Chapter 3. How to use this HOWTO.
This document is organized top-down. The first sections include informative material, and it can be skipped if you are not interested; what follows is a generic discussion of networking issues, and you must ensure you understand this before proceeding to more specific parts. The ``technology specific'' information is grouped into three main sections: Ethernet and IP-related information, technologies pertaining to widespread PC hardware, and seldom-used technologies.
The suggested path through this document is as follows:
- Read the generic sections:
These sections apply to almost every technology described in subsequent sections, and they are very important for you to understand. I expect many of the readers will be confident with this material.
- Consider your network:
You should know how your network is (or will be) designed, and you should also be familiar with exactly what hardware and technology types you will be implementing.
- If you are directly connected to a LAN or the Internet, please refer to the ``Ethernet and IP'' section:
This section describes basic Ethernet configurations, and it describes the various features that Linux offers for IP networking (ie: firewalling, advanced routing, etc).
- If you are interested in low-cost local networks or dial-up connections, please refer to the next section
This section describes the widespread technologies used on personal workstations (ie: PLIP, PPP, SLIP, and ISDN).
- Please refer to the technology-specific sections that are related to your requirements:
Your needs may differ from IP and/or other common hardware This final section covers details specific to both non-IP protocols and to peculiar communication hardware.
- Do the configuration work:
You should actually try to configure your network. Take careful note of any existing problems
- Look for further help:
If you experience problems that this document does not help you to resolve, then you should refer to the sections related to "Help" and "Where to report bugs".
- Have fun!
Networking is fun! Enjoy it!