Where to find an idiot's guide to networking

[charlielamus]

Hello,

This is more a "what do I need to know" email!

I want to experiment with setting up a network using wired ethernet and linux only machines. In terms of hardware I have several old PCs to play with which have ethernet cards, twisted pair wires, network switches and the odd router.

What I would like to end up with is a collection of computers running linux (presumably mint flavoured), where you can "log in" to your account on any of the computers, access your files (and only your files), and where I as network controller can control what users can and cannot do.

It would also be helpful if the computers could access the interwebs. There is a (school wide) network which already has an effective firewall and internet filtering capability, accessed via a login in the browser.

The thing is, i am such a noooob that I have no idea even where to start looking. Every time I try I get overwhelmed with SSH this and bash that and I simply have no idea what I should and shouldn't be reading.

What should i google? Where should I look? And can anybody give me a basic overview of what I will need to know, and what jargon I might meet?

Thank you very much!

Charlielamus

[karlchen]

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Networking (3rd Edition) [Paperback]???

Hm, having gone through a few of the reviews, I guess a better choice might be this one:

Networking For Dummies [Paperback]
(As a matter of fact, the "... for dummies" are not for dummies, but for beginners.)

Karl