To maintain your system over a VNC connection from a remote host, permit the establishment of connections with this YaST module.

YaST can set up a custom DHCP server in only a few steps. 22.11. “DHCP” provides basic knowledge about the subject as well as a step-by-step description of the configuration process in YaST.

Use this module to configure the host name and DNS, if these settings were not already been made while configuring the network devices. Also use it to change the host name and domain name. If the provider has been configured correctly for DSL, modem, or ISDN access, the list of name servers contains the entries that were extracted automatically from the provider data. If you are located in a local network, you might receive your host name via DHCP, in which case you should not modify the name.

The configuration of a DNS server that is responsible for the name resolution is recommended for larger networks. Configuration with YaST is described in 22.7.10. “Configuration with YaST”. 22.7. “DNS — Domain Name System” provides background information about DNS.

To run your own web server, configure Apache with YaST. More information is available in 23. The Apache Web Server.

LDAP can be used instead of NIS for the user authentication in the network. Background information for LDAP and a detailed description of the client configuration with YaST are available in 22.9. “LDAP — A Directory Service”.

This module configures your mail settings if you send your e-mail with sendmail, postfix, or the SMTP server of your provider. You can fetch mail via the fetchmail program, for which you can also enter the details of the POP3 server or IMAP server of your provider.

Alternatively, use a mail program of your choice, such as KMail or Evolution, to set your POP and SMTP access data as usual (to receive mail with POP3 and send mail with SMTP). In this case, you do not need this module.

To configure your mail with YaST, specify the desired type of connection to the Internet in the first dialog of the e-mail configuration module. Choose one of the following options:

Furthermore, you can activate virus scanning for your incoming and outgoing e-mail with AMaViS by activating the respective check box. The package is installed automatically as soon as you activate the mail filtering feature. In the following dialogs, specify the outgoing mail server (usually the SMTP server of your provider) and the parameters for incoming mail. If you use a dial-up connection, specify diverse POP or IMAP servers for mail reception by various users. By means of this dialog, you can also assign aliases, use masquerading, or set up virtual domains. Click ‘Finish’ to exit the mail configuration.

NFS enables you to run a file server that all members of your network can access. This file server can be used to make certain applications, files, and storage space available to users. In the ‘NFS Server’ module, you can configure your host as an NFS server and determine the directories to export for general use by the network users. All users with the appropriate permissions can mount these directories in their own file trees. A description of the YaST module and background information about NFS are provided in 22.10. “NFS — Shared File Systems”.

If you run more than one system, local user administration (using the files /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow) is impractical and requires a lot of maintenance. In this case, the user data should be administered on a central server and distributed to the clients from there. Apart from NIS is a possible solution, as are LDAP and Samba. Detailed information about NIS and the configuration with YaST is available in 22.8. “NIS — Network Information Service”.

NTP (network time protocol) is a protocol for synchronizing hardware clocks over a network. Background information about NTP and a description of the configuration with YaST is available in 22.12. “Time Synchronization with xntp”.

Use this tool to determine the network services (such as finger, talk, and ftp) to start when SUSE LINUX boots. These services enable external hosts to connect to your computer. Various parameters can be configured for every service. By default, the master service that manages the individual services (inetd or xinetd) is not started.

When this module starts, choose whether to start inetd or xinetd. The selected daemon can be started with a standard selection of services. Alternatively, compose your own selection of services with ‘Add’, ‘Delete’, and ‘Edit’.

	Configuring Network Services (inetd)
The composition and adjustment of network services on a system is a complex procedure that requires a comprehensive understanding of the concept of Linux services.

You only need this tool if you are located in a local network or connected to the Internet with a network card, as is the case with DSL. For DSL, the gateway data is only needed for configuring the network cards. However, the entries are merely dummies without any function. This value is only important if you are located in a local network and use a special host as gateway. More information on routing is available in 22.5. “Routing in SUSE LINUX”.

In a heterogeneous network consisting of Linux and Windows hosts, Samba controls the communication between the two worlds. Information about Samba and the configuration of clients and servers is provided in 25. Samba.