Beginning Red Hat Linux 9

Sandip Bhattacharya is an independent technology consultant specializing in Open Source technologies. He is a Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and besides holding degrees in engineering and management is the author of a number of books and articles on Open Source software. He currently runs Puroga Technologies, a small startup with a focus on helping businesses use the Open Source revolution to their advantage. He can be contacted at sandip@puroga.com. Sandip is an active participant in various Open Source communities in India, especially his local LUG, the Indian Linux Users Group, Delhi (ILUGD). Pancrazio 'Ezio' de Mauro has been using Red Hat Linux since 1996. He is a Linux consultant specializing in system integration, mobile technologies, and training. He actively supports and advocates the use of free software. Ezio spends most of his free time traveling and backpacking. He welcomes comments and questions at his e-mail address, pdm@demauro.net. Shishir Gundavaram is the Chief Technology Officer for MechanicNet Group, a company that specializes in p roviding CRM services for the automotive repair and maintenanc e industry. When he is not dealing with auto mechanics and broken-down cars, Shishir consults for a number of companies, designing architecture and providing technical expertise. He has more than a decade of experience in various aspects of software development and is considered a foremost expert in wireless applications, distributed systems, electronic commerce, and web backend architecture. He is also the author of various articles and books, including Professional Perl Development, CGI Programming on the World Wide Web, and Scripting Languages: Automating the Web, and he is regularly invited to speak at technical conferences around the world. Mark Mamone, a Solutions Specialist working for Syntegra Ltd in the UK, has 16 years of experience in the IT industry ranging from Assembler and MS-DOS and now specializing in the development of enterprise and mobile systems using a variety of technologies, including Microsoft .NET, Java, and Linux. Kapil Sharma, an Internet security and Unix consultant, has been working on various Unix systems and Internet security technologies for more than five years. He has deployed many Unix, high availability, clustering, and Internet security projects. Kapil is also a Sun Certified System Administrator (SCSA) and Sun Certified Network Administrator (SCNA). He enjoys working on new challenges in Internet security, Internet architecture design, and various Unix flavors. He also fancies technical writing and sharing his knowledge with the community. He is actively involved in the open source community and has written many technical articles on system and network security. Apart from his hectic technical life, Kapil also enjoys clubbing, music, and touring the world. Kapil currently lives with his wife, Usha Sharma, in London, U.K. and can be contacted via e-mail at kapil@linux4biz.net. He maintains a consultancy company and a web site with loads of security resources at www.linux4biz.net. Deepak Thomas lives and works in the San Francisco Bay area. His interests include PHP, Linux, and J2EE technologies. He has co-authored and reviewed several books for Wrox in these areas. In their spare time Deepak and Ansu go bike riding along the many beautiful trails in their part of the country. Simon Whiting, a graduate of Clare College, University of Cambridge, is a Principal Consultant for AnIX Group Ltd and has been a Unix system administrator. He is an expert in Linux, storage area networks, and C, Perl, and Korn Shell programming.

INTRODUCTION; Who Is This Book For?; What You Need To Use This Book; What Is Linux?; What Is Covered In This Book?; Conventions In This Book; Customer Support; 1. INSTALLING RED HAT LINUX 9; Preparing For The Installation; The Installation; 2. RED HAT LINUX 9 BASICS; Moving Around The Desktop; The File System; Managing The Hardware; Configuring The Desktop; Managing Users; 3. CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET; Connecting To The Internet; Managing Multiple Isps And Connections; Software And Configuration; 4. INSTALLING SOFTWARE; What Is Rpm?; The Rpm Command Line Tool; 5. EVERYDAY APPLICATIONS; Office Applications; Internet Applications; Personal Information Management; Multimedia Applications; System Applications; 6. THE SHELL; The Shell As A Command Line Interface; Built-In Programs And External Programs; Some Common Shell Commands; Special Keys And Shortcuts; Command Line Syntax; Configuring The Shell; Managing Tasks; Shell Scripting; 7. THE FILE SYSTEM; What Is The File System?; File Search Utilities; Navigating The File System; Managing Drives And Partitions; File System Maintenance; 8. MANAGING YOUR USER ACCOUNTS; The Purpose Of Different User Accounts; The Red Hat User Manager; How Linux Stores User Account Information; Advanced User Account Management; Advanced Group Management; Users, Groups, And File System Permissions; When Root Is Not Necessary; Who Is Logged In?; 9. BUILDING NETWORKS; Networking; Setting Up A Web Server; Setting Up An Ftp Server; Setting Up A Print Server; Setting Up A File Server; Setting Up A Mail Server; Setting Up A Dhcp Server; 10. ADVANCED SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION; System Configuration; Logging; Backing Up And Archiving; Building From Source; Rebuilding The Linux Kernel; 11. MANAGING YOUR SYSTEM WITH PERL; What Is Perl?; Installation; Learning Perl; And Finally... 12. SECURITY; What Is Meant By Computer Security?; Countering The Threats; Hardware; Local Security; Keeping Software Up To Date; Monitoring Security; Network Security; Where To Find Out More; 13. WHERE TO NOW?; Online Resources And Licensing Schemes; System Administration Applications; Development Applications.