Linux and Windows

[WN3]

I am teetering on the edge of installing ubuntu on my server at home.

At the moment, the server is used as a document server / backup server / print server. Will I still be able to see the data I have on it (on a partitioned drive), when it is "linuxed", over the lan?

Does anyone have any experience of a home lan consisting of xp / vista and linux machines?

[mystomachehurts]

Yes, it will work. I have many Linux boxes that offer shared drives that can be mapped and used by my Windows boxes.

On the Linux side you need to install and configure SAMBA or smbfs - I've never used ubuntu but it was very easy on CentOS.

On the Windows side you then just browse into the Network Neghbourhood and you can then map a drive to the share.

[Silent1]

You could install VMWare on it so you can put linux on but keep windows if you're wanting to learn about it.

[Tycho]

Silent1 said:

You could install VMWare on it so you can put linux on but keep windows if you're wanting to learn about it.

Or use a live cd

[mcflurry]

One of the installation choices with Umbongo is to install alongside Windows.
When my machine boots up option 1 is for Linux, 2 is for Windows

[qube_TA]

WN3 said:

I am teetering on the edge of installing ubuntu on my server at home.

At the moment, the server is used as a document server / backup server / print server. Will I still be able to see the data I have on it (on a partitioned drive), when it is "linuxed", over the lan?

Does anyone have any experience of a home lan consisting of xp / vista and linux machines?

Yes.

[Zumbruk]

WN3 said:

Does anyone have any experience of a home lan consisting of xp / vista and linux machines?

My home network has 2 Windows XP machines, 2 Sun Solaris machines, a Mac mini and a "scratch" PC that had Red Hat on it and will shortly have Solaris Express X86.

It all inter-operates without any problem. One of the Suns runs DHCP, is a file server for all the other stuff (it has the tape drive and runs software raid - I bought a 6 slot SCSI array on eBay last week for £25), runs the printer, the other Sun is a firewall/mail server/web proxy, the PCs are my wifes one (soon to be retired and replaced with the Mac - no steenking Fister in this house) and a company one (which I don't have to administer (hurrah!)). I bought the Mac a few weeks ago to see what they're like & the scratch machine is for "crash & burn" experimentation.

Yes, I'm a geek.