Linux Server Hacks

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Linux Server Hacks

100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools

By: Rob Flickenger
Publisher:: O'Reilly Media
Released:: January 2003
Pages:: 240

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Description

Linux Server Hacks is a collection of 100 industrial-strength hacks, providing tips and tools that solve practical problems for Linux system administrators. Every hack can be read in just a few minutes but will save hours of searching for the right answer. Some of the hacks are subtle, many of them are non-obvious, and all of them demonstrate the power and flexibility of a Linux system. You'll find hacks devoted to tuning the Linux kernel to make your system run more efficiently, as well as using CVS or RCS to track the revision to system files. You'll learn alternative ways to do backups, how to use system monitoring tools to track system performance and a variety of secure networking solutions. Linux Server Hacks also helps you manage large-scale Web installations running Apache, MySQL, and other open source tools that are typically part of a Linux system.

Full Description

A competent system administrator knows that a Linux server is a high performance system for routing large amounts of information through a network connection. Setting up and maintaining a Linux server requires understanding not only the hardware, but the ins and outs of the Linux operating system along with its supporting cast of utilities as well as layers of applications software. There's basic documentation online but there's a lot beyond the basics you have to know, and this only comes from people with hands-on, real-world experience. This kind of "know how" is what we sought to capture in Linux Server Hacks. Linux Server Hacks is a collection of 100 industrial-strength hacks, providing tips and tools that solve practical problems for Linux system administrators. Every hack can be read in just a few minutes but will save hours of searching for the right answer. Some of the hacks are subtle, many of them are non-obvious, and all of them demonstrate the power and flexibility of a Linux system. You'll find hacks devoted to tuning the Linux kernel to make your system run more efficiently, as well as using CVS or RCS to track the revision to system files. You'll learn alternative ways to do backups, how to use system monitoring tools to track system performance and a variety of secure networking solutions. Linux Server Hacks also helps you manage large-scale Web installations running Apache, MySQL, and other open source tools that are typically part of a Linux system. O'Reilly's new Hacks Series proudly reclaims the term "hacking" for the good guys. Hackers use their ingenuity to solve interesting problems. Rob Flickenger is an experienced system administrator, having managed the systems for O'Reilly Network for several years. (He's also into community wireless networking and he's written a book on that subject for O'Reilly.) Rob has also collected the best ideas and tools from a number of other highly skilled contributors. Written for users who already understand the basics, Linux Server Hacks is built upon the expertise of people who really know what they're doing.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Server Basics
1. Hacks #1-22
2. Removing Unnecessary Services
3. Forgoing the Console Login
4. Common Boot Parameters
5. Creating a Persistent Daemon with init
6. n>&m: Swap Standard Output and Standard Error
7. Building Complex Command Lines
8. Working with Tricky Files in xargs
9. Immutable Files in ext2/ext3
10. Speeding Up Compiles
11. At Home in Your Shell Environment
12. Finding and Eliminating setuid/setgid Binaries
13. Make sudo Work Harder
14. Using a Makefile to Automate Admin Tasks
15. Brute Forcing Your New Domain Name
16. Playing Hunt the Disk Hog
17. Fun with /proc
18. Manipulating Processes Symbolically with procps
19. Managing System Resources per Process
20. Cleaning Up after Ex-Users
21. Eliminating Unnecessary Drivers from the Kernel
22. Using Large Amounts of RAM
23. hdparm: Fine Tune IDE Drive Parameters
Chapter 2 Revision Control
1. Hacks #23-36
2. Getting Started with RCS
3. Checking Out a Previous Revision in RCS
4. Tracking Changes with rcs2log
5. Getting Started with CVS
6. CVS: Checking Out a Module
7. CVS: Updating Your Working Copy
8. CVS: Using Tags
9. CVS: Making Changes to a Module
10. CVS: Merging Files
11. CVS: Adding and Removing Files and Directories
12. CVS: Branching Development
13. CVS: Watching and Locking Files
14. CVS: Keeping CVS Secure
15. CVS: Anonymous Repositories
Chapter 3 Backups
1. Hacks #37-44
2. Backing Up with tar over ssh
3. Using rsync over ssh
4. Archiving with Pax
5. Backing Up Your Boot Sector
6. Keeping Parts of Filesystems in sync with rsync
7. Automated Snapshot-Style Incremental Backups with rsync
8. Working with ISOs and CDR/CDRWs
9. Burning a CD Without Creating an ISO File
Chapter 4 Networking
1. Hacks #45-53
2. Creating a Firewall from the Command Line of any Server
3. Simple IP Masquerading
4. iptables Tips & Tricks
5. Forwarding TCP Ports to Arbitrary Machines
6. Using Custom Chains in iptables
7. Tunneling: IPIP Encapsulation
8. Tunneling: GRE Encapsulation
9. Using vtun over ssh to Circumvent NAT
10. Automatic vtund.conf Generator
Chapter 5 Monitoring
1. Hacks #54-65
2. Steering syslog
3. Watching Jobs with watch
4. What's Holding That Port Open?
5. Checking On Open Files and Sockets with lsof
6. Monitor System Resources with top
7. Constant Load Average Display in the Titlebar
8. Network Monitoring with ngrep
9. Scanning Your Own Machines with nmap
10. Disk Age Analysis
11. Cheap IP Takeover
12. Running ntop for Real-Time Network Stats
13. Monitoring Web Traffic in Real Time with httptop
Chapter 6 SSH
1. Hacks #66-71
2. Quick Logins with ssh Client Keys
3. Turbo-mode ssh Logins
4. Using ssh-Agent Effectively
5. Running the ssh-Agent in a GUI
6. X over ssh
7. Forwarding Ports over ssh
Chapter 7 Scripting
1. Hacks #72-75
2. Get Settled in Quickly with movein.sh
3. Global Search and Replace with Perl
4. Mincing Your Data into Arbitrary Chunks (in bash)
5. Colorized Log Analysis in Your Terminal
Chapter 8 Information Servers
1. Hacks #76-100
2. Running BIND in a chroot Jail
3. Views in BIND 9
4. Setting Up Caching DNS with Authority for Local Domains
5. Distributing Server Load with Round-Robin DNS
6. Running Your Own Top-Level Domain
7. Monitoring MySQL Health with mtop
8. Setting Up Replication in MySQL
9. Restoring a Single Table from a Large MySQL Dump
10. MySQL Server Tuning
11. Using proftpd with a mysql Authentication Source
12. Optimizing glibc, linuxthreads, and the Kernel for a Super MySQL Server
13. Apache Toolbox
14. Display the Full Filename in Indexes
15. Quick Configuration Changes with IfDefine
16. Simplistic Ad Referral Tracking
17. Mimicking FTP Servers with Apache
18. Rotate and compress Apache Server Logs
19. Generating an SSL cert and Certificate Signing Request
20. Creating Your Own CA
21. Distributing Your CA to Client Browsers
22. Serving multiple sites with the same DocumentRoot
23. Delivering Content Based on the Query String Using mod_rewrite
24. Using mod_proxy on Apache for Speed
25. Distributing Load with Apache RewriteMap
26. Ultrahosting: Mass Web Site Hosting with Wildcards, Proxy, and Rewrite

