ftp.funet.fi:/pub/Linux/mirrors/
tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux/distributions/
mirror.aarnet.edu.au:/pub/linux/distributions/
Many of the modern distributions can be installed directly from the Internet. There is a lot of software to download for a typical installation, though, so you'd probably want to do this only if you have a high-speed, permanent network connection, or if you just need to update an existing installation.
Linux may be purchased on CD-ROM from an increasing number of software vendors. If your local computer store doesn't have it, perhaps you should ask them to stock it! Most of the popular distributions can be obtained on CD-ROM. Some vendors produce products containing multiple CD-ROMs, each of which provides a different Linux distribution. This is an ideal way to try a number of different distributions before you settle on your favorite one.
File System Standards
To improve this situation, in August 1993, several people formed the Linux File System Standard Group (FSSTND). After six months of discussion, the group
created a draft that presents a coherent file sytem structure and defines the location of the most essential programs and configuration files.
This standard was supposed to have been implemented by most major Linux distributions and packages. It is a little unfortunate that, while most distributions have made some attempt to work toward the FSSTND, there is a very small number of distributions that has actually adopted it fully. Throughout this book, we will assume that any files discussed reside in the location specified by the standard; alternative locations will be mentioned only when there is a long tradition that conflicts with this specification.
The Linux FSSTND continued to develop, but was replaced by the Linux File Hierarchy Standard (FHS) in 1997. The FHS addresses the multi-architecture issues that the FSSTND did not. The FHS can be obtained from the Linux documentation directory of all major Linux FTP sites and their mirrors, or at its home site at http://www.pathname.com/fhs/. Daniel Quinlan, the coordinator of the FHS group, can be reached at quinlan@transmeta.com.
Standard Linux Base
Each distribution packages and supplies certain base libraries, configuration tools, system applications, and configuration files. Unfortunately, differences in their versions, names, and locations make it very difficult to know what will exist on any distribution. This makes it hard to develop binary applications that will work reliably on all Linux distribution bases.
To help overcome this problem, a new project sprang up called the "Linux Standard Base." It aims to describe a standard base distribution that complying distributions will use. If a developer designs an application to work against the standard base platform, the application will work, and be portable to, any complying Linux distribution.
You can find information on the status of the Linux Standard Base project at its home web site at http://www.linuxbase.org/.
If you're concerned about interoperability, particularly of software from commercial vendors, you should ensure that your Linux distribution is making an effort to participate in the standardization project.
About This Book
Olaf continued work on the Networking Guide and eventually produced a much enhanced version of the guide. Vince Skahan contributed the original sendmail mail chapter, which was completely replaced in this edition because of a new interface to the sendmail configuration.
The version of the guide that you are reading now is a revision and update prompted by O'Reilly& Associates and undertaken by Terry Dawson. Terry has been an amateur radio operator for over 20 years and has worked in the telecommunications industry for over 15 of those. He was co-author of the original NET-FAQ, and has since authored and maintained various networking-related HOWTO documents. Terry has always been an enthusiastic supporter of the Network Administrators Guide project, and added a few new chapters to this version describing features of Linux networking that have been developed since the first edition, plus a bunch of changes to bring the rest of the book up to date.
The exim chapter was contributed by Philip Hazel, who is a lead developer and maintainer of the package.
The book is organized roughly along the sequence of steps you have to take to configure your system for networking. It starts by discussing basic concepts of networks, and TCP/IP-based networks in particular. It then slowly works its way up from configuring TCP/IP at the device level to firewall, accounting, and masquerade configuration, to the setup of common applications such as rlogin and friends, the Network File System, and the Network Information