One of the many versatile features of Linux is its ability to act as a server in various network environments. Linux, and therefore Debian, provides features that allow it to act as a server for Windows and Windows 95/98 machines. It can also act as a server for an AppleTalk network, or even a Novell network.
SAMBA is the name of the software that provides the tools for serving Windows machines. A very comprehensive discussion of this tool can be found at:
http://lake.canberra.edu.au/pub/samba
There is also a HOWTO that can be found at:
http://www.interweft.com.au/other/samba/smb_se.html
as well as a FAQ that can be found at:
http://sunse.jinr.dubna.su/local/samba/samba.faq.html
AppleTalk, the Macintosh network protocol, can be supported by the kernel if the proper appletalk.o module is provided, or compiled into the kernel. This network is also called netatalk and a HOWTO can be found at:
http://www.anders.com/projects/netatalk/
Linux can also be run directly on a Mac with the product called MKLinux. Information on how to set up netatalk on MKLinux can be found at:
http://www.primate.wisc.edu/people/dubois/mklinux/netatalk-setup.html Linux can even act as a server on a Novell network. The kernel needs to have IPX support compiled in, or as a module. For more information see:
http://electron.phys.dal.ealmini/HTTP+Netware
or
http://www.inet.co.th/cyberclub/karnedp/http-4.html
The IPX module is also discussed in the Modules HOWTO which can be found at:
http://linuxwww.db.erau.edu/ldp/HOWTO/Module-HOWTO-s.html
or at most mirrors of the Linux Documentation Project.
All of the above sites were found using one of the many search engines that the Internet provides. If you point your browser at:
http://altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/query?pg=aq
the first blank line on the screen that comes up is for a list of keywords with logical operators that define the way they are selected. The real power of this page is the second field for Result Ranking Criterion. Key words in this list are used to bring more likely hits to the top of the list. This is very useful when your keywords return 2,000 hits.
There are many other search engines available on the net. Using the above site and the keyword ``search engine'' produces 500,000 hits, so choices for Result Ranking Criterion can be very useful.