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Linux Cookbook
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This unique and valuable collection of tips, tools, and scripts provides clear, concise, hands-on solutions that can be applied to the challenges facing anyone running a network of Linux servers from small networks to large data centers in the practical and popular problem-solution-discussion O'Reilly cookbook format.
The Linux Cookbook covers everything you'd expect: backups, new users, and the like. But it also covers the non-obvious information that is often ignored in other books the time-sinks and headaches that are a real part of an administrator's job, such as: dealing with odd kinds of devices that Linux historically hasn't supported well, building multi-boot systems, and handling things like video and audio.
The knowledge needed to install, deploy, and maintain Linux is not easily found, and no Linux distribution gets it just right. Scattered information can be found in a pile of man pages, texinfo files, and source code comments, but the best source of information is the experts themselves who built up a working knowledge of managing Linux systems. This cookbook's proven techniques distill years of hard-won experience into practical cut-and-paste solutions to everyday Linux dilemmas.
Use just one recipe from this varied collection of real-world solutions, and the hours of tedious trial-and-error saved will more than pay for the cost of the book. But those who prefer to learn hands-on will find that this cookbook not only solves immediate problems quickly, it also cuts right to the chase pointing out potential pitfalls and illustrating tested practices that can be applied to a myriad of other situations.
Whether you're responsible for a small Linux system, a huge corporate system, or a mixed Linux/Windows/MacOS network, you'll find valuable, to-the-point, practical recipes for dealing with Linux systems everyday. The Linux Cookbook is more than a time-saver; it's a sanity saver.
About the Author
Carla Schroder is a self-taught Linux and Windows sysadmin who laid hands on her first computer around her 37th birthday. Her first PC was a Macintosh LC II. Next came an IBM clone--a 386SX running MS-DOS 5 and Windows 3.1 with a 14-inch color display--which was adequate for many pleasant hours of Doom play. Then around 1997 she discovered Red Hat 5.0 and had a whole new world to explore. Somewhere along the way she found herself doing freelance consulting for small businesses and home users, supporting both Linux and Windows users and integrating Linux and Windows on the LAN, primarily Linux servers and Windows clients. She is the author of the Linux Cookbook for O'Reilly, and writes Linux how-tos for several computer publications. Carla is living proof that you're never too old to try something new; computers are a heck of a lot of fun; and anyone can learn to do anything. Visit tuxcomputing.com for more Carla stuff.
10/07/2005
Great book for command-line administration
First off, this book focuses on RPM-based and Debian-based distributions. This doesnt, tos I've seen give you the steps of compiling a kernel, but don't explain what is going on. This always left me feeling like I had no clue what I was doing, and if there was an error I'd have no idea where I'd begin fixing it, since I didn't really know what "make mrproper," for instance, means (side note, she even quickly explains "according to Linux lore" the reasoning behind the name Mr. Proper, a delightful bit of trivia). Now that I've read this chapter on kernels I'm much more comfortable recompiling and customizing my own. She also talks about patching a kernel, which is something I had trouble with for a while, since so much documentation I found and people I asked said "just use patch" which meant nothing to me.
An excellent book for the linux user who wants to move away from the GUI and learn more about core, command-line administration. I love it.
06/07/2005
Buy two copies and lend one to your friends
Linux Cookbook by Carla Schroder (O'Reilly)
I have already lost my copy of this excellent book to my coworkers. This is another great entry to O'Reilly's "Cookbook" series. I have been running and administering Linux for 10 years and I didn't expect too much from this book. I was wrong. It is packed full of useful recipes that are the kind of thing I can never remember and spend ages digging out of documentation when I need them. Two of my favourites so far are how to use Grub to boot your machine when you have toasted your Master Boot Record, and a script to create a "phantom rpm package" that reflects all those libraries on your system that you have compiled and installed from source so that RPM knows about them.
The author has clearly had to make some hard decisions about what information to include in here and she has done a great job. The recipes cover the full spectrum of common administrative tasks that have details which are hard to remember. They include tasks such as configuring Samba, Apache, NTP, DNS, printing, mail servers, backups, and user accounts. There is information on installing software for both Debian and RPM based systems, and on rebuilding the kernel and how to patch it. The list goes on; you'll just have to read the book.
In short, there are lots of great tips in here that are easy to find and use. Keep this book at hand for all those times when you are asking yourself, "now how do I ... ?"
16/01/2005
Numerous tips on direct command line usage
Perhaps the most surprising thing about this book is that it wasn't published prior to December 2004. Linux has been popular enough in recent years that the book would have been useful earlier. But given that it has just appeared, Schroder has a very up to date coverage of linux tips.
Take for example the chapter on CD and DVD recording or copying. All sorts of guidance on using DVDs for data or audio. Linux has powerful but obscure commands for these tasks. But they are run at the command line. Often with many input arguments. Not the easiest of things for someone to remember. Linux lacks a nice UI to take some of this burden off you.
Some of you should check out the chapter on Knoppix. There is an allure about making a bootable version of linux on a CD or DVD that you can then run on an arbitrary Intel or AMD machine.
The chapter on managing spam has a very limited discussion on using a blacklist. It talks about how it's used to block incoming messages from addresses on the list. No mention about using the list against domains from hyperlinks in the message body.
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