Learning Red Hat Enterprise Linux & Fedora, Fourth Edition

Learning Red Hat Enterprise Linux & Fedora, Fourth Edition

by Bill McCarty
Released April 2004
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9780596005894

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Book description

The GNU/Linux® success story is well known. Firmly established as a high-performance operating system, its worldwide installations are increasing at phenomenal rates. Much of this success has been on the server side, but more and more PC users are turning to Linux on the desktop, as well. For those grounded in Microsoft Windows® or Apple Macintosh® graphical interfaces, the first look at a powerful Unix-style operating system can be daunting. This book provides a clear, no-nonsense introduction to the popular Red Hat® distribution of Linux. It takes you through installation and shows you the key parts of the system, always with an eye toward what can go wrong and what you need to know to get over the humps. Linux is known as a secure environment and a good platform to run a web server. These topics are among the many covered in this book. But did you know you can also burn CDs, sync a PalmPilot™, and edit slideshow presentations with powerful tools on Linux? Those topics are covered here, too. Red Hat currently provides two distributions, both documented in this book. The first is their commercial, subscription-based product, called Red Hat Enterprise Linux and also available through retail channels as Red Hat Professional Workstation. The second is the freely distributed Fedora distribution. The Publisher's Edition of Fedora is included in this book on two disks. New in this edition are installation instructions for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora, package updating for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora, information on the GRUB bootloader, and the CUPS printer system. Learning Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora tells you how to:

  • Prepare your system for installing Linux

  • Install and configure Linux and the two popular desktop environments, GNOME and KDE.

  • Run the most popular productivity tools on Linux: mailers, web browsers, OpenOffice, and Evolution.

  • Obtain and set up software through the Red Hat Package Manager (RPM)

  • Set up a Linux system for networking, either on your local area network (LAN), or via a dialup connection to the Internet.

  • Use the system-administration tools included with Red Hat, GNOME, and KDE, including such valuable utilities as Samba file-sharing and the Apache web server.

  • Understand and write shell scripts so you can peek under the hood and extend the power of Linux.

