Practical Linux System Administration

This essential guide covers all aspects of Linux system administration, from user maintenance, backups, filesystem housekeeping, storage management, and network setup to hardware and software troubleshooting and some application management. It's both a practical daily reference manual for sysadmins and IT pros and a handy study guide for those taking Linux certification exams. You'll turn to it frequently, not only because of the sheer volume of valuable information it provides but because of the real-world examples within and the clear, useful way the information is presented. With this book at your side, you'll be able to: Install Linux and perform initial setup duties, such as connecting to a network Navigate the Linux filesystem via the command line Install software from repositories and source and satisfy dependencies Set permissions on files and directories Create, modify, and remove user accounts Set up networking Format and mount filesystems Perform basic troubleshooting on hardware and software Create and manage logical volumes Work with SELinux Manage a firewall and iptables Shut down, reboot, and recover a system Perform backups and restores

Fully up to date with version 6 of Red Hat, this handbook gives readers everything they need to install, configure and administer Red Hay systems. Both novice and experienced system administrators can use this book to master Linux networking, file service, e-mail, security, back-ups, print sharing, Web, FTP, and much more.

This book highlights practical sysadmin skills, common architectures that you’ll encounter, and best practices that apply to automating and running systems at any scale, from one laptop or server to 1,000 or more. It is intended to help orient you within the discipline, and hopefully encourages you to learn more about system administration.

This guide provides a solid background for Linux desktop users who want to move beyond the basics of Linux, and for experienced system administrators who are looking to gain more advanced skills.

Gain an understanding of system administration that will remain applicable throughout your career and understand why tasks are done rather than how to do them Key FeaturesDeploy, secure, and maintain your Linux system in the best possible wayDiscover best practices to implement core system administration tasks in LinuxExplore real-world decisions, tasks, and solutions involved in Linux system administrationBook Description Linux is a well-known, open source Unix-family operating system that is the most widely used OS today. Linux looks set for a bright future for decades to come, but system administration is rarely studied beyond learning rote tasks or following vendor guidelines. To truly excel at Linux administration, you need to understand how these systems work and learn to make strategic decisions regarding them. Linux Administration Best Practices helps you to explore best practices for efficiently administering Linux systems and servers. This Linux book covers a wide variety of topics from installation and deployment through to managing permissions, with each topic beginning with an overview of the key concepts followed by practical examples of best practices and solutions. You'll find out how to approach system administration, Linux, and IT in general, put technology into proper business context, and rethink your approach to technical decision making. Finally, the book concludes by helping you to understand best practices for troubleshooting Linux systems and servers that'll enable you to grow in your career as well as in any aspect of IT and business. By the end of this Linux administration book, you'll have gained the knowledge needed to take your Linux administration skills to the next level. What you will learnFind out how to conceptualize the system administrator roleUnderstand the key values of risk assessment in administrationApply technical skills to the IT business contextDiscover best practices for working with Linux specific system technologiesUnderstand the reasoning behind system administration best practicesDevelop out-of-the-box thinking for everything from reboots to backups to triagePrioritize, triage, and plan for disasters and recoveriesDiscover the psychology behind administration dutiesWho this book is for This book is for anyone looking to fully understand the role and practices of being a professional system administrator, as well as for system engineers, system administrators, and anyone in IT or management who wants to understand the administration career path. The book assumes a basic understanding of Linux, including the command line, and an understanding of how to research individual tasks. Basic working knowledge of Linux systems and servers is expected.

Achieve Linux system administration mastery with time-tested and proven techniques In Mastering Linux System Administration, Linux experts and system administrators Christine Bresnahan and Richard Blum deliver a comprehensive roadmap to go from Linux beginner to expert Linux system administrator with a learning-by-doing approach. Organized by do-it-yourself tasks, the book includes instructor materials like a sample syllabus, additional review questions, and slide decks. Amongst the practical applications of the Linux operating system included within, you’ll find detailed and easy-to-follow instruction on: Installing Linux servers, understanding the boot and initialization processes, managing hardware, and working with networks Accessing the Linux command line, working with the virtual directory structure, and creating shell scripts to automate administrative tasks Managing Linux user accounts, system security, web and database servers, and virtualization environments Perfect for entry-level Linux system administrators, as well as system administrators familiar with Windows, Mac, NetWare, or other UNIX systems, Mastering Linux System Administration is a must-read guide to manage and secure Linux servers.

