Learning Red Hat Enterprise Linux & Fedora, Fourth Edition

Chapter 11. Setting Up Network Services

Linux’s greatest strength is its powerful and robust networking capabilities. The good news is that everything about Linux’s networking setup is open to inspection and completely configurable. Nothing is hidden from the user, and no parameters are forced on you. The challenge is to get the most out of this setup.

Basic networking principles don’t differ much between Windows and Linux, and indeed the principles aren’t unfamiliar. This chapter begins with an overview of networking and then looks in more detail at Linux networking on a local area network (LAN) and the Intertnet.

This chapter explains how to set up a LAN that includes a Linux Samba server, which lets Microsoft Windows and Unix systems access shared files and printers across the network. Samba not only lets you share files and printers, it can also be used to back up and restore files via the network.

This chapter also explains how to set up and configure the Apache web server and an SSH server, which you can use to remotely administer your system. These applications let you and others access data on your Linux system via the Internet. These applications will be most useful if your system is connected to the Internet 24/7. But, even if your connection is intermittent, you and others can access the services these applications provide whenever the connection is active.

Finally, the chapter also explains how to implement a basic host firewall to help protect your systems from unauthorized ...