Customer Reviews

SUSE Linux 9 Bible

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this book because I am moving to Novell SuSE Linux Professional 9.2 from RedHat Linux 9 Professional. I wanted something new instead of migrating to RedHat Workstation or Fedora. SuSE Linux 9 Bible gives good detail on installation using YaST. The book goes through disk partitioning, the fundamentals of the Linux System, RPM packages, networking, administration and desktop customization. I thought the book was better than RedHat Linux 9 Bible which I purchased 2 years ago. The book comes with Linux 9.1 on a CD. This is good for a newbie to mid-level administrators. If you are doing anything fancy you can get the official Novell SuSE Linux Professional 9.2 User and Administration Guides on-line and in PDF format. SuSE is an exceptional Linux System and with Novell and IBM's backing could tip the scales away from RedHat Linux. I give it "Daumen Oben" ("thumbs up" in German).

It is surprising to find that a book on SUSE Linux 9 with 665 pages of small print (TOO small) contains so little useful information for someone like me--a Windows user wanting to migrate to SUSE Linux for home use. Most of the book covers topics too advanced for Linux beginners. For example, there are ten chapters on implementing network services, another four chapters on "SUSE Linux in the Enterprise", and six more on using the command line.

Meanwhile, there is very little info on basic topics such as working with applications. For example, a distinctive aspect of SUSE is its inclusion of Rekall as a default database application (a possible replacement for Microsoft Access or similar software); to this important subject the book devotes a grand total of two sentences. For another example, doing backups and archives in linux can be confusing to a newcomer, but barely a page is devoted to them.

In a nutshell, this book may be useful for advanced users, but it does not qualify as a "bible" for "reader level: beginning to advanced." For new linux users, a better choice would be a 2005 book by Thomas Keir: Beginning SUSE Linux From Novice to Professional.

I will agree with the other reviews and add a couple of examples where the book slacked a bit.
The coverage isn't as complete as I expected and the index is slacking a bit. As an example there isn't any reference to pico which is part of the standard installation, only vim. Something like the power management setting to keep the monitor from blacking out isn't mentioned anywhere. The words "power" and "management" are not entries in the index. As a final index example, chmod is listed but the only reference refers to a location where it isn't the primary topic but is only mentioned in passing. The page where it is explained in detail isn't listed.
Other than that, it is really the most up to date coverage of SUSE presently available and remains without competition.

I am writing this review in order to give back to the on-line community who before me, helped with my book selections.

This book was very helpful to me in my transition from Windows to Linux and continues to be a tremendous hardcopy resource to supplement SuSE's excellent on-line documentation and support forums.

I found the chapters covering installation and linux filesystems very informative and easy to understand if you have had prior experience setting up your own computer under DOS or Windows. SuSE's YaST automates all of this for you of course, but the book helps explain the various install options and partitioning and filesystem strategies for more expert users and advanced installations.

Implementing network services and Windows interoperability was most important to me and this book was very helpful in getting things up and running using the SAMBA client and server software. Also of interest was the section on setting up a Web site using Apache Server, and running Mail, DHCP, DNS, NFS, and FTP services.

The book also covers many of the fundamentals of Linux, including use of the bash shell, the command-line interface, and various built-in commands and tools for manipulating files, accessing documentation and fine-tuning your system.

Another important section of the book covers the installation of software applications using RPM's, an automated system that makes it as easy as installing on a Windows system, but better!

The book also covers Linux in the Enterprise and goes beyond my immediate needs in a home office environment, but you never know!

SUSE is to Linux in Europe what Red Hat was in the United States. That is, it's pretty much the standard distribution. In the United States Red Hat now moving to Fedora and away from selling a box product. At the same time Novell and SUSE have teamed up which should give SUSE more mind share than it had before.

At any rate, SUSE (Suz-A) was one of the very first distributions that produced a packaged product (and is still around). It comes with the YaST (Yet another Setup Tool) installation and administration program. This book is supplied with SUSE 9.1 (including YaST) on a DVD.

Chapter 1 of the book starts off with selecting your language (would you believe it offers Magyar) and then goes through the various installation screens, explaining what the various options mean as you go along.

This book covers just the operating system and a few programs that are very closely tied to the OS such as web, ftp, DNS and mail servers. The book does not cover such things as MySQL, just the OS. I don't consider this a problem because the amount of coverage you could give to MySQL in a chapter would be only enough to get you in trouble. And besides you might want to use Postgre instead.

Excellent book.

New to Linux and running Red Hat 8, I found the Red Hat 8 Bible was the best of all the books I had on running Linux, particularly for getting direction on a specific problem. When I moved to Suse 9, I hoped that the Suse 9 Bible would be as good. Disappointment.

The Suse 9 has less pages, though some of the difference may be that the fonts are somewhat smaller. It also seems to have more "screen shot pages"--pages mostly filled with a screen shot with some text below that gives the obvious, e.g. "To create a user, click...," when the book is being consulted because filling the screen with the obvious did not do what was desired.

For a problem with Suse 9, I find I often end up sorting it out, by consulting the Red Hat 8 book. If you already have the Red Hat 8 Bible, getting the Suse 9 version is probably not going to add much. If you don't have either, then, for someone relatively new to Linux, I certainly recommend getting one of them.

Initially, I was pleased with this book--it is helpful in getting started. But, now the issue for me is that it lacks some key topics, like how to kill a process. Searching the index turns up nothing for the following terms: kill, restart, named. There is nothing about day-to-day admin types of functions needed for process managment.

Yes, it was usefull, its becoming dirty 'couse i use it frequently. Sometimes id like to have more info about commands in commandline, but in general it gives you more than what you could expect from.

Im initiated on very basics about Fedora, now i can tell im a lil' more advanced but in SuSE, and im glad so.

You can find info on installation, operation, remote oparation, compatibility with other OSs, the use of Yast, use of several protocols, web server (most important), ldap, firewall, ports and so.

Its as simple as yous SuSE Operation Manual, That's it.