Linux Bible, 8th Edition

Chapter 14

Administering Networking

In This Chapter

Automatically connecting Linux to a network

Using NetworkManager for simple network connectivity

Configuring servers

Working with network configuration files

Configuring routing, DHCP, DNS, and other networking infrastructure features for the enterprise

Connecting a single desktop system or laptop to a network, particularly one that connects to the Internet, has become so easy that I felt I could put off a full chapter on Linux networking until now. If you are trying to connect your Fedora, RHEL, Ubuntu, or other Linux desktop system to the Internet, here's what you can try, given an available wired or wireless network interface:

• Wired network—If your home or office has a wired Ethernet port that provides a path to the Internet and your computer has an Ethernet port, use an Ethernet cable to connect the two ports. After you turn on your computer, boot up Linux, and log in. Clicking on the NetworkManager icon on the desktop should show you that you are connected to the Internet.
• Wireless network—For a wireless computer running Linux, log in and click on the NetworkManager icon on the desktop. From the list of wireless networks that appear, select the one you want and, when prompted, enter the password required. Each time you log in from that computer from the same location, it will automatically connect to that wireless network.

If either of those types of network connections work for you, and you are not otherwise curious ...