Chapter 9: Network Management

More complex networking services in Red Hat Enterprise Linux require more advanced administration methods. While graphical tools such as the Network Configuration tool are available to assist in configuring all aspects of Linux networking, the best way to configure networking is by practicing with the key command line utilities and associated configuration files.

This chapter starts with a discussion of the Domain Name System (DNS). DNS is a service that translates human-readable domain names such as www.mommabears.com to IP addresses such as 209.197.248.180, and vice versa. Next, this chapter continues to a description of the Network File System (NFS), which is a powerful and versatile way of sharing filesystems between servers and workstations. DHCP allows a Linux computer to serve dynamic IP addresses. Finally, the section on keeping servers in sync demonstrates how you can set up a RHEL 3 computer to synchronize with a central time server.

Inside The Exam

More Network Services

Both Red Hat exams require that you configure a Linux workstation as a client on a network. On a network with Linux computers, that naturally includes using DNS servers, connecting to shared NFS directories, and taking IP address information from DHCP servers.

The RHCE exam requires that you configure Linux servers on a network. The Red Hat Exam Prep guide suggests that you can expect to configure DNS and NFS servers during the exam. While DHCP servers aren't explicitly listed in the Red Hat Exam Prep guide, they are listed in the Red Hat curriculum for the RHCE exam (in the RH300 course outline).

In this chapter, the NFS and NTP services should be installed automatically with RHEL 3. I proceed to tell you about the packages required for the DNS and DHCP services. For each service, you'll need to remember to use a command such as chkconfig to make sure it starts the next time you boot Linux. It also will help you get full credit for the work you do on the Red Hat exams. I show you how to configure each service for basic operation. However, for a detailed discussion on how to secure these services, you'll need to read Chapter 10.

As you learn about these network services, you're learning about the services that you might configure and/or troubleshoot on the Red Hat exams. Take the time you need to understand the configuration files associated with each of these services, and practice making them work on your Linux computer. In some cases, two computers running Linux will be useful to practice what you learn in this chapter.