Unix Systems Books

Ubuntu has become one of the fastest growing and arguably most friendly Linux distributions over the last few years. This book is designed to help someone who has no knowledge of Linux become a basic system administrator. While it will not make them an expert among people who know Linux well it will make them sufficiently knowledgeable to do most of the common administrative functions.

The author starts with installing Ubuntu server and moves into information that most Ubuntu users do not understand such as using the command line interface, working with files, and understanding the directory structure. Once the reader has this basic understanding he moves them to some of the common tasks like using software repositories to install and update software packages and user accounts, groups, permissions, access control lists, quotas, an PAM modules. However, the book could use an expanded section on firewalls as this is a major part of Linux server administration.

Other important areas covered include a chapter on writing shell scripts. the basics of SSH and tunneling, DNS, DHCP, NTP, using Ubuntu as a file and print server (cups, NFS, and Samba configurations), Apache, virtual hosts, PHP, MySQL, FTP, and virtualization. For many of these areas, including Samba, Apache, PHP, and MySQL, the coverage is just the minimum you need to know. This is expected as there are complete volumes written just on each of these subjects that are larger than this book. This books still gives you a solid introduction to these subjects that is appropriate for the audience the author is trying to reach.

This book is a great introduction to Ubuntu Server administration and moves the reader from the novice to lower intermediate level but really not close to a professional Ubuntu administrator. Nonetheless, it is recommended for those new to Ubuntu servers as it does touch on and provide a working knowledge of pretty much all the most common areas of Linux server administration.

The book is clear and concise. It explores several important topics in Ubuntu (linux) server administration from the novice point of view. Although several features are common among several linux distros, the book tries to use the ubuntu way when it is appropriated. Just pay attention: a new edition is coming soon (oct/2008). I did not like the paper used, it is rough and thick, like several others paperback books.

This book should be called "Beginning Linux Server Administration." If that were the title, I would actually give it 5 stars. This IS a well written book but for Ubuntu/Debian Server administration I believe it has a good number of gaps. IE, In apache, adding a virtual host is added and removed using the a2ensite command which creates the Symbolic link.

These tools make server administration easy for a beginner, but missing throughout the book.

Beginning Ubuntu Server Administration, by Sander Van Vugt is a well written book coving a range of topics which includes examples. This book covers Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn. Although this release is a little behind, the information presented in the book is still relevant for completing the topics covered. I was impressed with the authors ability to show the reader how a task was completed while keeping it simple so new system administrators or others just starting to learn, will be able to understand what is going on.

While the book is geared towards Ubuntu, the majority of the topics can be associated with other GNU/Linux systems with very little or no changes at all. For instance; the command line section helps the user become more familiar with how commands are used with a Linux server system. It also demonstrates how to use the VI text editor which can be a daunt task for new admins. For advanced command line use, chapter 7 covers everything to get someone started in learning how to script which can be used to automate system tasks.

A great reference in this book, is the chapter about virtualization. Virtualization is becoming more and more dominate when it comes to budget and green computing needs. This chapter covers everything from what software you should use to setup and configuration of both the virtualization software and the guest Operating System.

All in all, Beginning Ubuntu Server Administration: From Novice to Professional, is a well written book and can be used by either seasoned administrators, new techs entering the field, or someone just looking to expand their knowledge. I give this book a solid recommendation and will encourage everyone to pick up a copy.

This book is a timeless overview of the most important administration commands and tools. The text is stringent designed and the examples are easy to understand. I see my self as a person with above novice skills in this area, but I believe I will use this book a lot in the future.

I'm in the midst of starting up a company with two professionals, and they already know a lot about system administration in a linux environment. They believe this book is good for me (and for them).

The book was written with the intention for Ubuntu server 7.04, but I downloaded Ubuntu server beta 8.04 and because most of the examples are in the terminal, it doesn't matter which version you use.

it's about time for a new edition. Since 2002 there is Solaris 10, ASE 15.0.2, Oracle 11g, etc. I agree with all of the 5 star reviewers and there were no print quality issues with my copy. Biggest problem would be for Mr. Packer to assimilate and digest all of the information from the new RDBMS software available now. If I could I would give this book 6 stars. (By the way, many of the chapters would still be relevant for specific RDBMSs running on AIX, HP, Linux, etc.)

