Linux Books

Collections strong in web design and programmer's guides know that rootkits have a negative image - but DESIGNING BSD ROOTKITS provides all the information on how to overcome any bad image and problems to develop effective rootkits under the FreeBSD operating system. This instructional is actually a tutorial, so it may also be used in programming classes: it explains how to maintain root access and how to hack Free BSD, using many examples which assume no prior kernel-hacking knowledge. Code is described, analyzed, and linked to real-world scenarios for maximum understanding, making for a perfect programmer's guide.

--- DISCLAIMER: This is a requested review by No Starch Press, however any opinions expressed within the review are my personal ones. ---


This enjoyable readable book gradually and very systematically evolves around hacking the kernel of a BSD system.

Chapter 1: Loadable Kernel Modules 22p.
Chapter 2: Hooking 13p.
Chapter 3: Direct Kernel Object Manipulation 20p.
Chapter 4: Kernel Object Hooking 4p.
Chapter 5: Run-Time Kernel Memory Patching 27p.
Chapter 6: Putting It All Together 26p.
Chapter 7: Detection 8p.

Its written in a style that allows also non-developers to grasp the main procedures and steps involved for modifying a systems kernel (assuming the attacker got access to a privileged system account).

Chapters 1 to 5 explain the several methods for modifying the kernel.

While the book is divided into 7 chapters, its most value really is the Chapters 6 which has many of those WoW effects included.

All or most technics described of chapters 1-5 will be used in chapter 6 for show casing how to circumvent an HIDS. Here is where all learned technics finally come all together.

So the reader dabbles with the author from an initial "simple" idea of bypassing an HIDS from one issue to the next. First the system call is hooked, so technically its kind of working, but then we realize that in order to make it perfect we need to hide the just created file (which contains the execution redirection routine). So the next obvious step is to hide the file so we dont leave a footprint on the system, just to realize that we need to hide the KLD (Dynamic Kernel Linker). So now everything is hidden but we forgot about the change of the /sbin directories access/ modification and change time, so we have to go after that too...

Its technically very interesting to learn how the author approaches the issues involved in order to avoid being detected by the HIDS or commands the user might use. That the author is technically on top of things is also shown f.e. by some info included in the book which is already referring to FreeBSD 7.

To get the most out of the book you ideally have programming knowledge of C, assembly etc. and debugging software systems. So I think its most valuable to system administrators, developers and security consultants.

I don't do a lot with BSD nowadays.. a lot of software customers want is only for Linux, and although sometimes it could be ported, the customers seem to want Linux. However, I cut my teeth on old SunOS, so bsdisms are familiar and friendly to me.

Working through this book was fun and informative. You can download sources from [....]

The concepts apply equally well to Linux, of course, and I also realized that some of the areas explored come up in ordinary application work and especially in system troubleshooting, so this isn't entirely about subverting systems for evil purpose.

I loved Designing BSD Rootkits (DBR) by Joseph Kong, and I'm not even a kernel hacker. Rather, I'm an incident responder and FreeBSD administrator. This book is directly on target and does not waste the reader's time. If you understand C and want to learn how to manipulate the FreeBSD kernel, Designing BSD Rootkits is for you. Peer into the depths of a powerful operating system and bend it to your will!

DBR covers much of the same sorts of material found in the earlier Rootkits: Subverting the Windows Kernel by Greg Hoglund and James Butler, except Kong's book is all about FreeBSD. I actually read the Windows text first, but found Kong's more direct language and examples easier than the Hoglund/Butler text. After reading DBR I have a stronger understanding of each of the main chapters' techniques, i.e., kernel modules, hooking, direct kernel object manipulation, kernel object hooking, run-time kernel memory patching, and detection mechanisms. I particularly liked the author showing his sample rootkit's effectiveness against Tripwire, simply to demonstrate his methods.

DBR follows another tenet of great books: it credits previous work. Several times in the text Kong says where he learned a technique or what code he's modifying to do his bidding. This should serve as an example to other technical authors. Kong also does not treat his subject matter as a dark art practiced by people in long black coats at Def Con. He is professional and mentions where certain techniques like run-time kernel memory patching are used by commercial operating systems for "hot patching," as happens with Windows.

