Practical Guide to Red Hat Linux, A: Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, 3rd Edition

About

Features

• Starts at the very beginning and shows readers how to install Red Hat Linux from scratch using the included CDs;
• Includes a complete section on using Red Hat that covers usage from both the command line and the GUI;
• Enhanced System Administration section covers both the "how's" and the "why's" of system administration;
• The "Setting up Servers" section provides step-by-step instructions for installing, configuring, and managing the most popular Linux servers;
• Includes the FULL Fedora Core 5 distribution on 4 CDs.

Description

A new edition of this title is available, ISBN-10: 0137142951 ISBN-13: 9780137142958

“Since I’m in an educational environment, I found the content of Sobell’s book to be right on target and very helpful for anyone managing Linux in the enterprise. His style of writing is very clear. He builds up to the chapter exercises, which I find to be relevant to real-world scenarios a user or admin would encounter. An IT/IS student would find this book a valuable complement to their education. The vast amount of information is extremely well balanced and Sobell manages to present the content without complicated asides and meandering prose. This is a ‘must have’ for anyone managing Linux systems in a networked environment or anyone running a Linux server. I would also highly recommend it to an experienced computer user who is moving to the Linux platform.”
—Mary Norbury, IT Director, Barbara Davis Center/University of Colorado at Denver, from a review posted on slashdot.org

“I had the chance to use your UNIX books when I when was in college years ago at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CA. I have to say that your books are among the best! They’re quality books that teach the theoretical aspects and applications of the operating system.”
—Benton Chan, IS Engineer

“The book has more than lived up to my expectations from the many reviews I read, even though it targets FC2. I have found something very rare with your book: It doesn’t read like the standard a technical text, it reads more like a story. It’s a pleasure to read and hard to put down. Did I say that?! :-)”
—David Hopkins, Business Process Architect

“Thanks for your work and for the book you wrote. There are really few books that can help people to become more efficient administrators of different workstations. We hope (in Russia) that you will continue bringing us a new level of understanding of Linux/UNIX systems.”
—Anton Petukhov

“Mark Sobell has written a book as approachable as it is authoritative.”
—Jeffrey Bianchine, Advocate, Author, Journalist

“Excellent reference book, well suited for the sysadmin of a Linux cluster, or the owner of a PC contemplating installing a recent stable Linux. Don’t be put off by the daunting heft of the book. Sobell has striven to be as inclusive as possible, in trying to anticipate your system administration needs.”
—Wes Boudville, Inventor

“A Practical Guide to Red Hat^® Linux^® is a brilliant book. Thank you Mark Sobell.”
—C. Pozrikidis, University of California at San Diego

“This book presents the best overview of the Linux operating system that I have found. . . . It should be very helpful and understandable no matter what the reader’s background is: traditional UNIX user, new Linux devotee, or even Windows user. Each topic is presented in a clear, complete fashion and very few assumptions are made about what the reader knows. . . . The book is extremely useful as a reference, as it contains a 70-page glossary of terms and is very well indexed. It is organized in such a way that the reader can focus on simple tasks without having to wade through more advanced topics until they are ready.”
—Cam Marshall, Marshall Information Service LLC, Member of Front Range UNIX Users Group FRUUG, Boulder, Colorado

“Conclusively, this is THE book to get if you are a new Linux user and you just got into RH/Fedora world. There’s no other book that discusses so many different topics and in such depth.”
—Eugenia Loli-Queru, Editor in Chief, OSNews.com

Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux are advanced operating systems. You need a book that’s just as advanced. This book explains Linux clearly and effectively—with a focus on features you care about, from system security and Internet server setup to Windows file/printer sharing. Best-selling author Mark Sobell starts at the beginning and walks you through everything that matters, from installing Linux using the included DVD to working with GNOME, KDE, Samba, sendmail, Apache, DNS, NIS, and iptables.

This edition contains extensive coverage, including full chapters on using Linux from the command line and GUI; even more thorough system administration and security guidance; and up-to-the-minute, step-by-step instructions for setting up networks and every major type of Internet server. Along the way, you learn the “hows” and the “whys.” Mark Sobell knows every Linux nook and cranny, has taught hundreds of thousands of readers, and never forgets what it’s like to be new to Linux. Whether you are a user, an administrator, or a programmer, this book gives you all you need—and more.

