1. Chapter 1 Introduction

   1. Automation Is a Must

   2. How Perl Can Help You

   3. This Book Will Show You How

   4. What You Need

   5. Some Notes About the Perl Versions Used for This Book

   6. Some Notes About Using Vista with the Code in This Book

   7. Locating and Installing Modules

   8. It’s Not Easy Being Omnipotent

   9. References for More Information

2. Chapter 2 Filesystems

   1. Perl to the Rescue

   2. Filesystem Differences

   3. Walking or Traversing the Filesystem by Hand

   4. Walking the Filesystem Using the File::Find Module

   5. Walking the Filesystem Using the File::Find::Rule Module

   6. Manipulating Disk Quotas

   7. Editing NTFS Quotas Under Windows

   8. Querying Filesystem Usage

   9. Module Information for This Chapter

   10. References for More Information

3. Chapter 3 User Accounts

   1. Unix User Identities

   2. Windows-Based Operating System User Identities

   3. Building an Account System to Manage Users

   4. Module Information for This Chapter

   5. References for More Information

4. Chapter 4 User Activity

   1. Process Management

   2. File and Network Operations

   3. Module Information for This Chapter

   4. References for More Information

5. Chapter 5 TCP/IP Name and Configuration Services

   1. Host Files

   2. NIS, NIS+, and WINS

   3. Domain Name Service (DNS)

   4. DHCP

   5. Module Information for This Chapter

   6. References for More Information

6. Chapter 6 Working with Configuration Files

   1. Configuration File Formats

   2. All-in-One Modules

   3. Advanced Configuration Storage Mechanisms

   4. Module Information for This Chapter

   5. References for More Information

7. Chapter 7 SQL Database Administration

   1. Interacting with a SQL Server from Perl

   2. Using the DBI Framework

   3. Using ODBC from Within DBI

   4. Server Documentation

   5. Database Logins

   6. Monitoring Space Usage on a Database Server

   7. Module Information for This Chapter

   8. References for More Information

8. Chapter 8 Email

   1. Sending Mail

   2. Common Mistakes in Sending Email

   3. Fetching Mail

   4. Processing Mail

   5. Module Information for This Chapter

   6. References for More Information

9. Chapter 9 Directory Services

   1. What’s a Directory?

   2. Finger: A Simple Directory Service

   3. The WHOIS Directory Service

   4. LDAP: A Sophisticated Directory Service

   5. Active Directory Service Interfaces

   6. Module Information for This Chapter

   7. References for More Information

10. Chapter 10 Log Files

    1. Reading Text Logs

    2. Reading Binary Log Files

    3. Structure of Log File Data

    4. Dealing with Log File Information

    5. Writing Your Own Log Files

    6. Module Information for This Chapter

    7. References for More Information

11. Chapter 11 Security

    1. Noticing Unexpected or Unauthorized Changes

    2. Noticing Suspicious Activities

    3. Danger on the Wire, or “Perl Saves the Day”

    4. Preventing Suspicious Activities

    5. Module Information for This Chapter

    6. References for More Information

12. Chapter 12 SNMP

    1. Using SNMP from Perl

    2. Module Information for This Chapter

    3. References for More Information

13. Chapter 13 Network Mapping and Monitoring

    1. Network Mapping

    2. Presenting the Information

    3. Monitoring Frameworks

    4. What’s Left?

    5. Module Information for This Chapter

    6. References for More Information

14. Chapter 14 Experiential Learning

    1. Playing with Timelines

    2. Playing with Geocoding

    3. Playing with an MP3 Collection

    4. One Final Exploration

    5. Remember to Play

    6. Module Information for This Chapter

    7. Source Material for This Chapter

1. Appendix The Eight-Minute XML Tutorial

   1. XML Is a Markup Language

   2. XML Is Picky

   3. Two Key XML Terms

   4. Leftovers

   5. References for More Information

2. Appendix The 10-Minute XPath Tutorial

   1. XPath Basic Concepts

   2. References for More Information

3. Appendix The 10-Minute LDAP Tutorial

   1. LDAP Data Organization

4. Appendix The 15-Minute SQL Tutorial

   1. Creating/Deleting Databases and Tables

   2. Inserting Data into a Table

   3. Querying Information

   4. Changing Table Information

   5. Relating Tables to Each Other

   6. SQL Stragglers

5. Appendix The Five-Minute RCS Tutorial

   1. References for More Information

6. Appendix The Two-Minute VBScript-to-Perl Tutorial

   1. Translation Tactics

   2. References for More Information

7. Appendix The 20-Minute SNMP Tutorial

   1. SNMP in Practice

8. Colophon

The animal on the cover of Automating System Administration with Perl, Second Edition, is a sea otter. North American sea otters make their homes along the Pacific coast, near the kelp beds containing the shellfish that make up the majority of their diet. Sea otters can be found in great numbers in Alaska and on beaches as far south as California.

Sea otters are agile, intelligent mammals and are known to make ingenious use of tools. Floating on their backs, they hold a shellfish such as a mussel or abalone on their bellies and use a rock to break the shell.

Intensely social, sea otters gather to float in groups called rafts. They are excellent swimmers, propelling themselves swiftly through the water with their flipper-like, webbed back paws. Their thick fur provides them with efficient insulation in the water. At times, their existence has been threatened as they have been mercilessly hunted to near extinction for their fur.

The cover image is an original illustration created by Lorrie LeJeune. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSansMonoCondensed.