Can I have a network w/ a Linux Server & Linux clients & a few MSFT Windows clients
 

Hello,
I am kind of new to Linux so any help would be very appreciative.

I am trying to setup a network. The server will have a version/flavor of Linux (I am not sure which one)...I thought that it would be best to use either The Perfect Setup - Fedora Core 5 or The Perfect Setup - Fedora Core 6. I will have a few client workstations that will be running Linux. I would also like to have at least 2 workstations that would be running Microsoft Windows XP.

Is this type of setup something that I can do and will the server/network and clients (both Linux and Windows) really work???

Which version/flavor of Linux would be the best to use (I would like to use a version so that if/when I learn something then I would be able to use that knowledge in Corporate America. For example, Fedora Core is the Beta Tested versions of Red Hat Linux Enterprise. If I learn something in Fedora then I should be able to do that on a job if the company has Red Hat Linux).

I was told that if you learn Suse Linux, for example, then you will have some trouble trying to use Red Hat Linux because they are different. Is this a correct statement or not???

How would I set this Linux Server up???

Thanks,

BHowerton

Support drops for Fedora every 18 months (about). Support for FC5 will be dropped when Fedora 7 is released (May?). Centos is a clone of redhat(redhat logos removed). It is also free to download. Centos 5 was just released and support for it will be available until 2012 (?). For Desktops I would use Fedora.

You can mix Windows with Linux. Samba or CIFs are two topics you should look at for a mixed environment. NFS would be the topic for linux linux links.

Suse is currently in flux due to its recent dealings with microsoft. Nobody knows what will happen with Suse.