Compared with the other Linux books out there, A Practical Guide to Red Hat^® Linux^®, Third Edition, delivers...

• Complete coverage of Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Deeper coverage of the command line and the GNOME and KDE GUIs, including GUI customization
• More practical coverage of file sharing with Samba, NFS, and FTP
• More detailed, usable coverage of Internet server configuration including Apache, sendmail, NFS, and DNS/BIND
• More state-of-the-art security techniques, including SELinux (Security Enhanced Linux), ACLs (Access Control Lists), firewall setup using the Red Hat GUI and using iptables, and a full chapter on OpenSSH
• More and better coverage of “meat-and-potatoes” system/network administration tasks
• A more practical introduction to writing bash shell scripts
• Complete instructions on how to keep your Linux system up-to-date using yum
• And much more...including a 500+ term glossary and a comprehensive index to help you find what you need fast!

Includes DVD! Get the full version of Red Hat’s Fedora Core 5 release!

Extras

Author's Site

Visit the Author's Web Site

Sample Content

Downloadable Sample Chapter

Download the Sample Chapter from this book.

Table of Contents

Preface xxxv

Chapter 1: Welcome to Linux 1

The GNU-Linux Connection 2

The Linux 2.6 Kernel 5

The Heritage of Linux: UNIX 5

What Is So Good About Linux? 6

Overview of Linux 10

Additional Features of Linux 14

Conventions Used in This Book 17

Chapter Summary 19

Exercises 19

PART I: Installing Red Hat Linux 21

Chapter 2: Installation Overview 23

More Information 24

Planning the Installation 24

How the Installation Works 33

The Medium: Where Is the Source Data? 34

Downloading, Burning, and Installing a CD Set or a DVD (FEDORA) 35

Rescue CD 40

Gathering Information About the System 40

Finding the Installation Manual 41

Chapter Summary 41

Exercises 42

Advanced Exercises 42

Chapter 3: Step-by-Step Installation 43

Installing Red Hat Linux 44

Installation Tasks 58

The X Window System 69

Chapter Summary 77

Exercises 78

Advanced Exercises 78

PART II: Getting Started with Red Hat Linux 79

Chapter 4: Introduction to Red Hat Linux 81

Curbing Your Power: Superuser/root Access 82

A Tour of the Red Hat Linux Desktop 82

Getting the Facts: Where to Find Documentation 102

More About Logging In 111

Controlling Windows: Advanced Operations 119

Chapter Summary 122

Exercises 123

Advanced Exercises 124

Chapter 5: The Linux Utilities 125

Special Characters 126

Basic Utilities 127

Working with Files 129

| (Pipe): Communicates Between Processes 136

Four More Utilities 137

Compressing and Archiving Files 139

Locating Commands 144

Obtaining User and System Information 146

Communicating with Other Users 150

Email 152

Tutorial: Creating and Editing a File with vim 152

Chapter Summary 159

Exercises 162

Advanced Exercises 163

Chapter 6: The Linux Filesystem 165

The Hierarchical Filesystem 166

Directory Files and Ordinary Files 166

Pathnames 171

Directory Commands 173

Working with Directories 178

Access Permissions 180

ACLs: Access Control Lists 185

Links 190

Chapter Summary 196

Exercises 198

Advanced Exercises 200

Chapter 7: The Shell 201

The Command Line 202

Standard Input and Standard Output 208

Running a Program in the Background 219

Filename Generation/Pathname Expansion 221

Builtins 225

Chapter Summary 226

Exercises 227

Advanced Exercises 228

PART III: Digging into Red Hat Linux 231

Chapter 8: Linux GUIs: X, GNOME, and KDE 233

X Window System 234

Using GNOME 242

Using KDE 252

Chapter Summary 262

Exercises 264

Advanced Exercises 264

Chapter 9: The Bourne Again Shell 265

Background 266

Shell Basics 267

Parameters and Variables 285

Special Characters 299

Processes 300