I have nothing bad to say about this book, although to get the absolute full learning experience it helps to know C programming, some assembly, and FreeBSD kernel internals. The Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD Operating System by McKusick and Neville-Neil (another excellent book) is helpful preparatory reading. The fact that Kong provided all of his source code for download is also very much appreciated. Bravo! I look forward to your next book.

Recommended for Unix programming (Linux, too) students and serious programmer wannabes.

This is a useful book for those who need in-depth information on GCC, but needs more effort in both writing and editing. There are numerous copy-paste-itis errors (contact me for a list), which shows that it was not properly proof-read. It also has passages in various chapters which are nearly duplicates of each other, e.g., two "Multiple Source Files to Executable" passages (pages 70 & 106), and five on "Creating a Shared Library" (73, 110, 132, 144, 165). Admittedly some of the details vary from language to language, but there's no explanation of what these differences are; the passages are merely repeated with minor changes.

There are larger but similar problems with the organization of the book. For example, I would have greatly preferred a logically-organized listing of command-line options to a merely alphabetical order. A reader who wants an alphabetical organization can already get it from the manual. This arrangement also leads to problems with the exposition, e.g., the definition of -MQ assumes the definition of -MT, which it precedes. There are other problems with the order of exposition; for example, there's a two and a half page sample of RTL code on 367-9, which is incomprehensible before the explanation of RTL on pp. 387-417, and badly in need of more detailed exposition even afterwards.

The author is knowledgable enough that one would assume he single-handedly developed GCC. Any doubts to his authoritativeness were quickly dismissed as I finished the introduction in this behemoth of a reference.

The Book is divided Into 3 parts(4 actually).

The first part delves into the reasons as to why? and what? regarding the creation/use of GCC. It also covers some incentives to continue through the book, which are later examined in detail. Installation, configuration, and usage is covered here. And covered quite well!

The second part details the mechanics of the compiler with tests and examples that take you through the workings of it. Mixing of different languages into one native-executable, experiments and understanding of the compiler's built in extensions/pragmas, and demystification of the command-line switches are all covered in this section. Also this section covers this in great detail as with the first part!

The third part of this book gets right into the fun stuff of learning how to properly set up configuration and make files. It covers a *great* deal of extra resources commonly found on systems with GCC installed and makes haste to demystify these as well. This was my favorite part of the book. I had no idea in the nine hells to even begin creation of 'configure' scripts manually(try reading the man/info pages for make and autoconf and watch your hairs get pulled out by your hands!). This section is concise and to the point!

Part 4 is an extremely important part of the book. This part covers ALL of the command-line switches and directives for use with GCC(and it's family of compilers). You learn where, when, and how to use the advanced functionality. A section in this part also covers all the environmental variables; this helps greatly when you are trying to figure out a perfect function/class/struct/call to do a procedure that ends up taking months...then you see here that a single variable contains actual data/info already!

All in all, this book is concise. I love it. It currently sits next to my Stroustrup(C++ Programming Language), Josuttis(C++ Standard Library), and Sedgewick(Algorithms in C++ 1-5). This book is upstanding. The only reason as to why I gave it 4/5 stars is because of the formatting. It reminds me of something you would find in a Prima Tech "Game Programming" book: large font, bulky, and divided. This is not the authors fault though since this same tasteless formatting is used in all other Osborne "Complete Reference" books.

NOTE: Do NOT get this book to learn C or C++. This book is for the intermediate to advanced programmer wanting to better optimize their usage of the GCC package.

When you are new to a platform you want to get a book that explains the big picture on how things work in this platform; you also want to get enough information on how to get started, not just the easy stuff that you can figure out yourself. This is that book for the GNU platform. If you are already a GCC guru, you probably will find little new here, but if you come from another compiler this book will give you a great introduction with enough information so you can start working right away and be productive from the first day.

