Windows 95/98 optimization

• add to system.ini file:
  • [vcache]
    • minfilecache=512
    • maxfilecache=4096 ; <= 32 meg RAM
    • maxfilecache=8192 ; >= 64 meg RAM
• open Device Manager
  • set File System role to Network Server
  • if there are 2 hard drives, force virtual memory to use the secondary drive
    • virtual memory must be at least equal to RAM size - twice is preferred
    • a fixed pagefile is created if minimum and maximum are set to be equal
      • fixed pagefiles resist fragmentation over time

Windows NT

• Required software addon for NT 4.0
  • Diskkeeper - defragmentation
• Windows 2000 & XP include a limited version of Diskkeeper.

Linux

• Server Applications
  • Operating system - run in text mode with minimum number of applications installed to improve security
    • Samba allows the server to function in a network as though it were an NT server
    • Apache is the preferred web server for the Internet
    • MySQL is preferred over Microsoft's SQL Server
  • Preferred distributions (have automatic updates)
    • SuSE - version 8+
    • Red Hat - version 8+
• Desktops
  • Linspire - preferred for people who want the desktop to look exactly like Windows
    • Not designed for use as a server
  • Red Hat 8+ and SuSE 8+can also be used as desktops, both have very usable desktop interfaces
  • Application Software
    • Open Office
    • Mozilla (generic cousin to Netscape Navigator)

All computers

• Required software
  • Antivirus - set to update daily at a time when the computer will usually be turned on
  • Personal firewall such as ZoneAlarm, Black Ice, etc.
• Hardware recommendations
  • 256 meg or more of memory will improve performance of any computer