Preface When we were writing the first edition of this book in the mid-1980s, we were eager to compare our manuscript with other books about UNIX system administration. To our delight, we could find only three. These days, you have your choice of at least fifty. Here are the features that distinguish our book: We take a practical approach. Our purpose is not to restate the contents of your manuals but rather to give you the benefit of our collective experience in system administration. This book contains numerous war stories and a wealth of pragmatic advice. We cover UNIX networking in detail. It is the most difficult aspect of UNIX system administration, and the area in which we think we can most likely be of help to you. We do not oversimplify the material. Our examples reflect true-life situations, with all their warts and unsightly complications. In most cases, the examples have been taken directly from production systems. We emphasize the use of software tools. Every piece of software mentioned in the text is either a standard UNIX tool or is freely available from the Internet sometimes both, since many vendors don't do a perfect job of keeping up with new releases. We cover all the major variants of UNIX. Our four example systems There have historically been two main flavors of UNIX: one from ATandT (known generically as System V) and one from the University of California, Berkeley (known as BSD). Neither ATandT nor Berkeley is still active in the UNIX marketplace, but the terms ATandT UNIX and Berkeley UNIX live on.This book covers four different operating systems: Solaris 2.7 HP-UX 11.00 Red Hat Linux 6.2 FreeBSD 3.4 (and bits of 4.0) We chose these systems because they are among the most popular and because they illustrate a broad range of approaches to UNIX administration. The first two systems are similar to ATandT UNIX, FreeBSD is a direct descendant of Berkeley UNIX, and Red Hat Linux is something of a mix. We provide detailed information about each of these example systems for every topic that we discuss. Comments specific to a particular operating system are marked with the manufacturer's logo. There are many other versions of UNIX. Most fall within the range of variation defined by these four systems, but a few (such as AIX and SCO) are so beautifully strange that they must be taken on their own terms. The organization of this book This book is divided into three large chunks: Basic Administration, Networking, and Bunch o' Stuff. Basic Administration provides a broad overview of UNIX from a system administrator's perspective. The chapters in this section cover most of the facts and techniques needed to run a stand-alone UNIX system. The Networking section describes the protocols used on UNIX systems and the techniques used to set up, extend, and maintain networks. High-level network software is also covered here. Among the featured topics are the Domain Name System, the Network File System, routing, sendmail, and network management. Bunch o' Stuff includes a variety of supplemental information. Some chapters discuss optional software packages such as the UNIX printing system (or more accurately, systems ). Others give advice on topics ranging from hardware maintenance to the politics of running a UNIX installation. Contact information In this edition, we're pleased to welcome Adam Boggs, Rob Braun, Dan Crawl, Ned McClain, Lynda McGinley, and Todd Miller as contributing authors. We've turned to them for their deep knowledge in a variety of areas (and also for their ability to function amid the shifting sands of this book and its temperamental parents). Their contributions have greatly enriched the overall content of the book and the collective experience that we're able to share with you. Please send suggestions, comments, typos, and bug reports to
[email protected]. We answer all mail, but please be patient; it is sometimes a few days before one of us is able to respond. To get a copy of our current bugd other late-breaking information, visit our web site at www.admin.com. We hope you enjoy this book, and we wish you the best of luck with your adventures in system administration!
