🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <R_2h8.9954$Ek1.1181403@news-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca>,
	"Cln lgr" <staying@hotmail.SPAMcom> writes:
> We have a small network. 2 iMacs, 2 G4, 1 IBM. some laptops (in and out)
> 
> If I added a Pentium based server, Could I load Linux on this and be able to
> connect to it with all 5 machines? Mac and PC?

That depends on what you mean by "connect" and what protocols you've
got. There's a server called Netatalk that can run on Linux, which lets
the Linux box act as a server on an AppleTalk network. You can also run
Samba, which does the same for the SMB/CIFS protocols used by Windows
for its file and printer sharing. Thus, a Linux box can serve as a
common server for both platforms.

The problem comes in the opposite direction. If you want Linux to be
able to mount MacOS shares, that won't work -- at least, not with MacOS
Classic. Netatalk is a server package, not a client package (except for
a print client). To use Linux as a client to Apple servers, you'd need
to use some other protocol, like NFS (Linux/UNIX native) or SMB/CIFS.
Such packages do exist for MacOS Classic, but they're commercial,
AFAIK. One further twist: If you're using MacOS X, the equation
changes, because MacOS X is built on UNIX. I don't know offhand if it
ships with an NFS server, but I know that Samba can be made to run on
it, so if nothing else, you could use SMB/CIFS for a Mac server and
Linux clients.

> If so;
> Which version of Linux could I use?

Any will work. Their relative merits depend on your skill level, need
for support, etc. I've got a Web page on the subject at
http://www.rodsbooks.com/distribs/, but it's a bit out of date for most
distributions. It's still accurate in broad outline, but some of the
details have changed.

> What option when installing should I look for?

It's not clear what you mean by this.

> We're using ethernet.

Good.

> Could the Macs share files with the IBM?

Yes. DAVE (http://www.thursby.com) is the commercial SMB/CIFS package
for MacOS Classic I mentioned earlier. It includes both client and
server components. I believe there are also AppleTalk packages for
Windows (including one that ships with some versions of Win2K), but I've
not looked into those. You could also use a client/server architecture
and put everything on a Linux box that functions as both an AppleTalk
and an SMB/CIFS server. It's even possible to set up Linux as an
SMB/CIFS client and then export that directory using AppleTalk, but that
adds an extra network transfer to every access, so it's not very
efficient.

> One iMac is setup for dial-up and we share that 56k Line (Ya I know.... very
> slow) BUT! I would like to put a modem and firewall on that server.

If you're asking if Linux can function as a dial-up gateway, it can.

> Anymore informaiton I will be glad to share.

Depending upon your needs, you may want to check out my book, _Linux:
Networking for Your Office_ (http://www.rodsbooks.com/network/). It
covers setting up Linux in a mixed-platform office environment for file
sharing, printer sharing, Internet gateway operation, and so on.

> Off topic, can 1 PC have more than one modem?

Yes. I've never tried creating multiple Internet connections using two
modems, but the hardware will certainly work.

-- 
Rod Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com
http://www.rodsbooks.com
Author of books on Linux & multi-OS configuration