Most HP-UX professionals recognize Marty Poniatowski as the premier source for system administration guidance. Now, Marty helps us understand the new field of Virtual Partitioning. His book is a perfect guide to "vPars", showing not only how to configure them, but also showing why you need to learn about this product. Marty points out the many benefits organizations can gain by splitting one physical system into several smaller virtual systems. Among these are increased system utilization, server consolidation, and the ability to easily migrate between a development and production environment.
I work with an HP Channel Partner and can say that several of my customers have implemented vPars on equipment that was underutilized. For example, servers that were only running at 20 percent of capacity are now running several instances of HP-UX and utilizing 60 to 70 percent of their capacity.
Marty not only gives you the commands you need to configure vPars, but helps you understand the prerequisites for partitioning a system. He also guides you through many other system administration tasks which you must modify in order to best utilize your "virtual systems".
I can't say enough in this space to do justice to this book. Read it, YOU and your company will benefit.

This book was exactly what I was looking for - clearly written, technically detailed and accurate. Plenty of practical information and examples.

The book has a nice intro section which would be useful to readers who are new to the concepts of Virtual Partitioning of server resources.

Marty has written this with several other experts. He has lots of practical experience and it shows in his explanations.

Lots of useful screen shots and a bunch of additional technical resources provided.

I just recently acquired, much to my delight, Poniatowski's latest HP-UX Virtual Partition creation, and this gentleman has outdone himself. I am amassing a library collection of Poniatowski's UNIX resources, and HP-UX Virtual Partitions is my newest acquisition, and it is superbly written. Achieving such outstanding publishing is nothing new to Poniatowski. He is the quintessence of UNIX pundit-gurus. My introduction to Poniatowski's UNIX Administration was initially through my purchase of his UNIX User's Handbook, another outstanding and superb volume text.
Poniatowski is extremely thorough, clear and lucid, and
has a highly brilliant writing style. His brilliance is demonstrated by his taking technical data from his stratosphere-level of competence, and expressing it in such a lucid fashion
as to make it easily understandable and useful for relative
newcomers to UNIX. Hard as I may try, I cannot recommend
either of these works too highly. Poniatowski is par excellence

with UNIX Administration. Any serious UNIX Administrator cannot
afford to pass up his books, which are absolutely priced at
a bargain by any standard. HP-UX Virtual Partition is a must-have for any HP 9000 User, and the concept of Virtual Partitions
is both efficient and brilliant. Don't Miss !!!

Having already read much literature on Vpars, I found Mr. Paniotowski's Virtual Partition Book to be no more than adequate on the primary subject matter. At 1000+ pages there is a enormous amount information dedicated to all things HP-UX - and most of this is non-vpars specific. Not that I don't appreciate the lagniappe, but the book reads like an "HP-UX Guide to Systems Administration" rather than a "Guru's Insight Into Virtual Partitions". If you are looking to gain insight into Vpars and the SuperDome, you'll get a whopping 14 pages dedicated to this subject matter as Paniotowski based nearly all of his work on the L and N class systems. On a positive note, after reading the few chapters that were actually dedicated to vpars, I did learn a few things that I had not come across in other literature. Paniotowski needs to produce a 2nd Edition of this book that focuses exclusively on Virtual Partitions and has far more subject manner dedicated to the SuperDome.

This book is nicely organized and well-written, but many people may be better served by online tutorials or a more modern book on their specific OS/distribution. I bought this because a course I'm taking requires us to ssh into the University's Linux server and program in the *nix environment. This book is great for learning your way around a free shell, the terminal of your favorite distro, or even cygwin. However if you are looking for a book to teach you to use a modern Linux distro, complete with GUI, this is probably not the book for you. And since much of this info is available on the net, I wouldn't recommend paying the list price.

Not a flashy book at all. The unix Andersen gives you is largely the traditional workhorse version, text-based. Because that is still the focus of many unix users. Though the book has a discussion of CDE - Common Desktop Environment. But you should use that only to get to a terminal emulator. Within which, you are shown the power of many useful unix commands.

Take care to understand a key idea. Many unix commands are modular, letting you pipe output from one to the input of another. Which is why shell scripting has proved so easy and popular.

A very easy to learn book for people who are new to Unix.

This is an excellent beginner's guide to UNIX. The book explains the basics very well and the excellent exercises at the end of each chapter, helps a person apply the new knowledge to use.

I would recommend this book to anybody learning UNIX for the first time.

