of the finest content management systems available. It is open source, based on PHP and can serve up anything from individual sites to large corporate sites. Drupal is also modular, which means it defaults to a core installation, but has a number of outstanding modules you can add.
Installation of Drupal requires a database — MySQL is preferred — PHP, and a server such as Apache. It was originally written as a bulletin-board system.
Drupal is simple to install, easy to manage, reliable, scalable and adaptable. Some of the biggest sites powered by Drupal are Warner Bros Records, MTV UK, Harvard Science, FedEx, Nasa and Ubuntu.
One of Drupal's best features for the enterprise is the efficiency of its bug fixing and patching. A large number of developers are working with Drupal, and shortly after a bug or security hole is discovered, a fix is released. Newer releases of Drupal offer an automatic update notifier. As soon as an update of any installed module — including the core — is released, the administrator is informed. If you require a tool to help you roll out quality sites quickly, Drupal fits the bill.
2. Webmin
If you need to manage a server or a desktop remotely, Webmin is one of the best tools available. It allows you to remotely configure disk quotas, modify applications, configure services such as Apache, FTP and MySQL, plus control multiple machines from a single interface and much more.
The Webmin interface is strictly web-based and is incredibly user friendly. Like Drupal, Webmin is modular, which allows you to install modules for nearly any application or task and to write modules of your own. Webmin is one of those tools that every Linux — and now Windows — administrator should deploy to make their administrative tasks far easier. Webmin is released under the BSD licence.
3. NolaPro
Although not open source, NolaPro is one of the best Linux-based accounting and point-of-sale suites I have used. It is another modular system, and it includes order management, general ledger, shopping cart, inventory tracking, accounts payable, payroll, accounts receivable and point of sale.
NolaPro is simple to install, but not quite as simple to use. Of course, any system of this nature is going to have a somewhat steeper learning curve. The software itself is free, but I highly recommend you buy the printed manuals.
Because this system can handle so many tasks, having the manuals is key to getting staff up to speed quickly. I have deployed NolaPro in a number of locations and have found it an outstanding solution. Even though the point-of-sale system is geared more for smaller businesses, the rest of the system will indeed be robust enough to handle nearly any size company.
4. EGroupWare
If you are looking for a solid groupware suite to replace Exchange, EGroupWare might be exactly what you want. It is a complete product that includes calendar, group scheduling, notifications and alarms, Imap-only email, project management, bug and incident tracking and much more support.
EGroupWare is not the easiest system to install — make sure you install from source and not from a prepackaged binary — but once on your machine you will ask yourself how this amazing system could be free.
EGroupWare is an enterprise-ready, GPL open-source, cross-platform Exchange Server replacement with a built-in web interface. I have deployed it with great success. If you do not want users accessing the calendar and email from the web interface, you can connect to EGroupWare with groupware clients like Kontact, Evolution and Outlook.
5. Joomla
Joomla is yet another content management system that is as flexible as any other and widely used around the globe. The user list of Joomla includes the United Nations, Quizilla, LA Weekly, University of Harvard, Citibank intranet, The Green Maven and Outdoor Photographer.
Joomla is as simple to install as Drupal, includes numerous modules and has a large community that publishes a regular community magazine. A number of books cover using Joomla to build sites, creating extensions or modules for it and further Joomla training.
Why would you choose Joomla over Drupal? There are a number of possible reasons. If you need a shopping cart, an event calendar, a large selection of templates, to include document management or if you need commercial support, choose Joomla.
6. MediaWiki
MediaWiki was originally created for Wikipedia, but is now used for many other wikis. MediaWiki is intended to be run on server farms for sites that receive millions of hits per day. It is powerful and quite scalable. The backbone of MediaWiki is PHP and MySQL.
The list of sites using MediaWiki is extensive. What MediaWiki has over many other wiki server is the ability to include multimedia files, including images, audio and video. MediaWiki also has a large collection of extensions from Aim Button to YouTubeTag.
7. phpMyAdmin
MySQL gurus, look away now. For the rest of us who must work with databases to create and administer websites, phpMyAdmin is just the ticket. The phpMyAdmin web interface is as simple as it gets. Of course, the product is not limited to simplicity — phpMyAdmin also lets you issue MySQL commands from within the web interface.
From this interface, the administrator can manage databases, tables, fields, relations, indexes, users and permissions. The phpMyAdmin software tool has been translated into 55 languages and has outstanding support and simple installation.
8. VMware Server
Virtualisation is critical in meeting today's computing needs, and the VMware Server will quickly become invaluable. By enabling you to create a virtual server once and roll it out multiple times, VMware Server drastically cuts deployment time.
This particular server technology allows for the quick creation of test beds, server consolidation and quick rollbacks. It supports 64-bit operating systems, 8GB of RAM and 10 network interface cards. VMware Server also has a remote console, which allows for both remote and local access to the virtual consoles. VMware Server is a complete no-brainer for the enterprise environment.
9. PacketFence
PacketFence is one of the best open-source network access control tools available, and it has been deployed in numerous large-scale industries. PacketFence supports registration of new network devices, detection of abnormal network activity, isolation of problem network devices, remediation, registration and vulnerability scans, VLAN isolation, 802.1X, FreeRadius, and DHCP fingerprinting. It has both web- and command line-based interfaces.
PacketFence can be a simple system to install, but a complex system to master. PacketFence support is severely lacking, as is documentation, so the included readme files are critical to understand this incredible system.
10. Domain Technologie Control
If you are seeking an open-source hosting control package, you should look at the open-source version of cPanel — Domain Technologie Control (DTC).
This piece of software, released under the GPL, has many features absent from most commercial solutions: real-time bandwidth monitor, auto IP update, antivirus, anti-spam and much more.
This utility can run on Linux, BSD, Solaris, Debian and OS X, among others. Unlike many similar tools, DTC does not employ a daemon, but uses Apache. You can buy professional support. If you are looking at creating a hosting service and you need an answer for a lot of problems, look no further than DTC.
What would you add?
Some Linux web-centric tools are good, but too niche. My top 10 list covers a wide range of needs and may suggest a utility you had not considered. Are there other web-based tools you would add to this list?
