Can you recommend a good book?

[JavaMorph]

I'm sure this question gets asked a lot.
[I tried doing a search but it kept timing out on me.]

Can anyone recommend a good book on Linux that will explain what happens when the system boots, what the various system configuration files are for etc. etc.

I guess I want something more detailed than a general introduction to using Linux. Probably a system admin. guide, but I want one that explains things in detail without assuming previous *nix sys admin experience.

(I'm running Red Hat 7.2. I already have
"Red Hat Linux 7.2 Bible" by Christopher Negus and "A practical guide to Linux" by Mark Sobell.)

Thanks!

[Raskolnikov]

Go to www.oreilly.com (http://www.oreilly.com) and check out Running Linux...it should fit the bill.

[marvin]

The Redhat 7.2 Reference Guide (http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.2-Manual/ref-guide/) has some info on the boot process.

[seaman_staines]

Someone alreay mentioned O'reilly; another good source is the series of books from Sybex. They tend to be more specialized towards a specific topic or aspect of the system. For example they have one book for sendmail, one for apache, etc.

[mdwatts]

Besides the Linux books I have, I usually just read the included documentation installed with my distro.

/usr/share/doc/LDP/en-html/System-Admin-Guide/index.html


1. Introduction


The Linux Documentation Project
2. Overview of a Linux System


Various parts of an operating system
Important parts of the kernel
Major services in a UNIX system


init
Logins from terminals
Syslog
Periodic command execution: cron and at
Graphical user interface
Networking
Network logins
Network file systems
Mail
Printing
The filesystem layout
3. Overview of the Directory Tree


Background
The root filesystem
The /etc directory
The /dev directory
The /usr filesystem
The /var filesystem
The /proc filesystem
4. Using Disks and Other Storage Media


Two kinds of devices
Hard disks
Floppies
CD-ROM's
Tapes
Formatting
Partitions


The MBR, boot sectors and partition table
Extended and logical partitions
Partition types
Partitioning a hard disk
Device files and partitions
Filesystems


What are filesystems?
Filesystems galore
Which filesystem should be used?
Creating a filesystem
Mounting and unmounting
Checking filesystem integrity with fsck
Checking for disk errors with badblocks
Fighting fragmentation
Other tools for all filesystems
Other tools for the ext2 filesystem
Disks without filesystems
Allocating disk space


Partitioning schemes
Space requirements
Examples of hard disk allocation
Adding more disk space for Linux
Tips for saving disk space
5. Memory Management


What is virtual memory?
Creating a swap space
Using a swap space
Sharing swap spaces with other operating systems
Allocating swap space
The buffer cache
6. Boots And Shutdowns


An overview of boots and shutdowns
The boot process in closer look
More about shutdowns
Rebooting
Single user mode
Emergency boot floppies
7. init


init comes first
Configuring init to start getty: the /etc/inittab file
Run levels
Special configuration in /etc/inittab
Booting in single user mode
8. Logging In And Out


Logins via terminals
Logins via the network
What login does
X and xdm
Access control
Shell startup
9. Managing user accounts


What's an account?
Creating a user


/etc/passwd and other informative files
Picking numeric user and group ids
Initial environment: /etc/skel
Creating a user by hand
Changing user properties
Removing a user
Disabling a user temporarily
10. Backups


On the importance of being backed up
Selecting the backup medium
Selecting the backup tool
Simple backups


Making backups with tar
Restoring files with tar
Multilevel backups
What to back up
Compressed backups
11. Keeping Time


Time zones
The hardware and software clocks
Showing and setting time
When the clock is wrong
Glossary (DRAFT

That is from just one of the admin guides. There's also the how-to's, faq's and much more that most distros include.

[ph34r]

If you really want to learn it, and you already have a working install, then do a LFS system - you will learn about all of it, or at least all of whatever it is you want your Linux box to do. One of the big benefits is that a LFS system is very fast, since it is optimized for your hardware.

[vee-eye]

Originally posted by WattsMD:
<STRONG>Besides the Linux books I have, I usually just read the included documentation installed with my distro.

/usr/share/doc/LDP/en-html/System-Admin-Guide/index.html


...


That is from just one of the admin guides. There's also the how-to's, faq's and much more that most distros include.</STRONG>

That's awesome! I never realized how great the Linux Documentation Project was. Now that I have a reasonable amount of experience, I should probably be able to understand it, and that looks like a great tutorial.

[gritseater]

I have gotten some books in the 2 months on the discount or clearance shelves at the chain bookstores such as BooksAMillion, Borders, etc. They are usually 2-3 years old but about 3/4 have cdroms included. They are specific to one distro or program but the knowledge can usually be applied on a general basis. Example: Caldera OpenLinux 2.4 manual 1100 pages $5.95, MySQL $7.95, Unix Networks 6.95. The bonus is that you can read them in the bathroom or bedroom and not have to worry about fluids in your electronics. ;)

[jetblackz]

Yep yep yep, Raskolnikov said it. Must buy.

[FyberOptyx]

I found the O'Rielly reference library the other week on the web. 29 books in all. Priceless find.

[Denise]

I liked Osbornes's Linux Administration A beginners guide.

It comes with Redhat 7.0 on CD.

ISBN: 0-07-213136-5

[ee99ee3]

Well, my favorite book is Debian 2.1 Unleashed. Even though I'm on Debian 3.0 (Woody) now, it's still an awsome book for beginners. The stongpoint of the unleashed books is that they cover ALOT, but don't go into detail. Right now, though, I'm looking for some books more specific to what I do... anyone know any good books about X and whatnot?

-ee99ee2