The content of the book is very good; with information not found elsewhere.

The print quality is horrible. Some of the pages are visibly crooked, and illustrations with grayscale detail look like they are photocopies of photocopies. The gradient on the chapter headings suffer from this too.

I bought this book thinking that i would get some good ideas in order to get a little bit more performance from our servers, however once i started reading i could not put it down until 5 hours later.
It cuts all the small talk, and it breaks down every topic in an understandable format and teaches you what you really need to know.
The section on how to improve DISK performance was great, i implemented many things that i learned from reading this book.
Just buy it, you wont regretit.
Its a small price to pay for a good piece of mind.

This books answers the questions that most others do not. A very technical approach, with great editing and no errors. The books covers architectural issues, Oracle tuning but scores really big in optimizing the Solaris environment (OS and hardware/disk).

This book doesn't belong on your bookshelf it belongs on your desk beside your workstation. Mr. Packer's clarity, conciseness and comprehensiveness in his coverage of a complex topic is a tour de force that few technical writers are able to achieve these days. Written for an intelligent reader in mind, the subject matter is explained simply, directly and elegantly. No profusions of analogies, this author knows what he's talking about and he can explain it.

The organization of the chapters is first-rate. You can get to the heart of the matter with a quick glance at the table of content. The indexing is excellent. I'm amazed that I can find an entry for most of the topics I'm looking up. It has become my first point of reference for configuration and tuning issues.

Do yourself a favour, BUY IT! I'm already looking forward to the second edition of this masterpiece.

This book takes you from start to finish on planning and installing TRU64 UNIX. It is easy to follow and logicaly laid out for any with a system administration back ground in OpenVMS or another UNIX operating system.

The book points out commonly made mistakes and helps you avoid them.

As a Unix system administrator new to Tru64 (Digital Unix), I find this book to be an valuable addition to my reference shelf.

I'm a UNIX System Admin and I've used this Guide frequently. My primary flavor is HP-UX but I'm also responsible for a spattering of Compaq (Digital) servers as well. I've had no problems locating commands or understanding their usage. This Guide works. Don't be misled by the "DIGITAL" in the title - all the commands are the same ...just the name has changed ( to Compaq ). Best Regards, turtlex.

If you are already familiar with the basics of the Digital Unix operating system (or, Tru64 Unix), this one is a great value. It teaches not only the basics of the System Adminstrator's work, but on the small but important details. I mostly liked the chapter about Security (which lacks in many other books).

A must for all the Digital system administration guys. Gives most of the stuff required for the system administration work. After going through the book one can understand with clarity all the concepts of tru64unix. Beginners benefit the most.

I don't know how many more books like this I can read. Except for the examples, its very high level. At least half the book is allocated to middle management-esque writing regarding how the best way to manage "enterprize systems." There is some good information here, but it seems a little too Politically Correct to my tastes. I have not seen a data center that actually operates as the book describes. Also, the author has a relationship with Veritas, so how many of Vertitas' shortcomings can we expect from a book like this? The entire manuscript would have to have passed through Veritas' legal and PR department before getting anywhere near the publisher. So much for getting the real story. As far as alternatives, if the reader is looking for corporate/unix information, Unix Backup and Recovery for UNIX is the way to go. For PC users, you can't beat How to Backup Your Windows Computer. Really, there are very few titles in this area.

not that useful in real life. not good at all for netbackup.
however, it is good for "general knowledge" about backup.
really good for calculating capacity etc.

This book is a must have for the person doing backup and recovery in an enterprise environment. It cuts through all the chase and gets right to the point. A great book for the novice or expert!!!! I've been working in the backup and recovery areana for over 7 years and this book already has some worn out pages.

I don't normally find value in general topic books that use a specific product to illustrate concepts; however, this book is an exception. The authors thoroughly cover all of the issues associated with back-up and recovery, including those related to business continuity, disaster recovery, and the affect that back-up and recovery has on service and availability.

