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Linux Administration: A Beginner's Guide
Books: Computers: Caldera Linux: Item 1
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Linux Administration: A Beginner's Guideby Steve Shah and Wale Soyinka
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful: Nobody comes close. The 2nd Edition is THE book to read., May 28, 2001 Reviewer:Richard Bejtlich "TaoSecurity.com" (Washington, DC) - I am a senior engineer for network security operations, and fairly new to Linux. I bought this 2nd edition of LA:ABG to gain familiarity with installing, configuring, and optimizing Red Hat Linux 7, specifically. Steve has written THE book for beginning Linux system administrators, and I heartily recommend it. LA:ABG never wavers from its primary goal: to give new sys admins the knowledge to build and maintain Linux services. The novelty of this "beginner's guide" is Steve's belief that "beginner" does not equal "GUI." Steve explains each service using its command line interface, since that may be the only available interface in an emergency. He also explains how to compile each software package from source, useful when one needs to upgrade or replace applications. I was surprised by the number of helpful commands and options packed into this 2nd edition. Even when I knew a command, Steve added a new twist; use ps -auxww vice ps -aux for process listings, or netstat -natup vice netstat -a for active sockets. I repeatedly wondered if Steve hadn't read my mind before writing LA:ABG, since most questions were answered seconds after I formed them. Steve also explains new aspects of the 2.4 kernel and Red Hat 7 (xinetd, iptables, etc.) that other so-called "Red Hat 7" books neglect. On the down side, the book had a few typos, and pages 527-8 seem to misinterpret TCPDump output. I would have liked more information on SSH, too. Be aware that the book is Red Hat-oriented, since it contains a "publisher's edition" of RH 7. Workarounds for other distros are given, and Steve even criticizes certain aspects of Red Hat's file structure! If you're new to Linux, and not the sort who buys "Dummies" books, definitely read LA:ABG, 2nd edition. It is the best introductory Linux book I've read, and is strong enough to satisfy novices and intermediate-level users. (Disclaimer: I received my review copy free from the publisher.)
Product Review
Administering a Linux system isn't much like administering a Windows machine. Though the goals are similar and comparable problems arise under both environments, they each require administrators to adopt a certain way of thinking about processes and data. Linux Administration: A Beginner's Guide helps readers adapt their Windows experience to Linux work. Author Steve Shah does a great job of clueing Linux newcomers into the environment. His explanations are clear, patient, accurate, and useful, and they cover all aspects of the system administrator's job. He's careful to explain hundreds of commands in a logical way, including lists of options and examples of typical uses in many cases.
But this is no mere command reference or novice's introduction. Shah doesn't shy away from explaining the really interesting aspects of Linux administration, including kernel compilation, Domain Name Service (DNS) configuration, sendmail setup, and establishing firewall protection with IP chaining. For all of these subjects (and many more), this book includes clear statements of what concepts are relevant, which commands to issue, and what to expect in response. It's a great help in self-guided explorations. It's also worth having this book on hand for work assignments--you'll find complete recipes for configuring all major Internet and local area network (LAN) services that also take into account easy maintenance and security. --David Wall
Topics covered: Administering Linux 2.2.x (particularly Red Hat, Caldera, and SuSE distributions). Installation, initial configuration, using the bash command shell, managing files, managing software, and granting rights to users. DNS, FTP, Apache, sendmail, Samba, and other services receive lots of attention.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Harvey Friedman, Linux Journal
"A delight to read. I think this book is well-written enough in explaining what is behind much of Linux."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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