[aclug-L] Re: router for Windows LAN

[Jonathan Hall <jonhall@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Linux on a 486 with 8mb RAM, and an 80mb or larger HD running Debian will do
the trick perfectly.

One question:  Why not a 24/7 connection?  It's a lot easier to configure,
and they should have a phone line dedicated to the computer anyway, so
what's the harm?

If 24/7 really isn't an option, diald is okay, but it'd be easier just to
use pppd's "persist" and "demand" features (man pppd for details).

For someone who has experience with pppd, and networking (myself, for
instance), setting up that sort of PPP network would take about 10 minutes
(not counting Debian install time).  If you've not done it before, maybe an
hour or two, counting the time it takes to read the docs.  :-)

As for the print server question... that should be trivial as well.  Figure
on another 2-3 hours for setting that up server-side, with no experience
doing it before.  Now... sharing it with Windows will be a bit trickier, as
that involves Samba... on a good day, setting up Samba for the first time
will take 2 hours.  On a bad day, it may take a week, in my experience.  :-)

If you have previous Samba experience, it may go fairly smoothly.



On Thu, Jan 06, 2000 at 01:06:06AM -0600, glandix@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> ok, here's what i need...  i need to know how to connect a bunch of
> networked Win9x computers to the internet via one modem connection (for
> one of my clients)...  how is the best way to do this?  i need
> dial-on-demand capabilities (they don't want to be online all the time,
> just when neccessary)...  
> 
> what i'm thinking of doing (pending their approval) is installing a 486
> they have on-hand w/ Debian (or possibly one of the
> micro-distributions) as the router (is that the correct term?) and
> integrating it w/ the current Win9x network (that also has one *NIX box
> that's the server for some software they run)...
> 
> basically, here's what i need / know about the network:
> - they're all windoze boxes that need access
> - they have a modem connection (via one of the win boxes for now)
> - they want to share this connection w/ all of the win boxes on the net
> - they don't want to be connected 24/7, just when neccessary (diald?)
> - they all have IP's designated (no DHCP on the LAN), but they are not
>   "real" IP's (just local)
> - they have an old 486 currently doing nothing (i assume the modem will
>   work in the computer, but do not currently know... it may be PCI, and
>   I don't know if the 486 has PCI...)
> - they DON'T want to have to manually dial up on the computer w/ the
>   modem every time some arbitrary computer wants to use inet
> - no e-mail or any other inet stuff is needed, they just need to be able
>   to browse the web on their win boxes and download PostScript files to
>   print...
> 
> also, by integrating the Debian (?) box into the network, is it
> possible to use it as the main print server for 2 Lexmark printers
> networked in?  i don't know much about the existing *NIX server they
> use to run their software on (via telnet-ish programs), all i know is
> it's not linux, and it's proprietary (Reynolds & Reynolds doesn't want
> me messing around on it)... or how exactly these Lexmark printers are
> networked in (they are not connected to any of the Win boxes' lpr
> ports...)
> 
> ANY information is MORE than appreciated!!!!!!!
> 
> Jesse Kaufman
> -- 
> <<<Linux lloydix 2.2.13 #8 Wed Dec 22 02:31:05 CST 1999 i586 unknown>>>
> 
> Love isn't hopeless.  Look, maybe I'm no expert on
> the subject, but there was one time I got it right.
> 
>               -- Homer Simpson
>                  Another Simpson's Clip Show
> 

--
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