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My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 10:47 am
by Julcar
Hi, if you do not know me, let me present...

My name is Julio and I am a kind of open source enthusiast. One of my favorite areas is the server maintenance, in fact I have some experience managing Windows Server 2003 with production web sites, and that's why I am familiar with the network protocols nature.

Due this year Microsoft retired its support to both Windows NT 5.1 and 5.2, and that action hurts me on the most deep site in my heart, so now I will do more efforts to get ReactOS more closer to the Windows NT 5.2 functioning.

Also, I am web programmer, I used to be from the old BASIC school and that's why I really love BASIC dialects and used in the past the pair ASP/VBScript to make websites under a WISA (Windows, IIS, MS-SQL and ASP) environment.

So, I am using a KVM virtual private server (VPS) bought on a cheap VPS provider, the VPS is open to network and I am doing several tests with real server software, here is a list of the software I am using in ReactOS:

HTTP: Nginx
FTP: IndiFTPd
CGI proxy: TinyWeb
CGI language: FreeBasic

Nginx lets me to serve different domains on the same IP address, through the 80 port, but is unable to execute CGI, then here TinyWeb does that work, TinyWeb it's the way to inter communicate the FreeBasic-based CGI binaries and the Nginx Webserver.

The following scheme explains the below:

Client Browser request >> Nginx at 80 port >> TinyWeb at 24xx port >> FreeBasic-based CGI binary file >> website dynamic data

And by his side, Indiftpd lets me to operate a light FTP server with total freedom...

So, this configuration WORKS, I've tested it over r67850 which I consider the most stable revision by the moment.

But this was not trouble-free, there are some things that don't let me enjoy the more appreciated thing in server management: stability

With the aim to reach this, ReactOS must be capable to stay a lot of time receiving remote request and not fail, I know that this is impossible, so I made a way to fix this: recurrent rebooting, rebooting every six hours lets me avoid unwanted BSOD's caused by paging fault or whatever other cause.

But here I found another trouble: ReactOS seems to have some incompatibilities with the KVM's USB devices, especially with the QEMU USB Tablet, which was already addressed in a Jira Bug Report: see https://jira.reactos.org/browse/CORE-10116

And by the moment that issue is my main head pain, that occurs some times and stops the system boot, really an unwanted behavior on production scenarios.

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 9:45 pm
by manuel
Reactos as server? :shock:

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 11:53 pm
by Julcar
yep, and even I've tested out Posadis DNS and Reactos worked as DNS Server

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 10:10 am
by oldman
Have you tried ReactOS as a DHCP server? The last time that I tried, I could not get it to work fully. I am also finding networking problematic.

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 9:55 pm
by Julcar

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 6:57 am
by Julcar
A lot of years after this, I can say the system is very mature to work as a webserver, a little unstabilities, but is more robust than 3 years ago...

Here is a webpage hosted on a virtual private server running reactos: http://iguanacms.asp.es

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 7:07 am
by Adcock
Hi Julio,
WOW!
That feels like a dream becoming true.
:cry:

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 4:42 am
by Julcar
I want to add another software that works on ReactOS: https://sourceforge.net/projects/mgsmtp/ A basic and tiny MTA SMTP server for windows and of course ReactOS, tested with public ip and reverse dns settings, was able to send email to other mail servers (though for some reason doesn't work for gmail nor hotmail) and more tests are incoming soon.

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 4:06 am
by cb88
Julcar wrote:I want to add another software that works on ReactOS: https://sourceforge.net/projects/mgsmtp/ A basic and tiny MTA SMTP server for windows and of course ReactOS, tested with public ip and reverse dns settings, was able to send email to other mail servers (though for some reason doesn't work for gmail nor hotmail) and more tests are incoming soon.
Probably because they don't trust your IP address... there are some hoops to jump through to get your IP address trusted for sending/recieving email. You'd probably need a more full featured MTA to enable that.

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 10:31 am
by edwinyzh
Julcar wrote: Tue Apr 24, 2018 6:57 am A lot of years after this, I can say the system is very mature to work as a webserver, a little unstabilities, but is more robust than 3 years ago...

