Using Linux on a Home Network: Three ways to start

[Keefe]

Using Linux on a Home Network
Three Ways To Implement the Upstart Unix Flavor

If the concept of using Linux on your home network is appealing, it's wise to be sure of your expectations before you proceed.

Linux is appealing because it's an open operating system available at low or no cost that is very fast and has a cleaner interface than the major variations of Windows. You don't necessarily have to be an expert in operating systems or a software engineer to use Linux (though it wouldn't hurt), but it's a mistake to view Linux as an inexpensive alternative to Windows that anyone can install and use as easily as Windows, particularly on a network.

Installing and configuring Linux may be beyond the reach of many users, but that doesn't mean that Linux doesn't have a place on home networks--in fact it may already be there if you use an Internet appliance. There are three ways in which you can use Linux on a home network, with increasingly demanding degrees of user expertise: Internet appliances with embedded Linux; conventional desktop PCs using Linux primarily for Internet access; and full-bore, fully-featured Linux installations.

The least demanding application is to buy an Internet appliance that runs on a specially configured version of Linux--with interface, application, and peripheral support tailored specifically for the Internet appliance--and the ability to work on a home network. If you want to set up your own Internet appliance using an extra PC (Linux is great at not demanding heavy system resources), a second home network implementation of Linux is to install a version that's compatible with your system hardware (more on this below) and use the bundled browser for fast browsing via your network connection (hopefully to a broadband ISP).

For the brave of heart, if you want to use a Linux machine as a fully functional peer on a home network, including network file and printer sharing with Windows PCs in addition to sharing Internet access via a cable or DSL modem and router or residential gateway, you'll need solid expertise and a good deal of patience.

Internet appliances have a role in the market for people who don't own PCs, but many if not most of the sales are to users who own multiple PCs but want Internet access in more locations in their home or office. The first generation of Internet appliances used dial-up phone modems with captured ISPs, which weren't useful on a network and were unappealing to people who already had a preferred ISP and didn't want additional e-mail addresses.