Slashdot Mirror

yamla writes: "Loki is dead!" and points to a Linux Review article which says the gaming company has filed for protection from creditors under bankruptcy laws. Yamla continues: "Read about it here. This is terrible news! I have paid for some of their games and they were always at least as good as the Windows versions. I hope Loki can pull out of bankruptcy and keep going but if not, it will be our loss." There is also a story at LinuxToday (pointed out by reader Beee) which draws from the Linux Review report. Meanwhile, the Loki site appears business-as-usual. Filing for bankruptcy protection is not the same as being "out of business," but it's uncomfortably close.

yamla asks: "I am interested in learning about distributed, fault-tolerant databases. That is, a database (not necessarily SQL) where the data is spread out (not replicated) amongst a large number of computers and furthermore, any reasonable number of those computers could disconnect or reconnect at any time without making it impossible to retrieve the stored data. I think this is a far more interesting problem than peer-to-peer because, provided such a solution scales, it would seem to solve the decentralised peer-to-peer problems. It would also seem to open up all kinds of new applications which we have hardly begun to think about yet. So I'm interested in good places to go to read up on (potential) solutions."

yamla asks: "These days, just about the slowest computer you can buy new runs at 600 Mhz. For a lot of people, this is overkill, a waste of money. Are there any online sites in Canada (or elsewhere) that specialise in selling new, low-end systems for bargain prices? Any other alternatives I haven't considered? I am thinking of two situations specifically here. I would like a firewall to place in front of my LAN. Now, I know there are products like FreeSco and the like that can run comfortably on a 486 with a floppy, but I'd rather run something like Storm Firewall and so I need a bit more power. I am also thinking of my mother who wants to upgrade her 200 Mhz system a little but needs neither the power nor the price that $600 Canadian would get her." Aside from surplus shops like Computer Surplus Outlet where can you find new or used older computers at decent prices?

Networks are everywhere, and more of them than ever are running Linux, which makes sense given its cost and its Unix background. If you're responsible for more than a handful of networked Linux machines, you probably run into more than a few situations each day that you wish you had a trusted advisor (or a few) to help you get through. How do I set up a server for [task X]? What do I do when my mail storage needs change? Christopher Thompson here briefly dissects O'Reilly's Linux Network Administrator's Guide, which promises to be a decent partner when you have network SNAFUs, at least much of the time.

The Linux Network Administrator's Guide author Olaf Kirch, Terry Dawson pages 450 publisher O'Reilly & Associates rating 7.5 reviewer Christopher Thompson ISBN 1565924002 summary A handy reference book for intermediate and experienced Linux networkers.

Introduction At long last, O'Reilly has released their second edition of the Linux Network Administrator's Guide. Updated to cover the 2.2 kernel, this book also serves as a handy reference for people using 2.0 or 2.4 kernels.

The book covers a wide variety of topics, including TCP/IP, DNS, SLIP, PPP, and PLIP, NIS, NFS, email servers, news servers, firewalling, masquerading, and IPX configuration.

Target Audience This book is clearly aimed at network administrators rather than Linux newbies. If your network consists of one or two computers, there will likely be little of value here. On the other hand, if you have a more complicated home network or administer an office lan, you will find much of value.

What's Good? This book is based on the Linux Documentation Project, though the online copy available there is rather outdated. O'Reilly have provided the entire contents of the book online, however, as part of their Open Books Project and should be commended for this.

The Network Administrator's Guide provides a great deal of information, complete with background, clear explanations, and examples. Although covering a range of topics, the guide is complete and fairly comprehensive. It is far more convenient to refer to this book rather than scanning through numerous HOW-TOs in order to set up your network. The guide covers each topic in sufficient detail that a reader is unlikely to resort to the HOW-TOs. Furthermore, the guide is a much easier read.

The author has taken considerable effort to ensure the information will not immediately become obsolete. The chapter on firewalling, for example, gives commands for kernels 2.0, 2.2, and the upcoming 2.4.

