Pro OpenSolaris (Expert's Voice in Open Source) [Paperback]

Harry Foxwell (Author), Christine Tran (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1430218916 | ISBN-13: 978-1430218913 | Edition: 1

OpenSolaris is a rapidly evolving operating system with roots in Solaris 10, suitable for deployment on laptops, desktop workstations, storage appliances, and data center servers from the smallest single–purpose systems to the largest enterprise–class systems. The growing OpenSolaris community now has hundreds of thousands of participants and users in government agencies, commercial businesses, and universities, with more than 100 user groups around the world contributing to the use and advancement of OpenSolaris. New releases of OpenSolaris become available every six months, with contributions from both Sun engineers and OpenSolaris community members; this book covers the OpenSolaris 2008.11 release.

Pro OpenSolaris was written to demonstrate that you can host your open source applications and solutions on OpenSolaris, taking advantage of its advanced features such as containers and other forms of virtualization, the ZFS file system, and DTrace. It's assumed that you are already fairly knowledgeable about developing on Linux systems, so the authors give an overview of the similarities and differences between Linux and OpenSolaris, and then present details on how to use the Service Management Facility (SMF), ZFS, zones, and even a bit of DTrace. They also provide pointers to the many project communities associated with new OpenSolaris features. Special focus is given to web development using familiar applications such as Apache, Tomcat, and MySQL, along with the NetBeans IDE, and showing you how to exploit some of OpenSolaris's unique technologies.

What you’ll learn

• Discover the secrets of the ZFS, the most powerful file system ever conceived
• Explore OpenSolaris AMP (Apache, MySQL, PHP) and GlassFish in the context of Web 2.0 and Linux/Solaris, respectively
• Familiarize yourself with the new security administration features of OpenSolaris, including changes in DTrace

Who this book is for

Linux system administrators and programmers who would like to know what they have missed since Solaris became an open-source operating system.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Harry Foxwell is a system engineer for Sun Microsystems Federal, Inc., specializing in operating system support (Solaris, OpenSolaris, and Linux). He is also an adjunct professor of computer science at George Mason University, where he has taught, among other classes, operating system courses based on OpenSolaris. He has also written several book reviews for ACM's Computing Reviews.

A bio is not available for this author.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (April 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1430218916
• ISBN-13: 978-1430218913
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 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: #948,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #40 in Books > Computers & Technology > Operating Systems > Solaris

More About the Author

Harry Foxwell is a Principal Engineer for Oracle in the Washington DC area, where he is responsible for solutions consulting and customer education on Cloud Computing, Solaris, Linux, Open Source software, and Virtualization technologies.

Harry has worked for Oracle and Sun Microsystems (acquired by Oracle in 2010) since 1995. Prior to that he worked for 6 years as a UNIX and Internet specialist for Digital Equipment Corporation; he has worked with UNIX systems since 1979. He also contributes to Oracle's internal website of Linux technical information and has been a Linux user since 1995. He blogs frequently on Cloud Computing at http://blogs.oracle.com/drcloud

Harry has been influential in developing and promoting Oracle's Linux and Solaris strategies and messages. He is coauthor of the book Pro OpenSolaris (Apress, April 2009) and two Sun BluePrints: Slicing and Dicing Servers: A Guide to Virtualization and Containment Technologies, Sun BluePrints Online, October 2005, and The Sun BluePrints Guide to Solaris Containers: Virtualization in the Solaris Operating System, Sun BluePrints Online, October 2006.

He earned his doctorate in Information Technology in 2003 from George Mason University (Fairfax, VA), and has since taught graduate courses at GMU in Computer Architecture, Operating Systems Security, and in Electronic Commerce.

Harry is a Vietnam veteran; he served as a platoon sergeant in the US Army's 1st Infantry Division in 1968-1969; (awarded Air Medal, and Bronze Star).

He is also an amateur astronomer and contributing member of the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, a USATT member and competitive table tennis player, and a USSF (Soccer) referee.

See also http://cs.gmu.edu/~hfoxwell/Resume.html for additional career details.