Absolute OpenBSD: UNIX for the Practical Paranoid (Paperback)

by Michael W. Lucas (Author) "So, now that you've bought this book, you might think that you possess all the information you will ever need about OpenBSD..." (more)
Key Phrases: vnode device, isao port, systrace policies, Type of Service, Master Boot Record, Internet Protocol (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"People have been clamoring for an OpenBSD-specific book for years. Michael has stepped up to provide one." -- Theo de Raadt, Founder, OpenBSD

I recommend AbsoluteOpenBSD to all programmers and administrators working with the OpenBSD operating system -- UnixReview.com

a broad and mostly gentle introduction into the world of the OpenBSD operating system -- Chris Palmer, San Francisco Open BSD Users Group, August 7, 2003

a well-written book that hits its market squarely on target -- Slashdot.org, August 14, 2003

Product Description
ABSOLUTE OPENBSD is written for experienced UNIX users who want to add OpenBSD to their repertoire. It assumes a reasonable knowledge of basic UNIX commands, design, and permissions. It's a straightforward, practical, and complete guide to mastering this powerful and complex operating system. The book takes readers through the intricacies of the platform, teaching them how to manage the system with friendly explanations, background information, troubleshooting suggestions, and copious examples.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: No Starch Press; 1 edition (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886411999
• ISBN-13: 978-1886411999
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #573,799 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great BSD book from the guy who writes best about it, August 21, 2003

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

Six months ago I was happy to read Michael Lucas' "Absolute BSD," and today I'm glad I read "Absolute OpenBSD." This author knows just what to cover, and to what detail. To test the book's relevance I bought an OpenBSD 3.3 CD-ROM set and installed it, following Lucas' directions. I tried many of the procedures in the book, and found Lucas' instructions to be accurate on the whole. (Right now I'm rebuilding a system to incorporate a security patch that needs certain static binaries to be recompiled from source.)

Lucas provides the background and skills needed to get a working OpenBSD system. Although some of the most basic UNIX-type material appears by necessity in both "Absolute" books (these are both BSDs!), Lucas knows where each OS' strength lies. In his FreeBSD book, he spends more time on general purpose server services. Web, FTP, email, DNS, etc. all get their own chapters. In this OpenBSD book, Lucas devotes multiple chapters to topics that matter most to OpenBSD users -- security and packet filtering. While lots of people run Web, etc. on OpenBSD platforms, OpenBSD offers unique features in its systrace system call access control and PF packet filtering tools. Beyond these OpenBSD strengths, Lucas gives plenty of coverage to the routine yet crucial system administration tasks of adding and removing applications, and upgrading and patching the OS itself.

On the downside, some have commented on "rough editing." While the book has some typos, I didn't find them all that distracting. Beware p. 344, though -- I think "tag=OPENBSD3_2" should read "tag=OPENBSD_3_2". (This is subtle but could be important.) I also found the description of network layers in ch 8 to be perplexing. Why talk about "application, logical protocol, physical protocol, and physical layer" when no one else does? I would also have liked to have read of OpenBSD's use as a bridging firewall or as a VPN concentrator.

The bottom line is this: Michael Lucas knows what to write to help system administrators get the job done. I wish other authors did the same. I'd love to see Lucas or another "No Starch" author write "Absolute Cisco Routers," followed by "Absolute Cisco Switches." Any takers?

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Delightful, great for those new to OpenBSD, November 18, 2003

By	Gerald Ford "pho_kin" (The Jack n' the Box at the corner) - See all my reviews

Before reading this book, I had tried out OpenBSD a little, but I was left with many questions, and online documentation can be a bit intimidating at times. So when I found this book at the bookstore, I was thrilled. I am happy to say that this book really did live up to expectation.

The intended audience of this book were people who knew there way around Unix and Linux. One need not be a veteran user, but as the author points out, you are expected to know basic command line stuff. If you are there, you will find this book to be a very easy going, yet thorough introduction to OpenBSD.