What's Bad? Unfortunately, there are some problems with the Network Administrator's Guide, both in what it contains and in what it does not.

The guide is mysteriously silent on a number of topics, not least of which are Samba, Apache, and Coda. While O'Reilly sells separate books covering at least the first two of these topics, some basic information on them would have been quite appropriate for this book. Many networks contain one or more Windows boxes and everyone seems to run web servers these days.

Sendmail and exim are covered fairly well but no mention is made of other mail transport agents such as qmail. This can be excused as no book of this size could be entirely comprehensive. Still, some of these choices seem arbitrary.

Also confusing is what the book does contain. There is, for example, an entire chapter on UUCP, as well as several references elsewhere. Although UUCP is certainly not dead, I question its importance for the majority of network administrators.

Dead Tree? Or Online? So is this book worthwhile? If you are involved in administering a Linux network, unquestionably yes. You may need additional information if your network also contains Windows boxes but this book should still prove valuable.

As to whether it is worth the purchase price or whether you should just read it online, this comes down to personal preference. Some people are satisfied with online content but I prefer having the information in dead-tree format, for reference when I am without a network connection. I also find it easier to read a book than a web page. I have no doubt that this guide is worth its purchase price.

Table of Contents

1. Chapter 1. Introduction to Networking
2. Chapter 2. Issues of TCP/IP Networking
3. Chapter 3. Configuring the Networking Hardware
4. Chapter 4. Configuring the Serial Hardware
5. Chapter 5. Configuring TCP/IP Networking
6. Chapter 6. Name Service and Resolver Configuration
7. Chapter 7. Serial Line IP
8. Chapter 8. The Point-to-Point Protocol
9. Chapter 9. TCP/IP Firewall
10. Chapter 10. IP Accounting
11. Chapter 11. IP Masquerade and Network Address Translation
12. Chapter 12. Important Network Features
13. Chapter 13. The Network Information System
14. Chapter 14. The Network File System
15. Chapter 15. IPX and the NCP Filesystem
16. Chapter 16. Managing Taylor UUCP
17. Chapter 17. Electronic Mail
18. Chapter 18. Sendmail
19. Chapter 19. Getting Exim Up and Running
20. Chapter 20. Netnews
21. Chapter 21. C News
22. Chapter 22. NNTP and the nntpd Daemon
23. Chapter 23. Internet News
24. Chapter 24. Newsreader Configuration
25. Appendix A. Example Network: The Virtual Brewery
26. Appendix B. Useful Cable Configurations
27. Appendix D. SAGE: The System Administrators Guild

yamla asks: "I run a dual-Celeron machine ( ABIT BP6) and primarily use Linux. I am concerned about heat and so I have added a second fan and used thermal paste. When I run the distributed.net client, the heat is CPU1:45C(113F), CPU2:49C(120F), SYS:55C(131F). Without this client running, my system is about ten degrees cooler at CPU1:34C(93F), CPU2:35C(95F), SYS:44C(111F). My question is simple. Should I stop running the distributed.net client or is this difference in heat nothing to be concerned about?" Wow! I've heard of hot software, but this might be too literal for comfort.

yamla writes "Metrowerks, developer of the CodeWarrior development tools, has decided to put their professional Linux tools on hold. Since being bought out by Motorola, they've changed product emphasis and although their Linux guy in R&D wants to go ahead, management has put the product on indefinite hold. I want to develop using CodeWarrior 5 for Linux but apparently, this program may now never see the light of day. " I've talked with some folks over at Metrowerks and have confirmed this - from what they've said, the earliest it would be out is next Fall. Click below to read their account - and remember that it's better to sign the various petitions around than it is to flame people.

We currently have our plans for the Professional Linux on hold. Our head Linux guy in R&D wants to develop the product, but management has the project on hold. We have had some product changes since Motorola bought us out. You can keep checking the website for any news on the product, but the earliest it could possibly be release would be next Fall.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Metrowerks