Linux® Patch Management: Keeping Linux® Systems Up To Date [Paperback]

Michael Jang (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 19, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0132366754 | ISBN-13: 978-0132366755 | Edition: 1

This book will guide you through managing patches and updates on one Linux computer or networks of Linux computers. You will learn to: Manage Linux updates on a network and minimize update loads in an internet connection, Minimize reliance on specific Linux distributions, Learn how to update every Linux computer on the local network without overloading the Internet connection.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

• The first start-to-finish guide to patching Linux systems in production environments
• For Red Hat, Fedora, SUSE, Debian, and other leading distributions
• Comprehensive coverage of apt, yum, Red Hat Network, YaST Online Update, Zenworks Linux Management, and other tools
• High-efficiency techniques that minimize impacts on networks, users, and administrators

The Start-to-Finish Patch Management Guide for Every Linux® Environment

To keep your Linux systems secure, reliable, and productive, you must stay current with patches and updates. But, until now, it has been difficult to find usable, trustworthy guidance on managing patches in Linux production environments. Linux Patch Management fills that gap, offering Linux professionals start-to-finish solutions, strategies, and examples for every environment, from single computers to enterprise-class networks.

 

Michael Jang presents patching solutions for Red Hat, Fedora, SUSE, Debian, and other distributions. He systematically covers both distribution-specific tools and widely used community tools, such as apt and yum. This book’s streamlined patch management techniques minimize impacts on users, networks, and administrators, and address applications as well as the underlying OS. Whatever your role in managing Linux systems, Linux Patch Management will reduce your costs, enhance the availability of your systems, and dramatically improve your personal efficiency.

• Consolidating patches on a Red Hat network, including cached updates, as well as patching systems based on RHEL rebuild distributions
• Working with SUSE’s update systems, including YaST Online Update and Zenworks Linux Management
• Making the most of apt commands and the GUI-based Synaptic Package Manager
• Configuring apt for RPM distributions such as Fedora and SUSE Linux
• Creating repositories that can manage gigabytes of patches on diverse Linux systems
• Updating networks of Linux computers without overloading WAN or Internet connections
• Configuring yum clients, including coverage of emerging GUI tools such as Yum Extender

Bruce Perens’ Open Source Series is a definitive series of Linux and open source books by the world’s leading Linux professionals. Bruce Perens is the primary author of The Open Source Definition, the formative document of the open source movement, and the former Debian GNU/Linux Project Leader.

 

Series Editor Bruce Perens is an open source evangelist, developer, and consultant whose software is a major component of most commercial embedded Linux offerings. He founded or cofounded Linux Standard Base, Open Source Initiative, and Software in the Public Interest. As Debian GNU/Linux Project Leader, he was instrumental in getting the system on two U.S. space shuttle flights.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Michael Jang holds RHCE, SAIR Linux Certified Professional, CompTIA Linux+ Professional, and MCP certifications, and has written books on four Linux certifications. Specializing in networks and operating systems, he has two more books coming soon: Linux Annoyances for Geeks (O’Reilly, 2006) and Mastering Red Hat Fedora Linux 5 (Sybex, 2006).

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (January 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132366754
• ISBN-13: 978-0132366755
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,027,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific resource!, April 16, 2006

By 

Tobias (Portland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Linux® Patch Management: Keeping Linux® Systems Up To Date (Paperback)

Although I'm very proficient on the Linux distros that I use every day, I always seem to have a new Linux system enter the environment that I'm unfamiliar with and must maintain or visit a site that uses a distro that my only interaction with was to patch on my last visit (...now how did I do that again?). Trying to remember all of the patching idiosyncrasies of each distro used to be a daunting task until I found this book. Linux Patch Management has been a Godsend. It is one of just a handful of books that I keep on my desk because I always seem to need it.
And besides being an incredibly useful guide to patching rarely visited systems, it also helps outline various patching strategies for the enterprise. It gives detailed instructions on setting up local patch repositories and proxies to help you control your environment's systems as well as provide a substantial time and bandwidth savings.
From single unfamiliar systems to enterprise-wide system management, this book has something for everyone and is written with just the right amount of information. A must have.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great summary of all your options!, March 1, 2006

By 

Kevin C. Williams "Kevin Williams" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Linux® Patch Management: Keeping Linux® Systems Up To Date (Paperback)

A major difference between the different linux distrubutions is their Patch Management (or application management) implementation. I have found that most books pick one (or two) distro's and move forward into their topic--this book covers all of the major patch management solutions.

This book covers the full spectrum from a single machine environment, to setting up an environment that manages multiple machines, in a well organized easy to read format.

I would of appreciated a direct pro/con comparison of the different solutions--but that would just start a flame war.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Patching solutions for Fedora, Debian and other distributions, covering all kinds of tools and applications, April 3, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Linux® Patch Management: Keeping Linux® Systems Up To Date (Paperback)

Michael Jang's Linus Patch Management: Keeping Linux Systems Up To Date provides Linux users with complete patches for all kinds of environments: a feature Linux administrators will find essential. Here are patching solutions for Fedora, Debian and other distributions, covering all kinds of tools and applications. Whether you're updating networks and configuring clients or working with apt commands, if you're a Linux administrator, you must have this patch reference on hand.