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403 lines
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<HEAD>
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<title>Home Networking With Linux LG #28</title>
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<H4>
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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</H4>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<center>
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<H1><font color="maroon">Home Networking With Linux</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:glen@silver-182.silverlink.net">Glen Journeay</a></H4>
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</center>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<ol>
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<li><A HREF="./journeay.html#home">Home Networking Arrives</A>
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<ul>
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<li>Progress on the Home Front
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<li>Advantages of Networks
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<li>Problems With Networks
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</ul>
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<li><A HREF="./journeay.html#pick">Picking a Network Solution</A>
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<ul>
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<li>Networking Choices
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<li>Advantages of Unix
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<li>Linux, the Unix for the GNU generation
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</ul>
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<li><A HREF="./journeay.html#linux">Linux Networking in Action</A>
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<ul>
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<li>GNU General Public License - Cant Beat the Price
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<li>Support - More Than You Paid For
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<li>Supported Hardware, Supported Software
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<li>Networking Support
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<li>IP Masquerade (Yes, You Can Eat That Cake!)
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<li>What Linux Isn't
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</ul>
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<li><A HREF="./journeay.html#catch">So, What's the Catch</A>
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<li><A HREF="./journeay.html#just">Just Do It!</A>
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<li><A HREF="./journeay.html#future">The Future</A>
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</ol>
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<P><HR> <P>
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<A name="home"></A>
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<H3>Home Networking Arrives</H3>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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It seems it's inevitable that the norm of home PCs becomes not
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just having one, but a few. Often, we acquire more than one computer at
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home when we upgrade from our existing system, or we get one for the kids to
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use, or the spouse brings one home for work. Somehow, we end up with
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a bunch.
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<P>
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Dealing with the problems that arise with two or more computers is
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our first exposure to being a network administrator. Let's face it, as
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soon as you have more than one, you're trying to move or share information
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between them. The kids want to download a game from the Internet from one
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PC and install it on another. You brought home a file from work, only to
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realize that you don't have compatible software at home. You're
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constantly moving files on disk over the sneaker net to the PC downstairs
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with the good printer.
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<P>
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The best solution to these problems, a network, is generally
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staring us in the face out a work, we just don't consider this solution to
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be economical or practical for home use. But, like the idea of having
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more than one TV twenty years ago, the day when home networks and multiple
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computers in the household will be common place is rapidly approaching.
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Even now, those among us with more money (lots more sometimes) are
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exploring totally networked and interactive houses. In new houses RJ-45
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jacks for 10BaseT , and the 100 MHz 100BaseT Ethernet will be become as
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common as the phone jacks they look like.
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<P>
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There are drawbacks to having a network at home. First off, we
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don't have a whole Information Systems (IS) department at home to support
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us. Also, the networking hardware and software can be expensive. So the
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advantages of networking have to out weigh the disadvantages of setup and
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maintenance costs.
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<A name="pick"></A>
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<H3>Picking A Network Solution</H3>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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Let's examine some of the networking solutions available that are
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appropriate for home networks. It turns out that as the PC industry has
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matured, the variety of networking options has increased. These range
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from simple plug-n-go printer sharing networks all the way to firewall
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protected, server supported intranets. Normally, the cost and
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administration complexity rise as the power and functionality of the
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network rise, and as always, the proper way to choose the network you need
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is to determine the functions that you require. Here's a matrix listing
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normal network functions and solutions among the common operating home
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operating systems and two non-common networking solutions - Linux and
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Microsoft NT:
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<pre>
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Linux Unix NT Win95 Mac OS/2
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Printer services x x x x x x
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File server/sharing x * * * * *
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Mail server x * * * - -
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Domain Name Server x x * * * *
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Web Server x x * * * *
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Firewall x * * * - -
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Routing x x x - - -
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Gateway x x x - - -
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Internet x x x x x x
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Ethernet x x x x x x
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Token Ring x * * * * *
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Arcnet x * * * * *
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Framerelay x * * - - -
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ISDN x * * * - -
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PPP x x x x x x
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SLIP x x x x x x
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TCP/IP x x x x x x
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X.25 x * * * * *
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IPX (Novell Netware) x x x x * *
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SMB (Windows network) x x x x * *
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Appletalk x * * * x *
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NFS x x * * * *
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</pre>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<pre>
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x Support in system as supplied
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* Support available as extra
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- Support not available
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</pre>
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Several home operating systems have been left off of the features
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comparison chart, most of those have been superceeded by their
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manufacturers. If your favorite is missing, our apology, but discuss this
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with the OEM since even they are urging you to switch. Also, several
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flavors of Unix have been covered under just the Unix heading with one
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Unix variety, Linux, set aside.
