[WEB4LIB] Thanx and Linux

[James Klock]

>How many libraries out there are 
>using Linux, or some other Unix flavor, to network their PC's, provide 
>Internet connectivity, firewalls, etc?  Who's using Unix plus NT?  How 
>about NT alone?

We have a VERY heterogeneous environment at this public library: our
catalog runs on a DEC Alpha running VMS (which will eventually become a DEC
Alpha running Unix, with an NT Server to support the catalog clients),
which also runs our main email services and our primary DNS.  
Our main website runs on a 486 running Linux (which will soon be replaced
by a Pentium II running Linux).  We're contemplating migrating our mail and
Domain Name services to a PII Linux box.  My boss has a similar PII on his
desk, which he uses as a testbed before deploying new technologies.
In addition, we have a brand spanking new dual PII Netware 5 server running
administrative file, print and domain services.
We ALSO have an NT server which is servicing our reference workstations,
providing http proxying to restrict those machines to our subscribed
web-based databases, as well as providing limited file sharing to a small
number of CD-ROM products, and spooling a single networked printer.  This
machine is being managed via NDS for NT, which ties it into our Netware
environment.
And lastly-- we have a half dozen iMacs in our children's room, which are
served by a Mac G3 via AppleShare.

To speak to your question: the computing staff here are Linux fans.  We've
deployed other systems only when we see some clear advantage to that system
as opposed to Linux: the Apple stuff is great for the kids, because you're
just not going to find a friendlier OS; the Netware stuff is great for me,
because NDS is simply the only reasonable system administration
consolodation tool out there today; the NT server is useful for the public,
because we need to be using some sort of Windows OS to run the CD-ROM
products, and I'd rather be using NT Workstation because it allows us to
lock those machines down much more securely-- having an NT Domain for them
to logon to allows for some enhanced remote administration, and makes it
easier to make them behave identically (now that we have the Netware 5
server in place, we may review the need for an NT domain; NT Workstation,
with the current Netware Client, can be set up so that it authenticates to
the NDS tree, and creates a local account on the fly if none exists for the
authenticated user...)

It occurs to me now, of course, that I should also look into Caldera's
"Netware for Linux" product, to see about integrating our Linux systems
into NDS...

James