UNIX System Administration Handbook (3rd Edition)
The third edition ofUnix System Administration Handbookstands  as a fantastic Unix book, perhaps one that's destined for legend. It's arguably  the best general Unix book around. Don't delay in getting it, and don't spend  too much time flinching at the price; it's worth it. If you work with Unix--in  any of its flavors--you'll use this book, and frequently.How, then, to begin the song of praises for the book? Let's start with its  comprehensiveness. The authors--a whole passel of them, but miraculously  consistent in style--deal with every subject that's central to the Unix  universe. Their diligence extends even to detailed coverage of subjects (like  the Domain Name System (DNS)) that many authorial squads omit. System  administrators need to understand it all--it's good to see everything covered in  one book. Of course, you still will need more focused texts for really  complicated situations, but the coverage here will carry you a long way.Although you probably will want to read this book cover to cover eventually, you  might first look at the index, which typically will guide you to a couple of  sections. First, an overview of the subject that interests you will explain what  the service or feature is meant to do, what it isn't meant to do, and how (in  fairly general terms) it does its job. You'll find four sections--one each on  the relevant configuration facts of the four emphasized Unix variants. These  sections aren't presented as explicit sequences of steps (which invariably leave  the reader asking, "But, what if... " anyway), but as narratives that are  interspersed with commands and configuration file listings. The approach works  well, and it's made even better by the syntax summaries and conceptual diagrams  that pop up now and then.--David WallTopics covered:Administration of Unix systems, with specific reference  to Solaris 2.7, HP-UX 11.00, Red Hat Linux 6.2, and FreeBSD 3.4. Administration  is a broad subject, and the authors touch on most of its aspects, including user  and file operations (basic and advanced), hardware configuration, and kernel  tweaking. Networking coverage includes basic connectivity, routing, server  software, DNS, and security.