Given the pervasiveness of both UNIX (including Linux), and Windows, I like the fact that both operating systems are addressed in the book. I am firmly in the UNIX camp, but it's nearly impossible to find a Linux or UNIX shop that doesn't have at least some critical applications running on Windows servers.

Of course, if you use Netbackup this book is going to be all the more valuable; however, if you don't, do not let the fact that the authors base the concepts and examples on this product dissuade you from buying this book. It is one of the best books on back-up and recovery issues and challenges, regardless of vendor solution used.

If you are setting up a new backup and recovery environment, or if you are maintaining an existing strategy, this book is a must read. Not only does it walk you through backup and recovery process from start to finish, it helps you to understand that there is more required to backup - and especially recovery - than simply performing daily backups.

Unlike the Mac and Windoze world, installing software on Linux can require typing several text commands into the terminal. Even with Ubuntu, you have to use the terminal from time to time. This book explains it all from tarballs to RPMs, and compiling. This book is for EVERYONE, not just administrators.

I purchased 4 Linux books and this one is the best. I couldn't find some basic Linux commands in the index of the "Linux Bible 2005 Edition " but they do appear in the index of this book.

I wish there were more Linux books like this one!

If your the type of person who handling Windows for a couple of years now and want to discover the infamous Linux great potential and save TCO of your company, then try read this book first and see for yourself =), it's awesome!!!!

This Book is well writen, explains subject in detail, in easy to understand language. I use this book as quick refrence. I wish this book was in pdf format.

The authors did a good job of introducing newbies to Linux. I found it very easy to follow. The book makes Linux easy to understand. Granted there is a lot more to learn, but that is not the scope of the book.

This is the book I've been looking for. It has most of the "need to know" stuff from the man pages along with easy to understand explanations. I'm working my way through it but it makes a great reference too. I've seen too many books that spend way too much time on installation and not enough on operation. This one gets right to the CLI from adding users to setting up dns and fetchmail. If you're looking for a book on xwindows, this ain't it. If you're a newbie looking to learn the command line...get this book.

This book takes you from an IT zero to an IT hero in a such a short book. Definitely worth the buy.

E-mailing is an important communication application for an organization.
At present most of the people use Linux/Unix based OS for building up their mail server. There are various packages available in Linux such as. Sendmail, postfix, qmail etc. Amongst them postfix is one of the most powerful and reliable tools for building up mailing server but difficult to configure optimally. You can probably make postfix work. But there are lots of questions.
-How can you make it work to its full potential?
-How do you make it more secure?
-How can you overcome complex situation when there are multiple servers available?
-How do you make it spam free?
-How can you get instant access of your mail through web mail?

You can get answers to all these questions from the Packt's book, Linux
Email: Setup and Run a Small Office Email Server Using Postfix, Courier, Procmail, Squirrelmail, Clamav and Spamassassin (Paperback). You can get the solutions to your problems easily. There are many examples in the book which make it easier for any type of Linux user to configure the mail server. So, I think all of you would find it interesting to read it. Best
of luck.............................. Uddhap(System Engineer)

Running a Linux email server is a non-trivial task. This book does a better job of explaining the major software components than most things I've found but there were a couple of things about it that I found could use a little improvement.

First, the book could use more discussion about issues external to the core pieces of software. Some discussion of configuring MX records, router ports that need to be opened, etc. would be in order.

Second, there were areas, especially in the "securing your installation" section where it wasn't obvious on the first reading that several options were being discussed and you should choose one that was appropriate for your system. A bit of clarification might be in order but the information you need is all there.

Last, I'd like to have seen one or two complete examples. A simple, bare bones one and a complete "all the bells and whistles" version would be ideal.

In general this book is the best I've found for someone who's never set up an email system before. Using it I was able to set up a basic functioning system.

The book does a fine job of giving an overview of the suite of mail servers. The setup steps are introduced from easiest (basic) to more complex (enhanced), allowing the reading to incrementally set up their environment. This is important in that it provides milestones where testing can take place before enhancements are introduced.

I knocked off two stars because the authors failed to give clear instructions for setting up virtual users in Postfix and Courier-IMAP's POP3 and IMAP service. I had to search the web for this information. Virtual users are critical for a modern day email system, and the failure to flesh-out a virtual-user capable system is a major short-coming.

