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Top Ten Linux Configuration Tools?

jman251 asks: "I am presenting at a conference in September on a couple of Linux-centric topics. One of these is a collection of tips, tricks, and tools for configuring, securing, and maintaining a Linux-based server. I have a short list of tools I use, but would like some community input on the subject. What tools do you use that make your admin responsibilities easier or more automated on the Linux platform?"

29 of 651 comments (clear)

  1. rm by bobthemuse · · Score: 5, Funny

    rm -rf /home

    That'll teach those pesky users....

    1. Re:rm by DrEvil-47 · · Score: 1, Funny
      Device configuration...

      rm -rf /dev/*

      This really happened to me when my "assitant" attempted to recover disk space by deleting all of those extra entries in the /dev directory. *sigh*

    2. Re:rm by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

      you can't have users to torment, if you don't create any.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  2. Hmm.. by wbav · · Score: 5, Funny

    Most of the pc's I see are windows, so I'd have to say my most used tool is fdisk.

    Knoppix is a nice solution too when I don't have time.

    --

    =================
    Unix is very user friendly, it's just picky about who its friends are.
  3. Computer Management.. by bdigit · · Score: 5, Funny

    I use Computer Management. It's located under Administrative Tools in the Control Panel. It's really great for... wait a minute... looks around... wrong site...

    takes a couple steps back...

  4. Hmmmmm. by eigerface · · Score: 5, Funny


    Emacs! No, vi! No, Arrrrrrgh!

    1. Re:Hmmmmm. by Tezkah · · Score: 2, Funny

      You forgot about ed!

      Computer Scientists love ed, not just because it comes first alphabetically, but because it's the standard. Everyone else loves ed because it's ED!

      "Ed is the standard text editor."

      And ed doesn't waste space on my Timex Sinclair. Just look:

      - -rwxr-xr-x 1 root 24 Oct 29 1929 /bin/ed
      - -rwxr-xr-t 4 root 1310720 Jan 1 1970 /usr/ucb/vi
      - -rwxr-xr-x 1 root 5.89824e37 Oct 22 1990 /usr/bin/emacs

      Of course, on the system *I* administrate, vi is symlinked to ed. Emacs has been replaced by a shell script which 1) Generates a syslog
      message at level LOG_EMERG; 2) reduces the user's disk quota by 100K; and 3) RUNS ED!!!!!!

      "Ed is the standard text editor."

      Let's look at a typical novice's session with the mighty ed:

      golem> ed
      ?
      help
      ?
      ?
      ?
      quit
      ?
      exit
      ?
      bye
      ?
      he llo?
      ?
      eat flaming death
      ?
      ^C
      ?
      ^C
      ?
      ^D
      ?

      - ---
      Note the consistent user interface and error reportage. Ed is generous enough to flag errors, yet prudent enough not to overwhelm the novice with verbosity.

      "Ed is the standard text editor."

      Ed, the greatest WYGIWYG editor of all.

      ED IS THE TRUE PATH TO NIRVANA! ED HAS BEEN THE CHOICE OF EDUCATED AND IGNORANT ALIKE FOR CENTURIES! ED WILL NOT CORRUPT YOUR PRECIOUS
      BODILY FLUIDS!! ED IS THE STANDARD TEXT EDITOR! ED MAKES THE SUN SHINE AND THE BIRDS SING AND THE GRASS GREEN!!

      When I use an editor, I don't want eight extra KILOBYTES of worthless help screens and cursor positioning code! I just want an EDitor!! Not a "viitor". Not a "emacsitor". Those aren't even WORDS!!!! ED! ED! ED IS THE STANDARD!!!
      TEXT EDITOR.

      When IBM, in its ever-present omnipotence, needed to base their "edlin" on a UNIX standard, did they mimic vi? No. Emacs? Surely you jest. They chose the most karmic editor of all. The standard.

      Ed is for those who can *remember* what they are working on. If you are an idiot, you should use Emacs. If you are an Emacs, you should not be vi. If you use ED, you are on THE PATH TO REDEMPTION. THE SO-CALLED "VISUAL" EDITORS HAVE BEEN PLACED HERE BY ED TO TEMPT THE FAITHLESS. DO NOT GIVE IN!!! THE MIGHTY ED HAS SPOKEN!!!

      ?

    2. Re:Hmmmmm. by DarkHelmet · · Score: 5, Funny

      Pico: A choice that will piss both sides off equally.

      --
      /^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
    3. Re:Hmmmmm. by Skald · · Score: 5, Funny
      Emacs! No, vi! No, Arrrrrrgh!
      While Emacs may be your Top Ten Configuration Tools, I'm pretty sure Vi only counts as one. :-)
      --

      "The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." - Alexander Hamilton

    4. Re:Hmmmmm. by override11 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Ed is teh suck, Notepad rules!

      N073P@D OWNZ JOO!

      --
      No I didnt spell check this post...
    5. Re:Hmmmmm. by hawaiian717 · · Score: 5, Funny
      You obviously don't know what a real text editor is capable of.

      Editing text files?

      --
      End of Line.
  5. List is here... by ReluctantBadger · · Score: 1, Funny

    Surprisingly, Microsoft give a list of Linux support tools for use with their "Services For UNIX" software.

  6. Tim. by geekoid · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's easy to use, I just pick up the phone, ask Tim to fix this Linux thing.
    Easy-peasy.
    Or I just do what Vigor tells me to do.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  7. Re:The one true Text Editor! by alexborges · · Score: 5, Funny

    Vi user 1: KILL THE TROLL

    Vi user 2: Mesmerize this so-called-pico-mesiah

    Slashdot winfiend1: I for one....

    Slashdot winfiend2: Imagine a ....