A good book for learning Linux. Not as basic as O'Reilly's Running Linux and not as deep as Unix Power Tools, but perfect for the "no longer a newbie, not yet a pro" crowd. Recommended.

"Linux Power Tools" is NOT like "Unix Power Tools" published by O'Reilly. If you were expecting the same, you'll
be disappointed. Otherwise this is a good general Linux book, which takes it up a notch. To quote the author,
Rodrick W. Smith in his intro, "This book is written for experienced Linux or Unix users who want to take their
general knowledge of Linux to the next level." The author does a good job on focusing on this target and still
keeping the book to around 600 pages.

Author covers the five Linux distros; Mandrake, Red Hat, SuSE, Debian and Slackware on the Intel 32-bit platform.
If you are a Linux novice who wants to move up from Linux intro books and/or plan to use the five covered Linux
distros, then this is a good book for you. If you're focusing on one single specific Linux distro, you might be
better off settling on another book covering just that distribution.

If you've plenty of Unix/Linux experience you may want to thumb through this book before deciding to buy it.

Don't expect any subject to be covered real deep. Author covers the defaults, the easy setups, and the common
setups. Many of the chapters (topics) are books unto themselves. The author starts many of his chapters with
this same caveat. If you need more depth on a specific subject, the author references some URIs (URLs) and
some other titles to consult.

Rodrick W. Smith, has written a number of other good books ("Linux Hardware Book" & "The Multi-Boot Configuration
Handbook"). This one is also well written. I especially like the opinions he's expresses on various applications
and releases. I wish he would have included more. Examples are good. More examples would have been nice.
But I suspect it was another trade-off in keeping the number of pages down. Personally I found the info on USB,
scanners, audio and kernel hacking to be useful to me.

There are an awful lot of books on the market that talk about Open Source operating systems, explaining them in all of their technical glory. But once you get past the excitement of all that, you have to face the fact that you've got a computer in front of you, and you have to do something with it. That is where Linux Power Tools comes in: it is the users' guide for *using* computers -- everything from configuring desktops to setting up your sound system (and MP3 players)to security systems to SAMBA (working with windows). It is well-written and clear, and a great point-of-departure for folks who want to make Linux a productive part of their daily lives.

I've noticed that there is a glut of ultra beginner linux books on the market... books that teach basic linux commands, explain what shells are, lead you through installations... this is not quite one of those books. Mr. Smith's text dives a deeper into linux issues and tackles subjects such as security, kernel compiling, optimization, hardware configuration, and server setup, among other topics.
Being an uber-geek myself, the first thing I wanted to do with linux was compile a kernel. How cool is that? Its tough to find a good coverage of all the kernel options (even the help inside the kernal configs are spotty), but while the chapter on kernels is not complete, it is definately a nice survey.

My only major complaint with this book is in regards to the chapters on the UIs. They do not provide any more information other than enumerating different programs and window managers one can use on their system.

For those diving into Linux, this is definately a top pick. I'm sure experienced users may find some nuggets as well.

I don't quite know where to begin with this book except to say "Wow!" Marcel Gagné has captured the spirit of Ubuntu in this book. This is quite possibly the best beginner's book I've ever read. Marcel's style of writing is enough to capture even a techno neophyte such as my wife. Not to say my wife's incapable of using technology but she's resistant. I guess you could say, from all of the years I've been working on something and she's said "Are you coming to bed?" and I reply "Yea, in just a second" then four hours later I attempt to slip into bed unnoticed, that she's developed a distain for anything related to technology.

After reading the first two chapters of this book I handed the book to my wife and said "Here read this" she took the book and reluctantly began to read. After chapter one she was hooked! The next day I ended up handing her a laptop and using this book she fully installed Ubuntu Linux 6.06 by herself. Let me tell you this is huge now here's what she had to say...

"Marcel Gagné has an amazing way of bringing you into the Ubuntu world with humor and knowledge without the boredom of the typical user's manual

This book has easy to understand terms even for the inexperienced user. Step-by-Step directions provide a seamless move to Ubuntu Linux without the need to remove your existing operating system giving the reader the ability to try Ubuntu Linux fear free. Quick tips and user support information are also included.

