ClearOS

Since Zentyal decided to drop support for all of the modules that I was using it for I had to switch, and I chose ClearOS. It does the job, but I miss Zentyal. Things were just easier with Zentyal, sure they both have a web GUI but Zentyal just seemed to have it all together. Things made more sense, and I feel like Zentyal was faster. The internet and local network all seem a little slower than before. I can’t say for certain but it feels that way.

One major thing I am missing from Zentyal was the firewall and Traffic Shaping. In my experience with Zentyal the firewall was super easy to understand and setup, and it worked. The traffic shaping (qos) was also easy to setup, and it worked! ClearOS has a firewall and it works, but it requires a lot of pre-configuration to get working properly. I still have issues with my setup. ClearOS doesn’t have QoS either (its in beta). Zentyal’s traffic shaping made it super easy to segregate the phones from computer and the rokus in the house. Making it easy to prioritize your netflix experience for example.

Dealing with ClearOS for now.

Synergy

I use an app called Synergy, it is a KVM switch that works without hardware over your network. I went to update Synergy on the Mac the other day, because it always breaks with OSX updates, and they have gone from free software to no longer free software. They are calling it a donation I believe, but thats BS cover. Charging for whatever reason is still a fee/cost of a product, don’t hide behind the wording. It is a small fee I will say though, currently (as of this posting) $5.00. Or head over to their site and grab a nightly for free, if you don’t mind betas. It is a great piece of software, very handy with multiple machines on the same desk I must say.