4MLinux Server Edition

4MLinux Server Edition is an open source Linux server operating system based on the minimalistic 4MLinux GNU/Linux distribution and built around the Busybox, OpenSSH, PuTTY and Dropbear software packages.

It features a plethora of server-oriented programs that can be used to transform it into a capable and reliable FTP, SFTP, HTTP or SSH server. In addition, the distribution includes various applications to test these servers.

Distributed as a dual-arch Live CD

Just like any other 4MLinux edition, this server flavor is distributed as a single, dual-arch ISO image that can be deployed to a USB flash drive with the UNetbootin application, or written to a blank CD disc with any CD/DVD burning software.

Boot options

The boot medium comes with a pretty basic boot prompt, which only allows users to start the live environment with default settings, or with VESA framebuffer (in case the first option does not recognises your graphics card).

Includes several servers and supports various programming languages

As mentioned, this edition is distributed with several servers, which are controlled by the inetd daemon. These include vsftpd for deploying a FTP server, Busybox for HTTP and HTTPS servers, OpenSSH for SSH and SFTP servers, as well as telnet for a Telnet server.

In addition, the distribution includes supports for several programming languages, including Perl and the thttpd build of PHP, with support for cURL. SQLite and MariaDB (with Adminer) databases are also pre-installed.

Among other components, we can mention the 4MLinux Firewall, which is based on iptables, Clam AntiVirus virus scanner, Polipo proxy server, Tor anonymity network server/client, x11vnc VNC server (with EchoVNC), and rsync file/directory synchronizer.

Bottom line

The 4MLinux Server Edition tries to offer a reliable server operating system that can be used as-is, directly from the Live CD, or installed on a local disk drive. Unfortunately, we can’t recommend it for general use, in real-world scenarios where the need for an ultra stable and powerful server is a must.

It is no longer under active development

As of January 24, 2015, the 4MLinux Server Edition distribution has been discontinued and won't be updated with new features, bugfixes and security fixes. Therefore, we don't recommend to download and install it as your main server operating system. It has been archived for historical references purposes only.

What is new in this release:

• The servers controlled by the inetd daemon are now: FTP (vsftpd 3.0.2), HTTP/HTTPS (Busybox 1.22.1 with Stunnel 5.07), SSH/SFTP (OpenSSH 6.6p1), and telnet. The programming environment includes the Apache 2.4.10 build of PHP 5.6.2 (with cURL 7.38.0 support), Perl 5.20.1, and DBMS (SQLite 3.8.7.1, MariaDB 10.0.14 with Adminer 4.1.0). The main security components are 4MLinux Firewall 10.1 (based on iptables 1.4.21) and Clam AntiVirus 0.98.4. A proxy/anonymity software (Polipo 1.1.1 with Tor 0.2.5.10 and JAP/JonDo 00.19.001), a VNC server (via LibVNCServer 0.9.10 with EchoVNC 2.40a), and rsync 3.1.1 are also available. There's an online demo at http://server.4mlinux.com.

What is new in version 10.0 Beta:

• The servers controlled by the inetd daemon are now: FTP (vsftpd 3.0.2), HTTP/HTTPS (Busybox 1.22.1 with Stunnel 5.04), SSH/SFTP (OpenSSH 6.6p1), and telnet. The programming environment includes the Apache 2.4.10 build of PHP 5.5.16 (with cURL 7.37.1 support), Perl 5.20.0, and DBMS (SQLite 3.8.6, MariaDB 10.0.14 with Adminer 4.1.0). The main security components are 4MLinux Firewall 10.0 (based on iptables 1.4.21) and Clam AntiVirus 0.98.4. A proxy server (Polipo 1.1.1 with Tor 0.2.4.24), a VNC server (via LibVNCServer 0.9.9 with EchoVNC 2.40a), and rsync 3.1.1 are also available. There's an online demo at http://server.4mlinux.com

What is new in version 9.1 Beta:

• The servers controlled by the inetd daemon are now: FTP (vsftpd 3.0.2), HTTP/HTTPS (Busybox 1.22.1 with Stunnel 5.02), SSH/SFTP (OpenSSH 6.6p1), and telnet. The programming environment includes the Apache 2.4.10 build of PHP 5.5.15 (with cURL 7.37.0 support), Perl 5.20.0, and DBMS (SQLite 3.8.5, MariaDB 10.0.12 with Adminer 4.1.0). The main security components are 4MLinux Firewall 9.1 (based on iptables 1.4.21) and Clam AntiVirus 0.98.4. A proxy server (Polipo 1.1.1 with Tor 0.2.4.23), a VNC server (via LibVNCServer 0.9.9 with EchoVNC 2.40a), and rsync 3.1.1 are also available.

