Synopses & Reviews
Whether you need a network of ten Linux PCs and a server or a data center with a few thousand UNIX nodes, you need to know how to automate much of the installation, configuration, and standard system administration.
Build your network once using cfengine, and the network build will work, without user intervention, on any hardware you prefer. Automating Linux and Unix System Administration, Second Edition is unique in its focus on how to make the system administrator's job easier and more efficient: instead of just managing the system administrator's time, the book explains the technology to automate repetitive tasks and the methodology to automate successfully.Both new and seasoned professionals will profit from industry?leading insights into the automation process. System administrators will attain a thorough grasp of cfengine, kickstart, and shell scripting for automation. After reading all chapters and following all exercises in this book, the reader will be able to set up anything from a Linux data center to a small office network. What you?ll learn
See how to make changes on many UNIX and Linux hosts at once in a reliable and repeatable manner. Learn how to automate things correctly so you only have to do it once, by leveraging the authors? experience in setting up small, medium, and large networks. Set up a Linux data center or a network correctly. Explore handling real?world environments where not all hosts are configured alike via a case study of a fictional new data center build-out. Examine real?world examples for core infrastructure services (DNS, mail, monitoring, log analysis, security, cfengine, imaging) to build on in your environment. Understand core system administration best practices, which are a key part of how cfengine and automations deployments are outlined in the book. Learn how to make changes reversible, repeatable, and correct the first time through interaction with product/application stakeholders (programmers, product managers, customers, etc.). Who this book is for
This book is for Linux system administrators who want to learn about the software and methodology to automate repetitive tasks--regardless of network or data center size--in one place. System managers will also find it much easier to think about network technology and automation projects if they read this book. This book is also for anyone who is interested in repeatable and secure infrastructure.
Synopsis
Ideal for Linux system administrators who want to learn about the software and methodology to automate repetitive tasks--regardless of network or datacenter size--in one place, this book offers readers a thorough grasp of cfengine, kickstart, and shell scripting for automation.
Synopsis
The system administrator is one of the users of a system, and something more. The administrator wears many hats, as knowledgeable user of UNIX commands, as an operator of system hardware, and as a problem solver. The administrator is also called upon to be an arbitrator in human affairs. A multiuser computer is like a vast imaginary space where many people work and utilize the resources found there. The administrator must be the village elder in this space and settle the disputes that may arise with, hopefully, the wisdom of Solomon. Rebecca Thomas and Rik Farrow (UNIX Administration Guide for System V, Pearson PTR, 1989) We find it interesting how little UNIX system administration has changed in the last twenty years. If you substitute computer network for multiuser computer, this description still fits perfectly. The main difference in UNIX system administration between 1989 and 2008 (besides ubiquitous networking) is the sheer number of systems that the average system adm- istrator deals with. Automation is the primary tool to deal with the chaos that can result from so many systems. With it, you can deploy systems identically every time, restore s- tems to a known good state, and implement changes reliably across all systems (or only an appropriate subset)."
Synopsis
This book is about automating tasks that any network administrator would otherwise have to manually perform. Automation increases the efficiency of a network because it reduces the number of errors that repetitive manual input is likely to produce, and at the same time reduces the number of personnel required to manually perform tasks.
Synopsis
This is the second edition of a title that succeeded before its time a this second edition comes at a timely juncture for Linux administrators and will become a key reference.
If Linux administrators want to build a small or medium-sized network or datacenter, this is the book to show them how to do it by automating the build process. Linux datacenters have multiplied over the last 5 years and literally thousands of Linux system administrators on all 5 continents need this information.