The Mandriva Linux configuration wizards are designed to configure servers located between a local network and the Internet. They let you quickly and efficiently configure the most common services in a local network, as well as Internet web and FTP services. We assume that your network is as shown in Figure 9.1, “An Example of an Internal Network”, and that Mandriva Linux is installed on the server. Configuring and bringing up the Internet connection is beyond the scope of this chapter (see Section 1, “Network and Internet Connection Management”).
The server configuration
wizards are available through the Control Center when the
drakwizard
package is installed. New
categories appear in the Mandriva Linux Control Center, so wizards are organized as
follows:
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Note |
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Wizards noted as “Expert mode only” below are only accessible when the expert mode is toggled on ( → ). |
FTP server (Section 7, “FTP Server Configuration”): configure where your FTP server should be reachable from.
Samba server (Section 5, “Samba Server Configuration”): this wizard helps you set up public shared files and printers, and announce their names to the Windows® network.
Samba server fine tuning: this set of wizards let you manage and create shares for repositories (public/user shares). Expert mode only.
Web server (Section 6, “Web Server Configuration”): to setup your GNU/Linux box as a web server. We explain how to make it reachable from the Internet.
Installation server (Section 8, “Installation Server Wizard”): to allow your network client machines to be installed from the server, making CDs and DVDs obsolete. Expert mode only.
DHCP server (Section 2, “DHCP Server Configuration”): your server can assign IP addresses dynamically to machines on the network.
DNS server (Section 3, “DNS Server Configuration”): to configure name resolution for machines inside and outside the private network.
Proxy server (Section 11, “Proxy Server Configuration”): configure your server to act as a web proxy cache. This speeds up web browsing while limiting the bandwidth usage on the Internet.
Time server (Section 12, “Time Configuration”): your machine can also supply time to other machines using NTP (Network Time Protocol).
OpenSSH server: to let people connect to your server, and use its console “as if they were sitting there”, through a secure communications channel.
Change authentication method: to set up the local users authentication scheme (local, LDAP, NIS, Windows Domain). Expert mode only.
NIS server (Section 9, “NIS and Autofs Servers Wizard”): to set up the Network Information System, centralizing users authentication and home directories.
LDAP server (Section 10, “LDAP Configuration Wizard”): to set up a simple LDAP repository to be used as authentication mechanism.
Mail server (Section 4, “Mail Server Configuration”): configure your mail domain for sending and receiving mail to and from the outside world.
You can access the wizards by clicking on their corresponding buttons. We describe wizards for the most common services in no particular order. Note that the required packages are installed by the wizard if they are not already available.