★★ Get the Kindle version FREE when purchasing the Paperback! ★★ Making Day-to-Day Administration and Maintenance a BreezeSystem administration is an aspect of Linux that is unavoidable. Even with the emergence of user friendly distributions like Ubuntu and Mint, a significant amount of user configuration is still required to keep a Linux system running on a daily basis. This book has been created to guide you through most scenarios you will encounter, whether you're new to system administration or have been maintaining systems for years. In this book we take a detailed look at managing users and groups, we look at how to create a more secure system that will be less vulnerable to threats, as well as delving into the various aspects of managing filesystems and storage partitions. We also address specific topics such as working with hard and soft links, getting the most out of text processing, package management and architecture, utilizing shared libraries, manipulating processes for system optimization, as well as other essential topics every proficient Linux user and administrator needs to know. What This Book OffersDetailed Practical Examples Throughout the entire guide we provide practical examples with command line snippets and system screenshots to demonstrate how the aspects we discuss are applied on a real system. For complicated topics we also include step-by-step examples to guide you through a process every step of the way. Dissected Commands Command line instructions are broken down into their basic commands, with each component explained in detail, making learning easy and much more manageable. We also look at the various options and switches available for each command, along with accompanying examples. Referenced GUI Tools Graphical tools can make administering a Linux system much more enjoyable and hassle free. As such, we provide references to our recommended GUI options for many administrative functions, where available. Key Topics The Linux Boot Process Startup and Boot Order Alternative Boot Loaders Reviewing the Boot Process Commands to Restart and Stop the System Hardware Management Hardware Detection Using the /proc Filesystem Command Line Tools Graphical Tools Shared Libraries Naming Conventions Identifying Referenced Libraries using ldd Identifying Referenced Libraries using objdump User and Group Management Storage of User and Group Data User and Group Commands Filesystems Types of Commonly Used Filesystems Filesystem Commands Disk Storage Management Naming the Devices Primary, Extended, and Logical Partitions udev and df Mounting a Filesystem Unmounting a Filesystem Automating Mount Points Setting up New Partitions Working with Links Hard Links Soft Links d104 Processing d104 Processing Commands Combining Commands Package Management Understanding Package Architecture Day-to-Day Administration Tasks Log Files Important Log Files Essential Commands & Graphical Tools Process Management Working with Processes System and Network Security Open Ports Local and Remote Users Restricting Remote Access Unused Software Learn System Administration the Easy Way, Get Your Copy Today!

“As this book shows, Linux systems are just as functional, secure, and reliable as their proprietary counterparts. Thanks to the ongoing efforts of thousands of Linux developers, Linux is more ready than ever for deployment at the frontlines of the real world. The authors of this book know that terrain well, and I am happy to leave you in their most capable hands.” –Linus Torvalds “The most successful sysadmin book of all time–because it works!” –Rik Farrow, editor of ;login: “This book clearly explains current technology with the perspective of decades of experience in large-scale system administration. Unique and highly recommended.” –Jonathan Corbet, cofounder, LWN.net “Nemeth et al. is the overall winner for Linux administration: it’s intelligent, full of insights, and looks at the implementation of concepts.” –Peter Salus, editorial director, Matrix.net Since 2001, Linux Administration Handbook has been the definitive resource for every Linux® system administrator who must efficiently solve technical problems and maximize the reliability and performance of a production environment. Now, the authors have systematically updated this classic guide to address today’s most important Linux distributions and most powerful new administrative tools. The authors spell out detailed best practices for every facet of system administration, including storage management, network design and administration, web hosting, software configuration management, performance analysis, Windows interoperability, and much more. Sysadmins will especially appreciate the thorough and up-to-date discussions of such difficult topics such as DNS, LDAP, security, and the management of IT service organizations. Linux® Administration Handbook, Second Edition, reflects the current versions of these leading distributions: Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® FedoraTM Core SUSE® Linux Enterprise Debian® GNU/Linux Ubuntu® Linux Sharing their war stories and hard-won insights, the authors capture the behavior of Linux systems in the real world, not just in ideal environments. They explain complex tasks in detail and illustrate these tasks with examples drawn from their extensive hands-on experience.