SRU call for testing: clamav 0.95.2 in jaunty-proposed

Scott Kitterman announced that version 0.95.2 of clamav had been uploaded to jaunty-proposed. If you have access to a test environment providing mail services testing the package in jaunty-proposed can be easily done. Feedback should be reported to bug 394870.

Hungry for merges? The Ubuntu Server Team has a selection for your appetite

Now that the karmic release cycle has opened Ubuntu developers are focusing on merging packages from Debian unstable into karmic repositories. If you’re looking for improving your packaging skills here is a list of merges that look easy:

From the main repository:

• virtinst
• tomcat6
• squid
• openvpn
• nagios-plugins
• hsqldb
• apache2

From the universe:

• snort
• proftpd-dfsg
• phpldapadmin
• drupal
• asterisk

To get started head to Ubuntu Merge-O-Matic and grab one of the package above. The Merging wiki page has more information about the merge process if you get stuck somewhere along the way. Once you’re done with a package seek sponsorship if you don’t have upload privileges and don’t forget to send relevant patches to Debian!

MySQL 5.1 in Ubuntu’s universe

On November 14th 2008 MySQL 5.1 reached General Availability status. A little less than two months later MySQL 5.1 entered Ubuntu’s universe thanks to the work of Chuck Short. Based on the version available from Debian experimental repository MySQL 5.1 brings new features such as:

• Table and Index Partitioning to improve performance and management of very large database environments
• Row-based and Hybrid Replication for improved replication security
• Event Scheduler to create and schedule jobs that perform various database tasks

MySQL 5.1 should be included in the upcoming Ubuntu release codenamed  Jaunty Jackalope scheduled for April 2009. However users can already test it by installing the mysql-server-5.1 package on a system running the development version of Ubuntu. Upgrades from 5.0 to 5.1 are also possible.

MySQL 5.0 has also been updated to the latest version: 5.0.75. Thus Ubuntu users have the choice of running either MySQL 5.0 from the main component or MySQL 5.1 from the universe component. The Ubuntu Server team is looking for early testers. Having access to a MySQL environment and being able to run a database load in a testing environment are the two requirements to help shaping the next version Ubuntu and its support for MySQL.

An improved mail server stack in Jaunty: Dovecot and Postfix integration

A session during last UDS was dedicated to improving the mail server stack available in Ubuntu Server. One of the item that came out of the discussion was a better integration between postfix and dovecot. Ante Karamatic worked on implementing it for Jaunty and his results have been uploaded.

To test it all you need is a jaunty system and install the dovecot-postfix package. Once the installation has completed the following configuration will be available:

SASL authentication for smtp services

Postfix is automatically configured to use Dovecot’s SASL authentifcation daemon. Remote SMTP clients can be authenticated to the Postfix SMTP server using the Dovecot user database. The same credentials (username/password, kerberos) can be used for accessing imap, pop3 and smtp services.

Dovecot deliver as the default Local Delivery Agent

postfix will use Dovecot’s deliver command to distribute incoming email to the end user’s mailbox using the Maildir format. Combining Dovecot deliver support for sieve scripts and the managesieve service enabled by default a complete server-side mail filtering solution is available out of the box.

Tls for smtp  services

Tls is made available for smtp and smtpd services provided by postfix while imap and pop3 are available via ssl. Security hasn’t been left out of the picture.

So if you’re interested in a integrated mail stack providing a combination of smtp, imap, pop3 and managesieve services the Jaunty Jackalope will suit you. Have a look at it, test it and with one simple command:

apt-get install dovecot-postfix

Let know the Ubuntu Server teamabout your suggestions and comments.

Ubuntu Server survey launched

The Server Team wants to know where does Ubuntu Server fit in your IT environment. Members of the Server team devised a set of questions to better understand where and why you are using Ubuntu Server to support your IT infrastructure. Completing the survey takes around 20 minutes and topics such as hardware, virtualization and system integration are covered.

Co-sponsored by RedMonk Research, the survey will help prioritize feature requests, guide partnerships when choosing new technologies and provide input for the next Ubuntu Developer Summit in December 2008. Make your voice heard, shape the future of Ubuntu Server, take the survey !