Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Now covers Red Hat Linux!

Written by Evi Nemeth, Garth Snyder, Scott Seebass, and Trent R. Hein with Adam Boggs, Rob Braun, Ned McClain, Dan Crawl, Lynda McGinley, and Todd Miller

"This is not a nice, neat book for a nice, clean world. It's a nasty book for a nasty world. This is a book for the rest of us."
-Eric Allman and Marshall Kirk McKusick"I am pleased to welcome Linux to the UNIX System Administration Handbook!"
-Linus Torvalds, Transmeta"This book is most welcome!"
-Dennis Ritchie, AT&T Bell Laboratories This new edition of the world's most comprehensive guide to UNIX system administration is an ideal tutorial for those new to administration and an invaluable reference for experienced professionals. The third edition has been expanded to include "direct from the frontlines" coverage of Red Hat Linux. UNIX System Administration Handbook describes every aspect of system administration-from basic topics to UNIX esoterica-and provides explicit coverage of four popular UNIX systems:

This book stresses a practical approach to system administration. It's packed with war stories and pragmatic advice, not just theory and watered-down restatements of the manuals. Difficult subjects such as sendmail, kernel building, and DNS configuration are tackled head-on. Examples are provided for all four versions of UNIX and are drawn from real-life systems-warts and all.

"This book is where I turn first when I have system administration questions. It is truly a wonderful resource and always within reach of my terminal."
-W. Richard Stevens, author of numerous books on UNIX and TCP/IP"This is a comprehensive guide to the care and feeding of UNIX systems. The authors present the facts along with seasoned advice and numerous real-world examples. Their perspective on the variations among systems is valuable for anyone who runs a heterogeneous computing facility."
-Pat Parseghian, Transmeta"We noticed your book on the staff recommendations shelf at our local bookstore: 'Very clear, a masterful interpretation of the subject.' We were most impressed, until we noticed that the same staff member had also recommended Aunt Bea's Mayberry Cookbook."
-Shannon Bloomstran, history teacher

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Foreword (p. xxvi)
• Foreword to the Second Edition (p. xxvii)
• Foreword to the First Edition (p. xxix)
• Preface (p. xxxi)
• Acknowledgments (p. xxxiv)
• Basic Administration
• Chapter 1 Where to Start (p. 1)
• Suggested background (p. 2)
• The sordid history of UNIX (p. 2)
• Example UNIX systems (p. 3)
• Notation and typographical conventions (p. 4)
• How to use your manuals (p. 5)
• Essential tasks of the system administrator (p. 8)
• How to find files on the Internet (p. 9)
• System administration under duress (p. 10)
• Recommended reading (p. 11)
• Chapter 2 Booting and Shutting Down (p. 12)
• Bootstrapping (p. 12)
• Booting PCs (p. 16)
• Booting in single-user mode (p. 22)
• Startup scripts (p. 24)
• Rebooting and shutting down (p. 33)
• Chapter 3 Rootly Powers (p. 37)
• Ownership of files and processes (p. 37)
• The superuser (p. 39)
• Choosing a root password (p. 39)
• Becoming root (p. 40)
• Other pseudo-users (p. 44)
• Chapter 4 Controlling Processes (p. 45)
• Components of a process (p. 45)
• The life cycle of a process (p. 47)
• Signals (p. 48)
• kill: send signals (p. 51)
• Process states (p. 51)
• nice and renice: influence scheduling priority (p. 52)
• ps: monitor processes (p. 53)
• top: monitor processes even better (p. 57)
• Runaway processes (p. 57)
• Chapter 5 The Filesystem (p. 60)
• Pathnames (p. 61)
• Mounting and unmounting filesystems (p. 62)
• The organization of the file tree (p. 64)
• File types (p. 66)
• File attributes (p. 69)
• Chapter 6 Adding New Users (p. 76)
• The /etc/passwd file (p. 76)
• The FreeBSD /etc/master.passwd file (p. 81)
• The FreeBSD /etc/login.conf file (p. 82)
• The Solaris and Red Hat /etc/shadow file (p. 82)
• The /etc/group file (p. 84)
• Adding users (p. 85)
• Removing users (p. 90)
• Disabling logins (p. 90)
• Vendor-supplied account management utilities (p. 91)
• Chapter 7 Serial Devices (p. 93)
• Serial standards (p. 93)
• Alternative connectors (p. 97)
• Hard and soft carrier (p. 101)
• Hardware flow control (p. 102)
• Cable length (p. 102)
• Serial device files (p. 103)
