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Hey folks --
I just got a new laptop at work, a Dell Latitude,
and I actually got IS's OK to install Linux on a partition. As far as I know,
this is the first time they've given Linux the thumb's up so I don't want to
screw anything up -- I don't want IS (they're NT people) to be able to use me as
an example of why Linux shouldn't be allowed... heh.
Anyway, I've installed Redhat on a few desktop
machines at home and haven't had much in the way of problems, but the Latitude
has one quirk that has me nervous. The Docking Station (Port Replicator in
DellSpeak) has an ethernet port in it (not a pass-through, there's the
equivalent of a NIC in it). I also have a regular 3com card in the laptop for
when I'm on the road or at home (cable modem).
Under Win98 what happens is that there are 2
hardware profiles: one called DOCKED and one called UNDOCKED. These fire off
automatically (unsure how) depending on whether you're using the docking station
or not. The UNDOCKED profile (obviously) doesn't use the ethernet port in the
docking station, the DOCKED one does.
How will Redhat deal with this? I'd like to do the
install from home (ie, while undocked) which, I'd guess, will be pretty
straightforward, but when I go to fire up Linux when the machine is docked and
that 2nd eth appears, how will Redhat react? Can I set both ports for DHCP and
then it'll use whichever one it finds? And if I set up eth1, then later when I
undock will redhat complain?
As long as I'm yapping, are there any other
Latitude foibles I should be on guard for? I believe its a Latitude CPx (don't
have it right here right now) and they've given me a 4 gig partition for Linux.
That should be enough, right?
Thanks in advance. Like I said, I want to leave the
IS dept. with a positive feeling towards Linux when I'm done, so I'm treading
pretty carefully...
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