Linux operating system?

Question

i familer with windows server.
Now i want to Swich to LINUX
How manage users in Linux like we do in Windows i.e Active directory.

can we open Ms-office file(doc,xls) of windows in linux

what basic requiremts of linux installations(Swap,boot,root,etc.)



IS OK TO SWICTH TO LINUX SERVER.


regards


amit

Answer 1

Linux handles these things much better than Windows. Linux was originally developed specifically with these capabilities as opposed to added as an afterthough as in Windows. Each linux user truely gets their own individual work invironment independant of others on the system - unlike Windows where users basically share the work environment with differing permission restrictions. Windows really is not a multiuser OS it's just been kluged to sorta-kinda accomodate that. Also, goup membership is a lot easier to manage in that it is very clear what each group has access to - unlike windows where I still don't now what each of the predefined groups are really allowed and not allowed to do. Each user gets a home directory that is obvious, easy, and straightforward to work with/from, unlike Windows "My Documents" which is buried in some obsure location that you can only find because you have a link to it on your desktop.
SAMBA is the Linux feature you will want to use to share folders on a network. On a Windows machine, it will appear as any other Windows newtwork share. (Be advised that in Linux upper and lower case in filenames are distinct - ie "Makefile" and "makefile" are different files. Though typically not an issue unless a Windows user needs to access files like "Makefile" or "makefile" when both exist in the directory)
I've used SuSE Linux from Novel. It was very easy to download and install - it installed just as simply as Windows. The other distributions (eg Redhat, Ubuntu, etc) seem to be equally good. Also you will need to choose either the Gnome or KDE destops environment. It is kind of like being able to just "choose" whether you have the Windows desktop or the Mac desktop. I believe it is possible to change between the two, but I have not done it myself. Basically, whichever you choose will be the "native" desktop environment.
Also VNC is a very nice utility to allow remote access to the Linux machine as if you were logged in directly. You may need to turn it on to use it. I use UltraVNC on Windows as a client. Beware, this is not a secure link unless you first set up a secure link such as ssh.

Answer 2

It is very much ok to switch to linux
and yes, MS Doc and XL sheets can be opened in Linux provided open office is installed
And managing multiple users is even easier on linux. every body gets a different login, a different place to store their data with almost no overlap. you can choose who else can read/write/execute your files.
and basic requirements would be best looked up at:
http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/install-guide/fc6/en/

I recommend Fedora (version 4 onwards to 6) or Ubuntu for the sheer ease of install and use
Fedora - http://fedora.redhat.com/Download/
Ubuntu - http://www.ubuntu.com/products/GetUbuntu/download?action=show&redirect=download

All the best!