History 302

Aliases 318

Functions 321

Controlling bash Features and Options 324

Processing the Command Line 328

Chapter Summary 337

Exercises 339

Advanced Exercises 341

Chapter 10: Networking and the Internet 343

Types of Networks and How They Work 345

Communicate Over a Network 360

Network Utilities 362

Distributed Computing 369

Usenet 378

WWW: World Wide Web 381

Chapter Summary 383

Exercises 384

Advanced Exercises 385

PART IV: System Administration 387

Chapter 11: System Administration: Core Concepts 389

System Administrator and Superuser 391

Rescue Mode 397

SELinux 400

System Operation 403

System Administration Utilities 415

Setting Up a Server 421

nsswitch.conf: Which Service to Look at First 435

PAM 438

Chapter Summary 443

Exercises 444

Advanced Exercises 445

Chapter 12: Files, Directories, and Filesystems 447

Important Files and Directories 448

File Types 459

Filesystems 464

Chapter Summary 473

Exercises 474

Advanced Exercises 474

Chapter 13: Downloading and Installing Software 475

yum: Keeps the System Up-to-Date (FEDORA) 476

pirut: Adds and Removes Software Packages (FEDORA) 483

BitTorrent (FEDORA) 484

rpm: Red Hat Package Manager 487

Installing Non-rpm Software 491

Keeping Software Up-to-Date 493

wget: Downloads Files Noninteractively 500

Chapter Summary 500

Exercises 501

Advanced Exercises 501

Chapter 14: Printing with CUPS 503

Introduction 504

JumpStart I: Configuring a Local Printer Using system-config-printer 505

JumpStart II: Configuring a Remote Printer Using CUPS 508

Traditional UNIX Printing 510

Configuring Printers Using CUPS 512

The KDE Printing Manager 519

Integration with Windows 520

Chapter Summary 522

Exercises 522

Advanced Exercises 523

Chapter 15: Rebuilding the Linux Kernel 525

Preparing the Source Code 526

Read the Documentation 528

Configuring and Compiling the Linux Kernel 529

Installing the Kernel and Associated Files 532

Rebooting 532

Boot Loader 533

dmesg: Displays Kernel Messages 535

Chapter Summary 535

Exercises 536

Advanced Exercises 536

Chapter 16: Administration Tasks 537

Configuring User and Group Accounts 538

Backing Up Files 540

Scheduling Tasks 547

System Reports 548

Keeping Users Informed 551

Creating Problems 552

Solving Problems 553

Chapter Summary 564

Exercises 564

Advanced Exercises 565

Chapter 17: Configuring a LAN 567

Setting Up the Hardware 568

Configuring the Systems 570

Setting Up Servers 574

More Information 575

Chapter Summary 575

Exercises 576

Advanced Exercises 576

PART V: Using Clients and Setting Up Servers 577

Chapter 18: OpenSSH: Secure Network Communication 579

Introduction 580

About OpenSSH 580

OpenSSH Clients 583

sshd: OpenSSH Server 591

Troubleshooting 595

Tunneling/Port Forwarding 596

Chapter Summary 598

Exercises 598

Advanced Exercises 599

Chapter 19: FTP: Transferring Files Across a Network 601

Introduction 602

More Information 603

FTP Client 603

FTP Server (vsftpd) 612

Chapter Summary 624

Exercises 625

Advanced Exercises 625

Chapter 20: sendmail: Setting Up Mail Clients, Servers, and More 627

Introduction 628

JumpStart I: Configuring sendmail on a Client 630

JumpStart II: Configuring sendmail on a Server 631

How sendmail Works 632

Configuring sendmail 635

Additional Email Tools 640

Authenticated Relaying 650

Alternatives to sendmail 652

Chapter Summary 652

Exercises 653

Advanced Exercises 653

Chapter 21: NIS: Network Information Service 655

Introduction to NIS 656

How NIS Works 656

Setting Up an NIS Client 659

Setting Up an NIS Server 663

Chapter Summary 670

Exercises 670

Advanced Exercises 671

Chapter 22: NFS: Sharing Filesystems 673

Introduction 674

More Information 676

Setting Up an NFS Client 676

Setting Up an NFS Server 682

