I'm looking for help, I'm new to Linux.

I have three computers running Fedora 5. All are able access the internet through a shared router. However, I cannot see any of the other computers on the network. I am able to ping them, but cannot see them or access any files.

Any advice would be appreciated...

Thanks!

Hi,

What protocol are you using - or at least trying to - to access files?

It is possible that the service is not running by default. If this is the case, make sure you configure and start the service. For example, if you are trying to share files/printers like you would under windows (through the SMB protocol) then you need to make sure smbd and nmbd are running. They are NOT configured out of the box, so make sure you _securely_ configure them first. Starting a service under RedHat can be achieved with a gui (Not sure which, I don't use redhat) or by running "service start <service_name>" - also a redhat thing- from a console as root or manually.

Depending on your needs, you can use various methods to share resources amongst linux boxes: SMB,NFS,SSH (scp and sftp),FTP (plain), and even network pipes, to name a few. If you need help deciding, I can provide a brief description of each.

Earlier RedHat and Fedora installs had the firewall on "high" by default, blocking ALL services. ICMP echo (ping) packets do go through, however. I believe there is a gui to change that as well(In KDE: under K->Security). It might be necessary to specify port numbers, however they depend on the service you need to run.

It might also be possible that you have a switch which can block specific ports/services on the LAN.

Let me know if these helped or if you have further questions.

Since, they are all Linux PCs. You can implement NFS on one of the server. It's probably easier to implement Samba.

Funny, I'm trying to do the same thing with a Linksys router. I have Samba set up on my Linux box but windoze XP can't see it or I'm clueless on how to get windoze to see it. Keep in mind, the windoze rig is my fiance's thing, not mine. I hate windoze. I have samba running on the Linux box though.

If you need info from me, let me know. Maybe we can get both ours working.

Ok, can someone help me start samba. I've loaded all the software, and started it in services. I do not see how to configure it. I would prefer to use a GUI if it's possible.

Thanks!

Samba is for compatibility with Windows. NFS is easy to set up and it is UNIX native way to share volumes. Using Samba is like climbing the fence while the gate is wide open.

ok, I started NFS and turned off the firewall. How can I see the other computers???

nfs howto:
http://nfs.sourceforge.net/nfs-howto/

excellent document.