The Accidental Administrator - Don R Crawley

The Accidental Administrator: Linux Server Step-by-Step Configuration Guide is packed with 54 hands-on, step-by-step exercises and 185 graphics including screen captures showing you exactly what you should be seeing on your own screen. It's the most straight-forward, visual approach to learning how to configure a Red Hat/CentOS Linux server, filled with practical tips and secrets learned from years of teaching, consulting, and administering Linux servers.

There's no time wasted on boring theory. The essentials are covered in chapters on installing, administering, user management, file systems and directory management, networking, package management, automated task scheduling, network services including DHCP and DNS, Samba, NFS, mail servers, Web and FTP servers, SSH, security, firewalls, NAT, performance monitoring, management tools, and more.

Inside this concise, step-by-step guide, you'll find:

Where to find and legally download the free server software
• How to build and configure an Apache Web server, including virtual hosts
• How to configure file and printer sharing for Windows clients with Samba
• How to understand Linux file and directory permissions

With hands-on exercises using virtualization (VMWare is used in the book, but other virtualization environments will work equally as well), this book is perfect for both individuals working by themselves or for groups such as classes and users groups.

All the information is presented in a straightforward, yet casual style that you can understand and use right away. This practical book makes it possible for you to build a working Linux server in a matter of minutes. Of course, some of the more advanced configs may take a little longer, but even so, you'll be able to "get it done" in a minimal amount of time.