What is new in version 9.0 Beta:

• The servers controlled by the inetd daemon are now: FTP (vsftpd 3.0.2), HTTP/HTTPS (Busybox 1.22.1), SSH/SFTP (OpenSSH 6.6p1), and telnet. The programming environment includes the thttpd build of PHP 5.5.13 (with cURL 7.36.0 support), Perl 5.18.2, and DBMS (SQLite 3.8.4.3, MariaDB 5.5.38 with Adminer 4.1.0). The main security components are 4MLinux Firewall 9.0 (based on iptables 1.4.21) and Clam AntiVirus 0.98.3. A proxy server (Polipo 1.1.1 with Tor 0.2.4.22), a VNC server (via LibVNCServer 0.9.9 with EchoVNC 2.40a), and rsync 3.1.0 are also available.

What is new in version 8.2 Beta:

• The servers controlled by the inetd daemon are now: FTP (vsftpd 3.0.2), HTTP/HTTPS (Busybox 1.22.1), SSH/SFTP (OpenSSH 6.5p1), and telnet. The programming environment includes the thttpd build of PHP 5.5.11 (with cURL 7.35.0 support), Perl 5.18.2, and DBMS (SQLite 3.8.3.1, MariaDB 5.5.37 with Adminer 4.1.0). The main security components are 4MLinux Firewall 8.2 (based on iptables 1.4.21) and Clam AntiVirus 0.98.1. A proxy server (Polipo 1.1.0 with Tor 0.2.4.21), a VNC server (x11vnc 0.9.13 with EchoVNC 2.40a), and rsync 3.1.0 are also available.

What is new in version 8.1:

• The servers controlled by the inetd daemon are now: FTP (vsftpd 3.0.2), HTTP/HTTPS (Busybox 1.22.1), SSH/SFTP (OpenSSH 6.5p1), and telnet. The programming environment includes the thttpd build of PHP 5.5.10 (with cURL 7.35.0 support), Perl 5.18.1, and DBMS (SQLite 3.8.3.1, MariaDB 5.5.36 with Adminer 4.0.3). The main security components are 4MLinux Firewall 8.1 (based on iptables 1.4.21) and Clam AntiVirus 0.98.1. A proxy server (Polipo 1.0.4.1 with Tor 0.2.4.21), a VNC server (x11vnc 0.9.13 with EchoVNC 2.40a), and rsync 3.1.0 are also available.

What is new in version 8.0 Beta:

• The servers controlled by the inetd daemon are now: FTP (vsftpd 3.0.2), HTTP/HTTPS (Busybox 1.21.1), SSH/SFTP (OpenSSH 6.4p1), and telnet. The programming environment includes the thttpd build of PHP 5.5.8 (with cURL 7.33.0 support), Perl 5.18.1, and DBMS (SQLite 3.8.2, MariaDB 5.5.34 with Adminer 4.0.2). The main security components are 4MLinux Firewall 8.0 (based on iptables 1.4.21) and Clam AntiVirus 0.98.1. A proxy server (Polipo 1.0.4.1 with Tor 0.2.4.20), a VNC server (x11vnc 0.9.13 with EchoVNC 2.40a), and rdesktop 1.8.1 are also available.

What is new in version 7.2 Beta:

• The servers controlled by the inetd daemon are now: FTP (vsftpd 3.0.2), HTTP with HTTPS (Busybox 1.21.1), SSH with SFTP (OpenSSH 6.3p1), and telnet. The programming environment includes the thttpd build of PHP 5.5.6 (with cURL 7.32.0 support), Perl 5.18.1, and DBMS (SQLite 3.8.1, MariaDB 5.5.34 with Adminer 3.7.1). The main security components are 4MLinux Firewall 7.2 (based on iptables 1.4.21) and Clam AntiVirus 0.98. A proxy server (Polipo 1.0.4.1 with Tor 0.2.3.25), WinSCP 5.1.7, PuTTY 0.63, rdesktop 1.8.1, and EchoVNC 2.40a are also available.

What is new in version 7.1 Beta:

• The servers controlled by the inetd daemon are now: FTP (vsftpd 3.0.2), HTTP with HTTPS (Busybox 1.21.1), SSH with SFTP (OpenSSH 6.2p2), and telnet.
• The programming environment includes the thttpd build of PHP 5.5.4 (with cURL 7.32.0 support), Perl 5.18.1, and DBMS (SQLite 3.8.0.2, MariaDB 5.5.33a with Adminer 3.7.1).
• The main security components are 4MLinux Firewall 7.1 (based on iptables 1.4.20) and Clam AntiVirus 0.98.
• A proxy server (Polipo 1.0.4.1 with Tor 0.2.3.25), WinSCP 5.1.7, PuTTY 0.63, rdesktop 1.8.0, and EchoVNC 2.40a are also available.
• There's an online demo (server.4mlinux.com).