This book walks you all the way through the origins of BSD, through installation (an excellent section of the book), to usage, compiling kernels, and so on. You get a well-rounded coverage of a very interesting operating system.

I also really like the author's style of writing. On the one hand, you get a genuine sense of professionalism, but on the other hand, he cracks some good jokes throughout. If you are a system admin of any sort, you will certainly appreciate the humor.

In closing, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who's had some experience with Unix and Linux. OpenBSD is a operating system few have tried, but I think after reading this book, you will definitely want to go out and try it yourself. The book is definitely time and money well spent.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes OpenBSD accessible to a moderately technical reader, November 11, 2003

By	Amadan "amadanb" (NY) - See all my reviews

OpenBSD is lauded for its security features -- this is THE OS to use for serious firewalls or secure web servers and the like. However, it is small and obscure compared to the better known, more popular FreeBSD, and of course there are 10 Linux users for every 1 person who has even heard of OpenBSD.

Until now, installing and using OpenBSD required reading numerous man pages and online FAQs and tutorials. OpenBSD's documentation is pretty good, but for the average person who just wants to try it out, it's an awful lot to wade through, with few navigational aids available. And the OpenBSD mailing lists are notoriously unforgiving of anyone who asks questions without having read every pertinent document first.

"Absolute OpenBSD" is just what this OS needed to make it more accessible to a wider user base. It takes you step by step through installation, configuration, and implementation, and then covers a number of more advanced topics, including no less than three very comprehensive chapters devoted to pf, OpenBSD's own packet filtering program. (OpenBSD uses this instead of ipchains or iptables, which is what you will find on other BSDs or Linux.) It tells you what every service you might want to run (or not) is, and where they are found and how to configure them. It goes through the contents of OpenBSD's /etc directory, file by file.

The author has a very straightforward yet humorous writing style, and he neither talks down to the reader nor assumes that you are a SysAdmin and networking god. He does assume that you have some familiarity with UNIX-style OSs and basic UNIX/Linux commands. It also helps if you know a little basic networking -- if you have never even configured your TCP/IP settings on your Linux or Windows box, then you may have a steeper learning curve ahead.

If you are completely new to the *NIX world, then starting out with OpenBSD, even using this book as a guide, may be a little too much to take on before you've learned the basics. However, if you are coming from the Linux world, or are familiar with other BSDs (FreeBSD, NetBSD) or UNIX variants, then you will have no trouble learning OpenBSD from this book. If you're a Linux guy who's wondering what's so great about OpenBSD, or a sysadmin thinking of building an OpenBSD firewall, this is the book for you. OpenBSD is not and never will be accessible to the average casual computer user, but if you're not afraid of a command line and willing to learn more about the guts of an operating system, "Absolute OpenBSD" is a fine tutorial and reference guide.

The emphasis in this book is on the OpenBSD operating system itself, and what makes it special and unique. There is very good coverage of OpenBSD's unique security features, and what differentiates it from other BSDs and Linux. If you just want to build a firewall, this book is all you need. If you want an introduction to OpenBSD, because you are thinking about using it for your server or workstation(s), this book will give you what you want. If you want to set up a server, this book will give you enough to get your OpenBSD machine set up and ready to be turned into one, but it does not cover setting up sendmail or DNS or Apache or DHCP or the like in great detail -- only what you need to know about setting those services up on OpenBSD. You'll need to go elsewhere for more detailed instructions on individual services. (If you already know how to set them up on another OS, though, then this book will tell you everything you need to know to get them running on OpenBSD.)

This is absolutely an excellent guide to OpenBSD, and I found nothing that wasn't covered adequately. It allowed me to install and upgrade my own OpenBSD machine and build a custom firewall for my home network, and I was coming from the Linux world with only a small amount of networking experience. While more OpenBSD books would be nice, this is the one that all future books will be compared against.