Solaris Administration: A Beginner's Guide (Paperback)

~ Paul Watters (Conductor) "This book is about the Solaris operating environment, developed and distributed by Sun Microsystems..." (more)
Key Phrases: pkginfo file, user pwatters, nonroot domains, Microsoft Windows, Beginner's Guide, Sun Microsystems (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Ideal for Windows or Linux administrators looking to learn Solaris, this beginner's guide covers the basics of Solaris single host administration and explains how to manage Internet and intranet services. "Provides users of Solaris with an easily comprehended guide for installing and setting up Solaris. This is also a valuable resource for learning how to employ Solaris's many features." --Steven M. Christensen, Ph.D., Founder, sunfreeware.com

From the Back Cover

Set up, run, and support a Solaris system using this practical guide

Install, configure, and manage Solaris across your network with this hands-on comprehensive resource. You'll find everything you need to get up and running with Solaris--including both Intel and SPARC versions of Solaris 8. Beginning with a Solaris overview, this practical guide will show you how to install the system, set up Internet services, build and distribute third-party software, and much more. And, the handy 8-page blueprint section explains the differences between Solaris and both Linux and Windows 2000. If you are a professional administrator familiar with other operating systems--and new to Solaris--and want to introduce Solaris into your network, then you will find this book invaluable.
*Learn to install Solaris 8--both SPARC and Intel versions
*Understand single host administration and manage jobs and processes
*Set up Internet services and configure Sendmail
*Secure a Solaris system and evaluate security risks
*Manage, add, and modify users and groups
*Configure the DNS server and allocate hostnames and IP addresses
*Prepare a network for DHCP
*Manage both storage and print services, and restore data

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Product Details

• Paperback: 407 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies; 1st edition (February 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072131551
• ISBN-13: 978-0072131550
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #512,492 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all -- this is a good "beginner's guide", October 14, 2001

By	Richard Bejtlich "TaoSecurity.com" (Metro Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I am a senior engineer for network security operations. I read this book to improve my knowledge of Solaris. Previous reviewers express widely differing opinions of "Solaris Administration: A Beginner's Guide" (SA:ABG). These reactions seem to be based on their expectations of the book. If you need an in-depth Solaris reference, buy "Solaris 8: The Complete Reference." If you want an introductory text with more content than "Solaris for Managers and Administrators," try SA:ABG.

Solaris users have traditionally suffered a lack of good third-party administration books. While not as useful as the excellent "Linux Administration: A Beginner's Guide," SA:ABG gives the reader enough information to start administering Solaris machines. This is a practical book, showing how to install the OS, use the shell, and add/remove/create packages. As a Solaris advocacy book, SA:ABG also shows Windows and Linux admins how their favorite GUI or command-line features have Solaris counterparts.

Certain aspects of SA:ABG pleasantly surprised me. For example, chapter 8 shows how to use 'truss' to trace system calls, and gives brief descriptions of /proc tools like pflags, pcred, pmap, and so on. Chapter 19 explained why NIS and NIS+ are still useful on a DNS-enabled network, and made comparisons to the Windows 2000 Active Directory. I also appreciated learning how to use Samba tools like nmblookup, smbclient, and smbstatus to interface with Windows or Samba servers.

On the negative side, SA:ABG's security chapter explained how to disable services started by inetd, but didn't fully describe how to disable non-inetd services using /etc/init.d/ scripts. This sort of advice is critical for newbie Solaris admins. Solaris offers a slew of network services by default; disabling the majority of them is a priority. I also believe the sample bash scripts on pages 113-117 could have used clearer syntax, using brackets where needed.

I have yet to read "THE" Solaris administration book, suitable for beginners and wizards alike. If you're new to Solaris, SA:ABG is a good place to start. If you need advanced instruction, keep looking!

(Disclaimer: A received a free review copy from the publisher.)

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Designed for Windows Admins Not Familiar w/Unix, August 3, 2001

By	Joseph T Allesi "allesi" (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews

The book is excellent for an introduction to Solaris for Windows Administrators. I am a Windows Systems Engineer, interested in learning Solaris...but I have been sitting around waiting for Solaris 8 certification books to be printed. This is an excellent introductory to the world of Sun and the "Solaris Way". A lot of references comparing how things are done in the Windows world to help with orientation. The one bad thing is the Author is a bit Solaris pushy...suggesting that Solaris is the smartest idea for all environments and all situations. He also beats up on Linux a bit...which may be justified, but not in this book.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow...if only I'd had this book last year..., May 31, 2001

By	Joel Owen (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This book seriously rocks - I have been responsibility for managing Linux and Solaris boxes for the past year (I'm a NT guru, but a UNIX newbie). Until I had this book, I was pretty much too scared to login to the boxes. Now, I understand how all the services seem to fit in together. This book doesn't have all the detail I'm lookin for - but it sure gave me the right pathways to find it. All the examples I tried worked first time, and now I'm confident doing DNS, Samba, Sendmail and DHCP. Well done guys!