[coLinux-devel] Re: Installation problem, XP Pro

[<dc...@ro...>]

I wrote that I was having a lot of trouble getting CoLinux networking
successfully working on WinXP. I still am, but I no longer think the
problem has much to do with CoLinux. It seems to be entirely a result
of our corporate policies.

There are two alternative ways to network with CoLinux. Bridging requires
that I be able to obtain two addresses from the network. Ours runs DHCP
and matches the machine's MAC address before issuing an IP address. It
won't give two to the same MAC address, and policy forbids adding a fake
MAC address.

The alternative, network connection sharing, is disabled by policy on all
corporate machines. Overriding that policy appears to be very difficult.
That policy results in the associated menu items being removed from the
system, making it impossible to follow the CoLinux installation directions.
As an aside, I suggest it might be useful to add a note to those files
informing prospective users that, if their menus don't have the required
items, it is likely an OS policy issue.

That leaves the possibility of trying to bypass corporate rules and claim
an unauthorized and unused address. However, my experience is that we have
some very active network monitoring in place which would likely discover
that very quickly. Not only would it be possibly unethical, it could also
have serious business consequences.

So I am resigned to doing without CoLinux networking for now. I can still
boot Knoppix from CD, get a DHCP address, and use Linux on this machine.
It would have been nice not to have to reboot.

It is amusing to me that, despite having a fairly tight network with a
lot of active monitoring, the company still gets infected every time a
major virus outbreak occurs. To me, it shows that a system which is secure
by design is much better than one which is secure only to the extent that
it is continually watched and patched.

        Dave Close