I was most impressed by the wealth of information included in this book from the large community support groups that exists for Linux users to using windows based products and features hassle free. The ease of use was surprising to me. No complicated acronyms or programming codes just straight forward how to.

Moving to Ubuntu Linux has provided the reader with a virus and bug free operating system with all the extras we use everyday. I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever had a PC crash or has gotten the blue screen of death both professional and new users alike."

Another satisfied computer user.

Best,

Steve

The book is easy to understand, but I could not install the Ubuntu Linux in any mode, text or graphical. He mentions his Writer and Thinker "at large" group and yes, he is at large because we can not send him an email telling that the DVDs of his books Moving to Ubuntu Linux and Moving to Free Software are defective. Without a succesful installation I can not get any benefit or learning from his book.

I received 3 Ubuntu titles and thought it might be useful to compare them. Ubuntu is a fairly recent Linux distribution that strives to be usable out of the box, with strong support. It has deep pockets and a thriving community behind it. I admire a lot of the design choices that went into Ubuntu, such as limiting the use of the all-powerful root account, which can get people into trouble. The bare-bones server install is the cleanest Linux server I've seen - *no* open ports, minimal services. Just enough to log in at a console and then install what you want. On the other hand, if you want a LAMP server (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP - the most popular combination on the internet), that's a one button install! Brilliant!

I think all three books are pretty good, and your choice will depend on your technical level and religious ferver. If you are uncomfortable with computers, I think _Moving to Ubuntu_ is your best choice. If you are somewhat comfortable and into the philosophy behind Ubuntu, _the Official Ubuntu book_ is your best choice. If you are unintimidated by the topic, _Ubuntu Unleashed_ has the most detailed technical coverage. You can get a free, fully-functional installation and livecd just for asking, or downloading. The only thing I don't like is the iptables firewall. A "linux for everyone" needs an easier firewall to deal with. (I love pf, written for OpenBSD and now showing up on other systems.)

This is the most approachable of the three books. Gagne has an enthusiastic, conversational, even narrative approach to the material. The audience is people stuck using Windows desktops because they don't know any Linux nerds willing to help them. I think it's a terrific book, and it showed me some cool things to do on the desktop. I use Linux mainly for servers.

It covers productivity apps very well. About my only quibble: he introduces GAIM, for chatting on various systems, and then introduces another tool for IRC, which GAIM handles just fine. The multimedia coverage is the best of the three books. The section on games is good as well, and I like his approach of getting a teenage nephew to recommend the best Linux games.

Like Ubuntu Unleashed, this book has a lot of material lifted from earlier works. I don't think that's a bad thing if the material lifted is generic. In this case, Gagne uses material from the slightly earlier _Moving to Linux_, which mostly used on one (non-Ubuntu) distro and mentioned some differences. Unlike _Ubuntu Unleashed_, the material was applied carefully. They even updated some things that didn't have to be, like an illustration in _MTL_ that had a graphic with a logo reading, "Welcome to Linux". In _MTU_ they cared enough to change it to "Welcome to Ubuntu". The chapters on Open Office are the same - and that's appropriate because Open Office IS the same. The GIMP is the same. So I think it's appropriate for the chapters to be the same.

Gagne pays some attention to the Ubuntu community ethos, but he's mostly concerned with showing someone unfamiliar with the system how to do the things they are most likely to want to do.

A good book, GREAT for newbies.

Great information for setting up Ubuntu for a Linux newbie. I would get the latest version of the os though, the one in the book is out of date. Since it's a free download this is no big deal. I'm now a happy dual booting user, and use Linux 90% of the time.

In the world of open source there is a plethora of books on installing and administering Linux. There are also many technical books available on setting up a web server or other specific areas of Linux. This book fills a very broad gap for the non-technical person who wants to know about open source products and how they can be beneficial to your needs. This is not a technical manual but a guide that gives a higher-level view of what the software can do and how to use it.

It includes information on obtaining and installing Mandrake Linux (but no troubleshooting if you have a problem), setting up an office network, setting up an email server, setting up a web server, customer relationship management, calendar and schedule management, document management, accounting, project management, security, and just about everything you need to know to setup and run your business on an open source solution.

