The Best Just Became BETTER-Again!Completely Revised to Meet All Your Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux Needs!
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.
Don't settle for yesterday's Linux book...get the ONLY book that meets today's challenges and tomorrow's!
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!
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
