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Linux Networking Cookbook
stoolpigeon writes "As a dba, I'm constantly looking to learn more about networking and system administration. Both can have quite an impact on the performance of my piece of the puzzle. A welcome addition to the materials to help me learn about networking is Carla Schroder's "Linux Networking Cookbook". This book is just right for the person like myself who enjoys learning by getting hands-on experience with the technology. The scope is wide and so someone with a great depth of networking experience may find that the treatments of each is a bit shallow. On the other hand, that wide scope means this book may hold something new, even for someone with some level of experience." Read on for the rest of JR's review.
Linux Networking Cookbook
author
Carla Schroder
pages
632
publisher
O'Reilly Media Inc.
rating
9
reviewer
JR Peck
ISBN
0-596-10248-8
summary
From asterisk to zebra with easy to use recipes.
This is not the kind of book that one sits and reads in the evening to gain new knowledge. I think of it more as a lab book or exercise guide. The user who has this open on the desk beside them, as they work through the 'recipes' is the one who will gain the most. The cookbook also assumes a basic level of ability in working with Linux from the command line.
The book follows a consistent format throughout the chapters. It truly is a cook book with the recipes taking the form of problems and solutions. There are eighteen chapters containing these recipes, the first chapter is a brief overview of networking in general. I think that Schroder's experience in implementing Linux networks or working with Linux in heterogenous networks really shows in the types of solutions and scenarios presented in the book.
Often as I worked through exercises, I kept thinking that what this book gave me was what I would have after hours of Googling and sifting through the results. Schroder has boiled that kind of hunting down to the necessary steps from installation, through configuration and use. For the person who values their time, or is not sure where to start searching for answers, this is a great resource.
The limitation of a recipe format is that modifying the solution or moving away from the detailed plan requires more experience and knowledge the further the reader departs from the given formula. Schroder has dealt with this issue in many chapters by giving instructions appropriate to Fedora and Debian. There are a couple exceptions to this which I will explain below.
I think that a strength of the book is that Schroder has not limited herself to desktop PC hardware. She is presenting a true overview of networking and so if the reader intends to work through every solution in the book, they are going to need to purchase some hardware. Some may object to this, and it is not absolutely necessary. Someone with enough experience or willing to do the research could shift things around and use say, an old desktop machine, but at that point they would be really doing things on their own and not needing the book.
There are 2 chapters that focus on building network devices with Pyramid Linux on a Single-Board computer. The hardware Schroder uses to write the solutions is a Soekris 4521, which retails for about $150. I think it is good that a person who might want to use this book knows that up front. To me, this is a much more economical solution than suggesting that one get their hands on a commercial device, and allows much more flexibility. Schroder could have shied away from asking for the reader to go to this step, but I think the choice reflects her commitment to making the book useful in real world situations.
The chapter on building an Asterisk VoIP system would probably also work best with some nice headphone/microphone sets that may be a necessary purchase for many. They are not required, a soundcard, microphone and speakers would work as well.
Having parallel solutions for Fedora and Debian side by side is very nice. After each solution there is also discussion of pertinent issues and reference to applicable resources. The other resources include pointing out appropriate man pages, web sites and other books. Schroder's style throughout is relaxed and very succinct. The nineteen chapters do cover such a wide array of technologies and issues, this book could easily be twice as large if she were wordy, instead it is very portable.
The chapters on network devices, routing, network monitoring and using linux to manage a network would be most valuable I think to network administrators or the person wearing that hat in a smaller shop. The chapters that revolve around connecting to systems remotely and using linux to manage windows machines could be a real boon to anyone who works in a mixed environment that includes more than just Linux machines. I've found all of it to be of value because I interact with all these pieces every day. It is nice to have a better grasp of how subnets are built and how routers work. I look forward to not relying on a gui or searching endless forums to get a good grasp on managing my iptables firewall.