Perhaps the best way to provide an indication of this book's perspective is to look at a specific chapter. One of the best ones for this purpose is the one on setting up a web server. The first thing addressed is why you need a web server in the first place. This is followed by an examination of the most common open source web server - Apache. It then provides enough information to understand some of the basics of configuration. This allows you to understand what the configuration files do and get a server up and running, but not enough information to actually configure a secure server.

So, what makes this book so unique that I would recommend it to anyone? It meets the needs of the manager in that it is general enough that someone who has no knowledge of Linux can understand what is going on and what to expect of an installation. Yet it also meets the needs of the technical Linux user who understands the details of all the configuration files but often does not have an overall view of what the complete system is supposed to do. For example, it gives a short conceptual view of Perl that is sufficient to let the reader know if it is something that they could use but provides no information on how to program it. Then again, there are many, many books on Perl programming available.

"Open Source Solutions for Small Business Problems" is a very highly recommended book for anyone who is looking at the open source market and particularly anyone considering Linux as an operating system of choice either on the desktop or as a server. This is easily one of the best Linux books of the year; providing a management level view of the Linux world without the technical focus of other books.

Ninety percent of companies in America quality as small businesses but have to deal with large-business headaches ranging from common computer programs, to management issues, to reducing spam. Consultant John Locke's Open Source Solutions For Small Business Problems is the key to understanding the operational problems most small businesses share; from identifying good open source software for solutions to these issues to understanding their strengths and weaknesses. Volume 1.2 of an accompanying 'Open CD' provides a range of software for Windows, essays, and a short video about open source issues, and will run on Windows 98 operating systems on up. An invaluable small business reference for any who use a computer to run operations.

The idea is very good, but every 6 months you might have something better, a better open source CRM .... so if you search on the internet you will get better content than the book

I just finished a rather interesting and different book on Open Source Software. The title is Open Source Solutions for Small Business Problems by John Locke (Charles River Media). The author contacted me and asked if I'd like to review the book, and I accepted. Since this is an area which is grabbing more of my interest these days, it was helpful in many ways...

First, the chapter layout:
Part 1 - Small Business Computing Infrastructure - Open Source Software in Your Small Business; Why You Need A Server; Setting Up Your Office Network; Open Source on the Desktop; Setting Up an Email Server; Setting Up a Web Server
Part 2 - Computing Your Business Operations - Customer Relationship Management; Calendar and Schedule Management; Document Management; Financial Management; Managing Resources, Schedules, and Projects
Part 3 - Extending Your Business With Open Source - Sharing Information with Your Partners; Marketing Your Message; Connect from Offsite; Providing Private Communications
Part 4 - Keeping Your Network Secure and Intact - Securing Business Data; Network Security in a Wireless World; Disaster Recovery; Viruses and Spam
Appendices - The Open Source Definition; Basics Of Networking; Common Open Source Licenses

When I first started reading it, I was expecting something non-technical in nature, something that would be targeted for the average business owner that knows s/he wants to spend less on software and is looking for alternatives. And to be sure, the book does deliver to that group. But there are also chapters (or areas within each chapter) where the content gets pretty technical. For instance, the detail on how to set up a web server isn't for the person who simply wants to turn on their computer and go. These areas are going to appeal to the in-house technical support person who's been charged with making it all work. While you could (and probably should) find whole books on many of these topics, there's enough detail to get you started in the right direction.

I think Part 2 is extremely valuable, in that it helps both the business owner and the techie figure out what's available in terms of open source alternatives to the typical business software. You learn about OpenOffice.org as a replacement to Microsoft's Office. You learn about MySQL as an alternative to Microsoft Access or many other more expensive relational database systems. You'd be able to find all this out if you dug around on the web long enough, but the author packages up the information in a single location and helps you start to understand what's available for you.

There's also a CD in the back of the book that contains many of the open source packages discussed in the book. Being that these packages move pretty quickly as far as release cycles go, I think I'd prefer visit the web site for the specific package and download the latest. Still, if you're wanting something quick, you'll have it on the CD.