Table of contents

  1. Learning Red Hat Enterprise Linux & Fedora, 4th Edition
    1. Preface
      1. Organization of This Book
      2. Sources of Information
        1. Red Hat’s Web Site
        2. Linux Documentation Project Guides
        3. Documentation Available Commercially
        4. Linux Journal and Linux Magazine
        5. Online Linux Support
        6. Linux User Groups (LUGs)
        7. Web Sites
      3. Conventions Used in This Book
        1. Path Notation
        2. Keyboard Accelerators
      4. How to Contact Us
      5. Acknowledgments
    2. 1. Why Run Linux?
      1. Why Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora?
      2. What Is Linux?
        1. Desktop and Server Operating Systems
        2. How Linux Is Different
        3. The Origins of Linux
        4. Free Software
        5. The Linux Kernel
        6. The X Window System
        7. Linux Distributions
        8. Red Hat’s Linux Distributions
        9. Linux Features and Performance
          1. Filesystem reliability
          2. The command-line interface
          3. Developing portable code
      3. Reasons to Choose or Not Choose Linux
    3. 2. Preparing to Install Linux
      1. Minimum Hardware Requirements
        1. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
        2. Motherboard
        3. Drives
      2. Collecting Information About Your System
        1. Information You Need
        2. Collecting Configuration Information from Windows
      3. Preparing Your Hard Disk
        1. How Hard Disks Are Organized
        2. Viewing Disk Partitions
          1. Using fdisk (Windows 95/98)
          2. Using the Disk Management tool (Windows 2000/XP)
        3. Obtaining Sufficient Disk Space
          1. Installing a new disk drive
          2. Identifying an unused partition
          3. Shrinking a partition
    4. 3. Installing Linux
      1. Installing the Operating System and Applications
      2. Start the Installation
        1. Creating a Boot Floppy
        2. Boot the Installation Program
        3. The Installation Program’s User Interface
        4. Use Virtual Consoles to Monitor the Installation
        5. Choose the Installation Language
        6. Select the Keyboard Type
        7. Select Monitor Configuration
        8. Select Installation Type
          1. Personal Desktop
          2. Workstation
          3. Server
          4. Custom
        9. Create Partitions
          1. Manual disk partitioning
          2. What to add
            1. Create the swap partition
            2. Create the /boot partition
            3. Create the / (root) partition
            4. Create the /var partition
          3. Editing a partition
          4. Deleting a partition
          5. Starting over
          6. Saving your changes
        10. Configure the Boot Loader
        11. Configure Networking
        12. Configure the Language
        13. Configure the System Clock
        14. Set the root Password
        15. Select Packages
        16. Install Packages
        17. Configure Video
          1. Identifying your system’s monitor
          2. Selecting custom graphics options
        18. Boot Disk Creation
        19. Complete the Installation
      3. The Firstboot Service
        1. Red Hat Network
        2. Additional CDs
      4. Logging into the Desktop
      5. Getting Help
        1. Failed Graphical Startup or Login
        2. Additional Resources
    5. 4. How Linux Works
      1. User Accounts
      2. How Linux Organizes Data
        1. Devices
        2. Filesystems
        3. Directories and Paths
          1. Home and working directories
          2. The directory tree
          3. Absolute and relative pathnames
        4. File Permissions
        5. Mounting and Unmounting Filesystems
      3. Using X
        1. Window Managers
        2. Desktop Environments
          1. GNOME
          2. KDE
        3. Keyboard Operations
          1. Switching video modes
          2. Using virtual consoles
          3. Terminating X
        4. Terminal Windows and Pop-up Menus
        5. Mouse Operations
          1. Copying and pasting text
          2. Using scrollbars
        6. Virtual Desktop
    6. 5. Using the GNOME and KDE Desktops
      1. Using the GNOME Desktop
        1. The GNOME Desktop
          1. Pager
          2. Home Directory icon
          3. Drive icons
          4. Start Here icon
          5. Trash icon
        2. The GNOME Panel
        3. Using Nautilus
        4. Using GNOME Terminal
        5. Configuring GNOME
          1. The GNOME panel
          2. The GNOME Start Here facility
        6. GNOME Resources
      2. Using the KDE Desktop
        1. The KDE Desktop
          1. Start Here icon
          2. Home Directory icon
          3. Drive icons
          4. Trash icon
          5. The KDE Panel
        2. Using Konqueror
        3. Using KDE Terminal
        4. Configuring KDE
          1. The KDE Panel
          2. The KDE Control Center
          3. Adding an application link
        5. KDE Resources
    7. 6. Using Linux Applications
      1. OpenOffice.org
        1. Writer: The OpenOffice.org Word Processor
        2. Calc: The OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet
        3. Draw: The OpenOffice.org Drawing Program
        4. Impress: The OpenOffice.org Presentation Manager
      2. Evolution
      3. Pilot/Handspring Tool
      4. CD Creator
    8. 7. Conquering the bash Shell
      1. Issuing Shell Commands
        1. Correcting Commands
      2. Working with the Linux Command Prompt
        1. Commands and Arguments
        2. Getting Help
          1. Using man
          2. Using apropos
        3. Using Commands That Work with Directories
          1. Displaying the working directory
          2. Changing the working directory
          3. Displaying directory contents
          4. Creating a directory
          5. Removing a directory
