During the time that I have spent as a network administrator/ computer repair / technology director / windows washer, I have found that there are two ways to get a job done.
The first is the method that most of us use, we outright pay (mostly to Microsoft) for the privledge of using a pre-installed ready to use software package. I have nothing againt this method but there are times that I feel I need a little more control, a little more of a challenge or save a little cash. Furthermore, it seems that most of the "store-bought" programs are filled so much with other junk programs that it requires super-computers to run a 10 node network.
Which brings me to the second method. Forgo the cash out option build your own programs. This method actually costs more than the first if your time is worth any thing. I have been told many times that my time has no value, so I guess for me this is still a cheaper option.
Seeking the inexpensive, off beat or geeky methods have lead me to accomplish tasks like running Apache with Linux on a Macintosh computer and set up a web server that shows that Microsoft IIS can run on FreeBSD.
I am writing this page partially to help myself remember but also to save others the trouble of figuring out the same things. Currently, I have been using FreeBSD as my preferred OS. It is not difficult to load, it is easy to configure and it runs almost nothing except what I want it to run. I have used some of these solutions on other unix types.
Projects:
Apache Reverse Proxy
Qmail as a secure Postoffice
SAMBA as a Windows NT File server
SAMBA as a authentication to FreeBSD
Squid as a Content Filtering Service
Border Mail Server Spam and Virus Protection
Web Based Network Monitoring
Log Server for network devices
As time allows, I will try to add more content