Customer Reviews
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Eclectic collection to quickly solve your pain, May 4, 2023
This book has an eclectic collection of recipes to problems I didn't even know I wanted solved! For example, I didn't know I could virus scan my Windows OS using Knoppix. Many of this book's recipes are so simple to use, all you need is to take 30 seconds to read the problem to see if it describes your pain. If so, then you implement the quick recipe. In many cases, you can skip the discussion. What do you care? You just want the problem solved. Of course, you'll learn a lot more about Linux by reading the discussion. This book is worthwhile to keep on your bookshelf. It'll gather dust until that one day when you must find a solution in 5 minutes. Then you'll be happy to have it.
The collection covers the gamut from boot-ups, rpms, backups, and CVS to servers for web, printer, domain names, and mail. You may buy this book for one of its specific areas. Or you may buy it just for insurance for that one day when you need the solution and can't find it in your admin guides. If you don't need to do much admin tasks, you might find more daily use from the Linux Desktop Hacks book.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 Terrific Linux Admin Book, Apr 21, 2023
Carla Schroder's Linux Cookbook (O'Reilly) is an extremely dense volume packed with valuable information. The author writes with precision and detail and with a conversational style that handles the topic with a wry humor making this book a pleasure to read. The Linux Cookbook is command-line based so some familiarity with a Linux system, the inherent power of using the command-line and the dangers of using root are necessary.
The O'Reilly Cookbook series uses a problem/solution/discussion layout to deliver content in a "recipe" format. Schroder provides an extremely thorough compendium of practical solutions to common problems found in the Debian and RPM-based Linux environments. Intended for the beginner to intermediate user, this book also has lots of good nuggets for the advanced Linux systems administrator. The table of contents generously lists each topic covered with enough detail for the reader to quickly pinpoint specific problems of interest.
Briefly, topics covered: documentation (man pages, changelogs, etc.); installing and managing software on RPM-based systems and Debian-based systems; detecting hardware; JOE and Vim editors; runlevels and starting and stopping X; managing users and groups; managing files and partitions; patching, customizing and upgrading kernals; CD and DVD recording; managing the bootloader and multi-booting; Knoppix; CUPS; configuring video and managing X Windows; using rsync and Mondo Rescue for backups and creating restore discs; remote access; CVS; ntp; Postfix; Apache; Samba and DNS.
O'Reilly is well known for producing high quality books that are beautifully bound and well designed. The layout of this book is simply presented with clear typography with chapter and topic headings easily discernible and command-line sections cleanly delineated. The book opens and stays open to selected pages for ease of use (no "cracking" of bindings allowed or necessary!); most of us like to follow along with a book splayed open next to our keyboard or laptop so it's nice not to have to balance our mug of coffee on one side of the book to prop it open.
The Linux Cookbook by Carla Schroder is extremely easy to navigate and very readable thanks to the author's sensible and practical topic selection, clarity of writing and humor. In providing solutions to common problems, Schroder has also managed to disperse valuable advice along the way. Her common sense approach to Linux systems management and administration shines through. The reader gets the benefit of the author's experience in this clearly written and valuable resource to Linux. A bonus is the author's enthusiasm for her topic. This translates into a pleasurable read. Much of this information is scattered across a large number of Websites but having a single competent resource to have at hand makes this book worth owning.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Good choice for command-line Linux admins..., Apr 2, 2023
If you're a Linux admin/guru who loves the command line, you'll probably really like Linux Cookbook by Carla Schroder (O'Reilly)...