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<P>
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Linux since it's inception in 1991, has been different than the
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other Unixes in several important ways. Linux is a Unix clone written
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from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of
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developers on the Internet. Linux is (and always will be), with very few
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restrictions (see the GNU General Public License), free and has evolved
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into a full fledged, high performance Unix originally based on the Intel
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386, now available on more different computer architectures than any other
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single operating system in the world. It should be noted that Linux is
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not the only freely distributed Unix variety, it just seems to be the best
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supported one at this time. It has good support available from the team
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of developers on the Internet and very extensive documentation in the form
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of HOWTO instructions, FAQs and Unix man pages, also available freely over
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the Internet. Linux distributions, the operating system and all required
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other software to have a fully functional system, are available for less
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than $30 on a CDROM and for free when downloaded from FTP sites on the
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Internet. Linux network servers for home use actually require no more
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than an old 386 in order to provide excellent performance for file
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servers, print servers, mail servers and network gateways and routers.
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Linux is very robust. Many Linux boxes around the world have not crashed
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or been rebooted for over a year. I do not think any Windows or Macintosh
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product can make this claim.
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<P>
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Windows NT, the networking oriented operating system offered by
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Microsoft, has been available since 1991 too. It has all of the above
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features available for a price. This system can easily cost over $1000 to
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get almost all of the features listed above. It has good support
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available and as it begins to replace Unix as a major operating system on
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the Internet it will mature into a powerful operating system available on
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many different computer architectures. It currently cannot perform all of
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the networking functions that Unix or Linux can offer, but it will soon.
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Undoubtedly, NT with the continued support of Microsoft has a bright
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future.
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<P>
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Unix, of course, is a well established networking power house. In
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fact, Unix is the workhorse of the Internet. All of the protocols and
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services that the Internet were originally based on were developed on
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Unix. Because of the maturity of Unix, it has already gone through the
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growing pains that are now plaguing NT, such as security and crash
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problems. Despite predictions for years that Unix use will decline, Unix
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use continues to increase. Until the advent of Linux, there was no
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inexpensive, powerful Unix available for the home. Unix operating systems
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generally cost over $2000 for an operating system with the features listed
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above. And even now the relative complexity of Unix to most other
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operating systems discourages wide use except at colleges and large
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businesses.
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<P>
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Windows 95, the Macintosh OS and OS/2 also provide limited
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networking out of the box, and with additional software can perform as
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printer servers, file servers, mail servers, name servers, firewalls, and
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web servers. None of these operating systems were designed originally to
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support intensive networking services, but can do a good job for small
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networks with the right software and hardware. These operating systems
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can be outfitted to perform almost all of the above features for about
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$500, and the basic operating system is generally supplied with the PC.
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Also these systems are very easy to setup and configure.
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<P>
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Picking a home networking solution at the present time is largely
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dependent upon your networking requirements and budget. Obviously, most
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of us cannot afford to spend large amounts of money unless a home business
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is involved. Luckily at this time one of most powerful is also the
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cheapest. Linux offers all of the power of Unix and as software
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installation programs become more sophisticated, it's also becoming easier
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(almost painless) to install and administer. Indeed, if you have the
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time, patience, disk space and an Internet link, you can download Linux
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from several FTP sites located around the world. With all this to offer,
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you wonder why Linux is not being used more often, well, it is. Linux is
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now being used on over 8 million computers around the world, in over 40%
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of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the world, by large
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corporations, and US government agencies including NASA which recently put
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an experiment on the Space Shuttle run by a Linux computer.
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<A name="linux"></A>
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<H3>Linux Networking in Action</H3>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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Assuming that you do decide to set up a home network server using
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Linux, the first step is to find PC hardware that can be used to run the
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server. This should not present a problem since Linux supports just about
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any PC configuration made within the last five years, and as stated above,
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an older 386 PC can easily support a home network of five or more PCs.
