Optional Local Network Usage

only for RuBoard - do not distribute or recompile

I have already covered the basic information required to create a small network. If, however, you are connecting to an existing local network, you need to coordinate with the network administrator.

How to Connect to an Existing Local Area Network

The network administrator needs to assign you an IP address and a machine name. If you are part of an Internet domain, you need to obtain the domain name and put it in place of the mydomain.com you previously used. The administrator will know the network mask, the DNS server, and the default gateway.

If some other machines on the network do not run TCP/IP, you and the administrator must decide which of those will need to communicate to your server. Those will require additional protocol configuration and IP address assignments. This can be a very involved task.

Network Usage: Windows-Based Clients

The Windows environment comes with three standard utilities to use for this project ”the Web browser, ping, and telnet. Internet Explorer is the default Web browser installed with Windows 98 or above. Netscape can also be used as your browser, but must be installed separately. The telnet and ping utilities are installed when you install the TCP/IP protocol.

You can use telnet to connect to the Linux server and run any command that you would run from a local xterm under the X Window System. You must connect to the Linux server as a normal individual and use the command su -l to become root before you are able to execute some commands.

In the previous sections, "Testing Your Network Connection," and "Testing Your Web Server," I covered the steps necessary to validate a network-based connection. After you are connected to an existing network, try performing these checks on your Windows machine.

When you have validated the Windows machine's connection, you are ready to continue with the IMP installation. After the IMP package is fully functional, you can use Internet Explorer or Netscape on your Windows machine to check your email.

only for RuBoard - do not distribute or recompile