I actually got myself in quite a pickle at work introducing them to linux. Immediately they wanted it on our network starting with an email server. First of all, I am a programmer, not a system admin. Second, I use linux on a daily basis at work and home but not for servers. Desperately, I reached for this book for help. Bad idea at the beginning at least. The book's way of going through setting up postfix at the beginning was no help for me and my novice knowledge with servers. I ended up getting everything setup thanks to google and wikipedia howtos. Later I blew dust off this book and picked it up for another go. Now that I understand the basics I am at a comfort level with this book, but still have struggles here and there. This book, however, definitely helped me with setting up squirrelmail and spamassassin. Definitely recommend this book to somebody with a basic understanding of linux and some-what of an understanding of servers.

Mr. Barkakati has done a great job with this book, but like all books concerning any operating system it is far from complete. Having said that I don't think that was Mr. Barkakati's intention. It's a good reference manual and should be one of many Linux books on your shelf if you're on the Linux road to peaceful bliss and contentment. :) Definitely worth the price I paid.

That's really a good book for non-english progrmmares, it's give a view from the basics to advanced. Good introdution to programming(for who don't know bigest things).I would thanks to Naba

I'm already familiar with UNIX in general but had no expereince in Linux and this book guided me in installing my first machine until I was able to use it for many things such configuring a dial-up server, web server, mail server, etc. all connected to the internet. Its Tips and Secrets is worth the price of the book.

Its a good book for anyone using linux or who wants to run linux. Its done well for being a couple of years old, and is still a good read.

This book will help you do very simple things, like installing Linux on a PC, as well as more complicated things, like setting up a Web server, or turning a Linux PC into a PPP dial-in server. There's also an excellent chapter describing everythiong you can do. Really excellent book

I own some of Ellie's books and I've taken courses from her in Silicon Valley. She writes clearly. My main objection to her books is that too many of the examples are a bit too simplistic. Too many examples use input provided by the user at the keyboard; in the business-world/corporate world, most input is obtained by reading in a file.

I bought this book several years ago and it's safe to say that I've opened it up a minimum of once a week since then. Every single page has example code in it and content ranges from elementary to expert. gawk and sed are archaic programs with difficult to remember semantics and syntax. This book comes off the shelf every time I have to process text or files or the output of a program or any other repetitive task that is better suited for a CPU than for a human brain. The writing style is easy and pleasant without getting goofy. I highly recommend this book to anyone who uses a shell at least once a week.

I just started this book but have thumbed through all the chapters. The author is a very good writer and seems to be passionate about the subject unlike some of the authors that write dry tombs for O'Reilly. However, "Unix Power Tools", O'Reilly is not a dry tomb.

Anyway, better know your way around linux before you get this book even though it starts very basic. This is a huge book, 761 pages. Great info...

New to 'nix? You need to learn the shell to become comfortable and proficient with the OS. There is no better book for the serious beginner/intermediate self-motivated learner. Ellie Quigley is a superb instructor and writer.

I found this book very easy to understand, but if you are looking for something more advance, this is not for you. The style of writing in this book is very easy to follow. Like what is written on the title, it has lots of examples, and an explanation always comes after the example. It is not only about shell, this book also has good basic knowledge and information about grep, sed, and awk. If you use Linux, and want to learn shell programming, get this book. I also found that the examples used in this book were very close to the real life problems we often meet in Linux.

The only reason that I rate only 4 stars for this book is because some similar part gets repeated too often in this book.

This book is not good to understand TCP/IP stack in Linux. The book has not gone through review for wrong section references. I have seen references mentioning to Chapter 4 when it actually is Chapter 7.
It never explains the main processing of TCP like cwnd update and sshthresh. After reading the whole book I still didnt understand what is done in TCP like which function does what.

A complete failure to qualify as a good book.

I suggest "Understanding Linux Network Internals" which explains very clearly what is done in IP. I expect that the author of that book comes up with a second volume that deals with TCP.

Before you spend your time and money on purchasing any books on the subject, buy this one first. Depending on your background and your needs, it may also be the last one you will purchase.

