Automating Linux and Unix System Administration, Second Edition
- ISBN13: 9781430210597
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Whether you need a network of ten Linux PCs and a server or a datacenter with a few thousand Unix nodes, you need to know how to automate much of the installation, configuration, and standard system administration. Build your network once using cfengine, and the network build will work, without user intervention, on any hardware you prefer. Automating Linux and Unix System Administration, Second Edition is unique in its focus on how to make the system admini… More >>
Automating Linux and Unix System Administration, Second Edition
about 4 months ago
If you are the kind of person that doesn’t have time to reinvent the wheel and you like solutions that Just Work but are also well though out, then this book is just the thing for you. Linux admins that have to handle a large number of machines in an Enterprise environment where downtime is just not an option will love that this book gives you in depth explanations supported by rock solution solutions to let you manage the configurations of a massive number of machines with a moderate investment of time and almost zero ongoing effort. The authors do an exception job of delving down into the details when necessary and painting a robust “big picture” that an experienced admin will certain appreciate. I predict this book will become a must-have for your administrative reference shelf.
Rating: 5 / 5
about 4 months ago
Having the authors guide you through the process of configuring automated installations and configuration of servers is priceless.
This book is a must for any linux/unix sysadmin out there. I hope there is a 3rd edition with the new Cfengine 3 soon!
This book is not for the beginning linux/unix admin, though. You should have a thorough knowledge of the systems already. Once you have that, using the methods in this book will save you and your bosses countless hours of managing your servers.
I would like to thank the authors for a brilliant piece of work.
Rating: 5 / 5
about 4 months ago
The book fulfills the promise of showing how to setup and manage a properly automated fleet of Debian, RedHat Linux, and Solaris systems. It touches on all the essential points of doing so, from bootstrapping the initial install systems to configuring essential services such as NTP and Nagios. I believe the text is stronger for not considering (the many!) alternative configuration management and monitoring tools available, and not going into detail on LDAP and Kerberos, as these topics are covered elsewhere, and would make this book loose focus.
Inexperienced systems administrators will benefit from the coverage of need-to-know utilities, such as sudo and SSH, along with the appendix of useful Unix tools, as well as learning how to properly setup a site from scratch. As an experienced sysadmin, I enjoyed the book, picking up a variety of good shell tips, and an excellent way of organizing cfengine configuration files.
Rating: 4 / 5
about 4 months ago
As a CFengine evangelist I find this book very useful to brush up my automation skills, Cfengine peculiarities and even such obscure features as modules and methods in Cfengine. THe only drawback of this book that it needs better visualization – a Cfengine and automation is a complex concept, so few more diagrams would be very helpful. The Cfengine portal ([...]) already has this book present!
Rating: 4 / 5
about 4 months ago
Repetitive tasks not only waste time, but each repitition is prone to error. Automation is the solution to repetition and any serious System Administrator will tell you that automation is a cornerstone of the profession. Automating Linux and UNIX System Administration is a great guide to building this cornerstone.
This book covers a wide variety of topics including: simple shell scripting, remote management with SSH, automated installations, monitoring, and configuration management. The majority of the items are explained with using CFEngine in mind — so much so that I feel this book should probably advertise its heavy use of CFEngine somewhere in the title or at least on the cover. If you don’t use CFEngine and have no plans to do so, a lot of this book becomes irrelevant. However, CFEngine is a popular, robust management system and is worth getting to know.
If you’re still managing servers by hand, it’s probably time to start thinking about automation. Automating Linux and UNIX System Administration is a solid book that will set you on the right track.
Rating: 4 / 5