server computer at home help

[ross2]

hey, im going to put together a computer that i want to be the server at home. im going to use redhat 8.0 and i need to know what is involved, such as what connects to what? do i need 2 etherenet cards in the server computer? make it simple, im a newb to linux as well as setting up a network like that. a schematic of what to plug up would help if someone has a link to it, much thanks.

[Magueta]

Tell us a little more. Will you be using a router to share an internet connection between your server and your PC? How many PCs will be sharing this server? Do you want your server to have access to the internet at all? What sort of server will you be running? Will there be Windows PCs connecting to the server?

Joe

[ross2]

yes i am using a router
3 pcs maybe 4 eventually
i dont care if the server can get online or not, its got a crappy 15 inch monitor and a bunch of recycled gear in it, not a good comp :)
im not sure what kind of server to run, im new at this kinda stuff, suggestions perhaps?
and yes windows pcs. win2k, and xp and possibly a mandrake if thats possible (i run mandrake on my personal comp that goes back and forth with me from my home to my college)

hope thats enough to get started on. keep me posted :)

[ross2]

also keep in mind that i have no real reason for wanting to do this other than to practice. i hope to land a job when im out of school doing server/network/web design type things. my router and my isp work just fine the way they are, i just am bored and had enough pieces to make a computer so i figured what the hell. and besides i rearranged my room so i could accomidate a second computer on my desk. heh :D

[chrism01]

You can set up a server just to act as a fw if you like as a start. Need 2 NICs (assuming broadband) eg eth0 points to internet, eth1 points to lan.
Try custom install of you fav distro.
Setup iptables Fw and network options.
Poss sendmail/pop?
Also, ssh to login to remote systems.
Don't forget you'll need port fwding between the NICs.
See www.tldp.org (The Linux Doc Proj) for good HOWTOs.
Worked for me :)

[Magueta]

Sounds like you're at an exciting time. Now is when all the fun begins. I think the server that most people like to setup when they want to access a Linux box from windows boxes is a Samba server, and if you're going to have something on the network you'll want to learn about iptables and securing your servers from any hacker attacks (they are on the rise in homes because of all the insecure linux boxes out there). The hackers scan entire blocks of public IP addresses that they know belong to ISPs and will have prime marks available. In fact they even created a worm that scans ip addresses and tries a list of the most common passwords to see if it can get in. I recommend learning about security and hardening your Linux box before getting your box on the web, or at least shut it off when you're not playing with it until you do secure your box, otherwise you'd be contributing to the problem. A server that might be useful to know about when looking for a job is Apache, the most widely used webserver in the world.

Joe

[nunder]

Congrats, sounds like you're on your way. If you're completely new to networking though, and you currently have a router that connects you to the Internet, and it has a basic built in firewall, I'd suggest setting the box up to 'tinker' with before you use it as a firewall. To share files / printers with Windows machines, I believe that Samba is definately the way to go, you'll find all kinds of information here on setting that up, along with the comments in the config files, man pages, etc. You could also use it like an NT PDC to authenticate your other Windows machines from if you're interested. Another good use (based on your info above, wanting to be a web designer) would be to setup Apache, and use it as a test bed for web design (and, if you're going to use Windows tools to do web design, connect to your webserver via Samba). Once you're comfortable with the 'look and feel of Linux', and once you've done some reading on iptables, and networking in general, then you could move toward using the Linux box as a firewall. I just wouldn't suggest doing that right off of the bat, because there's a good chance that the box will be compromised, and you'll start to see problems not related to your relative lack of experience with Linux (i.e. what's this odd daemon that seems to be running all the time, I don't remember setting that up). Anyway, just my 2 cents worth. Good luck! If I can help (I'm still relatively new myself), let me know and I'll do what I can.

[Magueta]

At a minimum Ross2 should turn off unnecessary services, this exercise has a twofold effect, it secures the box and helps him figure out what each of the services on the box are. There's actually the additional benefit that with reduced services he will be more able to identify that process that he doesn't remember being there before.

Joe

[ross2]

you dont have to call me ross2 :) my name is ross heh . anyways. i decided to format and not use redhat because i find it to be a little more complicated than i want- thus im going to run my server with mandrake, i assume this is ok?

when you speak of samba- www.samba.org - and then download the program is what you are talking about correct?

[ross2]

ok let me bring you guys up to speed and tell me what im doing wrong. first off i am running xp, a comp with win98, and another comp with xp. my server is mandrake 9.1. now, first i have to set up my windows network options correct? i successfully made my computer share its c:. my windows98 computer i havent touched yet, and my other computer running xp i cannot get to share. i think this may have to do with it being connected via a wireless modem. so for step one could someone tell me how to get the computer using the wireless modem to show up in my network places on the computer i am using right now? after i figure out all this, i will begin configuring linux. also in linux i played with it some and ended up getting to linconfiguration or something, linneighborhood i think it is....and my computer that i successfully shared files on was showing up there, so i know i did one computer right. any help?

[Magueta]

I'm not sure but I don't think the fact that the ethernet card is wireless would keep you from sharing anything with the network, it's supposed to be the same as a regular ethernet card just without wires.

In order to figure out the problem we'll have to make sure that the obvious has been taken care of. Do you have any network access at all with those machines? Can you get on the internet? Try pinging another machine on the network from each of the machines that you're unable to get to appear in the network. Make sure that they are all part of the same workgroup (I don't know if XP can use workgroups, if it can't then you'll have to setup a domain server) and if you're using domains then make sure they're all part of the same domain. Make sure that your subnet is the same for all the machines, as well as your network mask. Make sure that each of the IP addresses are unique (this happens more often than you might think).

Joe