How to Network Red Hat Linux and
Microsoft Windows
Last updated: 9/7/02
This article will show you step-by-step how to setup a
computer running Red Hat Linux version 7.3 in a network with computers running
various versions of Microsoft Windows. The Windows computers will be
able to share files and printers with the Linux computer and vice versa,
and it will be possible to move files and folders back and fourth between
the computers.
 INTRODUCTION. Linux
is a Unix-like operating system originally created by Linus
Torvalds in 1991. Over time individuals and companies began distributing
Linux with their own suite of accompanying modifications and software. Presently,
the distribution of Linux has become a multi-million (if not, billion) dollar
business. However, Linux was developed under a GNU
general public license and is free to anyone who wants it. Various
Linux distribution packages, with all sorts of quite respectable and powerful
software, are available as free downloads from numerous web sites on the
Internet. These downloads are huge (one really needs a reliable, high-speed
cable or DSL broadband Internet connection to download them) and usually
consist of CD-ROM CD images from which CDs can be made for installation with
a CD-RW drive. Distributions are also available on CD with documentation
and various sorts of support at modest prices from retail outlets such as
Walmart.
Linux will run most of the software you see on the Internet
(much of the Internet is run on Linux) and much more. It can act as
either a workstation, server, or both on a Local Area Network (LAN)
and provide most of the services available from other, often expensive server
software packages. It is not as user-friendly to most people as some
other systems such as Microsoft Windows.
Red
Hat (RH) is the largest Linux distributor
and various Red Hat Distributions are running on about 75% of all of
the Linux-based computers in the world. That does not necessarily
mean it is the best distribution or the best one for a particular application,
or that Linux is better than other free unix-based packages such as FreeBSD.
 Many
Linux distributions include an open
source program called Samba. Samba is also available as a free
download on the Internet. The
Samba web site describes Samba as a
"Protocol by which a lot of PC-related
machines share files and printers and other information such as lists of
available files and printers. Operating systems that support this
natively include Windows NT, OS/2, and Linux and add on packages that achieve
the same thing are available for DOS, Windows, VMS, Unix of all kinds,
MVS, and more. Apple Macs and some Web Browsers can speak this protocol
as well. Alternatives to SMB include Netware, NFS, Appletalk, Banyan
Vines, Decnet etc; many of these have advantages but none are both public
specifications and widely implemented in desktop machines by default."
In short, Samba software allows you to integrate a Linux
computer into a Microsoft Windows network. It can also make Linux a
dedicated server and network domain controller.
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