The Week in Linux News

Building a Firewall

Firewalls can be complicated. Yet they are essential to building a secure system. Last week various articles came out that talked about building or helping to build a firewall.

• IPTables Firewall Script
  Davion at Linux Help has created a sample firewall for ip_tables, the tool for doing firewalling # and masquerading under the 2.3.x/2.4.x series of kernels. Be warned: this is a very restrictive set of firewall rules (and they should be, for proper security).
• Building an ATM Firewall with BSD
  After a couple of unsuccessful crack attempts (and a couple of partially successful ones) we were able to justify a firewall. This in itself was an achievement. However, even at the best of times, the world of UK academia moves at a snail's pace and I for one wanted something in place very quickly.
• Designing Mason [firewall] Rulesets for Multiple Machines
  This article helps you build a set of preset rules that you can use on multiple machines, simplifying the process of building new firewalls.
• Linux LAN & Firewall FAQ
  Linux is enjoying growing popularity among home hobbyists and small, home-based businesses. Continual, direct Internet access is becoming more widespread in the home as cable modem and DSL connection services expand into the residential market. Connecting Linux to the Internet, building a firewall, and enabling network address translation for a home LAN are frequent sources of questions.

Java on Linux

More and more, Linux seems to be the platform of choice for Java developement. In a recent article in Network World Fusion, Phil Hochmuth outlines why Linux just might be a natural fit for Java.

But Sun is not doing anything to advance the Linux and Java marriage. According to Gartner analyst Andy Butler, Sun Microsystems' Linux server strategy lacks vision, commitment and viability. Butler says Sun has gradually lost interest in Linux since last November:

"[Sun] believes that Linux is designed for theIntel-based platform 
and that Linux contributes to the downfall of Solaris on Intel."

You can read the full article here.

Surveys

Surveys are always fun. Some people put more weight in surveys than others, but they always generate some commotion. Last week saw a couple of interesting surveys, one for developers, another with enterprise network managers.

• What are Linux developers thinking?
  A new survey says they work mostly on the server side, and they're not as advocacy-oriented as you might think.
• Will Linux be a hit or miss on the corporate desktop?
  A recent survey by Survey.com gives more hope for Linux desktops. According to the survey of 1,640 enterprise network managers, open source operating systems are used on 10% of desktops, with the number jumping to a surprising 23% of enterprise desktops by 2002.

vi and Bash tutorials

Everybody's favorite text editor (sorry emacs users) and everybody's favorite shell. Who can ask for anything more.

• Vi 101
  Vi is a "visual editor" - an editor which lets you view a document, in its entirety, as you create and edit it. Those of you from the Microsoft Word generation might find that a little redundant - surely, you're thinking, all editors let you do that! Well, not exactly
• Introduction to vi
  I was first introduced to vi in 1988 and I hated it. I was a freshman in college... VI seemed archaic, complicated and unforgiving... It is now 12 years later and I love vi, in fact it is almost the only editor I use. Why the change?
• Bash by example, Part 1
  By learning how to program in the bash scripting language, your day-to-day interaction with Linux will become more fun and productive, and you'll be able to build upon those standard UNIX constructs (like pipelines and redirection) that you already know and love.
• Bashful about Bash
  I'm looking for a tutorial on bash commands -- or to be more accurate, a tutorial on the various commands, switches, and tweaks. I'm being asked to share some of the administrative duties on a Linux server, but my background is in NT. Can you help me?
  Lina: Of course I can, hon!

Language War in the making ?

Maybe not. dotcomma has an interesting article on migrating from Perl to PHP. (Though I don't see why that's needed :) But I have to be unbiased and bring you the news that's out there so here is the article. The author makes it clear that: "This article is not a comparison between the two languages, but rather a reference for Perl programmers looking to learn PHP."

New Releases

Here are some of the releases from the past week.

• Opera for Linux 4.0a Technology Preview 3
  Opera 4.0a for Linux Technology Preview 3 is now available! As noted by the version number, this is still an Alpha release.
• Caldera eDesktop 2.4
  Caldera Systems Inc. announced the shipping of OpenLinux eDesktop 2.4. "It ships with the Citrix ICA client and is the first Linux high performance desktop platform -- and the only Linux product -- providing instant Internet access through preconfigured, preinstalled browser plug-ins and ISP phone numbers.
• RedHat Linux 6.2
  Red Hat Software provides a versatile distribution that can be a server or desktop at work or at home. Everything you need to set Red Hat Linux up as a Web server, email server, DNS server, news server, and more is included, along with software for email, browsers, publishing, calendars, Internet tools, and much more.
• Linux-Mandrake Secure Server 7.0
  Macmillan's new product is a secure Linux web server built within the new Linux-Mandrake 7.0 operating system. With Secure Server 7.0, managers of mid-level traffic web sites will have a secure server solution.

Well that's it for this week. See you next week. Until then: Share The Knowledge.

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