Book description
How Linux Works describes the inside of the Linux system for systems administrators, whether they maintain an extensive network in the office or one Linux box at home. Some books try to give you copy-and-paste instructions for how to deal with every single system issue that may arise, but How Linux Works actually shows you how the Linux system functions so that you can come up with your own solutions. After a guided tour of filesystems, the boot sequence, system management basics, and networking, author Brian Ward delves into open-ended topics such as development tools, custom kernels, and buying hardware, all from an administrator's point of view. With a mixture of background theory and real-world examples, this book shows both "how" to administer Linux, and "why" each particular technique works, so that you will know how to make Linux work for you.
Table of contents
-
How Linux Works
- PREFACE
-
1. THE BASICS
- About /bin/sh
- Using the Shell
- Basic Commands
- Using Directory Commands
- Intermediate Commands
- Changing Your Password and Shell
- Dot Files
- Environment and Shell Variables
- The Command Path
- Special Characters
- Command-Line Editing
- Text Editors
- Getting Online Help
- Shell Input and Output
- Understanding Error Messages
- Processes
- File Modes and Permissions
- Archiving and Compressing Files
-
2. DEVICES, DISKS, FILESYSTEMS, AND THE KERNEL
- Directory Hierarchy
- The Kernel
- Devices
- Filesystems
- Swap and Virtual Memory
- 3. HOW LINUX BOOTS
- 4. ESSENTIAL SYSTEM FILES, SERVERS, AND UTILITIES
-
5. CONFIGURING YOUR NETWORK
- Network Layers
- The Internet Layer
- Basic ICMP Tools
- Configuring Interfaces and the Host-to-Network Layer
- Configuring a Default Gateway
- Resolving Hostnames
- Using DHCP Clients
- PPP Connections
- Broadband Connections
- Ethernet Networks
- Configuring Routes
- The Transport Layer: TCP, UDP, and Services
- Firewalls
- Network Address Translation (IP Masquerading)
- Wireless Ethernet
- 6. NETWORK SERVICES
- 7. INTRODUCTION TO SHELL SCRIPTS
- 8. DEVELOPMENT TOOLS
- 9. COMPILING SOFTWARE FROM SOURCE CODE
-
10. MAINTAINING THE KERNEL
- Do You Need to Build Your Own Kernel?
- What You Need to Build a Kernel
- Getting the Source Code
- Configuring and Compiling the Kernel
- Installing Your Kernel with a Boot Loader
- Testing the Kernel
- Boot Floppies
- Working with Loadable Kernel Modules
- 11. CONFIGURING AND MANIPULATING PERIPHERAL DEVICES
-
12. PRINTING
- PostScript
- Print Servers
- Print Filters
- Print Clients
-
CUPS
- Configuring cupsd
- CUPS Security
- Starting CUPS
- Adding and Editing Printers
- Printer Devices (Backend Specifications)
- PPD Files
- Specifying a Filter
- Foomatic (for Non-PostScript Printers)
- Administrative Command Overview
- Client Access Control
- Auto-Discovery
- Running an LPD-Compatible Server
- Troubleshooting CUPS
- Ghostscript
- Further Printing Topics
- 13. BACKUPS
- 14. SHARING FILES WITH SAMBA
- 15. NETWORK FILE TRANSFER
- 16. USER ENVIRONMENTS
- 17. BUYING HARDWARE FOR LINUX
- 18. FURTHER DIRECTIONS
- A. Command Classification
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Product information
- Title: How Linux Works
- Author(s):
- Release date: May 2004
- Publisher(s): No Starch Press
- ISBN: 9781593270353
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