Fedora™ 7 and Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® Bible

Chapter 15. Setting Up a Local Area Network

In This Chapter

• Understanding local area networks

• Setting up a wired Ethernet LAN

• Setting up a wireless LAN

• Troubleshooting your LAN

In the home or in a small business, Fedora and RHEL can help you connect to other Linux, Windows, and Macintosh computers so that you can share your computing equipment (files, printers, and devices). Add a connection to the Internet and routing among multiple LANs (described in Chapter 16), and Fedora or RHEL can serve as a focal point for network computing in a larger enterprise.

This chapter helps you set up your own local area network (LAN). The procedures described here provide a foundation for sharing the computing resources in your home or organization. In particular, the chapter describes how to use Ethernet cards, wiring, and protocols to connect computers. It then tells you specifically how to configure your Fedora or RHEL computer so that it can communicate with other computers.

Understanding Local Area Networks

Connecting the computers in your organization via a LAN can save you a lot of time and money. By putting a small amount of money into networking hardware, even in a small configuration (less than five or six users), can save you from buying multiple printers, backup media, and other hardware. Add a single, shared Internet connection and you no longer need multiple modems and Internet accounts.

With a LAN, you don't have to run down the hall anymore with your file on a disk or USB thumb drive to ...