• Software configuration for serial devices (p. 103)
• Configuration of hardwired terminals (p. 104)
• Special characters and the terminal driver (p. 110)
• stty: set terminal options (p. 111)
• test: set options automatically (p. 112)
• How to unwedge a terminal (p. 112)
• Modems (p. 113)
• Debugging a serial line (p. 115)
• Other common I/O ports (p. 116)
• Chapter 8 Adding a Disk (p. 118)
• Disk interfaces (p. 118)
• Disk geometry (p. 126)
• An overview of the disk installation procedure (p. 128)
• fsck: check and repair filesystems (p. 136)
• Vendor specifics (p. 138)
• Chapter 9 Periodic Processes (p. 157)
• cron: schedule commands (p. 157)
• The format of crontab files (p. 158)
• Crontab management (p. 160)
• Some common uses for cron (p. 160)
• Vendor specifics (p. 162)
• Chapter 10 Backups (p. 164)
• Motherhood and apple pie (p. 165)
• Backup devices and media (p. 169)
• Setting up an incremental backup regime (p. 175)
• Restoring from dumps (p. 180)
• Dumping and restoring for upgrades (p. 184)
• Using other archiving programs (p. 184)
• Using multiple files on a single tape (p. 186)
• Amanda (p. 187)
• Commercial backup products (p. 202)
• Recommended reading (p. 203)
• Chapter 11 Syslog and Log Files (p. 204)
• Logging policies (p. 204)
• Finding log files (p. 207)
• Files NOT to manage (p. 208)
• Vendor specifics (p. 209)
• Syslog: the system event logger (p. 210)
• Condensing log files to useful information (p. 222)
• Chapter 12 Drivers and the Kernel (p. 224)
• Kernel types (p. 225)
• Why configure the kernel? (p. 226)
• Configuring a Solaris kernel (p. 226)
• Building an HP-UX kernel (p. 229)
• Configuring a Linux kernel (p. 231)
• Building a FreeBSD kernel (p. 233)
• Creating a BSD configuration file (p. 237)
• Adding device drivers (p. 246)
• Device files (p. 252)
• Naming conventions for devices (p. 252)
• Loadable kernel modules (p. 253)
• Recommended reading (p. 257)
• Networking
• Chapter 13 TCP/IP Networking (p. 261)
• TCP/IP and the Internet (p. 262)
• Networking road map (p. 265)
• Packets and encapsulation (p. 266)
• IP addresses: the gory details (p. 271)
• Routing (p. 283)
• ARP: The address resolution protocol (p. 285)
• DHCP: the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (p. 287)
• PPP: the Point-to-Point Protocol (p. 291)
• Security issues (p. 295)
• Addition of machines to a network (p. 298)
• Vendor-specific network configuration (p. 306)
• Solaris network configuration (p. 307)
• HP-UX network configuration (p. 315)
• Network configuration for Red Hat (p. 322)
• Network configuration for FreeBSD (p. 330)
• Recommended reading (p. 340)
• Chapter 14 Routing (p. 342)
• Packet forwarding: a closer look (p. 343)
• Routing daemons and routing protocols (p. 345)
• Protocols on parade (p. 349)
• routed: RIP yourself a new hole (p. 351)
• gated: a better routing daemon (p. 352)
• Vendor specifics (p. 366)
• Routing strategy selection criteria (p. 367)
• Cisco routers (p. 368)
• Recommended reading (p. 371)
• Chapter 15 Network Hardware (p. 372)
• LAN, WAN, or MAN? (p. 372)
• Ethernet: the common LAN (p. 373)
• FDDI: the disappointing and expensive LAN (p. 380)
• ATM: the promised (but sorely defeated) LAN (p. 381)
• Frame relay: the sacrificial WAN (p. 382)
• ISDN: the indigenous WAN (p. 383)
• DSL: the people's WAN (p. 383)
• Where is the network going? (p. 384)
• Network testing and debugging (p. 385)
• Building wiring (p. 386)
• Network design issues (p. 387)
• Management issues (p. 389)
• Recommended vendors (p. 390)
• Recommended reading (p. 391)
• Chapter 16 The Domain Name System (p. 392)
• DNS for the impatient: adding a new machine (p. 392)
• The history of DNS (p. 394)
• Who needs DNS? (p. 395)
• What's new in DNS (p. 396)
• The DNS namespace (p. 397)
• The BIND software (p. 402)
• How DNS works (p. 407)
• BIND client issues (p. 410)
• BIND server configuration (p. 414)
• BIND configuration examples (p. 429)
• The DNS database (p. 436)
• Updating zone files (p. 457)
• Security issues (p. 460)
• Testing and debugging (p. 469)
• Loose ends (p. 479)
• Vendor specifics (p. 481)
• Recommended reading (p. 485)
• Chapter 17 The Network File System (p. 488)
• General information about NFS (p. 488)
• Server-side NFS (p. 493)
• Client-side NFS (p. 500)
• nfsstat: dump NFS statistics (p. 503)
• Dedicated NFS file servers (p. 503)
• Automatic mounting (p. 504)
• automount: the original automounter (p. 505)
