lördag 28 februari 2004 03:56 skrev gchris@bellsouth.net:
You are absolutely correct from an engineering point of view. If this network was starting from scratch your approach is certainly the correct one. Unfortunately, this is a working, existing network where Linux is trying to become a player. The network works to M$ defined standards (which admittedly are proprietary). The question is, can Linux work in this environment or must the network be redesigned to accommodate one Linux box? My thinking is that if Linux expects to take desktop business away from M$ it had better be able to be a "drop in" replacement.
My personal point of view is, that Linux shouldn't try to be a drop-in replacement for Microsoft products at all. That's a no-win situation, in my point of view, and I would characterize it as a mouse chasing the cat situation.
I fully agree that a dedicated router is a far more reliable solution than anything based on a PC, whether it is running Linux or Windows. But the first question to be answered is "Will a Linux box work here?", not "How should the network be designed?". It can always be made to work, with static IP addresses... using the same network and netmask as the other network, only the IP address needs to be out of the ICS service range, and then specify the ICS computer as the gateway.
Regards, Chris