UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

I am working on learning Linux, and somebody suggested setting up Linux on a separate computer, and searching for answers to whatever may be needed, on a different computer plugged in to the Internet.

I have a Windows 7 PC, plugged in to a cable modem, and an old notebook, Compaq Presario R3000 (it was good, but it is already 10 years old, or so). I was thinking about installing the newest CentOS on the notebook (from a CD version), and connecting both machines to the Internet, through an xDSL router (this is what is needed, according to my ISP), which I would get for around $15-$20 (this is what it costs).

My overall goal is to learn server administration. I dont necessarily need to learn Linux as a whole (although I may go in this direction), and it is only the server administration part, which is important. I want to be able to get any UNMANAGED hosting plan (something like dedicated, which may cost $100-$300+ per month) and do everything by myself, on a professional level (administration, maintenence, updates, security, backups), similar to something that I would get with a regular hosting plan (so I want to learn everything, very good).

With this I would have a Linux and a Windows computer, both connected to the Internet, so I could work on the Linux one, and also check whatever would be needed, through the Windows one.

With this, I was wondering, if I could set up actual server on the Linux computer (LAMP, lets say), and start experimenting with hosting some websites there. I am not sure if the router would be what is needed for this, and how would this work. Router will computer both computers to the Internet, but will it connect them to each other, probably not...

I would like to be able to have both of the machines turn on, have websites on the Linux machine, and be able to access them from the Windows PC, lets say. This way I could experiment with it, just like I could with a regular hosting plan on the Internet.

So, the question is, is it possible not only to have two separate machines connected to the Internet, but also have these machines connected to each other, and work like I would work with a regular Linux server, on the Internet.

Thanks.

Good news:
You have the right information to establish an internal network. Today, it is possible and quite easy to set up an internal network that access the internet via the same gateway (modem), safely; having minimum knowledge of how network works. Essentially, you need to know what IP version 4, DHCP and DNS are.

Bad news:
The Compaq Presario R3000 does not have the necessary RAM to run even a minimal install of Centos 7. However, there are other distributions with less requirements that might still work with that machine.

Thanks for the answer. Is there any way to add some kind of external RAM to the Presario Notebook, so it will work with the newest CentOS? It would be the best to learn on the newest software, and also get it to work, for cheap (router that I want to get is around $15, like I already mentioned, I dont want to spend too much money on that).

Edit:

It looks like I can buy new RAM part (better) and replace it in the notebook. Questions here would be, how much RAM do I need, in order for everything to work (I would not want to pay more, than I need to), and would there be anything else, that is needed, for the notebook part (as far as what I am trying to do)?

Edit2:

"The installer needs at least 406MB of memory to work. On systems with less memory then 406MB the installation will terminate with a fatal error. 512MB is the minimum memory requirement for CentOS-7."

I may be installing other distros like Ubuntu or Debian too. Will it be ok to get something like 512MB, or would I go for something around 700MB, or 1GB (again, I want to save as much money as possible, even though the price should not be much different with this).

Thanks.

Rather than using a very old Compaq laptop, I suggest you install VMware Workstation or VirtualBox on your Windows 7 system and install one or more Linux VMs.

Centos 7 aims to be a 100% binary compatible with Red Hat Enterprise 7.
RHEL 7 does not support 32-bits hardware any longer. In fact, they only provide a 64-bits ISO.
Compaq Presario R3000 is a 32-bits architecture. Save yourself the money of any upgrade.

If your windows 7 machine has 4Gb or more of RAM. VirtualBox might be a better option.

I already have Centos7 on VirtualBox installed. I may create a separate partition on the Windows computer, and boot Linux from there, or get some kind of vps hosting plan with Linux, which would be a good way to do it too (I would have access to Internet from Windows, and also use Linux from the same machine). I may install Linux on the PC, and access Internet from Windows XP, on the notebook, but I am not sure. Amazon Cloud can be an option too (12 month free trial, and people say that they have CentOS too, I've seen an icon on their site, also).