I'm very very very new to linux

I have RedHat9 installed, with a copy of Samba that has been configured to share a directory. I'm taking it that the software is working alright. I installed a network card and it detected the hardware and enabled the networking stuff, but how do I actually get this dog to perform tricks?

Also, are there any tools / commands to monitor network utilisation?

Any help on this is greatly appreciated Thanks

For samba, since this is all new to, I strongly suggest reading the documentation at their site(http://www.samba.org/). Then look into using a utility called 'swat' to configure your samba settings until you're comfortable enough to edit the config files by hand.

For network monitoring, try ntop.

I agree....

I finally got Samba working a couple of days ago....

Read this Using Samba....http://us2.samba.org/samba/docs/using_samba/toc.html

I am new to Linux myself and I found it very easy to read.

Here are my tips (these are the things that gave me trouble)

WINS Server - Setup Samba as your WINS Server and make it the Master Server.
Samba User - setup the users through the console (Terminal)...SWAT didn't register user correctly

Leave these for last after doing everything else
Create share folder in directory with correct file permissions - make sure that all the users have permission to the share.

Good luck....

if I plug a crossover cable between my windows and linux machine, should my windows one be recieving packets? cos its not.

I'll try those things that both of you suggested, thanks a lot

It should....see no reason why it shouldn't.

There is another new post about setting up a LAN with crossover.

There really shouldn't be any difference from setup with hub or router.

Can you test the cable with another computer?

I dont have another computer handy at the moment, unfortunately. I'll see what info that ntop app can give me, maybe it'll help.

if I do "ip addr show" it returns the following: (on the NIX box)

if that helps at all

and when I plug in the cables, my windows box doesnt recieve any packets, but does send quite a few.

Your windows box mays still be set up to use DHCP. That would be part of the reason it's so gregarious. So unless you're running a DHCP service on your linux box the windows box will just sit there and wonder why no one wants to talk to it. Look for more resources about networking two computers with a crossover cable. You'll probably have to set the IPs manually.

It looks like a subnet issue....

Tramontane is right.

Setup the IPs manually than try to ping each other. If that works than you are good to go.

I tried setting the IP's manually with a 255.255.255.0 subnet, it didnt work. I'll give it another shot though.

my windows box, by default is set to configure itself automatically, but I have a DHCP on my DSL modem, which I use to give it specific settings.

Is doing a "ip addr show" basically like ipconfig in windows?

I think the equivalent is "ifconfig"

It give the same information that "ipconfig /all" gives in Win.

ipconfig doesnt work for me, and I dont think its a 3'rd party tool is it?

ok, I have both windows and NIX settings being assigned by DHCP, and I can ping RH from windows, but not the other way around I've never felt a larger sense of acheivement since I started trying linux

Now to get samba configured correctly

Check the security level & firewall on RH.

Can you ping yourself from the RH. By 127.0.0.1 & 192.168.0.***

I would try to get the ping issue resolved first. You don't want to setup Samba with problems already.

I have installed RH7.2 instead now, and with "No Firewall" selected during setup. Both windows and Redhat can ping themselves left, right anc center; with the exception that Redhat cannot ping Windows, but Windows can Ping Redhat.