Linux Question

K

Knife Outlet

Joined
Jan 4, 1999
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I'd like to learn about Linux and would like to set up a workstation to run it. In order for it to be useful it should be able to access the internet. My question. I have a Windows XP peer to peer network with a shared internet connection by satellite. Can I connect a Linux workstation to the network and can it share the same shared internet connection as the other workstations? Thanks for any advice.
 
Correctly configured a Linux will do everything your Windows does...
I don't know how satellite connection work exactly but I guess you have a local area network with a hub or a switch connected to the computer which access the satellite.
just plug the Linux workstation on the LAN and set the IP, MASK and GETAWAY and that should do it... I guess... :)

you can start with a Live Linux Distro (i.e. it runs from a bootable CD in memory without changing the native operating system of your PC). Really good to begin.

here's a list, pick one ;-) :
http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php
 
As long as your ISP doesn't require any special software to establish the connection you should be fine. Just connect the CAT-5 cable to the NIC, configure everything properly in Linux and you should be off and running.
 
Theoretically, yes you probably can. However, Linux isn't like Windows and you may have to jump through flaming hoops to get it working properly. Networking is one of my weak points, so I probably couldn't do it on Windows either.

Like Senate says, using a bootable live CD is an excellent way to try Linux without making any changes to the partitions, etc. Most of the major distros have a bootable demo CD. The standard for live CD distros is set by Knoppix, a full CD-based distro. Morphix is also good. DamnSmallLinux is a mini-CD distro that won't take all night to download. There are also live distros that boot from USB drives.

Have Fun,
Bob
 
Yes, when you install Linux you have the option to use DHCP for internet access. You will have to run Samba if you want to access Windows hard drives on the network.
 
Dizos, that solves it, I think. I didn't know DHCP was part of Linux or that it would work the same. I guess TCP/IP really is a cross-platform standard. I was told it was.

However, why would someone want to access a Windows drive on the network? Just additional storage? Backup? Access to flat files that could convert?
 
Yeah, DHCP TCP/IP are standards set for networking by the IEEE 802.3, or most commonly ethernet.

As for accessing files cross platform there are a few reasons. Could be that you are running a unix/linux server and want to be able to access the files from other computers. Also some types of files are platform independant, such as web page files, pictures, and you might want to access them. It is just all part of having a network setup.
 
Mp3s are Mp3s, man! I listen to them on my Windows 95 box, my XP box and my Fedora box. That way I don't have to put CDROMs in every box I've got ;)
 
Like what Senate said, your best starting point may be a Live CD. I like Mepis LInux, but there are several pretty good ones out there. With the Live CD, you just boot up and use it. It does not touch your hard drive. So when your done tinkering you can simply remove the cd, when you restart you computer all is as it was before.
 
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