In the first article in this two-part series we took a look at the process of installing The IPSec VPN software FreeS/WAN on a Red Hat Linux server. In this article we continue the process, taking a look at how the service needs to be configured, are ultimately and a secure tunnel established.
The configuration of […]

The best thing about Linux is that you can make it do just about anything. For many of you, Linux is possibly already your router, firewall, NAT server, and more. With a little work, you can easily extend your Linux setup to build a cost-effective WAN replacement in the form of IPSec VPN tunnels. In […]

In this 3rd and final article in my Shell Scripting series we will study, through example, methods of creating simple useful shell scripts. Some of the topics I will cover will be review of the previous two articles, others will cover some new things. The idea is to take what you have already […]

This article will focus on an important part of Shell Scripting – Redirection and Piping. Simply put, redirection allows you to use the output of one command as the input for another. This allows you to perform tasks such as keyword searching a directory listing, or making decisions based on the content of […]

If you have worked with any flavor of Unix you have no doubt encountered the shell script. Shell scripts are one of the most important aspects of a Unix system. In fact, virtually all operations that take place on a Unix computer are accomplished via shell scripts. Shell scripts can range in complexity from simple […]

This is actually a case-study on a real Linux implementation that I did for a customer of mine. It goes to show how a little knowledge can go a long way in solving a problem and saving someone money. Funny thing about customers is that the more money you save them on licensing […]

In this article we will cover the basics of process management in Linux. This topic is of particular importance if you are responsible for administering a system which has not yet been proven stable, that is not fully tested in its configuration. You may find that as you run software, problems arise requiring […]

Many Linux applications do not install properly, or do not function without the presence of required shared libraries.  These libraries are nothing more than files that must be in the correct place.  Since many distributions of Linux vary the exact location of many files, soft links play a big role in helping applications run, and […]

Perhaps one of the most challenging and intimidating tasks a new Linux administrator can perform is to manage and install software. Although application developers are moving more and more towards the newer, easier to use technologies, many applications are still installed using very manual techniques. Below is a list of some of the […]

Many people are under the misimpression that simply having a network protocol such as TCP/IP in common is sufficient for two operating systems to communicate. The fact is that nothing is further from the truth. Although a common protocol is required, that is only part of the picture. Let’s look at a […]