I have a two-box peer-to-peer network, or at least I plan to. The boxes currently are connected with a cross-over cable and I have tested the connection by pinging both ways.

Box 1 is a multi-boot box with my primary OSs being Windows NT4 Workstation and Slackware 10.x/KDE 3.3.2. My second box is Slackware 10.x/KDE 3.3.2 only. I hope to very soon update the Slack OSs to 10.2 and KDE 3.4.3.

I want to share files between the boxes in as many ways as possible. I have Samba, NFS, and SSH installed on both boxes, but I have not yet begun trying to configure those services because I don't yet know how (I have some reading ahead of me!). In my NT4 box the Server and Workstation services are enabled and I already have assigned share names to various partitions.

In Box 1 I move files between NT4 and Slack using a shared FAT 32 partition.

Box 1 can be in either Windows or Slack. Now that I am almost finished with configuring Box 2, Box 1 likely will remain mostly in Windows, but I also would like to learn some basics about networking, and print and file sharing without Windows.

All of my data files are on the Windows box and that likely will not change for a while. I hope to use Box 2 as my OpenOffice tutorial box as well as my general Slackware learning box.

Currently I manage both boxes with a KVM. As mentioned in a previous thread some time ago, eventually I hope to install and configure VNC as well.

My printer is connected to parallel port 0 (LPT1) on Box 1. I will need to share that printer with Box 2 whether I'm in Windows or Slack. Additionally, my flat-bed scanner is connected to Box 1 at port 1 (LPT2). I would like to share the scanner too. The scanner is not supported by SANE, but I am hoping that through Samba I might be able to overcome that if I want to scan from Box 2. Of course, I can scan in Windows and then merely share the resulting file.

Box 2 is not always powered up, but if Box 2 is on then I know for sure that I will want to access files on Box 1 regardless of the OS I'm using there.

If Box 1 is in Windows then I want to access files on Box 2 when that box is on. If Box 1 is in Slack then I want to cross-share files that way too.

I'd appreciate some ideas how I should configure Samba, NFS, SSH, etc. to provide the best flexibility. For example, do I have to configure both boxes as both a Samba server and client, and do likewise with NFS? Can I start Samba and NFS at boot-up (the rc.d scripts) on Box 1 even if Box 2 is down? That is, do those services search or browse the network or are they "static" until a user actually tries to connect somewhere. Or should I start these services manually because I never know the state of either Box? How about the printer and scanner? Etc.

Just looking for some big-picture conceptual help. As always thanks.

www.webmin.com is perfect to configure samba and nfs.

also when running KDE it comes with a desktop sharing tool in the internet section. basically it is VNC so you don't need to install it. if you want VNC to get a virtual desktop then real vnc makes and installs with no problems.

I have a small home network (2 boxes and a hardware router connected to a 6 port hub).

One is a multi boot system:

Slackware 10.2 (2.4.x kernel), SuSE 10.0, Slackware 10.2 (2.6.x kernel), Debian, and Win 2000

The other is my file server running Slackware 10.2 (no X) with the following services:

NFS
SAMBA
ssh
HTTPd
MySQL

You could just as easily set up both machines as "servers" running the same services (maybe not the last 2).
So long as neither box automounts the other's shares, then the server does not need to be running all the time.

NFS is easy - http://nfs.sourceforge.net/
ssh is just a matter of enabling it on the "server" then logging in:

ssh <servername>

SAMBA is more involed, but read the well commented samba.conf-sample file in /etc/samba and the HOWTO.

On my system, my server has no mouse, keyboard, sound, and a very cheap vid card.
I do everything from my client box.

HTH

I have downloaded webmin from linuxpackages.net and I intend eventually to install and learn webmin. I also notice that the KDE Control Center provides some front-ends for both NFS and Samba.

I want to try VNC only to run Windows (Box 1) from Slackware (Box 2). I still have a lot of files and dependency on Word 97. I tried WINE and CxO with only some modicum of success and I dislike having all of my data files on the easily corruptible FAT32 file system rather than the far more dependable NTFS (or ext3). Therefore I'd rather keep running Word 97 natively while I slowly migrate files to OOo. With the KVM I can run both boxes separately as I already do, but VNC provides a convenient way to ignore the KVM and allow me to work in one environment rather than toggling all of the time.

That tidbit helps---don't auto mount!

That is what I was thinking I'd need to do. Although neither box will be a dedicated "server," from the perspective of the services a box is considered either a server or a client. Thus, to be flexible with sharing files in either direction with either OS, both boxes will have to be configured as both a "server" and a "client."

I obviously need to install SAMBA because my primary box is Windows. Is there any reason why I need to still install NFS? That is, if I boot Box 1 into Slack instead of Windows, why not just keep using SAMBA at both ends rather than NFS? I had read of one person who does this and now I'm wondering if that would be easier rather than run the overhead of both SAMBA and NFS. Does this make sense?

using samba on both would be fine

I think I'll try that approach before trying to run both SAMBA and NFS. One step at a time! Thanks!