Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world. Linux is an independent POSIX implementation and includes true multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, proper memory management, TCP/IP networking, and other features consistent with Unix-type systems. Developed under the GNU General Public License, the source code for Linux is freely available to everyone.

The Linux operating system has become one of my favorite past times. I have been using it since November of 98 starting with RedHat 5.1. Currently I tend to spend more time with Mandrake so I guess that distribution is my favorite for now. I really like SuSE 7.3 and RedHat 7.1 is not too bad, but I found RedHat has become less stable as their version number increments. Linux is definitely not for the timid, or impatient. One thing I have learned (the hard way) is to read the READMEs. This is a must, do not pass go do not collect $200 and whatever you do, don't post a question on a newsgroup until you have checked out the man pages and readme's, because you will be flamed.  Linux can be used for firewalls/proxy servers, most any type of server (file, ftp, tftp, web, mail, etc.) and workstation.

If you are going to set it up as a workstation you are going to need a decent machine, I have a Toshiba Tecra 8100 laptop set up as a workstation (600Mhz w/ 192M Ram and 12gig hd) and it works very, very well. I found Mandrake 8.1 to be very good in this situation. Sometimes depending on the machine SuSE is actually easier to setup.  SuSE and Mandrake both offer a very large variety of different window managers to choose from, with RedHat coming in right behind them. Both SuSE and Mandrake use KDE by default and RedHat uses Gnome-Enlightenment.

Here are some shots of my desktop;

For a proxy server, almost anything will do, as long as you have two network connections.  I had an old Acer 486 100Mhz w/ 64M ram and 1gig hd set up and it ran great!  I have heard you can even use the LRP (Linux Router Project) floppy sized distro and not even have a hard drive.  For setting up a proxy I would recommend Slackware or RedHat, and make it as minimal as possible. I have found that ClarkConnect works very well

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This page was last modified 05/28/2002 01:25 PM