Here is a webpage hosted on a virtual private server running reactos: http://iguanacms.asp.es
Wonderful! You are running nginx/1.13.8

Can you point me to a link where I can find detailed info about installing react on a remote VPS? I use vultr and they support custom ISO, I wish I can install reactOS on my VPS than remote login using Remote desktop or VNC, etc, and if possible also install IIS and Lets encryt :)

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 10:44 am
by shunesburg
I never thought that can already use like that in now days, I mean ReactOS is still in alpha.
It's a good feedback for the future utilisations of ReactOS.

I'm thinking, maybe the third-party LDAP softwares can also work. Whose know ?

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:05 pm
by Julcar
edwinyzh wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 10:31 am
Julcar wrote: Tue Apr 24, 2018 6:57 am A lot of years after this, I can say the system is very mature to work as a webserver, a little unstabilities, but is more robust than 3 years ago...

Here is a webpage hosted on a virtual private server running reactos: http://iguanacms.asp.es
Wonderful! You are running nginx/1.13.8

Can you point me to a link where I can find detailed info about installing react on a remote VPS? I use vultr and they support custom ISO, I wish I can install reactOS on my VPS than remote login using Remote desktop or VNC, etc, and if possible also install IIS and Lets encryt :)
Firstly your VPS should be virtualized with KVM or XEN to get it work, secondly, based on my experiences, is better to install ReactOS from a QEMU VM virtualized with a linux distro (virtualization over virtualization) and applying a patch to disable the entire usb thing, because ReactOS has high probabilities to crash due to usb errors at boot time.

I will write an article about that, maybe on this forum

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2019 5:41 pm
by fibrewire
Julcar wrote: Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:05 pm Firstly your VPS should be virtualized with KVM or XEN to get it work, secondly, based on my experiences, is better to install ReactOS from a QEMU VM virtualized with a linux distro (virtualization over virtualization) and applying a patch to disable the entire usb thing, because ReactOS has high probabilities to crash due to usb errors at boot time.

I will write an article about that, maybe on this forum
Hi there Julcar, I've been a user of ReactOS off and on since about 2005, and I've used tools high and low to make a React Server. I lost most of my work product from several years ago, and was hoping to do something like this again. Any chance you have a current list of applications used to match the microsoft counterparts?

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 1:00 pm
by Julcar
fibrewire wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 5:41 pm
Julcar wrote: Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:05 pm Firstly your VPS should be virtualized with KVM or XEN to get it work, secondly, based on my experiences, is better to install ReactOS from a QEMU VM virtualized with a linux distro (virtualization over virtualization) and applying a patch to disable the entire usb thing, because ReactOS has high probabilities to crash due to usb errors at boot time.

I will write an article about that, maybe on this forum
Hi there Julcar, I've been a user of ReactOS off and on since about 2005, and I've used tools high and low to make a React Server. I lost most of my work product from several years ago, and was hoping to do something like this again. Any chance you have a current list of applications used to match the microsoft counterparts?
FTP server: indiftpd
WebServer: Nginx and tinyweb
mail server: mgsmtp
firewall: firewallpapi
sadly no rdbms is working properly, but sqlite does well
nssm for installing everything as service

Re: My experiences using ReactOS as a server OS

Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 1:44 pm
by shunesburg
Julcar wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2019 1:00 pm
fibrewire wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 5:41 pm
Julcar wrote: Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:05 pm Firstly your VPS should be virtualized with KVM or XEN to get it work, secondly, based on my experiences, is better to install ReactOS from a QEMU VM virtualized with a linux distro (virtualization over virtualization) and applying a patch to disable the entire usb thing, because ReactOS has high probabilities to crash due to usb errors at boot time.

I will write an article about that, maybe on this forum
Hi there Julcar, I've been a user of ReactOS off and on since about 2005, and I've used tools high and low to make a React Server. I lost most of my work product from several years ago, and was hoping to do something like this again. Any chance you have a current list of applications used to match the microsoft counterparts?
FTP server: indiftpd
WebServer: Nginx and tinyweb
mail server: mgsmtp
firewall: firewallpapi
sadly no rdbms is working properly, but sqlite does well
nssm for installing everything as service
It's crazy to think that's all works fine. Maybe the ReactOS Server version is born (in pre-alpha version of course).