Linux Setup

[Henry D]

I think the lack of security, viruses, etc. with Windows is getting to be a real issue and is only going to get worse.

Here is one idea I had: I have two computers. Is it possible to have one computer with Linux for internet connection and the other one with Windows only for CAD work? They would be networked together. I would only connect the Windows computer to the internet when I needed to update Revit.

[christopher.zoog51272]

I think the lack of security, viruses, etc. with Windows is getting to be a real issue and is only going to get worse.

Here is one idea I had: I have two computers. Is it possible to have one computer with Linux for internet connection and the other one with Windows only for CAD work? They would be networked together. I would only connect the Windows computer to the internet when I needed to update Revit.

Absolutely, it would be quite simple, you could use your linux box to easly share files (via samba) and even the internet connection with you windows box, and the windows box will never know the difference. Star office (free) is 100% compatible with ms office so you can still open word docs, etc. Once you go linux, it's hard to go back :wink: Like jeffery, revit and other autodesk products are the only thing keeping me tied to winblows.

I would suggest Mandrake Linux 9.1, as it very easy to use an install and is geared toward newbies:

http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/

[hand471037]

I second the recommendation of Mandrake. My wife and I have a home server running it, and it's just wonderful. Both my machine at home & at work dual-boot Mandrake & Windows 2K so that I can use Radiance. I've tried to get Revit to run under Wine, a windows compatibility layer for Linux that lets you run Windows programs, but haven't gotten very far. yet. ;)

Download the Mandrake CD's, burn then, and then simply stick the first one in and reboot. If that computer is too old to boot from CD, then stick the first CD into your windows box (when windows is up and running) and it will pop up a menu that gives you the option to make a Linux boot disk to install from CD-ROM.

Also give them some money. You don't have to, but it's a great product, and they deserve some cash.

Linux can be hard sometimes, but once you learn something you can do so much more than you could ever do with just windows. Also, even though Linux/unix can be cryptic at times, there are reasons behind how it works, and standards, so It's kinda harder and easyer; harder in that you have to learn and research things sometimes (no pointing & clicking until it works!), easyer in once you know what's going on you can make the computer do *exactly* what you want/need -and can trust it to stay that way- no more flopping around in the dark until it works ala Windows.

[Henry D]

As always, thanks for all your good advice. This sounds really good.

- In terms of security, would it be just as effective to just use one computer with the dual boot set up; access the internet through Linux and disable the Windows connection - or is it better to use 2 computers the way I described it?


- What set up would be easier to work with: a) separate OS's on separate computers b) both OS's on one computer?

One off my computers is a lot slower than the other (P2 vs. P4)

[hand471037]

If I were you, I would:

1. Make the P-II a server/firewall using Mandrake Linux. It can act as your DCHP server, a pretty secure firewall, a Proxy server, and, if you want, a robust file & intranet server (as well as web server). But start small: make it a firewall, DCHP, & proxy server as well as something to fiddle around with linux.

2. Make the Windows box use the server to get to the internet. (you're still going to want to connect the Windows box to the internet, for windows update, software downloads, and Revit licence autorizations; you're just going to want to do it safely).

3. Stop using Outlook or Outlook Express and start using Mozilla for your e-mail :) This alone will cut most of the viruses from being able to infect your system. Or by a KVM switch and use the Linux box for e-mail/web, Evolution is a wonderful Outlook-alike :).

4. You'll still have to have soild anti-virus on the Windows box, as well as patch for the constant windows updates.

If you simply set up your windows box to dual-boot, then you'll still be just as exposed when running on the Windows side of things. Several viruses and trogens exploit windows without using e-mail as a carrier, so running without any kind of a firewall isn't very safe. Setting up your old box as a free firewall gives you a good line of defense agenst the majority of these attacks; not using Outlook for ANYTHING takes care of most of the rest. However, there will be things that will get past your firewall and to the windows box, so as long as you use Windows you'll still have to do the weekly update and patch, no matter what your firewall is. Which sucks, because the updates sometimes break things at random (knock on wood, I've been lucky, but read the Viz 4 newsgroup- one of the last MicroSoft hotfixes CORRUPTED VIZ FILES!).

The best solution would be to find an alternative to Revit that runs on Mac or Linux. However there just isn't anything yet, unless you want to take a major step backwards in functionality, or simply draw everything in Sketch-up, which some days I'm almost convinced could work... ;)

Jeffrey

[PeterJ]

Henry

Linux is very good at firewalling and any mainstream distribution you work with will give a good elvel of security to port scanning etc, however the bulk of virii/viruses appear to come via mail attachments at present and you would need to address the question of anti-virus software to run in conjunction with your mail client whether you were running windows or Linux. That said a great deal of viral activity is windows specific so just running Linux is going to save you from a lot of random attacks - don't take that good news as letting you of the hook, you should still be vigilant, but its easier.

As to the one/two computer conundrum.........I think Chris said, rightly, that the easiest solution is a network, firewalled by Linux as the internet connection, that way you can connect to the web with whatever flavour you choose. pdf's are a little better read in Acrobat than the linux clones, I find, and some other web specific things tend to be well implemented for PC and Mac but less so for linux, though there are flash players and all those good good things out there.

P

[Henry D]

Thanks for the good battle plan... one last question: Can Windows 98 remain on the P-II server along side Linux, or should it be uninstalled?... I hope not.

P.S. The only reason I feel confident about setting this up is because I'm going to get my 16 year old son's classmate who eats and breathes Linux to help me!

[hand471037]

Yes you can have Windows 98 & Linux on the same box. No problem.

You could even take a gamble, and use the built-in hard drive partition resizer built into Mandrake's install to section up the hard drive so that there is room for the existing Windows 98 partition & the Linux partition. I've used the tool twice, once very successfully, and once very unsucessfully; so take heed and use partition magic instead if you're worried about it.

If the machine is 'clean' install Windows first, leaving a hard drive partition empty for Linux, then install Linux. Mandrake will install to the empty partition and set up a boot menu for you that will let you choose which you want to boot to when you start the computer up.

and whatever you do don't let that 16 year old Linux nut convince you to use anything but Mandrake. Serously. Linux geeks, esp. 16 year old ones, can lack perspective and won't think about giving you a system that you could actually use. My first attempt to use Linux was with Debian, which was a dismail failure due to my lack of linux knowlege. Now I feel like I could use it, but that's only after learning things using an easyer distrobution that's more willing to 'hold your hand along the way'. :)

[Steve_Stafford]

Just to add to the good info...just a me too thing...no tech info, our firm uses a linux "box" as our firewall in addition to the firewalls available within Cisco products....our EyeTee guy swears by it and like the others say here, he'd love to get off the MS train....

We host our own website and some of our clients project data too.