Colophon

Product Details

Title:

Linux Server Hacks

By:

Rob Flickenger

Publisher:

O'Reilly Media

Formats:

Print
Ebook
Safari Books Online

Print Release:

January 2003

Ebook Release:

June 2009

Pages:

240

Print ISBN:

978-0-596-00461-3

| ISBN 10:

0-596-00461-3

Ebook ISBN:

978-0-596-10403-0

| ISBN 10:

0-596-10403-0

Customer Reviews

About the Author

Rob Flickenger

Rob Flickenger has been a professional systems administrator for more than 10 years, and all around hacker for as long as he can remember. Rob enjoys spreading the good word of open networks, open standards, and ubiquitous wireless networking. His current professional project is Metrix Communication LLC, which provides wireless hardware and software that embodies the same open source principles he rants about in his books. Rob also works with the U.N. and various international organizations to bring these ideas to places where communications infrastructure is badly needed. He hopes that all of this effort is contributing toward the ultimate goal of infinite bandwidth everywhere for free. He is the author of Linux Server Hacks, Wireless Hacks, and Building Wireless Community Networks (which is in its second edition).

View Rob Flickenger's full profile page.

Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. Sarah Sherman was the production editor and copyeditor for Linux Server Hacks. Colleen Gorman, Mary Brady, and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. John Bickelhaupt wrote the index.

Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book. The tool on the cover of Linux Server Hacks is an ax. The cover image is an original photograph from the CMCD collection. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with Quark-XPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond and Helvetica Neue fonts.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Helvetica Neue Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6.

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O'Reilly Books & Videos

Linux Server Hacks

100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools

Chapter 1 Server Basics

Hacks #1-22

Removing Unnecessary Services

Forgoing the Console Login

Common Boot Parameters

Creating a Persistent Daemon with init

n>&m: Swap Standard Output and Standard Error

Building Complex Command Lines

Working with Tricky Files in xargs

Immutable Files in ext2/ext3

Speeding Up Compiles

At Home in Your Shell Environment

Finding and Eliminating setuid/setgid Binaries

Make sudo Work Harder

Using a Makefile to Automate Admin Tasks

Brute Forcing Your New Domain Name

Playing Hunt the Disk Hog

Fun with /proc

Manipulating Processes Symbolically with procps

Managing System Resources per Process

Cleaning Up after Ex-Users

Eliminating Unnecessary Drivers from the Kernel

Using Large Amounts of RAM

hdparm: Fine Tune IDE Drive Parameters

Chapter 2 Revision Control

Hacks #23-36

Getting Started with RCS

Checking Out a Previous Revision in RCS

Tracking Changes with rcs2log

Getting Started with CVS

CVS: Checking Out a Module

CVS: Updating Your Working Copy

CVS: Using Tags

CVS: Making Changes to a Module

CVS: Merging Files

CVS: Adding and Removing Files and Directories

CVS: Branching Development

CVS: Watching and Locking Files

CVS: Keeping CVS Secure

CVS: Anonymous Repositories

Chapter 3 Backups

Hacks #37-44

Backing Up with tar over ssh

Using rsync over ssh

Archiving with Pax

Backing Up Your Boot Sector

Keeping Parts of Filesystems in sync with rsync

Automated Snapshot-Style Incremental Backups with rsync

Working with ISOs and CDR/CDRWs

Burning a CD Without Creating an ISO File

Chapter 4 Networking

Hacks #45-53

Creating a Firewall from the Command Line of any Server

Simple IP Masquerading

iptables Tips & Tricks

Forwarding TCP Ports to Arbitrary Machines

Using Custom Chains in iptables

Tunneling: IPIP Encapsulation

Tunneling: GRE Encapsulation

Using vtun over ssh to Circumvent NAT

Automatic vtund.conf Generator

Chapter 5 Monitoring

Hacks #54-65

Steering syslog

Watching Jobs with watch

What's Holding That Port Open?

Checking On Open Files and Sockets with lsof

Monitor System Resources with top

Constant Load Average Display in the Titlebar

Network Monitoring with ngrep

Scanning Your Own Machines with nmap

Disk Age Analysis

Cheap IP Takeover

Running ntop for Real-Time Network Stats

Monitoring Web Traffic in Real Time with httptop

Chapter 6 SSH

Hacks #66-71