Linux System Administration: A User's Guide by Marcel Gagné

Michael J. Jordan, Linux Online Staff

I never get tired of saying that Linux is better than Microsoft Windows but it is not easier - or at least what the public perceives as easier. It is my opinion that Linux's perceived difficulty, as compared to Microsoft's perceived ease, is actually it's greatest strength. In many cases an "easy" operating system will most likely get you into trouble. In 1997, after a few years of working with "easy" Windows, which I would describe as a hammer that comes with instructions on how to pound round pegs into square holes, I gave it all up when a good friend introduced me to Linux. I will be forever grateful to him.

Being a teacher, I like to use a school as an analogy for Linux. Schools have administrators to make sure that everything runs smoothly. Linux needs to be administered and though that concept might scare people away, there is actually no reason why it should. The irrational "fear" of operating system administration and maintainence was exploited by Microsoft who claimed to have removed administration as a requirement. Downplaying administration duties is like letting a group of 8 year olds run their own school. What's an operating system like when there's no "administration"? SirCam, BadTrans, CodeRed and [insert your MS compatible virus here] - that's what it's like.

To hide Windows' shortcomings, we have anti-virus, disk de-fragmentation and a host of other point and click software to apply patches to a buggy OS. A whole industry has sprung up trying to put the administration back into Windows without the user knowing it. Taking all of this into account, the so-called "easy and user friendly" Windows just becomes one giant drain on your time, patience and wallet. Maybe it's time for, as Spanish speakers say, "borrón y cuenta nueva" - a new start.

If you're looking for that new start, I recommend doing two things. One: buy or otherwise obtain a mainstream Linux distribution. There's one for your taste and neck of the woods: Caldera, Conectiva, Debian, Mandrake, Red Hat, Slackware, SuSE or TurboLinux. Then, pick up Marcel Gagné's book Linux System Administration: A User's Guide. When you've finished reading this book, you will have an excellent handle on Linux and you will be able to do great things.

When an author includes the word "administration" in the title of his or her book, this says to me that you're going to get a truthful accounting of what it is to run Linux. Marcel Gagné's book is just that. Plus, it's informative and enjoyable at the same time. Author of the popular "Cooking with Linux" pieces at Linux Journal, he brings the same kind of fun to the book that you get in his columns. I was delighted with this book because as the author of the beginner's Linux course here at Linux Online, I know that the greatest challenge awaiting a writer in this field is the way to present the technical information that users need to know without getting so technical as to lose your audience along the way. This book meets that challenge and does it superbly. All the time I was reading it, I kept saying to myself: "Yes - this is best way to explain it!". One of the things I particularly liked about the book was the chapter on the command line. I know what you're thinking: Didn't Windows eliminate the command line? That's like asking "Didn't baby formula eliminate mother's milk"?. Anybody who's really worked with a command line knows that once you learn piping and how to direct output, this method simply blows away any drag "n drop GUI there is. This chapter will explain everything you need to know about the command line, which is really the gateway to understanding the rest of Linux.

Speaking of understanding Linux, I have always found that the best way to learn it is to experiment with it. The outstanding quality of Marcel's book is that it immediately sets the tone of "Do try this at home folks" - saying to you: "Don't be afraid - Linux isn't just some OS for IT stunt men - it's for you". I absolutely love the 'see what happens when you do this" approach and some of the examples he uses, like this one on pg. 72:

Try this to get a feel for how [suspending processes] works:

xclock -digital -update 1 &

You should see the seconds counting away. Now, find its process ID with

ps ax | grep xclock

Pretend the process ID is 12136. Let's kill that with a SIGSTOP

kill -SIGSTOP 12136

The digits have stopped incrementing right? - Restart the clock:

kill -SIGCONT 12136

It's an innocuous looking series of commands, but with this little harmless xclock example, we're introduced to an extremely important tool in keeping a handle on our system. The book is full of these, inviting you to learn.

In general, the thing I found most satisfying about this book is the that the reader won't only come away knowing how to run a Linux system, but will have gained a sort of system administrator wisdom in the process. The chapter on simplified administration and another on security impart classic lessons on how laziness can actually be a virtue and how not to be "suckered" into getting cracked. True words of wisdom for the times we're living in when free time is a scarce commodity and inversely, there seems to be no shortage of evil-doers.

Anyway, even a good review can never do justice to a good book. If you've heard about Linux and you're interested in it, I urge you to follow the recipe I outlined at the beginning - get a mainstream Linux distribution and buy Marcel Gagné's book. You won't regret it. If you didn't know anything about Linux when you start reading, you'll be organizing"Linux install-fests" at your local user group when you've finished.

Bon apetit!

Marcel Gagné's book can be purchased at Amazon through our website. There are also a number of Linux Distributions available there as well. 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