is my network sensible??

[mistafeesh]

I have a couple of issues on my network, and I was wondering if I've set it up the most sensible way! I'll tell you how I have it currently, and I'd gratefully recieve any comments...

On the network I have:

One Mac running OSX 10.2.8
One PC running Windows 98(yuk)
One linux box (again SuSe 8.1), running mainly as a webserver, but also soon to be a router (once I can get my modem working, but that's another story!)
One ancient Apple laserwriter 16/600


as well as the cross-platform gubbins, I also have the complication that the printer will only accept printing by either appletalk or LPR by IP address.

So I have everything set up with manual IP addresses, and files shared with SMB

the main workstation is the Mac, which is currently acting as router/firewall/fileserver too. Its a bit slow because of this, which I could do without, so I'm setting the linux box up as router and firewall.

The webserver is using a mounted SMB share from the Mac to serve up pages, which causes a few problems with file permissions...I did this, though so the mac was only serving rather than serving and connecting to another host.

I imagine I'll have to stick with fileserving from the Mac, as I think working off a server would probably slow things down more than fileserving.

One wierdness is that when I go to a link on the webserve in a browser on one of the other machines, the IP address in the title bar changes to linux.local, and them it can't find anything...



SO....any ideas how I can tidy things up a bit? Should I use appletalk or NFS instead of SMB? I know windows clients are available for these, and the winPC is the least important computer by far on this network anyway. Should I use DHCP instead of static IP's? I could presumably then connect to the printer from linux with netatalk (or whatever the appletalk protocol is called) and share it with the PC from there.

all ideas gratefully recieved! sorry its so long

[Hayl]

- don't bother with DHCP, it is really only useful in an Enterprise environment where there are 100s or 1000s of PCs.

- keep samba, it doesn't make sense to install an NFS client on widnows when you already have samba set up - also helps to keep the complexity to a minimum

- if possible get an old cheap box (486 will do) and put linux on it for routing/firewall... you should _never_ keep data on a firewall

[mistafeesh]

Thanks Hayl.

I'll stick with my static Ip's and Samba then. Only problem is this permissions thing - keeping them as they're set on the host computer, on the client.

I don't keep any data on the Linux box I was planning to use as a firewall - though it does have my important data mounted on it via SMB...

this machine is also my webserver. It's currently only serving my network, but I was planning to allow my web development clients access to their sites so they can see what I'm doing without me having to upload stuff.

I do have a spare computer lying around with linux already on it. D'you think it'd be more sensible to use this as my router/firewall and forward the web port to the other machine then?

[Hayl]

Originally posted by mistafeesh
I do have a spare computer lying around with linux already on it. D'you think it'd be more sensible to use this as my router/firewall and forward the web port to the other machine then?

yes - most definately. i dedicated firewall with no users that use it as a deksotp box is the best way to go

[mistafeesh]

okeydoke. I'll give it a shot.

-edit- just been looking at distrowatch - there are quite a few specific router/firewall distros. I'd really like to have one with content filtering...anyone got a specific recommendation/warning. I'm going to have trouble installing my modem whichever one I end up with. It's a copperjet 800. For some reason, all the linux driver developers are spanish...

[mistafeesh]

just been thinking about this....

If I had an old PC acting as a firewall/router, would it hurt to stick apache on it too, and run it as a webserver, thereby freeing up my desktop linux box entirely for other stuff. I could easily set it up to webserve from the same SMB mount the other linux box does at the moment, so all I'd need to do is to copy over a few MySQL databases...

presumably that'd reduce network traffic a bit?

I have a choice of two old PC's - a Pentium 133 and a Celeron 333 (can't remember the memory without sticking my head inside the cases). I'd like to use the older one if poss...d'ya reckon it'd cope?