How to make Vista, OS X, and Linux coexist on one network
When setting up a network, either at home or at the office, it may seem daunting when faced with systems that carry varying operating systems. With the proper tools and know-how, it’s easier than you may think.
Scott Spanbauer at Computer World gave some excellent pointers on setting up a wired or wireless network using systems that operate with Windows (either XP or Vista), Mac OS X and Linux. The underlying benefits are capable with each OS, it’s just a matter of knowing how to tweak each OS to access the files, printers and services on your network effectively.
No matter the OS on your computers, the infrastructure remains the same. By that, I mean the underlying methods with which you connect your systems and other network resources. Whether your network is wired, wireless, or a combination of both, the connections are the same for every system. Where the differences lie, is in how to connect and use your network resources on your varying systems. For the purpose of this article, we’ll use the examples of printer and file storage, since those are the main benefits of having a network.
After hooking and setting up your printer to your network, it’s time to locate and associate that printer on each of your networked systems. On Windows-based machines (Vista): go to your control panel and click on “Printers.” Choose “add a new printer,” and follow the on-screen dialogue to search the network for the attached printer. Windows will automatically find, download, and install the appropriate driver on the system. On a Mac OS X system: open “System Preferences,” choose “Print and Fax”,” click the lock icon to allow changes, then click the plus sign to add a printer. If your printer doesn’t appear in the Default list of printers, you may find it listed under the “Windows category,” which allows you to select printers shared on any local Windows Workgroup. Select the printer and click “Add.” In Linux (Ubuntu for this example), the process is similar to Windows: choose “System,” then “Administration,” then “Printing,” click “New Printer”, select the printer in the resulting list, and click “Forward” to select the correct driver and install the printer.
If everything goes as planned, and the operating systems do their job, you should have a fully functioning networked printer that works on Vista, Linux, and Mac OS X. Now, it’s time to move on to file sharing- the backbone of any network. Accessing files and resources with varying operating systems is similar to sharing a printer, the operating system itself handles most of the configuration, and it just takes some simple tweaking on each system.
First, you have to decide which files you want to share on each system. In Windows XP and Vista, you must enable “File and Print Sharing” before you can share any files or folders. This can be done in your control panel. Once enabled, it’s a simple matter of right-clicking on the file or folder you want to share with your network, and click “Sharing and Security.” Check “share this folder on your network” and click OK. In OS X: open “System Preferences,” click “Sharing,” check “File Sharing,” click “Options,” select the shared home folders that you want to share, check “Share files and folders”, enter the account password for any checked home folder when prompted and click “Done.” In Linux, select the folder in the File Browser, choose “File,” then “Properties,” select the “Share” tab, check “Share this folder and Guest access” and click “Create Share.”
Again, if everything went as planned, you can now share files, folders, and a single networked printer using all three OSs at the same time. The core of each OS is made to inter-operate with other systems, so the hard work is already done. As you can see, the days of needing all your networked systems to have the same OS are long gone. In today’s IT environment, designers and techies sometimes prefer Macs over Windows or Linux, while most developers and programmers prefer Linux. Add classic Windows to the mix, and it can be confusing making them all work together on one network. As you can see, it’s easier than you think.
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November 9th, 2008
This article say nothing that I’m not well aware of already. The heart of any network, the mechanics are much the same desptite the slightly different look and feel on each OS.
What it does not help understand is the overall security of the networks in place.
In most business networks (and certainly mine!) the vast majority of the costs involved are not in enabling functionality but rducing and controlling it.
Allowing Linux, Mac or any other “raw” machines onto the core business network is a much greater risk than plugging in 300 locked down PCs setup with a standard software build on which the staff have only “Standard User” rights.
In letting the users decide their own hardware, OS and software to run you are letting go of many controls. I’m confident for example that none of my users will (or can) download and install hacking tools onto their PCs but I currently have no control over what a user might run from a Mac or Linux machine.
Our security model is largely based on protecting our systems from the outside world in the (perhaps naieve?) knowledge that the machines internally on the network are safe.
Introducing a “put what you like in here” approach to our LAN sockets would mean a major rethink on the security layers required within the LAN itself leading to more complexity and therefore cost.
While I love the design of Macs and like to dabble with Linux at home, professionally I have to say that the pros of mixing and matching within the corporate environment rarely outweigh the cons of reduced security and/or cost in making them secure.
February 8th, 2009
Actually, it is not so simple if you want to share files over the network between your vista machine and your linux, mac machines.
See: http://thinkabdul.com/2007/03/11/tip-how-to-enable-network-file-sharing-between-windows-vista-and-mac-os-x-or-linux/
Thanks, Microsoft