Should my gateway be linux?

[eminemsmom]

Its going to be a small lan in place of the lan I have now (xp pro gateway-xp pro clients). I have never used linux. What I want to do is have the gateway be linux (from what I understand I can have Much better security with linux?) and my clients will be as follows 2xp clients, 1 win95 (to allow access for an older laptop). The goal from this whole adventure would be to gain security. Whats my best plan of action?

 

[davemcdonaldireland]

Hi Eminem's Mom!

Firstly, what did you do to that kid?

Second, Linux is great for this kind of job. If you're afraid of the learning curve, there's a great product available that packages up all of the functionality you need. It's a linux/application package called E-Smith (SME Server).

http://www.e-smith.org

It has a commercial option, but if you have a broadband connection, you can download the "developer" edition for free (fully licenced!).

It will run on a modest dedicated PC (any pentium > 64MB, 2 PCI network cards) and will provide you with:

- firewall
- mail server
- web server
- anti-virus scanning (extra cost)

etc...

Don't buy an NT/2000 box with server licence and a CAL for each machine that uses it! Get this superior product instead for free!

Dave Mc Donald

http://www.mcdonaldit.com