• amd: a more sophisticated automounter (p. 509)
• Recommended reading (p. 512)
• Chapter 18 Sharing System Files (p. 513)
• What to share (p. 514)
• Copying files around (p. 515)
• NIS: the Network Information Service (p. 521)
• NIS+: son of NIS (p. 530)
• LDAP: the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (p. 532)
• Chapter 19 Electronic Mail (p. 535)
• Mail systems (p. 537)
• The anatomy of a mail message (p. 541)
• Mail philosophy (p. 546)
• Mail aliases (p. 550)
• sendmail: ringmaster of the electronic mail circus (p. 562)
• sendmail configuration (p. 570)
• Basic sendmail configuration primitives (p. 573)
• Fancier sendmail configuration primitives (p. 577)
• Configuration file examples (p. 588)
• Spam-related features in sendmail (p. 595)
• Security and sendmail (p. 607)
• sendmail statistics, testing, and debugging (p. 614)
• The Postfix mail system (p. 618)
• Recommended reading (p. 623)
• Chapter 20 Network Management and Debugging (p. 625)
• Troubleshooting a network (p. 626)
• ping: check to see if a host is alive (p. 627)
• traceroute: trace IP packets (p. 629)
• netstat: get tons o' network statistics (p. 631)
• Packet sniffers (p. 636)
• Network management protocols (p. 639)
• SNMP: the Simple Network Management Protocol (p. 640)
• SNMP agents (p. 642)
• Network management applications (p. 646)
• Recommended reading (p. 649)
• Chapter 21 Security (p. 651)
• Seven common-sense rules of security (p. 652)
• How security is compromised (p. 653)
• Security problems in the /etc/passwd file (p. 655)
• Setuid programs (p. 658)
• Important file permissions (p. 659)
• Miscellaneous security issues (p. 660)
• Security power tools (p. 663)
• Cryptographic security tools (p. 669)
• Firewalls (p. 675)
• Sources of security information (p. 678)
• What to do when your site has been attacked (p. 680)
• Recommended reading (p. 682)
• Chapter 22 Web Hosting and Internet Servers (p. 684)
• Web hosting (p. 684)
• Web hosting basics (p. 685)
• HTTP server installation (p. 688)
• Virtual interfaces (p. 691)
• Caching and proxy servers (p. 694)
• Anonymous FTP server setup (p. 696)
• Usenet news (p. 698)
• Bunch O'Stuff
• Chapter 23 Printing (p. 703)
• Mini-glossary of printing terms (p. 704)
• Types of printers (p. 705)
• BSD printing (p. 707)
• System V printing (p. 719)
• Adding a printer (p. 728)
• LPRng (p. 735)
• Debugging printing problems (p. 739)
• Common printing software (p. 740)
• Printer philosophy (p. 741)
• Chapter 24 Maintenance and Environment (p. 744)
• Maintenance basics (p. 744)
• Maintenance contracts (p. 745)
• Board-handling lore (p. 746)
• Monitors (p. 747)
• Memory modules (p. 747)
• Preventive maintenance (p. 748)
• Environment (p. 749)
• Power (p. 751)
• Racks (p. 752)
• Tools (p. 753)
• Chapter 25 Performance Analysis (p. 754)
• What you can do to improve performance (p. 755)
• Factors that affect performance (p. 756)
• System performance checkup (p. 757)
• Help! My system just got really slow! (p. 766)
• Recommended reading (p. 768)
• Chapter 26 Cooperating with Windows (p. 769)
• File and print sharing (p. 769)
• Secure terminal emulation with SSH (p. 773)
• X Windows emulators (p. 774)
• PC mail clients (p. 775)
• PC backups (p. 775)
• Dual booting (p. 776)
• Running Windows applications under UNIX (p. 776)
• PC hardware tips (p. 776)
• Chapter 27 Policy and Politics (p. 778)
• Policy and procedure (p. 779)
• Legal issues (p. 787)
• Sysadmin surveys (p. 793)
• Scope of service (p. 795)
• Trouble-reporting systems (p. 796)
• Managing management (p. 797)
• Hiring, firing, and training (p. 797)
• War stories and ethics (p. 800)
• Localization and upgrades (p. 805)
• Local documentation (p. 809)
• Procurement (p. 811)
• Decommissioning hardware (p. 812)
• Software patents (p. 813)
• Organizations, conferences, and other resources (p. 814)
• Standards (p. 817)
• Sample documents (p. 819)
• Recommended reading (p. 820)
• Chapter 28 Daemons (p. 821)
• init: the primordial process (p. 822)
• cron: schedule commands (p. 823)
• inetd: manage daemons (p. 823)
• System daemons (p. 827)
• Printing daemons (p. 828)
• NFS daemons (p. 828)
• NIS daemons (p. 829)
• Internet daemons (p. 830)
• Time synchronization daemons (p. 833)
• Booting and configuration daemons (p. 834)
• Colophon (p. 836)
• Index (p. 837)

