Comments on: Ubuntu Server Edition: GUI Or No GUI, And Does It Matter?

By: Tom Liberty

Tom Liberty — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:39:12 +0000

I have used a product in the past called NetMax by CyberNet. It was an HTML interface that worked really well for Admin functions. This could be a solution to a Graphical Interface

By: Dataworks

Dataworks — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:53:41 +0000

I agree for the most part with SourceView. In the end the server is there for the enhancement of user productivity in a business. I’m an IT consultant and I have used Windows, Apple, and Linux. Personally, I hate them all equally. They each have flaws but in the end, the product I recommend is the one that most effectively meets my clients’ needs and business goals. I like Ubuntu a lot but I’m not going to recommend it to someone who needs to use Adobe products or AutoCAD. As far as GUI on a server goes, its a personal matter. IT admins need to be familiar with the command line. It is a very scalable and in depth admin tool but to say no GUI is ever necessary is ignorance. Do what works for you and your users. If your users aren’t benefited by a product then its the wrong one to use.

By: SourceView

SourceView — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:14:15 +0000

Greetings to all self-centered sysadmins who set things up for themselves and not their customers – no doubt in fear they will lose their jobs! I want sysadmins who will put themselves in my shoes, use tools that I use, enable me to do routine chores myself and be more independent – If I can be empowered as a small business person to do all the routine things, I have more money for sysadmins to do more interesting things. I like webmin, I don’t find it any more difficult than XP stuff, and all I need the sysadmin to do is set it up! I don’t need X or a dumned down GUI, but I need to spend my time selling and marketing and paying the bills, something sysadmins can’t do. So if I fire some slacker for incompetence, I want immediate access to webmin to shut him out, I don’t want to wait for a sysadmin to do it. And, yes I want to shut out a nerdy sysadmin too. Aftrer all, it is my business, not his.

By: jimcooncat

jimcooncat — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:29:42 +0000

What would be so difficult to add a little blurb to debian-installer saying, “If you really want a gui to go with this, then after installation type sudo apt-get install gnome-desktop” ?

Or prompt for add-on packages?

I don’t see why a server installation package has to be all-encompassing. Then again, I don’t put gui’s on my servers.

You’d think that it’s just not acceptable to force someone to put a one-line command in to add a gui! Come on now, we’re lazy, but not that lazy!

@Jayson Rowe: I’ll have try out gnome-core next time!

By: Isaac

Isaac — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:53:30 +0000

I work for a large NGO in China and we never… and I mean NEVER… see IT candidates that can handle the command line… even after a few years of experience working at it I still have to write up commands for them to go execute on the servers. (after explaining apt-get and mount for the umpteenth times in 3 dialects, I’m just vpn’ing everything so I can sit my rump at my desk and do it all in one quick and easy go)

I’ve grown to love that wonderful little bash prompt, I hate installing a gui on a server (other than the webmin or ebox type). I just think the gui is one extra thing to break and/or suck resources; however, a server is only any good if you as the IT supervisor can take a vacation and leave the servers under the control of your staff. In the interest of being able to sit on a beach in Thailand I vote for a gui option, but by no means should it be mandatory. (assuming I don’t just sit on the beach and wifi any commands the servers really need over the vpn)

By: Janvl

Janvl — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:53:19 +0000

For my customers that want to do some simple admin-work themselves, a GUI has to be there. Not all customers have the financial means to have a fulltime admin for their servers. So as long as Ubuntu does not offer a server edition with a GUI, I will install a desktop system, strip it a bit and install all server-software that I need on it. So my customer can be halfway selfsupporting.

By: Jayson Rowe

Jayson Rowe — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:55:07 +0000

Although traditionally Linux servers do not have a GUI, as Linux (and Ubuntu Server) makes its way into the Datacenters of formerly MS only shops, with former Windows admins using it, I think we will see it more and more commonplace.

What we’ve been doing here is just installing “gnome-core” – just enough to get a workable GUI accessible via VNC.

By: JohnMc

JohnMc — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:49:43 +0000

Seldom do I run a GUI on a USE. Most of the admin is done via Webmin. But do so from time to time because the underlying application requires it for administration. But even then, I use LXDE rather than Gnome. Its lighter weight and more responsive.

By: aikiwolfie

aikiwolfie — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:43:58 +0000

You’re right. An OS without applications is like a car without wheels.

By: Dragonbite

Dragonbite — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:03:32 +0000

Just having a GUI, though, isn’t enough. One thing CentOS (thus Red Hat) has included with their GUI is a couple tools for managing things that I haven’t found the same for in Ubuntu (general) or openSUSE.

By: aikiwolfie

aikiwolfie — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:53:47 +0000

Personally I think this debate is a waste of time and energy. If you need a GUI in a Linux environment, server or desktop, then you can add one. If you don’t need it you can remove it.

It’s just not that big an issue.

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:33:04 +0000

Ty: You took the words right out of my mouth.