Linux in a Windows Workstation Environment, Part I
Tuesday, February 08 2005 @ 09:14 PM EST Contributed by: glosser
You can learn a lot from your elders, if you just listen. The Linux Journal presents this tutorial written by a retired programmer, living in a retirement resort, using Linux as a router and firewall for his community.
This series of articles covers the development of a Linux-based server that supports a number of workstations running MS Windows in the computer laboratory of a 55+ RV Resort in Mesa, Arizona. The age-old stereotype of senior citizens playing shuffleboard by day and bingo by night is outdated, if ever true. Such activities have their role; however, our residents are equally as likely to be in the computer room, sending and receiving e-mail or browsing the Web to research their latest financial, medical or recreational question. Our facility protects the local machines from inexperienced and/or inept users, but it also offers sophisticated services for the user that needs them.
Prior to beginning this project, I had experience using a wide variety of computer systems; however, my UNIX and Linux experience was minimal. My computer background began in 1963 as a Fortran programmer on mainframes in support of my own scientific research. In the early 1970s, I was a part of a small team that developed real-time software and hardware for interfacing PDP-11's to scientific instruments. In 1981, I became system manager for a VAX-11/780 and ran various systems. At this position, I gained some experience with UNIX and Linux systems until my retirement came in mid 1999. At that time, I became a full-time RV resident, dedicated to the avoidance of cold weather.
