In distributed networks, one of the most important tasks is to maintain the user and group information. For centralized management, many customers use Network Information Service (NIS). This article provides an overview of NIS and the steps to install and configure NIS as a server and client.

"Despite some respondents' concerns industry-wide support is indeed available to those wishing to migrate from UNIX to Linux. For enterprise level support companies can contact a Linux vendor, such as Novell, or engage a third-party support provider."

Nearly two thirds of Irish IT specialists agree that cost is the main driving factor for eventual migration from UNIX to Linux. via IrishDev.com/News

At one point in time and not too very long ago, I fancied myself a decent system administrator with a decent resume and work history. When I finished a series of writing tasks working on technology subjects that included system administration, I thought the time had come for me to work in a shop with Linux and MS. I put my resume up on Dice and Monster and waited for the phone to ring. When it didn't ring, I went up to see the hits. I saw six on Monster and eight on Dice. Only one company saved my data.

IPCop is a specialized Linux distribution whose sole purpose is to safeguard the computers and networks it is installed on. The distro proudly claims, "The Bad Packets Stop Here!" I recently installed IPCop 1.4.16 on my SOHO LAN, and found that it accomplishes what it sets out to do. My LAN is constantly in a state of flux, but at a minimum it contains at least two computers and a wireless access point. I use the wireless router both for Internet access from my laptop and to provide access to a Hewlett-Packard network printer that's located in a spot where a cable would be inconvenient. I add and remove the odd computer from the mix on an ongoing basis.

SoX is a power-packed command-line tool for various types of audio processing. It's very useful as an audio format converter, and it can be used for resampling audio files, converting between endianness, audio encoding and modifying other attributes of common audio file formats. Its main power, however, is its effect plugins. It can apply various effects to audio in the same way a digital audio workstation does. You can add echoes, filter frequencies, reduce or increase volume, remove noise and do various other advanced digital signal processing on sound samples.