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For those willing to exchange the glossiness of mass-market operating systems for better performance and greater flexibility, Linux is an excellent choice. In Linux Companion for System Administrators, Jochen Hein has produced a highly readable treatise on this operating system's design and capabilities.

Generally, Hein focuses on characteristics that all versions of Linux have in common and highlights differences among distributions where appropriate. He starts with core aspects of Linux (such as the file system and the boot process) before moving on to ancillary programs and capabilities. (Coverage of multiple-language capabilities is especially good.) Readers also will find plenty of information on networking--there's full coverage of all aspects of TCP/IP implementation and documentation of many network applications.

The main shortcoming in Linux Companion for System Administrators is its lack of specific procedures. You'll find plenty of tables and option lists, plus prose that's clear despite its translation from the German, but there's very little explicit how-to information. If that's what you need, you'll want to supplement this book with a more basic one. --David Wall --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description
Linux Companion for System Administrators is a book for anyone who wants to get more out of their Linux box. It provides guidance for adapting the system to meet personal requirements and offers advice on getting real practical value from the various tools available. Focusing on the use of LINUX in a private or corporate environment, this book will help the experienced UNIX user attain a more efficient level of system administration.
Linux Companion for System Administrators goes beyond general system administration, providing detailed coverage of networking with Linux. With the emphasis on the integration of Linux into heterogeneous networks and its employment as a file, DNS or BOOTP server, this book illustrates just why Linux is being employed more and more widely as an Intranet server.

Linux Companion for System Administrators covers:
a general overview of a Linux system (what is where, how to get help,

where to find documentation)
common features of the most widely used distributions of Linux
basic system configuration: booting, kernel compilation user

configuration
networking with Linux:TCP/IP-basics, IPX, SMB and useful tools
When applicable: Emacs tools for the tasks. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews   3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: A very good starting point for new system admins., February 20, 1999 By  Jeremy Zawodny (San Jose, CA (USA)) - See all my reviews    This review is from: Linux: Companion for System Administrators (Hardcover) This book contains a lot of very good information for the new system administrator (or casual Linux user). The 26 Chapters and 4 Appendices cover everything from LaTeX to DNS, the Linux boot process, customizing Emacs, the X Window, Backups, and more. The chapters are clearly labeled and each presents a good overview of the basics with references to more information on-line. This is a translation of the original German book, but I've yet to encounter a point where it actually seems like a translation. The translators did an outstanding job.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: The best intermediate Linux book I have found., January 11, 1999 By  Darren Day (USA) - See all my reviews    This review is from: Linux: Companion for System Administrators (Hardcover) As a casual Linux user coming from a PC background, I really consider this book a find. Most other Linux books I've come across are either high level programming guides or simple intros to installing an enclosed distribution. Finally, here is the information that's too high level for most Linux books but assumed to be known in most FAQs and newsgroups. It succinctly explains the various system init methods, the file system hierarchy, security (both user and group level), how to apply common utilities like rcs to sysadmin tasks, and many other topics. All are covered both in general and with specific notes on differences between Linux & most other Unix flavors, and amongst the different Linux distributions. Simply put, the best intermediate Linux book I have found. My only criticism is that after reading this book you'll want to reinstall your current Linux partition, so you can do it right this time.