11-06-2004, 09:15 AM
I currently run a linux server for printing and file-sharing on my home network.
I must say that it was much, much easier getting the Windows machines talking to my Linux server than with each other. (my mother's XP laptop just refuses to talk to the Win2k machine -- I recently found out that 2k's security measures aren't easily compatible with XP) Infact, I had more trouble getting my Linux laptop printing to the network than getting the Windows boxes talking with samba, entirely due to misconfiguration on my part.
Linux is much perfered in a networking environment for me since, well, Windows networking has never worked, in my home, period. Also, the winner is pretty clear when you consider how Unix was intended to be run in a networked enviornment.
The customizations avaliable is certainly a plus when running a *nix system. On the flip side, there's much more experimentation involved, and even people who are fairly experienced has to go digging into documentation and the web to find information on how to perform certain tasks.
I must say that it was much, much easier getting the Windows machines talking to my Linux server than with each other. (my mother's XP laptop just refuses to talk to the Win2k machine -- I recently found out that 2k's security measures aren't easily compatible with XP) Infact, I had more trouble getting my Linux laptop printing to the network than getting the Windows boxes talking with samba, entirely due to misconfiguration on my part.
Linux is much perfered in a networking environment for me since, well, Windows networking has never worked, in my home, period. Also, the winner is pretty clear when you consider how Unix was intended to be run in a networked enviornment.
The customizations avaliable is certainly a plus when running a *nix system. On the flip side, there's much more experimentation involved, and even people who are fairly experienced has to go digging into documentation and the web to find information on how to perform certain tasks.