At first, the mix of technical and non-technical content in each chapter didn't quite set right. I wanted the book to target one or the other. But the longer I read, the more I liked the fact that the book could serve as a single volume to allow both the tech and non-tech sides of a business to come together on common ground. The non-techies can ignore the parts that are over their heads, but still understand the possibilities. The techies will understand where the business is coming from, and will get a good start on implementing the software. As a result, I give this book high marks for anyone wanting to some or all of their business computing to an open source model.

The author used this book in addition to his notes to teach his Unix Performance course at the UCalif at Santa Cruz Extention(which is next to San Jose Airport). Maybe the two day course was too short, but there were not enough coverage to be useful. While there are detailed account for raw performance comparisons between different hardware platforms, and hardware resource usage topics, there are no sections on performance tuning which is what you want out of this course. Yeah may be that topic is in the referenced books. Afterwards I went back to get the Cervone book(old but good) and discovered what I was missing. So know what you need before you buy. I didn't have a choice.

This book is not for the faint of heart, but if you're familiar with UNIX and are interested in learning more about its internals and how they affect performance, this is the perfect book for you! Majidimehr's explanations of UNIX internals are clear and concise, and he gives you all the details you need to understand how they all impact performance. My only gripe is that the book is getting a wee bit out of date (1996) so some of the specifics he discusses don't matter so much anymore. However, the general principles of performance tuning will never be obsolete, and I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning them.

I approach books that claim as much as this one does, with an air of suspicion. I was therefore looking out for ommissions or errors, seeing as I've studied the topic myself, and read a number of the documents Majidimehr refers to. I found very few errors, and those only of marginal importance. Within the bounds of commonality and effectiveness (of technique) that he set himself, the advice is complete, sound and easily absorbed. Majidimehr propounds a general approach around the practical advice, which will guide readers even when the book has no specific lesson to relate. The information Majidimehr presents is all available elswhere but he combines it and brings implications into clear focus for the reader, which makes it all worthwhile.

Fantastic book on how to tune UNIX. It should be a required book in any UNIX administrators library. It covers all system aspects and UNIX flavors.

After hearing the author speak at Oracle Open World in 1997, I bought his book. There are alot of details covered in his book that the oracle documentation specific to the Unix platform doesn't address. The book assumes a working knowlege of both Oracle and Unix. I would recommend it for System Administators who support systems that run Oracle and DBA's who need more performance tips for their platform.

If you are a DBA this book belongs on your shelf. It is packed with platform specific information as well as sage advice from a seasoned veteran of performance tuning.

Excellent for those well versed in Unix. The index could have been better though. Definitely for those with some prior experience as Unix admin and DBA.

This is a good book for UNIX system administrators who support Oracle systems. However, unless you are an Oracle DBA who is really interested in UNIX internals, this book is not for you.

Fedora is, of course, the new name for the standard Linux distribution for Red Hat's version of Linux. This is more-or-less Red Hat version 11, and this book contain the complete release of the operating system, the windowing system, the Open Office integrated application package and all the rest of a complete Linux system. The book is distributed on DVD format disks. If you don't have a DVD drive, you can order the same software on standard CD-ROMs for an extra cost of $13.50, which is just about the cost of producing and shipping them.

As with the other ‘For Dummies’ books, this is an introductory book aimed to get him up and productive as quickly as possible. This book is in tutorial, do this, and then do that, format. I find it easy to use, easy to understand and I particularly like the light tone of the writing style. Computer books don't have to be written with a goal of being deadly dull.

I am just learning Linux in a desktop environment, not as a developer or network administrator. By its nature, Linux is a highly variable environment: no two installations are exactly alike. As a free alternative to Windows, however, it is very attractive to me. After much research, I chose the Fedora distribution because it looked like it would have the most consistent support and updates (including an online update feature). I downloaded and installed, and while the basic features worked fine, I had lots of problems trying to do anything fancy (modems, DVD player, etc) and could not install new software.

I bought this book with a simple intent: to get a clean installation of the software with a MATCHING text. In other words, if I did EXACTLY what the book told me to do, the software would work fine. It didn't work out that way.

First, be aware that the disk that comes with the book is a DVD, not a CD. You must have a computer with a DVD drive AND be able to boot from that drive (your manufacturer can tell you how to boot from the drive). If you need CDs instead, you can order them for free from the publisher.

