Hi i have been using windows for a while now and are becomming more and more experienced with it, but want to try linux.

I want to gain more information about linux though before i try using it.

With windows im using terminal services allot from remote destinations, is there anything like that for linux

if you havent used terminal services this is what i mean:

http://www.thedigitaldream.co.uk/term/

also, i have been using remote access, so people can connect to me using a vpn, is there any such thing in linux?

and one more thing about security

on windows i have two network cards

1 for the website bandwidth
1 for internal set with ip 10.0.10.1

when i set up isa server (internet security and acceleration server) it asks which cards are which, the reason for this is because, then, the webserver on the server is set to use the internal ip, rather than the external, so that, it goes through isa to provide security.

Does linux do the same sort of this, as in, for example, if using apache webserver, you supply that web server with an internal ip address, then you give a proxy of some sort, the external ip.

im really new to linux and need to have this set up right.

also, what is a good linus mail server, im currently using exchange for windows

and i will be using the gnome user interface as i have no idea about the commands for linux, so do things like apache, mail servers, etc come with the gnome interface to?

and could you recommend some software for linux that will supply very good security (two reasons, dont want to be hacked and spread virus, and two, im on cheap bandwidth, and if i get a virus, and people owning servers notice that i have a virus from thier logs, and report me to my isp, they will cut me off)

ok thanx for your help, sorry about the long post

and also, is bind good for dns?

Matt,
Let me try to answer as many questions for you as I can. Generally there isnt anything you can do in Microsoft Windows 98/2k or even XP that you cant do in Linux. Linux is much more stable, secure ( if you know what your doing ) and reliable as well as much more supported in the sense of open source sharing than MS products.

If you would like to learn Linux I suggest going to a barnes and noble and picking yourself up a copy of either Red Hat Bible which comes with a few installation cds and either testing it on a spare computer or running a dual booted system. Its fairly easy to do both as the book should have a walk through.

If you dont have the funds I would suggest searching online for installation manuals for Red Hat 7.3. www.redhat.com has this freely available. You can get a copy of the red hat distro through fast servers at http://www.linuxiso.org. You will need to burn the ISO files to cd and you should only need the first 2 cds in the set. There are download instructions at the site. You will need to verify the checksums before you burn though as you may have downloaded a corrupted file since the ISOs are over 500 megs. Purchasing the book or getting a copy of the cds are much easier.

Other than that its just a test it out sorta experience. Get started on all that and return with questions and well see where your at. Good luck and have fun! Once you go to Linux and learn it youll hate MS products. :)

Opps forgot your questions:

Mail server:
Postfix, Sendmail, Qmail -- there are lots

Connecting to the box:
Telnet or SSH --- there are lots of clients that connect to the telnet or ssh server installed on your Linux machine. Its virtually the same as a windows terminal except its not so much point and click as type and see the results.

I am not sure what you mean about the IP but you can add several IPs to one NIC card. This is a great feature.

When you login for the first time Gnome is alright but if you have the option install KDE. Its just better in my opinion.

Fun stuff: http://www.webmin.net

As far as software there are lots. I would suggest you give http://www.apachetoolbox.com a try and when you are in the installation process make sure you keep your firewall settings closed or set on HIGH. This will generally keep you safe for a bit. Don't rely on that though as no server is safe with bad guys out there.

hi thanx allot for your help

I have already downloaded all three discs of linux, only took little while.

do all programs have a graphical user interface for linux if you installlinux in gnome?

and also, can u install gnome and a non graphic user interface, so that once everything is set up, i can reboot the machine into linux without the graphical user interface so it takes less memory

and just one more thing, how much ram do u think i would need for about 40 - 50 concurent people surfing a php intensive website and around say 1000 emails sent in and out through a email server on the same box?

thanx

Glad you found a fax download site. I would verify the checksums before burning them because if the ISOs are corrupt the discs are worthless.

There are two basic types of screens in Linux, Running X and not running X. The X server will run KDE and Gnome Desktops. I would suggest when the install comes you shoot for a workstation install and not a server install as the server install doesnt provide X or KDE/Gnome. The install is a GUI and its fairly easy to walk through. Yea you can switch run levels from X to just a prompt similiar to dos mode. Same idea. Running a site like that would be easy and just about any processor could handle that just keep an eye on the load with the "top" command.

ok so how do you switch between modes?

sorry about all these questions, but i dont want to get stuck

the server im running is far from amazing, its 500Mhz, with 512MB ram, think it will be ok, thanx, Matt

Yes that will be plenty fine. You wouldnt have any issue with running a site of that size on a p166 with 32 megs of ram and a 500meg hard drive.

A very largesite for example:
http://rpmfind.net/info/rufus.html

To switch runlevels damnit I am blanking on this one at the moment. Ive done it many times before and its not hard. I believe you simply edit a file and change the value of 5 to 3 which is terminal mode but why bother doing that as your server will be running a GUI and a terminal shell at the same time on your desktop.

linux 3 or init 3 will bring you into command line, init 5 or linux 5 will bring you into X windows. also use the command switchdesk to change between gnome, kde, or windowmaker. a great site for newbies is linuxhelp.org or you can always ask questions here;)
oh if you want to change the default way linux boots you must edit your /etc/inittab files and change the following line:

from:
id:5:initdefault:

to
id:3:initdefault:

and then save the file:stickout

hi guys, thanx for all this help, its very useful :)

i have installed redhat linux on the server and seems to be running

I am downloading all the critical updates using the up2date tool

Thanx for your help everyone
Matt.