        4. Working with Files
          1. Displaying the contents of a file
          2. Removing a file
          3. Copying a file
          4. Renaming or moving a file
          5. Finding a file
          6. Printing a file
          7. Working with compressed files
          8. Working with links
          9. Working with file permissions
          10. Running programs
        5. Mounting and Unmounting Drives
        6. Formatting a Floppy Disk
      3. Useful Linux Programs
        1. Viewing System Information
        2. Using the nano Editor
    9. 8. Installing Software Using the RPM Package Manager
      1. The Package Management Tool
        1. Installing Package Groups and Packages
        2. Removing Package Groups and Packages
        3. Installing Packages from the Hard Disk
      2. The redhat-install-packages Command
      3. The rpm Command
        1. General rpm Options
      4. Querying the RPM Database
      5. Installing a Package
        1. Package Is Already Installed
        2. Conflicting File
        3. Failed Dependency
      6. Uninstalling a Package
      7. Updating a Package
      8. Freshening a Package
      9. Advanced RPM Techniques
      10. Keeping Your Red Hat Enterprise Linux System Up to Date
        1. Using Red Hat Network
          1. Signing up
          2. Activating your product
          3. Creating a system profile
          4. Updating your system
      11. Keeping Your Fedora Core System Up to Date
    10. 9. Configuring and Administering Linux
      1. Configuring Your System by Using the System Settings Menu
        1. Setting Up X Logins
        2. Configuring a Printer
        3. Changing the root User Password
        4. Configuring Sound
        5. User and Group Administration
          1. Modifying a user account
          2. Adding a new user
          3. Deleting a user account
          4. Configuring groups
        6. Switching Desktops
      2. Administering Your System by Using the System Tools Menu
        1. Managing Disks
        2. Browsing Hardware Devices
        3. Managing Print Jobs
        4. Viewing System Logs
        5. Monitoring the System
      3. Controlling Services by Using the Server Settings Menu
        1. Associating Services with Runlevels
        2. Starting and Stopping Services
        3. Hardening Your System
    11. 10. Connecting to the Internet
      1. Networking Overview
      2. Configuring an Internet Connection
        1. Setting Up Hardware Devices
          1. Setting up a dialup modem
          2. Setting up an ISDN modem
          3. Setting up an xDSL modem
          4. Setting up an Ethernet adapter
          5. Setting up a wireless adapter
        2. Specifying DNS Settings and Hostnames
        3. Activating Devices
      3. The Mozilla Web Browser
      4. gFTP FTP Client
      5. Using wvdial
        1. The /etc/wvdial.conf File
      6. Configuring Linux to Use a Cable or DSL Modem
    12. 11. Setting Up Network Services
      1. Configuring Hosts
      2. Samba
        1. Installing the Samba Server
        2. Configuring Samba
          1. Configuring Samba security options
          2. Configuring Samba users
          3. Configuring Samba shares
        3. Starting and Stopping Samba
        4. Troubleshooting Samba
        5. Samba Client Configuration and Use
          1. Windows client
          2. Using the Linux Samba client for file backup and recovery
      3. Running Apache
        1. Installing Apache
        2. Configuring Apache
        3. Starting and Stopping Apache
        4. Creating Web Pages
      4. The Secure Shell
        1. Installing SSH
        2. Using SSH
        3. Using a Windows SSH Client
        4. Using TCP Wrappers to Secure TCP Services
      5. Implementing a Basic Firewall
        1. Configuring the Firewall
        2. Controlling the Firewall
      6. Checking Your Security by Using Nmap
      7. Network Security Tips
    13. 12. Advanced Shell Usage and Shell Scripts
      1. The Power of the Unix Shell
      2. Filename Globbing
      3. Shell Aliases
      4. Using Virtual Consoles
        1. Logging In
        2. Logging Out
      5. X and the Shell
        1. Configuring a Nongraphical Login
        2. Starting and Stopping X from a Text-Based Login
      6. Shell Scripts
        1. Input/Output Redirection and Piping
        2. Shell Variables
        3. The Search Path
        4. Quoted Strings
      7. Understanding Shell Scripts
        1. Processing Arguments
        2. Exit Codes
        3. Conditional Logic
          1. The test command
          2. The if command
          3. The case command
          4. The while command
          5. The until command
          6. The for command
          7. The break and continue commands
        4. Periscope: A Useful Networking Script
        5. Using Periscope
    14. A. Linux Directory Tree
    15. B. Principal Linux Files
    16. C. Managing the Boot Process
      1. Booting Linux
      2. Boot Floppies
        1. Creating a Boot Floppy
        2. Using a Boot Floppy
      3. The GRUB Loader
      4. Boot Parameters
        1. General Boot Arguments
        2. RAM Disk Boot Arguments
        3. SCSI Host Adapter Boot Arguments
        4. IDE Hard Drive and CD-ROM Boot Arguments
        5. Non-IDE CD-ROM Drive Boot Arguments
        6. Floppy Drive Boot Arguments
        7. Bus Mouse Boot Arguments
        8. Parallel Port Printer Boot Arguments
        9. Loadable Ethernet Drivers
        10. Dynamically Loading a Modular Driver
        11. Loading Modular Drivers at Boot Time
        12. Administering Modular Drivers
    17. D. Linux Command Quick Reference
    18. Index
    19. Colophon

Product information

  • Title: Learning Red Hat Enterprise Linux & Fedora, Fourth Edition
  • Author(s): Bill McCarty
  • Release date: April 2004
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9780596005894