At the time I got to place my two-cent's worth, there are already 5 other reviews rating this book in a very positive light.
While the style of presentation of a technical subject may not be strictly original, there have been few attempts by other authors to use it, this author has actually delivered - very effectively.

Technical writers, take a note of this work - it can serve as a blueprint for other technical subjects. Publishers, please a take note of the style and the thoroughness that this work employs to present a complex technical subject. The demand is there - the competition is very scarce.

Yes, this book presents a comprehensive technical explanation in a very practical as well as theoretical terms, and more importantly, places all the components of the technology subject matter within context. After you get through this book you will not be left in a position where you sit in front of your computer and realize you really have no idea how to apply the knowledge of the book you just read. Instead, you will be off and running. Think back, how many books that you read in the past delivered this kind of ability to you?

In closing, I appeal to the author of this book to select another subject of the current technology and write another book. Sadly, the bookshelves are full of "bibles", "primers", and definitive guides that leave the reader wondering what to do AFTER they read them.

If you need to know how to DO networking, this book is a must.

Loads of info, all's good, but it's a struggle. I mean, explanations don't match the pictures, a lot of redundancies in the text (that make you wonder if perchance they're not redundancies and force you to backtrack -- to no avail, 'cause they *are* redundancies); strange hyphenation habits ("pre-pending and removal"... well, then make it "re-moval", be consistent, at least... "pre-allocated", "de-allocated", etc.); on one line it's "sk_buff" on the next it's "skb" -- I mean THIS IS NOT POETRY! This is a lot of precise, dumb and boring literal-minded stuff that, in order to be understood, HAS TO BE RIGHT! every time, all the time). p.256, "The array of frags is placed in memory ... It can contain as many as six pages in the array." In which array? Does this mean IT ITSELF contains six pages of memory, or does mean that it happens to be in possession of yet another array -- and it is this other array that holds the aforementioned memory pages?

OK, it is an unfortunate fact of life that techies are massively deprived of the aptitude for verbal communication, fine, but where's the editor? It's a fifty-dollar book, for chrissakes. The book is very irritating in this respect.

Otoh, it's got a lot of good stuff, so, in a paroxysm of charitableness, I'll give it four stars after all. But it's darn hard to read, 'cause the author, though he knows his stuff, is an inarticulate turdhead, and the editor took a nap -- 'cause, you know, you'll buy it anyway, why bother.

Four stars, but only this time.

PS. Be sceptical about the review by John Matlock "Gunny" (right below here). This guy cannot possibly have read what he's reviewed; to convince yourself, please visit his reviews page and count the number of reviews he posts daily, every day, since the beginning of time. A dozen of all-positive reviews every day -- yeah, I believe he's read these books. Buyer beware ("Gunny" is not alone: there are quite a few "reviewers" like that on Amazon these days; when you see one of those "Top Reviewers", be sceptical, check their reviewing record; I've seen people reviewing over a hundred books per day every day; others re-type a cover blurb or table of contents; there's a lot of smart alecks of this sort, so watch out).

PPS. A couple of things I forgot to mention, but probably should have: first, there's nothing specifically embedded in this book; and second, there's a similar O'Reilly Linux networking book that is by an order of magnitude better. I didn't have it when I wrote this review (which was more than a year ago), but now I do and can compare. I forget the title off the top of my head, but search for it, it's easy to find. If I were writing a review for this book today, I'd not give it more than three stars -- though again, there's got a lot of good info in it: the book isn't bad technically, just confusingly written.

This is an excellent book which explains everything related to the TCP/IP Linux implementation in the 2.6 kernel. There are other excellent Linux networking books, but this is the best one in terms of the details for the TCP/IP implementation.

It explains in detail Network devices, drivers, UDP, TCP, IP and IPv6. And it shows in detail all the steps a packet goes through when moving from the application layer to the socket layer, then through the transport layer (TCP or UDP), Network Layer (IP) and Data Link Layer and finally to the physical layer. Then it shows the details of the flow of the packet at the receiving side.

