A Practical Guide to Red Hat(R) Linux(R): Fedora(TM) Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

by Mark G. Sobell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product 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(R) Linux(R) 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.comThe 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(R) Linux(R), 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!

From the Back Cover

“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

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!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 1168 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 3 edition (July 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132280272
• ISBN-13: 978-0132280273
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #431,748 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My opinion as a Linux newcomer, December 8, 2004

By	J. Hubbard (Springfield, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Practical Guide to Red Hat(R) Linux(R): Fedora(TM) Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, A (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

I am an IT professional and would consider myself a master within a purely Windows based enterprise (MCSE since 1997). That being said - after my last job was outsourced I found that every position I wanted to apply for required some Linux experience and I had never used it. Enter this book.

Linux is not a very intuitive OS. Many commands have names or switches that barely resemble what they do making it difficult to remember or learn. This book is remarkable. It starts out assuming you know nothing and helps you install Linux. It then presents an overview of the different Desktop Environments (GNOME or KDE) and how to navigate / customize them to your taste. This is probably the first 100 pages.

Linux was designed to be more functional than easy to use. This book does a great job of balancing how to perform an operation via the GUI or the command line. After reading this book, it is obvious that the GUI was an afterthought to Linux and the command line is where it's true strength lies. The Author gives you the most commonly used commands in a logical order along with examples to follow to help understand variations like redircting output from one command to another and achieve a result that is much more useful than the desktop environment can currently present. As a total beginner to Linux, I appreciated that he spent just enough time on each section to explain what it is and how to use it but didn't run it into the ground making me feel like I had to skip a section to keep it flowing. Each section & chapter is divided up into task oriented modules allowing you to jump anywhere in the book and get a quick primer on a topic like apache server or directory structure.

This book is not a bible - if you need extensive information about a specific topic you will want to look elsewhere. This is a wonderful resource for beginners who want to learn Linux and decide where they want to go with it or intermediate users who want a task oriented reference. Starting as a total novice, I now feel I have a solid working knowledge of Linux which is exactly what I was looking for.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent coverage of all that is Fedora/Red Hat Linux..., September 19, 2004

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Practical Guide to Red Hat(R) Linux(R): Fedora(TM) Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, A (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

If you're looking for a very comprehensive guide to running the Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise distribution of Linux, you'll want to check out A Practical Guide To Red Hat Linux by Mark Sobell (Prentice Hall). This book is packed with information...

Chapter list: Welcome to Linux; Installation Overview; Step-by-Step Installation; Introduction to Red Hat Linux; The Linux Utilities; The Linux Filesystem; The Shell 1; Linux GUIs: X, GNOME, and KDE; The Shell 2: The Bourne Again Shell; Networking and the Internet; System Administration: Core Concepts; Files, Directories, and Filesystems; Downloading and Installing Software; Printing with CUPS; Rebuilding the Linux Kernal; Administration Tasks; Configuring a LAN; OpenSSH: Secure Network Communication; FTP: Transferring Files Across a Network; sendmail: Setting Up Mail Clients, Servers, and More; NIS: Network Information Service; NFS: Sharing Filesystems; Samba: Integrating Linux and Windows; DNS/BIND: Tracking Domain Names and Addresses; iptables: Setting Up a Firewall; Apache (httpd): Setting Up a Web Server; Programming Tools; Programming the Bourne Again Shell; Regular Expressions; Help; Security; The Free Software Definition; The Linux 2.6 Kernel; Glossary; Index

At nearly 1100 pages, this isn't a small book. But as you can see from the chapter list, it packs a lot of information inside. The content is predominantly targeted at the Linux server and network environment, so getting the book to learn how to run the Linux desktop may not be the best idea. If you're looking to set up a Linux network and learn how to effectively work with the command line interface, this book works.

Interspersed throughout the chapters that contain numerous figures and code snippets, you will find a number of sidebars. There are cautions, tips, and security sidebars that add flavor to the core information. On top of that, you'll feel like you're back at school with the exercises at the end of each chapter to test your comprehension. If you go to the website www.sobell.com, you'll even find the answers to the even numbered questions. I haven't been through that process (looking in the back of the book for answers) in years!

I was really impressed by the book. As a Linux newbie, there's a lot here for me to learn from. But it isn't so simplistic that I'll outgrow the book in six months. This volume will reside on my bookshelf for a long time.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you every wanted to know (and more) about RHL, February 24, 2005

By	R. Lodato "grey geek" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Practical Guide to Red Hat(R) Linux(R): Fedora(TM) Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, A (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

I keep searching for books that collect everything you want to know about a subject in one place, and keep getting disappointed. Usually the books leave out some important topic, while others go too deep in some areas and must skim lightly over the others. A Practical Guide to Red Hat Linux: Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (Second Edition) (APRtRHL) is one of those rare books that actually pulls it off. Mark G. Sobell has created a single reference for Red Hat Linux that cannot be beat!
I will admit that Mark did not, nor could not, go into excruciating detail about every single aspect of Linux and the more common applications programs. For example, the Sendmail book by Costales/Allman covers just one application, and it's 100 pages longer!
Mark has written APRtRHL with exercises at the end of each chapter. This way, the book can be used as a text in a course on Linux. Many chapters include a JumpStart section to get you going quickly. In addition, he has included many, many cross-references throughout the text. This makes the book as close to "hyper-linked" as print media can get.
After the obligatory history of Linux, Mark propels the user into Part I of the book, and through the exercise of planning the installation and acquiring a copy of Fedora Core 2 (included with the book). He then takes you through the installation process step-by-step. Now that you have Linux installed, you need to know what you've got to work with.
Part II covers the basics of using Linux. After spending time showing you around the KDE desktop (GNOME is also reviewed), Mark gets you acquainted with the standard command line utilities, the Linux filesystem, and the shell.
Part III digs into the nitty-gritty of using Linux. He discusses the X Window System, GNOME, KDE, and then BASH (Bourne-Again SHell) is re-visited. He concludes by talking about Networking, distributed computing, and the web.
In Part IV, Mark details the various administration tasks a typical user needs to know. The core concepts chapter is rather lengthy, as he discusses the various run levels, rescue mode, and how to set up and secure a server. Software downloading and installation with rpm, yum, apt are covered, printing with CUPS, rebuilding the Linux kernel, boot loaders, user management, backups and restores, and configuring a LAN complete this part of the book.
Part V is constructed with nine "roll up your sleeves and get started" chapters on using clients and setting up servers. We start with OpenSSH, move to ftp, and configure a secured ftp server. We handle sendmail, Spam Assassin, Webmail, IMAP/POP3 servers, and KMail. Next Mark teaches us about NIS (Network Information Service), NFS (Network Filesystem), and SAMBA, the three main file-sharing *nix applications.
The last three chapters of Part V cover more Internet-oriented subjects: DNS (BIND version 9 particularly), firewalls (iptables), and web servers (Apache).
The penultimate part, Part VI, starts with a chapter that uses a sample C program, tabs.c, to show how to use make to build application binaries, how to tackle debugging problems with gdb, and how to manage source code with cvs. The other chapter delves into the programming of the Bourne Again SHell. Part VII is actually a set of five appendixes covering regular expressions, help, security, the Free Software Definition, and the Linux 2.6 Kernel.
If you've never read any of Mark Sobell's other books, you're in for a treat. His 25+ years of experience in the Unix/Linux field have given him a depth of knowledge that is evident by the way he writes. This marvelous text (with a 4-CD set of Linux Fedora Core 2 included) is well worth the price. This is as close to an "everything you ever needed to know" book that I've seen. It's just that good and rates 5 out of 5.