Chapter 3. Linux doesn’t care what your intentions were when you built your computer. Linux calmly does what it is told and works gracefully as either a workstation or a server. Linux works equally well whether it’s running a word processor or a web server; the difference between them is just the software that’s used and how it’s configured. For example, you start the Open Office program when using your computer as a word processor, or you use the Apache program for Web services. In fact, you can run both programs at one time and do word processing while running a web server. (The basic web server uses fewer resources than OpenOffice, for example.)Regarding performance, maintenance, and security, workstations and servers should be run on dedicated machines, if possible. Workstations require a wider range of software than do servers. Your workstation is a jack-of-all-trades by nature. Servers work better when they’re configured to do just a small — preferably one or two — jobs.When you get to the point where your business and livelihood depend on providing network services, you want to build and dedicate machines for this purpose. However, until that time comes, you can use the simple workstation we describe in Chapter 3, which is what we assume you’re doing for this book.You can configure the Red Hat Linux computer from Chapter 3 to provide services to a private network, like the one we describe in Chapters 7 and 16. This chapter describes how to make the Apache web server visible to the Internet. Services such as Samba and printing, however, definitely should be kept private and not be shown to the Internet.We also assume in this chapter that you’re connecting to the Internet through a private network as described in Chapters 7 and 15. (Chapter 15 tells you how to use a Red Hat Linux computer as an Internet gateway and firewall.) This chapter assumes that you want to use this same computer to provide services to your private network. This assumption is reasonable for small-office and home-office (SOHO) networks because the demands put on a modern PC by a small network aren’t excessive. Using a single computer for multiple purposes greatly simplifies the work you must do and is an efficient way to use your resources.TipUsing a single Linux computer to act as an Internet gateway and provide network services is a cost-effective way of using your limited resources. However, this type of configuration is more difficult to secure. Each function you place on a single machine increases the potential number of vulnerabilities. Think of adding functions like adding doors and windows to a house: A house with a single door and no windows is more secure than a house with 5 doors and 15 windows. However, who wants to live in a dark house? Security, like everything else in life, is a matter of compromise. Consult Part II and Chapters 17 and 21 in this book for discussions on how you can increase security.
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