This is an in-depth guide to implementing and using the Linux TCP/IP stack. It begins with a general overview of TCP/IP networking, with background information on applicable networking standards. From there, it details the TCP/IP implementation in Linux by following a pack of data as it flows through the stack from the sending system, out the wire, and back through the input side of the stack in the receiving machine. This unique approach gives programmers an inside look at the entire process.

The book is aimed at th engineers and programmers implementing dedicated or embedded systems including sockets, network interfaces, application protocols and practical considerations.

The CD included with the book includes the source code developed in the book, much of which can be modified to fit many quasi-standard applications, and a considerable amount of additional technical information on Linux and the particular aspects of TCP/IP.

Although slightly dated, this book is an excellent resource for wireless communcations with Linux. It also covers a lot of information about wireless computer communications in general. Want to build your own access point? The info is in this book! There are lots of ideas to build from in here!

Based on postings to user forums it seems that one area of Linux where people tend to have a lot of problems getting it to work is wireless networking. With wireless finally coming into its own over the last couple of years "Linux Unwired" is a very timely and useful book. All the aspects of wireless in all of its current manifestations are covered including Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), Bluetooth, infrared, cellular networking, and global positioning system (GPS) devices.

Before getting into the details of getting Linux to work with wireless the authors provide a thorough understanding of radio waves and how they act, hardware, and antenna types. Understanding these basic concepts is important if your system is to work the way you want.

One of the really nice features of the book is the information on picking the right card so you have the fewest problems getting things up and running. The authors even name specific manufacturers and card models that work well with Linux and then they go through installing the driver and configuring the software to work with the device. Along the same lines they provide information on Linux friendly access point providers and even building your own access point.

One you have your Linux system up and running on wireless there is a chapter on locating hotspots and using them to get onto the Internet. This chapter really only covers the basics of locating hotspots. If you are really interested in this area you might try another O'Reilly book just on this subject titled "WarDriving, Drive, Detect, Defend". Of course, if you are concerned about your wireless security (and you should be) it includes information on configuring Wired Equivalency Protocol (WEP) and Wireless Protected Access (WPA).

If you are anticipating moving your Linux system to a wireless interface you can't go wrong with "Linux Unwired". The authors do an excellent job of providing all the information you need to get it done right. "Linux Unwired" is highly recommended for anyone interested in Linux wireless networks.

I didn't even originally realize this book had a chapter on cellular data until I found Brian Jepson's site, Jepstone.net, and began reading about using cellular phones and PCMCIA modem cards. This book's cellular chapter was just what the doctor ordered! There are instructions for Verizon, AT&T, Cingular and T-mobile, that make things more manageable even for advanced Linux users. Way to go, guys!

I was impressed with this book. It's short and focused. It strays a little on the non 802.11 chapters, but that seems to be the way with all of the O'Reilly wireless books. Here is the blow by blow:

Chapter one is WiFi basics, it's short and solid. Chapter two is about the hardware and it's quite in depth in terms of getting the interface card installed and configured. Chapter three is about connecting to the network it's a little short and basic, some more effort could have been spent there. Chapters five and six are about the server side of the equation. Chapter six is a bit long, it's about building the server and covers the entire setup from hardware to software configuration. Chapters seven through nine are about non 802.11 networking through bluetooth, infrared and cellular. These chapters are a little skimpy and graphics heavy, but you probably won't be getting the book for them. Chapter ten is a brief introduction to GPS.

I would recommend this book to anyone with issues around Linux wireless network. Linux documentation can be a morass and it's worth your time and money to plunk down a book that walks you through the process.

This is a valuable book for two reasons.

First of all, and most significantly for a Linux book, it's hard to get a handle on the subject from the free information available on the web. I'm sure all of the information in this book is out there, but it's scattered far and wide, and this book is clearly a big time saver.

Second of all, the authors know their subject inside and out, and they have organized it pretty well. I have an Orinoco card, and the explanations of the differences in the various drivers for the card have been extremely helpful to me. Some drivers will let you scan for wireless networks, and others won't -- that's the sort of thing that would burn hours and hours of troubleshooting time, but it's all explained clearly here.

I bought this book so I could get a wireless connection going on a Linux From Scratch laptop, but after reading the book, I'd like to build my own access point with Linux.