Advanced Linux Networking by Roderick W. Smith

Michael J. Jordan, Linux Online Staff

July 17, 2002

Besides being an overall good Linux book, Roderick Smith's Advanced Linux Networking is a computer book that you can thoroughly enjoy reading. I stress the word "enjoy" because I really can't say that reading how-to computer books is normally pleasurable for me. You may like a book because it teaches you some important things about how to perform a task or how to solve some problem. Smith's latest Linux book is one that you can sit down and just read, taking it all in. It's not simply a book that you're just going to be flipping through with one hand while your other hand is on the keyboard. Don't get me wrong - it's not for sitting around on a lazy Sunday afternoon with. It's a great general how-to that you should add to your collection if you're trying to use Linux seriously in your home or place of work.

The major virtue of this book is its honest and straight-forward approach to showing you how to deal with the major networking and administration tasks. When Smith dedicates a chapter to explaining some aspect of Linux use, like running mail servers, for instance, you're not left scratching your head. He doesn't introduce difficult concepts only to quickly retreat into the too often used   'but it's really beyond the scope of this book'  disclaimer, typical of second rate Linux offerings. If he used the phrase once or twice, it was because the concept in question needed to be mentioned in relation to something else but was truly too big to cover specifically. This is a first rate tome. The things you need to know are explained with precision and clarity. Smith obviously took into account who was going to read it and what they were probably looking for in a Linux book.

Another plus is that this is probably the first book I've seen that tries to deal with all the major distributions and does it well. The best example on how well the author does this is Chapter 4 - entitled 'Starting Servers'. It starts with a table on where to look for startup scripts for the particular distribution you're using. This is also a prime example of how well organized the book is.

Complete is another adjective I'd apply to the book. I can safely say that this book leaves nothing out that you should really know. Even with the number of topics in the book, each is explained thoroughly and, getting back to what I mentioned earlier, he doesn't fall into the 'beyond the scope' trap.

You'll also find good treatment of topics that aren't covered that much in books, but are important to people migrating from other platforms, like setting up font servers and finding the right GUI tools to maintain Linux machines.

Smith deals with the bread and butter topics like mail servers in a fresh new way. I was particularly happy with those chapters on 'pushing' and 'pulling' email. I even picked up some tips on handling my own increasingly disheveled procmail filters.

I also appreciated the candor the author displayed in dealing with some of Linux's weaknesses. For example, Smith writes:

Unfortunately, there is no centralized registry of running servers on a Linux system. If there were, locating servers would be a fairly straight-forward process. Instead, you must piece together information from several different sources.

Even for people with some years of Linux experience behind them, this is a book that's full of practical common sense tips - and while one might think that the wisdom of doing certain things should be obvious, you'd be surprised how many times you don't do them. For example, Smith advises you to comment out lines in configuration files instead of deleting them. Believe me, after recently tweaking a Apache configuration file and then disabling my web server, I appreciate the reminder.

If you need to find the most efficient way to make backups, if you need to serve web pages and handle mail, if you want to set up Windows or Unix file sharing in your company, if you want to keep your network secure by running a firewall or setting up secure web servers - in short, if you want to take advantage of Linux's strengths in a networked environment, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it.

Roderick Smith's book can be purchased at Amazon through our website. There are other Linux books and distributions available there as well. By purchasing through this site, we receive a small commission that helps defray the costs of maintaining Linux Online.

Michael J. Jordan, considers himself a Linux "educator", who educates people on the benefits of using Linux. He can be reached at Michael.Jordan@Linux.org