|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A well structured and comprehensive starting place, December 17, 2001
This book is targeted at the person who wants to build an intranet for a small to medium sized business using Linux servers.A well written and well structured book it starts with the basics of configuring Linux (using Red Hat), building a kernel suited for networking, configuring Ethernet and dialling using PPP. After this thorough grounding it goes on to file sharing using NFS, Samba and netatalk and printer sharing. Once you've covered these sections you can connect to your Linux server from other Unix boxes, Windows or a Macintosh, indeed using this book I set up a Linux server to act as a bridge between Macs, Windows 95 and NT servers and two Sun workstations. It then covers remote login, either using shell protocols telnet or ssh, or X logins using VNC or X Server. Finally it has two chapters on IP masquerading and firewalls. OK, go over that list again - every aspect of building an intranet is covered. Having used this book extensively I've found its flaw. When everything works this book is great. Once you run into problems it is less useful. The large amount of ground covered means that Smith has glossed over likely problems and solutions. Troubleshooting is ignored almost entirely. I would recommend this book as a good beginners guide to building an intranet around Linux to almost everyone with the caveat that you may need more specific information in some areas when you run into serious trouble. If nothing else it is marvellous inspiration.
|