Chapter Summary

A local area network (LAN) connects computers at one site and can allow the connected computers to share an Internet connection and a printer. Each system, or node, on a LAN must have a network interface card (NIC). NICs can be connected to the network via cables or radio waves (wireless).

An Ethernet-based LAN has a connection between each computer and a central hub. Two kinds of hubs exist: passive (sometimes just called a hub) and switching (faster, called a switch). A wireless access point (WAP) connects a wireless network to a wired one. If the LAN you are setting up is connected to another network, such as the Internet, you need a router (gateway). A router can perform several functions, the most common of which is allowing several systems to share a single Internet connection and IP address, called NAT.

You can configure the LAN to use NIS as a login server so that you do not have to set up accounts on each system. You can use NFS, which allows you to mount remote directory hierarchies, to set up a universal home directory. Samba is an important part of many LANs: It allows Linux systems to participate in a Windows network, sharing directories and printers, and accessing those shared by Windows systems.