Chapter List: Finding Documentation; Installing and Managing Software on RPM-Based Systems; Installing and Managing Software on Debian-Based Systems; Installing Programs from Source Code; Discovering Hardware from Outside the Box; Editing Text Files with JOE and Vim; Starting and Stopping Linux; Managing Users and Groups; Managing Files and Partitions; Patching, Customizing, and Upgrading Kernels; CD and DVD Recording; Managing the Bootloader and Multi-Booting; System Rescue and Recovery with Knoppix; Printing and CUPS; Configuring Video and Managing X Windows; Backup and Recovery; Remote Access; Version Control; Keeping Time with NTP; Building a Postfix Mail Server; Managing Spam and Malware; Running an Apache Web Server; File and Printer Sharing, and Domain Authentication with Samba; Managing Name Resolution; Finding Linux Documentation; On-line References; Microsoft File Types; Init Script for CVSD; Index
The standard "Cookbook" format has a problem (such as "Installing YUM"), a solution, a discussion of the problem and solution, as well as additional reference material (either other cookbook items or external sources). The focus is less on theory and more on practicality. The author wants to help you learn to do something without necessarily understanding every little nuance or subtle effect. Because one of the primary target audiences is Linux administrators, there's a strong emphasis on command line techniques. For instance, there's a "recipe" for password-protecting LILO. All the things you do involve entering command line statements at prompts.
This wouldn't be the type of book you'd buy if you're looking for things you can do from the KDE or GNOME desktop environment. You'd walk away with very little, if any, value. But if you're an administrator who wants to tap into the full power of the command line server interface, this will be an interesting book for you...
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Great for Windows network administrators, too..., Feb 16, 2023
Most LINUX books are dry, dated and not logically organized by task. This is an up-to-date, wide-ranging and informative discovery tour; your guide will do her utmost to both convey some of her tremendous enthusiasm as well as provide you with useful, practical solutions -- particularly relating to applying LINUX in a Windows world.
Windows network administrators, you'll find a lot of valuable LINUX tools here!
She covers multibooting LINUX, Knoppix, Mondo Rescue and rsync, Windows domain authentication with Samba, NTP, Crossover Office on Wine, setting up a mail server (with spam and virus killers), Apache, and DNS.
The only other items and distros that I would really like to have seen her cover are VNC (remote desktop), VPNs, secure remote access, secure FTP and HTTP, and SuSE LINUX.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
A solid Linux reference book, Feb 1, 2023
Linux Cookbook, written by Carla Schroder and published by O'Reilly Media, covers a lot of Linux-related topics, but offers several invaluable recepies for maintaining your Linux system. It includes recepies for several common open source applications, including Apache, postfix, CVS, GRUB and LILO, CUPS, XFree86, Mondo, NTP, SpamAssassin, Samba, and BIND.
In addition to addressing applications, the book includes recepies for reading documentation via info or manpages, file permissions, managing users and groups, discovering hardware, and also installing software from RPMs, DEBs or from source. This book has the type of practical insight and useful tidbits that you might find on a Linux mailing list, but they're all included in a nice format for you desk, rather than searching down the information.
There were several typos in the text that started to detract from my reading experience. There were directories that were not referenced properly. This is an important detail when teaching someone the remove (rm) command. Another slightly misleading statement came when discussing a password in GRUB's menu.lst file. The author discussed putting a hashed password in the file, then putting a clear text password, and then mentioning that a file with a clear text password should be readable only by root. While this is true, it is equally true that any password contained in a text file (hashed or clear text). If a non-root user can read the file, they can use a password cracking program and learn what the password is. A new user might not understand the security risks involved. I'm sure the second edition will mention this.
There were a few instances in the text where I felt that more information could have been included on a given topic or application. In a discussion of the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS), the author makes no mention of FHS versions, or the newer directories like /srv or /media. I understand that documentation lags behind newer technology, but there was no FHS version number to give the reader an indication of what they should expect. With no version number, I assumed the version was the latest, rather than the latest at the time of the author's writing. I'm sure this new version will be mentioned in the second edition.
I did learn several things from this book, including the differences between the ext3, reiserfs, jffs, and xfs filesystems. The author gave a lot of great background information, but kept true to the bookbook-style, "how-do-I-do-this?" type of book. It is a book you should keep close to your keyboard for those quick "how-do-I?" moments.
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