[GLLUG] Windows to Linux Networking

[Matt Graham]

On Monday 24 June 2002 12:57, after a long battle with technology, Nu 
Hertz wrote:
> Is there any way to network a Windows ME/2000 computer to
> a computer with any distribution of Linux on it?  

Nope, Lose2K and Linux are completely and totally incompatible, despite 
the years-long efforts of the Samba team and the Wine team.  :-]

File sharing between any Linux machine and any 'Doze machine is not a 
problem, thanks to Samba.  Linux machines can (and do) act as simple 
file servers or PDCs to networks of 'Doze machines.  All you need to do 
is to configure the smb.conf file, usually in /etc/samba/smb.conf , 
then start the Samba service (execute "/etc/init.d/smb start" as root.)  
Newbies may be intimidated by the many options available in smb.conf , 
so the Samba Web Admin Tool (SWAT) can also be used-- execute 
"/usr/sbin/swat" as root, then open any web browser with the URL 
"http://localhost:901/".

Linux can mount filesystems shared over SMB ("Windoze File Sharing") as 
well.  Like so:

mount -t smbfs //BORG/SHARE /mnt/borg -o username=USER,workgroup=GROUP

mounts a windoze shared filesystem called SHARE on machine BORG, and 
connects as user USER in workgroup or domain GROUP.  Pretty easy, 
really.

> what would be the best and easiest choices of doing so.
> I'm mostly looking for a solution that I can play games and
> share files within the network.

When you say "play games", what do you mean, really?  If you want to run 
a game on machine 1 and have that game display on machine 2, forget it.  
Even the best/tightest protocols for shoveling video data over a wire 
are less efficient than even a 2-year-old video card displaying 
locally.  I suppose you could *theoretically* run WinVNCserver on a 
'Doze machine and play Max Payne there, then run VNCviewer on your 
Linux machine and see everything that happens on the 'Doze machine... 
but the results would just suck.  

VNC is extremely useful if you're *not* playing games, check it out at 
http://www.tightvnc.org/ .  Its main problem is that the standard 
vncserver for Unix doesn't "share" an already running desktop as 
WinVNCserver does.  You can get that with another program, 
http://www.tjansen.de/krfb/ .

File sharing, see the above paragraphs.  HTH,

-- 
   The early bird who catches the worm works for someone who comes in
   late and owns the worm farm.  --Travis McGee
There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see