Re: [seul-edu] need detailed network advice

[Ray Olszewski <ray@comarre.com>]

I don't know of one book (or any other one source) that covers this range of
stuff. At least not that covers it all *well* ... over the years, various
books with titles like "Linux Ecyclopedia" turn up. The name lays a claim to
comprehensiveness, but the ones I actually looked at were never all that
good. There are useful single-purpose books, but no all-purpose solution. 

One of the O'Reilly books, I think RUnning Linux, gets a lot of
recommendations. I've looked at it and think it a nice introductiry book,
but lacking the depth you need to get the answers you want. Two other,
non-Linux O'Reilly books, Essential System Administration and TCP/IP Network
Administration, are now quite old but still good basic references for the
bits that are not specific to Linux (don't look here for how to compile
kernels, for example).

Also try one or more of the more technical lists. The "vger" set of lists
are good places to get answers. I hang out on linux-newbie myself
(linux-newbie@vger.kernel.org - just moved to this new location), but there
are also a bunch focused on specific topics. They are run by majordomo;
subscribe and get information in the usual ways.

I've made some specific suggestions on your questions below. A general one
is to take a (no cost) trip to http://www.linuxdoc.org, where the various
reference documents, HowTos and other online materials are gathered together.

At 11:28 PM 9/1/00 -0500, Dave Prentice wrote:
>To divert from the discussion about trade shows:
>    Can someone please recommend a very detailed book or set of instructions
>for setting up various server functions? After a year of asking, I finally
>got an Internet connection in my classroom today. As of now I have a 486
>file server and 6 slow Pentiums networked, each of which has its own /home
>directory. I want to centralize the system more, but need step-by-step
>instructions on:
>1. How to set up NIS so I don't have to enter each user on each machine;

I have no experience with NIS so can't make any suggestions here.

>2. How to set up one machine with 2 NIC's as a gateway for all the others to
>be able to access the Internet without losing contact with each other (it
>doesn't have to be a real secure gateway, because the school district
>already has 2 firewalls);

The Linux Firewall HowTo is a good source here, supplemented by the IP
Masquerading HowTo and the Ipchains HowTo. Also look at any of the small
distributions that are designed around turning low-end equipment (a 486,
typically) into a dedicated Linux-based firewall/router. Examples are:

        Linux Router Project (lrp.c0wz.com, www.linuxrouter.org,
                or lrp.steinkuehler.net)
        Coyote Linux (http://www.vortech.net/coyote/coyote.htm)
        Freesco (http://www.freesco.org/)

        You can find others as well, most easily in the directory
                pages at http://linux-embedded.org/

>3. How to add more network printers. (Rick, I couldn't get to the machines
>today to get those printcap files -- will get back to you Tues.)

Most of the print Linux books I look at do have sections on this. But it's
mostly getting the picky details right, hard to learn from a book, since the
picky details vary a lot by printer. Your best bet is usually to get info
specific to your actual printer(s) at

        http://www.linuxprinting.org/printer_list.cgi

>4. How to set up old 486's as Xterms.

The best sources here are the three online sites I regularly post, here and
elsewhere, when this question is posted. They are:

        http://www.silvervalley.k12.ca.us/chobbs/xterms/
        http://www.solucorp.qc.ca/xterminals/
        http://www.menet.umn.edu/~kaszeta/unix/xterminal/index.html

Also worth looking at are a pair of related (one free, the other commercial)
sites about running diskless Linux workstations:

        http://www.ltsp.org (Linux Terminal Server Project)
        http://www.DisklessWorkstations.com

Finally, Monkey Linux is a small distribution that installs on a small hard
disk and can turn a 16-meg-RAM 486 into a decent XTrem. Find it in the
distributions directory at

        ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/linux/distrbutions

>Though I've seen files and threads that give bits and pieces of info, they
>all assume more knowledge than I have. For instance, I don't know how to
>recompile a kernel. I am looking for a single source that will give me every
>detail I need. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Actually, the best source of info on how to compile a kernel that I have
ever found is the documentation that accompanies the kernel source. There is
a README file that takes you through the steps one by one (all the beginner
problems I see on lists come from not following these instructions step for
step), and the better configuration tools (configuring with either "make
menuconfig" or "make xconfig") do a decent job of explaining the options.


--
------------------------------------"Never tell me the odds!"---
Ray Olszewski                                        -- Han Solo
Palo Alto, CA           	 	         ray@comarre.com        
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