I'm considering installing Redhat in an attempt to dodge the "Great Satan". I'm just wondering if using Linux will cause any problems when networking with PC's running various Windows OS's.

Any input would be appreciated greatly.

Thanks,
Ahabdelta

Linux will run perfectly in your network, just depends on what sort of problems your worried about. If you mean with accessing shares on the windozes machines, if you install the samba client on the linux machine and make it part of the same workgroup there should not be any problems. Linux wont interfer with the windoze machines connecting to or accessing network resources.

Hope this is helpful in anyway

Hi,
If you are thinking about "Network Neighbourhood", then SAMBA can solve that problem. Moreover there is an application called LinNeighbourhood which looks and feels like the windows network neighbourhood (but samba is anyway required).

Normal TCP/IP communication is not a problem.

cheers,
--cyberjun

One thing that's a problem for me is not being able to access a mounted NTFS share ona dual boot from another machine...

Example:
HostA has windows and linux with a mounted NTFS share so while working on HostA_linux I can access my windows files.

But, when I'm on HostA_linux and I connect to it from another computer, I can see the mounted NTFS share, but I can't get to it....

Does that make sense?

It's a real pain, because i have to restart the computer and boot to HostA's windows partition.

Of course this is all while using SAMBA..not sure if NFS would make a difference.

You may also run into problems with sharing printers and scanners...

I once had a windows PC hooked up to a HP printer via lpt port...shared the printer driver and used samba on my linux box to connect to it and I was able to and even installed the right driver, but for some reason when I'd send the print job to the windows box it wouls show up in the windows print queue, clear itself, but never actually come out of the pritner...very wierd. This was on an old HP LJ...model escapes me right now. Other than that, I've never had pritner sharing issue....

Also, be careful if you are running a dedicated firewall between your LAN and the "Nasty Net" that you don't have that firewall set up to routinely block Windows-type packages. I have an OBSD firewall and have blocked all Windows protocols. I attempted to network with a local Windows box and found that the firewall pf rules really do work!!! It took me a while to figure out what was wrong though!!

Curious, what protocols did you have trouble with? I have a dedicated linux firewall and run both windows and linux on my network and have had no trouble.

see my network nethood below but all linux except hpxe2 is a win laptop
my office full use linux then i borrow freind laptop to join my network to see

i have done another office people for 20 windows computer connected to 2 linux samba
every windows computer have another extra mapping drive in eg G: and H: which is actually directed to both samba server


its work fine

screenshot load from my office server

Wow, thanks for the replies. Much appreciated.