Ok to start off, here are the basic specs:

comp 1) red hat linux 7.2 (workstation package), ethernet NIC

comp 2) Win 2000 pro, ethernet NIC

comp 3) Win 2000 server, ethernet NIC

*All connected to a Linksys dsl router

*ADSL Modem connected to the router (static IP)

Ok my windows computers work fine with the dsl and communicating with eachother.. but my linux! i have no clue as to what to do.. all i know is that the DSL works on the linux, right after a fresh install, i didnt have to configure anything.

anyway, my question is how to have my linux join in the LAN, my WORKGROUP name is "FAMILY", i dont use a domain. and my windows pcs use LAN IPs of 192.168.1.x. Thx. I am very new to the Emulating screen thing and with commands.. please try to keep it simple for me =/ thx.

"the Emulating screen thing"???

dammit, i keep starting typing, and realise you mean something else... third attempt...

ok, you mean network neighborhood. that's technically called SMB, and under linux it's SaMBa. check the howto, manpages and other info on this site.

Sorry, but what I meant was 'terminal emulating program.' not really the network neighborhood.. but can you or anyone else tell me how to set my LAN IP address and other essentials? or is all of that still having to do with Samba? if so then ill go to that link you gave me. thx.

'ifconfig' is how to set IP. Or, one of the ways. There are a number of GUI tools I'm certain RedHat 7.2 came with that would allow you to manipulate IP, netmask, DNS servers blah blah blah...

The 'other essentials' I'm afraid you were refering to, like the workgroup, are things Samba immitates so it can talk to windows machines. If you installed Samba (hopefully) and Swat (hopefully), it may just be a matter of typing in http://localhost:901 into a web-browser.

Cheers,

Finegan

thx.. that 901 link u gave me didnt do anything unfortunately.. but how can i find out if samba is installed? i mean are there files i should look for? thx. i did find a samba.conf in my /etc/samba folder. thx.

another newbie question, how can i change my workgroup? in my samba.conf it says my workgroup = MyWorkgroup, but i cant seem to edit the conf file at all. thx. and if i have a linux in my LAN of windows computers, will i need to have a domain or could they communicate through only a workgroup? and lastly, what else do i have to do, other than matching the workgroup, in order to be able to ping one another and share files and what not?

you need to be root to edit it.

just use 'rpm -qa | gerp samba' to show you what is installed.

ok thx i typed in that command and it says 'samba-2.2.1a-4'