Re: [PLUG] new to linux Paul

[Paul <paul@dpagin.net>]

I'm diagramming your network so that I have a clear picture,
literally, of your network.  And I want to throw out some
options to get things going.

>From my point of view, the first step is to make sure you
have a solid LAN before trying to route to the Internet. 
Here's a TEMPORARY solution that might not seem right for on
this list: If you are running a Win98SE or newer OS on one
of the PCs, set that PC up for Internet Connection Sharing
(ICS).  Configure all other PCs to use DHCP, including
Linux, and connect them to the ICS PC through the hub.  That
will give you a LAN that can route to the Internet.

Then, set up a firewall to block everything.  Open up ports
as needed.  This process will teach you a lot about network
traffic and give you a guide to setting up your Linux-based
firewall.  I have used the AtGuard firewall for Windows
which will interactively prompt you to make firewall rules
as needed.  Very educational.  I could send it to you if you
want to try it.

If you want to go with a Linux-based solution from the
start, you should be able to connect your Linux PC directly
to the DSL gateway and use dhcpcd (the DHCP client daemon)
to configure your Ethernet interface.  (I would write down
those settings, then go back and configure Linux
statically.)  At that point, if you have Apache running, you
have a Web server on the Internet.  Just don't forget to
firewall it!  (iptables will enable you to share your
Internet connection and build a firewall.)

Configuring the LAN with a Linux server will be much more
difficult than the Windows scenario above.  So starting with
a Windows network is a good way to get started.  Once you
are comfortable with running Linux as a client, then it
would be much easier to run Linux as a server.

Questions:

Which distribution of Red Hat are you running?

I'm assuming you already have DSL.  Have you registered a
domain name?

(Go to http://www.godaddy.com to get a domain for $8.95 per
year.)



> thanks for the help. Network routing is definitely a first goal. I got my
> hands on a used but well working 16-port bocahub. I have three computers
> running now that I just unplug and plug the Ethernet cable into the modem to
> get internet. I have another box i want to use as a server or gateway or
> router with two Ethernet cards. I'm going to continue reading and learning
> the redhat manuals. I started with BSD and couldn't get networking other
> than that computer connecting to the internet to work. With redhat i've only
> gotten to the gui network configuration. Any ideas or additional reading
> material would be greatly appreciated. Again, thanks for your time!

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