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Linux runs on any 386/486/586/Pentium class processor (including AMD,
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Cyrix), Dec Alpha, PowerPC (MkLinux for Apple), M68xxx (Amiga, Atari), Sun
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SPARC and MIPS. A minimum system based on a 386 requires 4 Meg of RAM
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(more is better) and 50 Meg of disk space (200 Meg is better). While
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Linux can be run on a 386/4MB/20MB system, this system will be very slow.
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Eight MB of memory and 50 MB of disk space is a more realistic minimum for
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a useful system. If this describes the PC you've been using as a door
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stop for the last few years, then dust it off, because it'll work fine.
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Many for the more popular Linux distributions along with manuals are now
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available at bookstores.
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<P>
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Don't worry if you have both Macintoshs and IBM PCs to support at
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home. Linux happily coexists with all of the most popular home operating
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systems. Linux knows the networking protocols and file systems native to
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a multitude of different operating systems on a network: MS DOS, Windows
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for Workgroups, Win95, Win NT, Mac OS, OS/2, Novell, Amiga, VAX and Unix.
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Details to implement support for these network support is provided by
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step-by-step instructions written in HOWTO documents available on the
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Internet.
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<P>
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You will need to decide on the hardware link to use at home.
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Ethernet is probably the least expensive and even slow Ethernet (10Mbps)
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provides performance that exceeds most home requirements. Fast Ethernet
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(100Mbps) is rapidly becoming the business Ethernet standard and is still
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reasonable affordable for home use. Ethernet interface cards range in
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price from $20 for an 8-bit ISA bus 10MHz card to $100 for a 100MHz card.
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10Base2 seems to be the home user Ethernet cable choice, but 10BaseT isn't
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far behind. With 10Base2 there is simply a coaxial cable "daisy chained"
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between computers on the network. The cable must not ever be discontinuous
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and 50 ohm terminators are required at both ends of the daisy chain. If
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you're having a home built, getting a 10BaseT cable network installed is
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easily done and by choosing Category 5 cable you can ensure an easy
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upgrade path to Fast Ethernet. Also the 50 ohm terminators are not
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required. A 10BaseT system of more than two interface cards will require
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an Ethernet hub, and be warned that Category 5 cable is not cheap
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($0.40/foot), so you'll pay more for a 10BaseT installation, but this a
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system will last longer, and is more convenient than 10base2. Linux
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supports almost any network interface card, so your networking
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requirements will probably depend more on the PCs at the other end of the
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Ethernet cable.
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<P>
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The Linux server could be the gateway to the Internet for all of
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the rest of the PCs (or whatever) on your home network. This will require
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a connection to a local or national ISP which can provide an IP address
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(preferably a static IP address) for the Linux gateway. The Internet link
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can be over a modem, ISDN, frame relay or ATM connection. Linux will also
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provide firewall services so that no one will be able to invade your home
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network from the Internet connection. Using a process called IP
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masquerading, Linux will provide Internet access to all of the PCs on your
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home network even with only one valid IP address and fully qualified
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domain name. This is done by making it appear that all of the TCP/IP
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traffic coming from your home network is coming from the Linux PC. When
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traffic comes back for the other machines, the Linux PC will act like the
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post office and sort all the network traffic back to the proper PC. A
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Linux machine can easily support two to five PCs surfing the Internet on a
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28.8 modem link. A Linux computer can provide mail server services
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allowing you to create as many e-mail addresses as you require at home.
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All of the following can be done with ONLY ONE NORMAL PPP or SLIP link to
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an Internet Service Provider. There would be no extra charges for
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additional e-mail services or subnetworks since all of these functions
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would be performed at home by your Linux server. Are you tired of having
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only one PC on the Internet at home or paying for multiple Internet
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accounts? Then Linux is the answer.
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<P>
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The Linux PC will provide printer and file server functions.
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Samba, a free software package, supports the SMB protocol used by Win95
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and WFW. Samba is used by many large companies on large company networks.
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Once configured, it interfaces into the Windows operating system and works
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flawlessly allowing all of the network users to have individual and shared
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disk space, plus allowing the user specify and use any printer on the
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Linux server (or network printer for that matter). Here again, as for all
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of Linux, the software is available for free over the Internet, complete
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with installation instructions and source code, and the software is being
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actively developed and maintained by the original developer. Linux has a
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similar software package called Netatalk which provides similar support
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for the Apple Localtalk protocol. A tape backup system can be installed
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in the Linux server to automatically back up your server.