automount: Automatically Mounts Directory Hierarchies 690

Chapter Summary 692

Exercises 692

Advanced Exercises 693

Chapter 23: Samba: Integrating Linux and Windows 695

Introduction 696

About Samba 697

JumpStart: Configuring a Samba Server Using system-config-samba 699

swat: Configures a Samba Server 701

Manually Configuring a Samba Server 705

Accessing Linux Shares from Windows 711

Accessing Windows Shares from Linux 712

Troubleshooting 714

Chapter Summary 716

Exercises 717

Advanced Exercises 717

Chapter 24: DNS/BIND: Tracking Domain Names and Addresses 719

Introduction to DNS 720

About DNS 731

JumpStart I: Setting Up a DNS Cache 733

JumpStart II: Setting Up a Domain Using system-config-bind (FEDORA) 734

Setting Up BIND 739

Troubleshooting 751

A Full-Functioned Nameserver 752

A Slave Server 756

A Split Horizon Server 757

Chapter Summary 761

Exercises 762

Advanced Exercises 762

Chapter 25: iptables: Setting Up a Firewall 763

How iptables Works 764

About iptables 766

JumpStart: Building a Firewall Using system-config-securitylevel 768

Anatomy of an iptables Command 769

Building a Set of Rules 770

system-config-securitylevel: Generates a Set of Rules 777

Sharing an Internet Connection Using NAT 779

Chapter Summary 783

Exercises 783

Advanced Exercises 784

Chapter 26: Apache (httpd): Setting Up a Web Server 785

Introduction 786

About Apache 786

JumpStart I: Getting Apache Up and Running 789

JumpStart II: Setting Up Apache Using system-config-httpd 790

Filesystem Layout 792

Configuration Directives 794

The Red Hat httpd.conf File 814

Redirects 817

Multiviews 818

Server-Generated Directory Listings (Indexing) 818

Virtual Hosts 818

Troubleshooting 819

Modules 820

webalizer: Analyzes Web Traffic 825

MRTG: Monitors Traffic Loads 826

Error Codes 826

Chapter Summary 827

Exercises 828

Advanced Exercises 828

PART VI: Programming 829

Chapter 27: Programming Tools 831

Programming in C 832

Using Shared Libraries 840

make: Keeps a Set of Programs Current 842

Debugging C Programs 850

Threads 860

System Calls 861

Source Code Management 863

Chapter Summary 873

Exercises 874

Advanced Exercises 875

Chapter 28: Programming the Bourne Again Shell 877

Control Structures 878

File Descriptors 911

Parameters and Variables 914

Builtin Commands 926

Expressions 940

Shell Programs 948

Chapter Summary 958

Exercises 960

Advanced Exercises 962

PART VII: Appendixes 965

Appendix A: Regular Expressions 967

Characters 968

Delimiters 968

Simple Strings 968

Special Characters 968

Rules 971

Bracketing Expressions 972

The Replacement String 972

Extended Regular Expressions 973

Appendix Summary 975

Appendix B: Help 977

Solving a Problem 978

Finding Linux-Related Information 979

Specifying a Terminal 984

Appendix C: Security 987

Encryption 988

File Security 993

Email Security 993

Network Security 994

Host Security 997

Security Resources 1002

Appendix Summary 1005

Appendix D: The Free Software Definition 1007

Appendix E: The Linux 2.6 Kernel 1011

Native Posix Thread Library (NPTL) 1012

IPSecurity (IPSec) 1012

Asynchronous I/O (AIO) 1012

O(1) Scheduler 1013

OProfile 1013

kksymoops 1013

Reverse Map Virtual Memory (rmap VM) 1013

HugeTLBFS: Translation Look-Aside Buffer Filesystem 1014

remap_file_pages 1014

2.6 Network Stack Features (IGMPv3, IPv6, and Others) 1014

Internet Protocol Virtual Server (IPVS) 1014

Access Control Lists (ACLs) 1015

4GB-4GB Memory Split: Physical Address Extension (PAE) 1015

Scheduler Support for HyperThreaded CPUs 1015

Block I/O (BIO) Block Layer 1015

Support for Filesystems Larger Than 2 Terabytes 1016

New I/O Elevators 1016

Interactive Scheduler Response Tuning 1016

Glossary 1017

Index 1065

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