Nicholas Coad wrote in a message to Mike Bilow:
 MB> You would probably learn a lot with a Linux machine, and you could use
 MB> almost any old 386 with 8 MB RAM to do it.
 NC> Hmmm... can Linux act as a file server for the network?  (NT WS 
 NC> and Win95 machines)
Yes.  The Samba package emulates an NT Server using NetBIOS over TCP/IP.  The 
mars_nwe package emulates a Novell NetWare 3.x server.  Both are freeware.
 NC> Also, can it handle having two different NIC cards and two 
 NC> modems? (ie, will it complain with non-standard IRQs)
Linux will support a large number of NICs and serial ports with no trouble.  
You can use non-standard IRQs and even share IRQs across ports (if your 
hardware allows this) quite easily, using the "setserial" utility.
 NC> What version of Linux do you recommend?  RedHat, Slackware?  
I do not recommend Slackware these days.  Red Hat is good, as is Debian.  If 
you are just getting started with Linux and your primary interest is in 
building a network server, Red Hat or Caldera is probably the best choice.
 NC> Can it be installed over a network (I have a CD-ROM drive only 
 NC> in one Win95 machine).
The Debian distribution can be installed over a network.
 NC> How well does DOSEMU work with communications ports?  I run my 
 NC> BBS system, and am a hub, how reliable is will things run in a 
 NC> DOS window?
I don't know.  There is native Fidonet and BBS software for Linux, but you 
would probably be better off running the BBS on a DOS machine that acts as a 
network client to the Linux machine.
 MB> WinGate is intended as a complete package, and even works on 
 MB> Windows 95.
 NC> Wonderful.  Now I just gotta figure that puppy out. :)
It's not that hard.
 NC> Thanks a million for all the information.
You're welcom.  Good luck.
 
-- Mike
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