Chapter 9: Networking with TCPIP


Overview

Many applications require individuals to access resources on remote machines. To meet this need, more and more computers are linked together via various types of communications facilities into many different types of networks. Nowadays, a large percentage of computers have connections to the Internet, a vast network of computers (discussed in Chapter 10).

This chapter will concentrate on the commands built into UNIX for TCP/IP networking. The Internet is based on TCP/IP networking and was originally built using UNIX to link computers running UNIX. The corresponding network administration capabilities devoted to installing, configuring, and maintaining TCP/IP networking are covered in Chapter 17.

UNIX includes networking capabilities that can be used to provide a variety of services over a high-speed network. Using these capabilities, you can carry out such network-based tasks as remote file transfer, execution of a command on a remote host, and remote login. Because these capabilities are available on computers running different operating systems, including all UNIX variants and Windows, TCP/IP networking can be used in heterogeneous environments. Networking based on TCP/IP is the basis for the Internet, which links together computers running many operating systems into one gigantic network. This chapter describes how to use the basic commands in UNIX to carry out networking tasks.

If your computer is not part of a network that is directly connected to the Internet, you can connect your computer to the Internet using a regular telephone connection or a DSL connection. This chapter describes PPP and PPPoE, methods for connecting to the Internet over a telephone line and DSL, respectively. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of tools available for developing networking applications.

Traditionally, basic communications capabilities in UNIX, such as file transfer and remote execution, were provided by the UUCP system. UUCP communications are based on point-to-point connections, are relatively slow and unsophisticated, and are not supported by many operating systems. This makes them inadequate for supporting high-speed networking and distributed computing If your system still uses the UUCP System, you can consult the companion web site http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/getbook.php?isbn=0072263369&template=computing, for more information.




UNIX. The Complete Reference
UNIX: The Complete Reference, Second Edition (Complete Reference Series)
ISBN: 0072263369
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 316

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