Networking / Beginners

Operating system interoperability

Rather than use the same network operating system on all servers, modern networks often work in multivendor environments, meaning that you might encounter more than one of the major network operating systems functioning on the same network. In such a scenario, you might, for example, have a NetWare server that handles authentication as well as file and print services, a Windows 2000 server that hosts the corporate e-mail system, and two Linux systems-one acting as a server and the other providing firewall services. It is possible to use a single operating system for all these tasks, but in some situations a more flexible approach is required.

To facilitate such environments, network operating system manufacturers build in features and services that allow their operating systems to coexist on networks with other vendors' operating systems. In some cases, the manufacturers appear to do so grudgingly, but in the IT environment of the 21st century, it would be a bold move indeed not to provide such services. The following sections take a brief look at how well some of the major network operating systems "play" with each other.

[Previous] [Contents] [Next]

In this tutorial:

  1. Network Operating Systems and Clients
  2. Network operating systems
  3. Windows NT 4
  4. Domains and workgroups
  5. Windows NT 4 authentication
  6. Windows NT 4 file and print services
  7. Windows NT 4 application support
  8. Windows NT 4 security
  9. Windows NT 4 and Windows 2000 file system security
  10. Windows 2000
  11. Windows 2000 Active Directory and domains
  12. Windows 2000 authentication
  13. Windows 2000 file and print services
  14. Windows 2000 application support
  15. Novell NetWare
  16. NDS (Novell Directory Services)
  17. NetWare authentication
  18. NetWare file and print services
  19. NetWare application support
  20. NetWare security
  21. Linux
  22. Linux file and print services
  23. Linux application support
  24. Linux security
  25. Operating system interoperability
  26. Using Windows with NetWare
  27. Using Windows and Linux servers
  28. Using NetWare and Linux servers
  29. Operating system client support
  30. NetWare server client support
  31. Linux server client support
  32. Client operating systems
  33. Local security mechanisms for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me
  34. Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows XP Professional
  35. Client connectivity for Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows XP Professional
  36. Applications for Linux
  37. Local security mechanisms for Linux
  38. Macintosh
  39. Application support for Macintosh
  40. Selecting a NIC and network configuration settings
  41. Connecting the PC to the network
  42. Testing and troubleshooting the NIC
  43. Configuring the NIC settings
  44. Configuring client systems for TCP/IP
  45. Configuring DNS server information
  46. Configuring WINS server information
  47. Using DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol)
  48. Configuring clients to access servers
  49. Client software for Microsoft networks on Windows 95/98/Me
  50. Novell client software
  51. Unix/Linux client software