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The network side of Linux offers a number of alternatives. A Linux box can be build as a dedicated server, a non dedicated server or as peer-to-peer. From server and client side, Linux is enabled with a complete integration to all major platforms. A large number of volunteers have contributed in the development of protocols and NIC drivers. The TCP/IP protocol was written from scratch and writing Ethernet drivers turned programmers into reverse engineers. Now, it is possible to transfer data and share peripherals between Netware, NT, MacOS, Unix, OS/2, Windows and Linux. Most distributions install TCP/IP and PPP by default.
Caldera Open Linux have partnered with NetWare to develop a commercial fully integrated Linux-NetWare package with support for Netware directory service. NCPFS does the same as Caldera based software with the only difference of not supporting NDS. Once installed, the NetWare kit allows to mount NetWare volumes on a Linux box. The ncpmount command which comes with ncpfs will work once the /etc/nwserv.conf file has been configured. In the same way, Samba is used to mount NT and Windows directories. Configuring samba is not simple. An example of configuration is found in /etc/smb.config-example. However, the samba web site at www.samba.org offers some graphical based configuration utilities. The NFS protocol is used mostly to transfer files among Unixoid systems. AppleTalk, the native MacIntosh protocol has been implemented, too.
These protocol are loaded at boot time as modules. They are enabled by using the command insmod which stand for insert module. If these protocols were included in the kernel, they would make it too large. So they are loaded as independent modules when uncommenting them on the file /etc/rc.d/rc.modules. They are located in the directory lib/modules/2.X.X/ in order to make them run. The NIC drivers work similarly. Distributions include an auto probe utility that detect the kind of NIC. To search the right driver, got to /usr/doc/HOWTOs/ethernet-HOWTO. Once found, uncomment the right module in etc/rc.d/rc.modules. Currently, Linux support most Ethernet cards. The Token Ring project is still in its infancy.
DHCP has been implemented on Linux also as a module and can be configured from installation. Loopback users should go to the sbin directory and type netconfig to grant IP numbers.
Other networking options include modem to telephone line using the oldest UNIX protocol UUCP, kermit and SLIP. The SLIP protocol is used for peer-to-peer serial line connection through serial ports or ttYS. In the same way as PLIP would connect to parallel ports (lp0).
A remarkable implementation of Linux is in the area of routing. The configuration files are host allow and host deny. They determine the number of user accessing services. Two diminutive distributions have emerged: the Linux Router Project (LRP) and coyote. They are able to perform routing tasks from a bootable floppy disk.
To know more about mounting foreign file systems click here
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