[ Thanks to Shailendra for this link.
]
“Linux is increasingly popular in the computer
networking/telecommunications industry. Acquiring the Linux
operating system is a relatively simple and inexpensive task since
virtually all of the source code can be downloaded from several
different FTP or HTTP sites on the Internet. In addition, the most
recent version of Red Hat Linux can be purchased from computer
retail stores for between $25 and $50, depending on whether you
purchase the standard or full version. The retail brand is indeed a
worthwhile investment (vs. the free FTP or HTTP versions) since
valuable technical support is included directly from the Red Hat
Linux engineers for at least a year. This can be very helpful if,
for instance, you can not resolve an installation/configuration
problem after consulting the Red Hat Linux manuals.”
“This article describes how to put together a Local Area Network
(LAN) consisting of two or more computers using the Red Hat Linux
6.2 operating system. A LAN is a communications network that
interconnects a variety of devices and provides a means for
exchanging information among those devices. The size and scope of a
LAN is usually small, covering a single building or group of
buildings. In a LAN, modems and phone lines are not required, and
the computers should be close enough to run a network cable between
them.”
“For each computer that will participate in the LAN, you’ll need
a network interface card (NIC) to which the network cable will be
attached. You will also need to assign a unique hostname and IP
address to each computer in the LAN (described later in this
article), but this requires a basic understanding of TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).”