NetMAX Newsletter - January 2003

1. [Updates] NetMAX Version 4.06 Released!
2. [Technical] NetMAX Upgrade Tips
3. [General] Personal Tutor Promotion Repsonse
4. [General] Let's Hear From You

1. NetMAX Version 4.06 Released!

NetMAX has released an update to the NetMAX 4 product family that will upgrade all NetMAX 4 products to version 4.06. It is strongly recommended that all users use NetMAX Package Management to install this update at their earliest convenience.

New in NetMAX L2.4Pv4.06:

• Linux kernel has been updated to version 2.4.20-28.7.
• iproute has been updated to version 2.4.7.
• rsync has been updated to version 2.5.7.
• Domain Name Servers now interact properly with non-Bind DNS
  servers when they are not authoritative (it creates "forward" zones
  instead of "stub" zones for compatibility).
• Squirrelmail has been updated to version 1.4.2.
• the issue where Squirrelmail attachments would remain on the
  server if composing and sending a message is aborted has been fixed.
• the problem with viewing the status of VPN connections that would
  prevent routing information from being displayed has been fixed.
• alias lines are no longer added to lilo.conf.
• enabling of cups-lpr through xinetd if no printers are exported
  to UNIX machines is now prevented.
• all necessary directories and files for VPN are now created and
  readable by NetMAX even if Road Warriors are not configured.
• all directories necessary for any NetMAX products are now created
  at install time, regardless of which template is selected (this
  does not affect which services are enabled, and does not affect
  machines that are already installed).
• Fixes a problem with calculating the progress of package downloads
  and with estimating the remaining time to complete the download.

For more information, please visit the NetMAX web site at:

http://www.netmax.com/support/downloads/downloads.html

2. NetMAX Upgrade Tips

We here at NetMAX issue frequent updates to the NetMAX software to address newly discovered security issues and general bugs, so to keep your NetMAX Server up to date, you're going to be doing upgrades. Most of the time upgrades are painless and quick, but every once in a while upgrades can cause problems -- to avoid such problems, follow our Five Steps to Painless Upgrades:

1. Always back up your server's configuration before the upgrade. See this FAQ for more information on using NetMAX's configuration backup utility:
   http://www.netmax.com/fom/fom.cgi?file=370
2. In addition to the configuration, back up any critical data on the NetMAX.  If your server has a tape drive, see this FAQ for help in using the NetMAX tape backup feature:
   http://www.netmax.com/fom/fom.cgi?file=411
3. Schedule the upgrade for a non-critical time.  The server will at least need to reboot, and in case of any problems, you will want to have time to resolve them.
4. Always have the NetMAX CD on hand in case of a failure.  You can then use the CD to do a repair.  The complete repair procedure can be found in your manual.  For the latest versions of NetMAX manuals in PDF format, go here:
   http://www.netmax.com/support/onlinedocs/user_manuals.html
5. Have as much free space on your hard disk as possible for the backup.  This is especially true for the root or / partition.  While the backup routine will check for adequate disk space, it's always a good idea to have plenty of room before hand.

A few moments of diligence before an upgrade can save you a lot of time and money later! But as always, our support staff is available to help you through any NetMAX issues you encounter. Information on our support policies is always available on our web site at:

http://www.netmax.com/support/contact_support/policy_sup.html

3. Strong Personal Tutor Promotional Response

Over the holiday break, we offered all of our Mailing List subscribers free access to our NetMAX Personal Tutor product... and the response was overwhelming! Around 200 NetMAX users took time out of their holiday breaks to take advantage of our holiday download, and saved themselves $50 in the process.

We want to say thanks for the heavy response, and we hope all of you who downloaded the Personal Tutor found it helpful! And if you were busy during the break and missed out, don't worry -- you can still get NetMAX Personal Tutor in the NetMAX Store at:

http://www.netmax.com/order/BuyStuff.cgi

4. Let's Hear From You!

We would very much like to hear from you -- especially about how you use NetMAX and Linux in your business, and how we can make NetMAX better suited to your needs. Contribute your input to the NetMAX Forum at:

http://www.netmax.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi

or to our general NetMAX contact form at:

http://www.netmax.com/partners/contacts.html

Let us know about your likes, dislikes, and general comments. We are especially interested in the type of additions to NetMAX that you would like to see as we continue to develop the NetMAX line.

Thank you!