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<P>
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Linux provides all of the network services traditionally
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associated with Unix. Mail server service can be accomplished using using
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sendmail or smail. Any user on the Linux system can then have an e-mail
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address. The e-mail account can be accessed from the network PCs using an
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e-mail client with the POP3 protocol, such as Eudora or Pegasus. If your
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network needs Domain Name Service, the named program can provide it. If
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you support more than on type of network or several small networks, the
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Linux server can act as a gateway to tie all of the subnets together.
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Kernel routing rules can also be used to allow the server to act as a
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firewall and control access to the internal network. NFS, which stands
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for Network File System, allows computers to mount disk drives on remote
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machines. NFS is also available with any Linux distribution, although
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most other operating systems will require additional software to use NFS.
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The other network standard applications used on TCP/IP networks are always
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available: FTP, telnet, remote shells, ping, etc.
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<P>
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A Linux server also provides a state-of-the-art web server and
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Java development system. Several web servers are available for running on
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Linux with the Apache web server being the most popular. Apache is now
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the most popular web server on the Internet with over 45% of all web
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servers running it. The Java Development Kit is being ported from Sun
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Microsystems and provides a Java compiler for developing Java
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applications. In fact support for Java can be complied into the Linux
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operating system allowing the server to run native Java code. This
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feature is still being discussed for most operating systems.
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<A name="catch"></A>
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<H3>So, What's the Catch?</H3>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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By now most of you are wondering what the catch is with running
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Linux. There's no real catch. Linux has been developing and maturing at
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a rate that far exceeds that of such well supported systems as Windows NT.
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For example, Windows NT just announced support for up to eight CPUs in a
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multiprocessor system. Linux now supports the Intel SMP multiprocessor
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specification which provides support for up to twenty CPUs in a single
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system.
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<P>
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With this power comes the complexity of the installation and
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support. In fact, installation and maintenance have been the subject of
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many recent articles. However, recent Linux distributions have made the
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installation process much easier and provide tools to make system
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administration easier. Also helping the situation is that, unlike Windows
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NT which is a relatively new operating system, Unix has been around for
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decades, so there exists a larger base of trained system personnel for
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Unix systems than there are for Windows NT. The traditional support
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market was with large installations at large companies in a workstation
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environment, but it's now shifting to support the use of Unix in smaller
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businesses. Since UNIX is such a strait forward operating system to
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develop software in, many young and eager software developers and
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hobbiests are turning to Linux for an inexpensive development platform.
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These young people are an excellent source of system administration
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knowledge, and most of them can be contacted for free advise on news
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groups on the Internet.
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<P>
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Linux, like other Unixes, has not previously been an operating
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system commonly used at home. Many of the applications developed for Unix
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systems are available on Linux. This was traditionally the scientific
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workstation area, and the quality of the applications reflects this.
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Unfortunately, Linux suffers from a shortage of applications oriented
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towards the average computer consumer. So, even though a Linux makes for
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an excellent server,and it is also an excellent workstation, running the
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latest release of the free graphical environment, X windows, it cannot run
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the latest version of Office 97 (although many Windows applications can be
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run using the WABI Windows emulator available from Caldera software or the
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Wine windows emulator). There are several software companies (and others)
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now developing and selling consumer applications to fill this gap.
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<A name="just"></A>
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<H3>Just Do It</H3>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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Linux is an operating system with minimal initial cost, yet
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powerful enough to easily handle a home network or small business.
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Especially nice is that the older PC hardware which is normally retired
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can be very effectively used as a network server for a small network.
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Local Linux users groups and computer stores provide excellent Linux
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support. The support available from the Internet is also excellent. It's
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always comforting to receive an e-mail from the original developer of some
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Linux software acknowledging that the bug you've reported has been fixed.
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<A name="future"></A>
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<H3>The Future</H3>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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In many ways, the advent and growth of Linux has gone hand-in-hand
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with the growth of the Internet, and the work of Linus Torvalds and many
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hard working developers. Presently, Linux is an extremely capable
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operating system available at an unbelievable price. Development of the
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operating system to incorporate the latest hardware and software
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developments is continuing at a rapid pace. Although the future of the
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Internet, the Personal Computer, and the Network Computer is unknowable,
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it would seem that Linux will be part of that future.
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<center><H5>Copyright © 1998, Glen Journeay <BR>
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Published in Issue 28 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, May 1998</H5></center>
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