Windows OS:

Before we learn or start to learn the Windows OS like XP, 2003, 2000 etc , its required to understand the basic difference between "Servers" and "Workstations".

You have to remember that, in the Linux world, there is little to no difference between a "workstation" and a "server". As a matter of fact, most Linux installation include a lot of software that make them, technically, a server. In the Windows world, there is quite a lot of difference between the Win2K "server" and "workstation" versions. With Linux, a workstation can act as a server and vice-versa. In Windows world "Workstations" means "Windows XP, ME, 98 , Windows 2k Professional", where as "Servers" means "Windows 2000" , "Windows 2003", "Windows Advanced" etc. It’s Operating System that determines whether it is a SERVER or WORKSTATION.

The only difference is the amount of software that gets installed on your machine -- For Linux, Red Hat "Server" can therefore turn your machine into a web server, an FTP server, etc. UNIX like OS : A "Unix-like" operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a UNIX system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification. The term can include free software / open source operating systems inspired by Bell Labs' UNIX or designed to emulate its features, commercial and proprietary work-alikes, and even versions based on the licensed UNIX source code (which may be deemed so "Unix-like" that they are certified to bear the "UNIX" trademark). There is no formal standard for defining the term, and some difference of opinion is possible as to whether a certain OS is "Unix-like" or not. Unix-like systems often have Unix-like names such as AIX, IRIX, Linux, Minix, Ultrix, and XENIX. We are talking about Linux here: Having a Linux box on the VMWARE (Test Machine) can be very handy while writing on Products that deal with UNIX like OS. What is VMWARE: VMware Player lets you evaluate new or pre-release software contained in virtual machines, without any installation or configuration hassles. You can also share existing virtual machines with colleagues or friends—just use VMware Player to run any virtual machine. What is a virtual machine? A virtual machine is a computer defined in software. It's like running a PC on your PC. VMware Player runs any virtual machine created by VMware Workstation, GSX Server or ESX Server. VMware Player also supports Microsoft virtual machines and Symantec LiveState Recovery disk formats. Fore more details please see: http://www.vmware.com/ Linux on VMWARE: Having a Linux box on the VMWARE (Test Machine) can be very handy while writing on Products that deal with UNIX like OS. Setting up a Test Network with VMWARE Once the linux image is loaded on the Vmware application, one can proceed with the Steps to set the “STATIC IP” for the Linux box on test network. For complete steps with images please write to me at: mailto:ashwinpawar@rediffmail.com