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Preface When we were writing the first edition of this book in the mid-1980s, we were eager to compare our manuscript with other books about UNIX system administration. To our delight, we could find only three. These days, you have your choice of at least fifty. Here are the features that distinguish our book: We take a practical approach. Our purpose is not to restate the contents of your manuals but rather to give you the benefit of our collective experience in system administration. This book contains numerous war stories and a wealth of pragmatic advice. We cover UNIX networking in detail. It is the most difficult aspect of UNIX system administration, and the area in which we think we can most likely be of help to you. We do not oversimplify the material. Our examples reflect true-life situations, with all their warts and unsightly complications. In most cases, the examples have been taken directly from production systems. We emphasize the use of software tools. Every piece of software mentioned in the text is either a standard UNIX tool or is freely available from the Internet--sometimes both, since many vendors don't do a perfect job of keeping up with new releases. We cover all the major variants of UNIX. Our four example systems There have historically been two main flavors of UNIX: one from AT&T (known generically as System V) and one from the University of California, Berkeley (known as BSD). Neither AT&T nor Berkeley is still active in the UNIX marketplace, but the terms "AT&T UNIX" and "Berkeley UNIX" live on.This book covers four different operating systems: Solaris 2.7 HP-UX 11.00 Red Hat Linux 6.2 FreeBSD 3.4 (and bits of 4.0) We chose these systems because they are among the most popular and because they illustrate a broad range of approaches to UNIX administration. The first two systems are similar to AT&T UNIX, FreeBSD is a direct descendant of Berkeley UNIX, and Red Hat Linux is something of a mix. We provide detailed information about each of these example systems for every topic that we discuss. Comments specific to a particular operating system are marked with the manufacturer's logo. There are many other versions of UNIX. Most fall within the range of variation defined by these four systems, but a few (such as AIX and SCO) are so beautifully strange that they must be taken on their own terms. The organization of this book This book is divided into three large chunks: Basic Administration, Networking, and Bunch o' Stuff. Basic Administration provides a broad overview of UNIX from a system administrator's perspective. The chapters in this section cover most of the facts and techniques needed to run a stand-alone UNIX system. The Networking section describes the protocols used on UNIX systems and the techniques used to set up, extend, and maintain networks. High-level network software is also covered here. Among the featured topics are the Domain Name System, the Network File System, routing, sendmail, and network management. Bunch o' Stuff includes a variety of supplemental information. Some chapters discuss optional software packages such as the UNIX printing system (or more accurately, systems ). Others give advice on topics ranging from hardware maintenance to the politics of running a UNIX installation. Contact information In this edition, we're pleased to welcome Adam Boggs, Rob Braun, Dan Crawl, Ned McClain, Lynda McGinley, and Todd Miller as contributing authors. We've turned to them for their deep knowledge in a variety of areas (and also for their ability to function amid the shifting sands of this book and its temperamental parents). Their contributions have greatly enriched the overall content of the book and the collective experience that we're able to share with you. Please send suggestions, comments, typos, and bug reports to sa-book@admin.com. We answer all mail, but please be patient; it is sometimes a few days before one of us is able to respond. To get a copy of our current bug list and other late-breaking information, visit our web site at www.admin.com. We hope you enjoy this book, and we wish you the best of luck with your adventures in system administration! Evi Nemeth Garth Snyder Scott Seebass Trent R. Hein June, 2000 Excerpted from UNIX System Administration Handbook by Evi Nemeth, Garth Snyder, Trent H. Hein, Scott Seebass All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.