    Emacs user 1: Damn, the vimers beat us to the hangin!... we cant say kill him, they already did...

    Emacs user 2: Its Gnu-Pic.... oh wait...

    --
    NO SIG
  8. Re:Webmin is nice by cdrudge · · Score: 1, Funny

    Remember that SCO has contributed to webmin. Using webmin obviously means that you are violating their IP rights and will be sued for $1b per day of infringement. Of course you likely were already violating their IP rights by using the Linux kernel, java, and if you use RedHat, rpm.

  9. Re:Shouldn't you be asking by Sivar · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Ed is the standard text editor."

    And ed doesn't waste space on my Timex Sinclair. Just look:

    -rwxr-xr-x 1 root 24 Oct 29 1929 /bin/ed
    -rwxr-xr-t 4 root 1310720 Jan 1 1970 /usr/ucb/vi
    -rwxr-xr-x 1 root 5.89824e37 Oct 22 1990 /usr/bin/emacs

    Of course, on the system *I* administrate, vi is symlinked to ed.
    Emacs has been replaced by a shell script which 1) Generates a syslog
    message at level LOG_EMERG; 2) reduces the user's disk quota by 100K;
    and 3) RUNS ED!!!!!!

    "Ed is the standard text editor."

    Let's look at a typical novice's session with the mighty ed:

    golem$ ed

    ?
    help
    ?
    ?
    ?
    quit
    ?
    exit
    ?
    bye
    ?
    hell o?
    ?
    eat flaming death
    ?
    ^C
    ?
    ^C
    ?
    ^D
    ?

    ---
    Note the consistent user interface and error reportage. Ed is
    generous enough to flag errors, yet prudent enough not to overwhelm
    the novice with verbosity.

    "Ed is the standard text editor."

    Ed, the greatest WYGIWYG editor of all.

    --
    Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. --E. W. Dijkstra
  10. Re:SSH. by codepunk · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hey you cannot possibly admin 600 machines with 4 guys, Microsoft said so!

    I was thinking the same thing, I have active ssh connections to servers nearly around the clock.

    --


    Got Code?
  11. Re:In a word by mike77 · · Score: 4, Funny
    Perl is your friend


    my ass, perl is GOD

    --

    --Keeping the flame wars alive, one post at a time

  12. Re:In a word by AvantLegion · · Score: 5, Funny
    >> Perl is your friend

    Well it sure doesn't act like it sometimes.

  13. Actually... by IronChefMorimoto · · Score: 2, Funny

    To configure Linux, I refer to the Windows XP blue CD-ROM boot screen AFTER I give up on installing Linux.

    Dammit. I hate being a Linux virgin. Or does a semi-successful installation of Mandrake Linux 8.x on a Dell laptop count? No? Still got the Linux cherry? DAMMIT!

    IronChefMorimoto

    1. Re:Actually... by sharkey · · Score: 2, Funny
      I hate being a Linux virgin.

      You're preaching to the choir. Or did you mean that you're new to using/installing Linux?

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  14. just basic tools... by Siva · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Kill zcat," sed ed.
    "Awk!" sed perl.
    "Make sum nice tee, joe," sed man.

    --

    Keyboard not found.
    Press F1 to continue.
  15. Computer Management ? by mailtomomo · · Score: 3, Funny

    Is it like Anger management ?

  16. Re:Dave Lettermans Top 10 by Rei · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm reminded a bit of the ABCs of UNIX here...

    A is for awk, which runs like a snail
    B is for biff, which reads all your mail
    C is for cc, as hackers recall
    D is for dd, the command that does all
    E is for emacs, which rebinds your keys
    F is for fsck, which rebuilds your trees
    G is for grep, a clever detective
    H is for halt, which may seem defective
    I is for indent, which rarely amuses
    J is for join, which nobody uses
    K is for kill, which makes you the boss
    L is for lex, which is missing from DOS
    M is for more, from which less was begot
    N is for nice, which really is not
    O is for od, which prints out things nice
    P is for passwd, which reads in strings twice
    Q is for quota, a Berkeley-type fable
    R is for ranlib, for sorting a table
    S is for spell, which attempts to belittle
    T is for true, which does very little
    U is for uniq, which is used after sort
    V is for vi, which is hard to abort
    W is for whoami, which tells you your name
    X is, well, X, of dubious fame
    Y is for yes, which makes an impression, and
    Z is for zcat, which handles compression

    --
    Very well; let this abomination unto the Lord begin!
  17. Re:They all start with "nano -wiR /etc/" by kristaps.kaupe · · Score: 3, Funny

    mine usually starts with `mc' :)

  18. Blbbbbph..... by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 4, Funny

    If Perl is God, then nobody would be able to understand the bible.

    ... oh wait.

  19. Pico, you dick mods. by teamhasnoi · · Score: 5, Funny
    WTF? I can't have Pico as my #1?

    When I don't have time to figure out goddamn control chars, and just want to edit a config file without having to resort to IRC, man pages, and poor documentation -

    I USE FUCKING PICO.

    All the commands are right there. On the screen.

    Maybe this elitist attitude is why Linux isn't ready for the desktop. Now mod me Troll, bitches.

  20. /bin/sash by greydmiyu · · Score: 2, Funny

    What good is your shell without commands? :P

    --
    -- Grey d'Miyu, not just another pretty color.
  21. Right. by soccerisgod · · Score: 3, Funny

    My 10 favorite linux configuration tools? Let's see:

    • Left little finger
    • Left ring finger
    • Left middle finger
    • Left index finger
    • Left thumb
    • Right little finger
    • Right ring finger
    • Right middle finger
    • Right index finger
    • Right thumb
    Yapp, that sums it up nicely.
    --
    If a train station is a place where a train stops, what's a workstation?