News:
After several months of bugfixing and beta testing, OS Office is proud to present the latest version of the Strongbolt installer. We are also pleased to announce that the project has now moved out of beta testing. In order to test the stability of the install, we have had several raq3's, raq4's and raq550's running as production machines hosting both real and dummy websites to see what problems might occur. We have now addressed all of the problems that we have encountered, and incorporated the fixes into our new installer. We are now very proud to offer a new lease of life to the web-hosting communities favourite web server. The new operating system also includes many additions that were not available in the original Cobalt OS - such as Apache 2, Curl, an easy update utility, (through yum), and the piece of mind that it is built on the source of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. With the ability to use yum, it is also possible to easily install almost any other Linux package that you might need - without the dependency hell that you encounter when installing on the old Cobalt OS. |
Read the CD Install Notes here
Please click here for more details on the Strongbolt Linux Installer
With security in mind, We reccomend to all users to have a look at Red Hat's website in order to secure their servers completely.
About Strongbolt Linux
The Strongbolt project is OS Office's revival of Sun Cobalt's server appliance product family. Sun Microsystems discontinued the Cobalt line of servers in 2004, and the last patch was released April 19, 2004. The Cobalt servers were very popular amongst web developers, as the were easy to use, versatile and were ready to go 'out of the box'. The Strongbolt server is built on the community version of Redhat Enterprise Linux called Centos. Whilst it is not actually RHEL, it is a community driven clone of RHEL, which is probably the most widely used and respected super secure version of Linux that is available today. Coupled with this, the ease of use of a Cobalt Raq is provided by the Open Source version of the cobalt control panel: Blue Quartz. This combination of security, reliability and 'ease of use' provides a 'class A' webhosting solution. The Strongbolt server is a rom patched, highly tuned operating system inside the sleek blue box that has proven to be reliable and robust for many years. Hosting webpages does not require 2.8Ghz pentium 64bit state-of-the-art hardware, you can run a reliable web server on a Pentium 1 and you would probably not notice the difference in performance!
What does the Strongbolt installer do, and how does it work?
Installs Centos and Bluequartz to Cobalt Raq3's Cobalt Raq4's and Cobalt Raq 550's. It will configure and install RAID1 (mirrored) drives if the installer detects 2 hard drives in the appliance.
The installer works in the same way as Raq install disks! Simply boot up a pc with the install disk, and power up your Raq!
More Details
- Installs Centos 4.3 and a 2.6 kernel
- Easy to use interface
- Simply boot a pc, and connect the raq via ethernet
- Installs in approximately 25 mins
- Working LCD buttons
- SSH login on initial boot (for maintenance)
Why update?
Cobalt servers were the most popular application server for several years. They have been ideal for commercial web sites, online shops and all manor of online applications. With their easy to use administration panel and excellent range of features, Cobalt server applicances included everything a webdeveloper could want!
Unfortunately after Sun Microsystems decided to discontinue this popular line of servers, which has left them with no security updates. You can get third party updates from sites such as Nuonce.net and solarspeed, but the operating system itself is not being maintained by anybody. This is a serious security issue, and is something not to be taken lightly.
Features
The appliance integrates the hardware, software, database and development tools needed to deploy applications quickly without any prior server experience. All of these integrated functions translate into an extremely simple system to deploy, use, and manage, all for a total cost well below conventional servers.
The Strongbolt server appliance offers a true plug and play web hosting platform for Internet Service Providers. Millions of web sites are hosted on Sun Cobalt RaQ server appliances worldwide. Furthermore, with an enhanced modular software architecture and a full suite of development tools, the Strongbolt server appliance offers the perfect environment for the developer community to customize and rapidly deploy their applications.
History
High-Performance Server Appliance Brings Reliable Network Applications to Service Providers and Small to Medium Enterprises
SANTA CLARA, CA -- May 13, 2002 -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. is making the delivery of network applications simpler and more affordable than ever with the introduction of the Sun Cobalt RaQ(tm) 550 server appliance. Starting at only $1699, Sun's highest performing server appliance is pre-configured with the hardware and software companies need to deploy e-mail, Web hosting and other Internet applications in minutes -- without prior server experience. The new appliance expands Sun's network edge offerings and brings reliable turnkey services to small and medium enterprises.
Sun's 1U rack-mountable server appliance offers customers a total cost of ownership well below conventional servers. The RaQ 550 is extremely easy to deploy, reduces power consumption and virtually eliminates administration and management costs. Sun has integrated the hardware, Linux operating system, applications, database, key aspects of the Sun(tm) ONE platform and point-and-click user interface to make deploying network applications as simple and reliable as plugging in a household appliance.
"Customers want a no-hassle solution for delivering content and network applications," said Vivek Mehra, vice president and general manager of Sun Cobalt. "The RaQ 550 is the perfect server appliance for network infrastructure applications because it's easy to implement, highly affordable and simple to manage. The RaQ 550 is built to help companies reduce administration costs and get a fast return on investment."
The RaQ 550 is ideal for small to medium enterprises and companies in markets, such as retail and education, seeking to bring their Web hosting infrastructure in-house. The new server appliance also offers improved performance to the thousands of service providers currently using Sun Cobalt appliances as a platform for shared, dedicated and co-location Web hosting.
Developers can use the RaQ 550 to create appliance solutions by adding customer specific applications such as firewall software, CRM or eCommerce software. The Linux developer community and members of Sun's 8,500-plus Cobalt Developer Network will benefit from the improved modular software architecture and a full suite of development tools for customizing and deploying applications in record time.
"Sun Cobalt server appliances extend the value proposition in the server appliance market by integrating the tools and applications into a low-cost, reliable appliance platform," said John Humphreys, server analyst, IDC. "By introducing the RaQ 550, Sun Cobalt continues to innovate and create momentum in the server appliance space as they focus on delivering services to the edge of the network."
The Strongbolt server appliance comes pre-configured with high-value software including the latest versions of the Apache Web server, ProFTPd FTP server, Sendmail Email services, Bind DNS server, MySQL, PHP, Perl, Python, SSHv2 server, 128-bit SSL, Telnet server, SNMP agent, and bandwidth Management service.
Supported Systems
The Strongbolt install system currently supports Cobalt Raq3's, Raq4's and Raq550's. We have also had reports of successful installs on Cobalt Qube hardware.
Downloads
Strongbolt Linux Installer version 1.0.4
The Strongbolt installation disk is available to purchase here
Install notes are located here
Sun Cobalt Server Appliance information(pdf) Bluequartz Administration Manual (pdf)
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