The install did go well, and the book guided me through it well. I chose to do a clean install, wiping out everything on the machine. After installation, basic features like email, Open Office software, and internet (not dial-up) worked well. If that is all you want to use it for, you should be OK. The book also gives a good "real person" explanation of what Linux is and how it works.

But as I continued through the book, I have hit instances where the text assumes packages are installed that are not (XMMS and Mozilla Mail client). Also, the MAIN reason I bought it, to help me install a DVD player called MPlayer, has been no help at all. I followed the instructions to the letter, and have the same errors and problems I had when I did it myself. It annoys me that I now have to grope around the Internet for explanations that I thought I was buying.

I have other problems which are a function of Linux, not the book, such as an unsupported modem. But, the book is NOT a troubleshooting guide, just a basic introductory and getting-started guide.

All in all, the book will help you get started and is a convenient way to get the software and instructions all at once. I will say, however, that if you need to boot from CDs, you may be just as well off downloading the CDs from Fedora (must have Broadband) and the PDF instruction guide.

Red Hat, Inc. recently joined with the open source Fedora Linux Project to create the Fedora Core Project (FCP). The FCP now produces the Fedora Core distribution, which is the successor to Red Hat Linux (if you're familiar with Red Hat Linux 9, you'll immediately recognize Fedora Core 2). Red Hat, Inc. maintains overall editorial control of the project while the user community drives its technical development.
Red Hat Fedora Linux 2 for Dummies helps you use Fedora Core 2 to get work done and also have a lot of fun. It provides information and examples to help you use and learn Fedora Core 2 on your computer. The book shows you how to:
* Install Fedora Core 2 as the only operating system on your PC, or...
* Repartition your PC hard drive and install Fedora Core 2 along side Windows (dual-boot configuration)
* The entire Fedora Core 2 distribution comes on a DVD (no more swapping CDs!)
* Connect to the Internet through a broadband DSL or cable modem
* Connect to the Internet through a dial up telephone modem
* Connect to an existing home or office local area network (LAN)
* Troubleshoot network connections
* Use the OpenOffice suite (compatible with MS Office)
* Browse the Internet with Mozilla
* Use Evolution (similar to Outlook) to process your e-mail
* Play CDs and DVDs
* Listen to Internet audio streams with MPlayer
* Provide basic network services, such as the Apache web server, to your LAN
* Use both simple and advanced techniques to secure your computer
* Create a networked streaming audio server with IceCast
* Use WINE to run Windows applications such as Office
* and much more...
Red Hat Fedora Linux 2 for Dummies uses straight-forward examples to demonstrate each area of interest. It describes how to do most of the simple, but essential tasks necessary to install and use Fedora Core 2. However, this book is more than an introduction to Fedora Core and Linux. It introduces several carefully chosen advanced topics, such as streaming multimedia servers and network services, to demonstrate the power of Fedora Core. The end result is that Red Hat Fedora Linux 2 for Dummies covers a surprisingly wide spectrum of topics in an easy to understand and use manner.

This book is just what you need if you want an almost turn-key implementation of Fedora Core 2. The book makes it easy to install and setup the DVD provided software. If you don't have a DVD drive, a set of CD-ROMs is offered for $20 US.

As in most "For Dummies" books, humor is the rule of the day as the authors lead you throught the installation.

Over the past 5 years I have tried several of the Red Hat implementations of Linux, the last being 7.0, and I felt that they just were not ready for "prime time". I wasn't looking for something that Grandma/Grandpa could load, but who needs days of research and testing to get your system to access the internet etc. What a surprise! The system loaded and almost everything worked right from the start. My system is a dual-boot Windows 98/Linux configuration and the problems that I had during the insatllation were fully covered in the book.

This book is not a Linux bible. While entering the command lines provided for setting up a firewall, step by step instructions are given. The first command, unknown to the casual non Linux reader, calls a macro by giving a complete path to the macro. Additional commands are provided that are not in the "path" as set up in the installation. The concept of a "path" is not covered in the book, nor is it listed in the index. You will need another book for the basics.

Overall, I thought the book provided a decent start to converting over to Linux from a MS Windows based system.