Getting Around

Once Windows and Linux are installed and talking to each other, it's still a big, big world in there. To that end, here are some guidelines for getting around if you want to explore on your own.

Getting Around in Windows

There are four main tools with which you can modify settings, make configuration changes, and perform other functions that change the system.

Basic Functions

Getting around Windows doesn't have to be hard. Indeed, it's likely that you've already spent some time with these tools.

Invoking Help

Windows help is only getting better. In fact, I'm consistently impressed with how much better it's gotten over the years . With that in mind, the Windows 2003 and Windows XP Help can really help you out of a jam if you need it. In most cases, simply press F1, or select Help and Support Center from the Start Menu.

Control Panel

The Control Panel is the main way to change various "look and feel" settings, as well as printers, network cards, and a lot of other stuff. You can locate the Control Panel right from the Start menu. Select Switch to Classic View if you want to see even more categories right away.

My Computer Properties

When you select Start and see the My Computer icon, you can simply right-click over it and select Properties. Here's where you can, among other things, change the name of the computer (don't do this), change how potentially unsafe hardware drivers are handled, set up a way to perform remote computing (explored in Chapter 8), manage startup and recovery functions, and handle updates.

Advanced Functions

There may be times when you need a little more oomph to get something done inside Windows. Here are some additional places to try to make it happen.

My Computer Manage

When you select Start and see the My Computer icon, you can simply right-click over it and select Manage. Here you'll be able to do lots of stuff, including play around with the server's hardware and disk configurations, check out the system Event Logs, defragment the hard disk, use start and stop services, and manage local users and groups.

Command Prompt (aka the DOS Box)

Opening up a command prompt is easy. Either select the Command Prompt icon from the Start Menu, or select Start Run, type cmd , and press "Enter."

Local Group Policy Editor: GPedit.msc

Group Policy is a mechanism to help you control lots of settings very easily. You can do so on individual computers, or from "up on high" using Active Directory. If you have a single computer you want to manage, you can select Start Run and type GPedit.msc , and you'll be presented with the Group Policy Object Editor. Inside, you find a bajillion things to play with, but be very careful. One false step, and you could be in for a world of hurt. In this book, we won't be going too deep into Group Policy with Active Directory other than to discuss a third-party tool that helps extend it to Linux. Group Policy is a really big deal, and to that end, I (Jeremy) have a really big book and website dedicated on the subject which you can check out at www.GPanswers.com .

Note 

Note that GPedit.msc is only valid for machines that aren't Domain Controllers.

Print and Online Resources

Although there are simply too many to mention them all, if you're looking for more information on general Windows administration, we suggest first going to Microsoft's website, which has a specific section for IT Pros. Start at www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/default.mspx .

As for print books to help you get around, Sybex has an armload of books you should check out. One our favorites is Mark Minasi's tome Mastering Windows Server 2003 (Sybex 2003).

Also valuable is Bill Boswell's Inside Server 2003 (Addison Wesley.)

Additionally, you can locate a myriad of community forums, such as GPanswers.com , for Group Policyspecific information or ScriptingAnswers.com for scripting solutions.

Getting Around in Linux

Navigating a Linux server or desktop is not as difficult as historical accounts of Unix unfriendliness might lead you to believe. On a Fedora Linux system, friendly tools comparable to most Microsoft Windows Control Panel and management functions are available.

Help

General help is available, to an extent, via the Help option on the Applications menu. Unfortunately the GNOME Help browser does not cover all of the Fedora-specific utilities on the System Settings menu. Luckily, those utilities do offer their own Help buttons and are fairly self-explanatory to begin with.

System Settings

Most configuration options can be changed via the System Settings submenu of the Applications menu. Here you can adjust the date and time, change authentication settings, set IP addresses for network cards, and so forth. Printers can be administered via the Printing option, and most locally connected printers are automatically configured and installed when first connected to a Fedora system. Help is available via the Help button in most of the System Settings utilities.

System Tools

Certain tasks that don't fit neatly within the aforementioned System Settings are handled via the System Tools submenu of the Applications menu. The Internet Configuration Wizard is particularly helpful for dial-up clients , and the Terminal option needed to access the command line is also here. However, most system administration activities only require the System Settings menu.

Application Software

Desktop applications, such as graphics editing tools and the free OpenOffice Microsoft Office-compatible suite, are accessible via the Graphics and Office submenus of the Applications menu. OpenOffice provides a fairly compatible way to read and write Microsoft Office file formats, including Word documents and Excel spreadsheets.

Computer

The Computer desktop icon allows easy browsing of the entire file system, including removable devices and any configured network file systems. The GNOME file browsing interface, known as Nautilus, provides capabilities similar to the Microsoft Windows desktop environment. Floppies and CD-ROMs can be easily accessed from here.

You may also wish to check out an introduction to the GNOME user interface:

• http://www.gnome.org/learn/users-guide/latest/

Powering Down

Does anyone still turn off their computer? If you find yourself shouting " Jane! Stop this crazy thing! " it might be the right time.

First, select "Log Out" from the Actions menu, which is to the right of the Applications menu. When asked to confirm, you may wish to check the "save current setup" box if you like your current arrangement of browser windows, terminal windows, and the like. After confirming and returning to the login screen, click the "Shut Down" button at the bottom of the screen.

Print and Online Resources

As with Windows, there are too many to list here. But for information on Fedora Linux, begin with the official http://fedora.redhat.com/ site and the independently run community site www.fedorafaq.org/ . For general Linux information, be sure to check out www.kernel.org/ .

In print, Sybex offers a series of excellent Linux books, notably Linux System Administration by Vicki Stanfield and Roderick W. Smith (Sybex, 2002).