ClearOS (also known as the ClearOS System, formerly ClarkConnect) is a

Linux distribution A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one ...

ClearFoundation ClearFoundation is a Non-profit Incorporated Society that develops and manages the source code and repository of its flagship operating system namely ClearOS. The organization is headquartered in New Zealand History The ClearFoundation is a Ne ...

, with network gateway, file, print, mail, and messaging services.

History

ClearOS is based on

CentOS CentOS (, from Community Enterprise Operating System; also known as CentOS Linux) is a Linux distribution that provides a free and open-source community-supported computing platform, functionally compatible with its upstream source, Red Hat En ...

and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, designed for use in

small and medium enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Bank ...

as a

network gateway A gateway is a piece of networking hardware or software used in telecommunications networks that allows data to flow from one discrete network to another. Gateways are distinct from router (computing), routers or network switch, switches in that ...

and network server with a web-based administration interface. It is positioned as an alternative to

Windows Small Business Server Windows Server Essentials (formerly Small Business Server or SBS) is an integrated server suite from Microsoft for businesses with no more than 25 users or 50 devices. It includes Windows Server, Exchange Server, Windows SharePoint Services, and ...

. ClearOS is the successor to ClarkConnect. The software is built by

, and support services can be purchased from

ClearCenter ClearCenter is headquartered in New Zealand, and has its primary product offices in Orem, Utah, along with marketing, support, research and development facilities around the world, ranging from Canada, Taiwan, China, Netherlands, UK and India. ...

. ClearOS 5.1 removes previous limitations to mail, DMZ, and MultiWAN functions. As of the ClearOS 6.1 release, the distribution is a full-featured operating system for gateway, network and servers built from source packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. ClearOS aims to replace, as a small business server, Windows SBS.

Features

Features include: * Stateful firewall ( iptables), networking and security * Intrusion detection and prevention system (

SNORT Snort may refer to: * Nose-blowing * Sniffle * Nasal administration, the inhaling of drugs through the nose * Snort (software), a package for intrusion detection * Snort, a map-coloring game * Insufflation, the act of blowing, breathing, hissing, ...

) * Virtual private networking ( IPsec, PPTP,

OpenVPN OpenVPN is a virtual private network (VPN) system that implements techniques to create secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in routed or bridged configurations and remote access facilities. It implements both client and server appl ...

) * Web proxy, with content filtering and antivirus (

Squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...

, DansGuardian) * E-mail services (Webmail, Postfix, SMTP, POP3/s, IMAP/s) * Groupware ( Kolab) * Database and web server (easy to deploy

LAMP Lamp, Lamps or LAMP may refer to: Lighting * Oil lamp, using an oil-based fuel source * Kerosene lamp, using kerosene as a fuel * Electric lamp, or light bulb, a replaceable component that produces light from electricity * Light fixture, or ligh ...

stack) * File and print services (

Samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

and

CUPS CUPS (formerly an acronym for Common UNIX Printing System) is a modular computer printer, printing system for Unix-like computer operating systems which allows a computer to act as a print server. A computer running CUPS is a Server (computi ...

) * Flexshares (unified multi-protocol storage which currently employs SMB, HTTP/S, FTP/S, and SMTP) * MultiWAN (Internet

fault tolerant design Fault tolerance is the property that enables a system to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of one or more faults within some of its components. If its operating quality decreases at all, the decrease is proportional to the ...

) * Built-in reports for system statistics and services ( MRTG and others)

Awards and recognition

*August 2009: CompTIA Breakaway — ClearCenter's ClearOS wins 'Best New Product' at

CompTIA The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is an American non-profit trade association that issues professional certifications for the information technology (IT) industry. It is considered one of the IT industry's top trade associa ...

Breakaway. *August 2010: CompTIA Breakaway — ClearCenter's ClearOS repeats win for 'Best New Product' at

Breakaway. *July 2012: Softpedia — An Open Source, free and powerful network and gateway Linux server operating system *February 2014: IDG Security Firewall Distributions Review *June 2015: Small Business Computing — The 5 Best Linux Servers for Small Business *September 2015: LinuxVoice Service Distro — Group Test (see pages 58-63)

References

External links

* *
Clark Connect
at

DistroWatch DistroWatch is a website which provides news, distribution pages hit rankings, and other general information about various Linux distributions as well as other free software/open source Unix-like operating systems. It now contains information on ...

clarkconnect.com

clarkconnect.org
''recycle a tired old computer into an Internet gateway''
PointClark Networks

ClarkConnect becomes ClearOS
!-
Announcement of ClearCenter and ClearFoundation by Point Clark Networks
-->
ClearFoundation

ClearCenter
Enterprise Linux distributions Firewall software Free routing software Gateway/routing/firewall distribution Linux distributions {{Linux-distro-stub

History

Features

Awards and recognition

See also

References

External links