Following the body, the book has three appendices. The first is a list of other resources. This is primarily other O'Reilly books, but there are books from other publishers and some resources available on the web. The second is a glossary of networking terms. The most useful to me was the third, a kernel building reference. I found the index to be decent. It isn't great, but it isn't bad either. The book comes with free access to it through Safari for 45 days, I thought that was a nice plus. O'Reilly has all of the examples available for download and the author's website is also a good launch point for related articles and information.
Slashdot often posts questions about Linux training. This book is a great way for the self learner to have a relatively unobtrusive guide while they gain direct experience in networking. Reading it alone wont do it, and there is still much to learn after completing each exercise, but a large part of the core competencies are there and thoroughly covered. I think there is also a lot here for that reader who has lobbied to get Linux in the door and now faces the task of getting their Linux machine to play nice with the rest of the network.
You can purchase Linux Networking Cookbook from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
The book follows a consistent format throughout the chapters. It truly is a cook book with the recipes taking the form of problems and solutions. There are eighteen chapters containing these recipes, the first chapter is a brief overview of networking in general. I think that Schroder's experience in implementing Linux networks or working with Linux in heterogenous networks really shows in the types of solutions and scenarios presented in the book.
Often as I worked through exercises, I kept thinking that what this book gave me was what I would have after hours of Googling and sifting through the results. Schroder has boiled that kind of hunting down to the necessary steps from installation, through configuration and use. For the person who values their time, or is not sure where to start searching for answers, this is a great resource.
The limitation of a recipe format is that modifying the solution or moving away from the detailed plan requires more experience and knowledge the further the reader departs from the given formula. Schroder has dealt with this issue in many chapters by giving instructions appropriate to Fedora and Debian. There are a couple exceptions to this which I will explain below.
I think that a strength of the book is that Schroder has not limited herself to desktop PC hardware. She is presenting a true overview of networking and so if the reader intends to work through every solution in the book, they are going to need to purchase some hardware. Some may object to this, and it is not absolutely necessary. Someone with enough experience or willing to do the research could shift things around and use say, an old desktop machine, but at that point they would be really doing things on their own and not needing the book.
There are 2 chapters that focus on building network devices with Pyramid Linux on a Single-Board computer. The hardware Schroder uses to write the solutions is a Soekris 4521, which retails for about $150. I think it is good that a person who might want to use this book knows that up front. To me, this is a much more economical solution than suggesting that one get their hands on a commercial device, and allows much more flexibility. Schroder could have shied away from asking for the reader to go to this step, but I think the choice reflects her commitment to making the book useful in real world situations.
The chapter on building an Asterisk VoIP system would probably also work best with some nice headphone/microphone sets that may be a necessary purchase for many. They are not required, a soundcard, microphone and speakers would work as well.
Having parallel solutions for Fedora and Debian side by side is very nice. After each solution there is also discussion of pertinent issues and reference to applicable resources. The other resources include pointing out appropriate man pages, web sites and other books. Schroder's style throughout is relaxed and very succinct. The nineteen chapters do cover such a wide array of technologies and issues, this book could easily be twice as large if she were wordy, instead it is very portable.
The chapters on network devices, routing, network monitoring and using linux to manage a network would be most valuable I think to network administrators or the person wearing that hat in a smaller shop. The chapters that revolve around connecting to systems remotely and using linux to manage windows machines could be a real boon to anyone who works in a mixed environment that includes more than just Linux machines. I've found all of it to be of value because I interact with all these pieces every day. It is nice to have a better grasp of how subnets are built and how routers work. I look forward to not relying on a gui or searching endless forums to get a good grasp on managing my iptables firewall.
Following the body, the book has three appendices. The first is a list of other resources. This is primarily other O'Reilly books, but there are books from other publishers and some resources available on the web. The second is a glossary of networking terms. The most useful to me was the third, a kernel building reference. I found the index to be decent. It isn't great, but it isn't bad either. The book comes with free access to it through Safari for 45 days, I thought that was a nice plus. O'Reilly has all of the examples available for download and the author's website is also a good launch point for related articles and information.
Slashdot often posts questions about Linux training. This book is a great way for the self learner to have a relatively unobtrusive guide while they gain direct experience in networking. Reading it alone wont do it, and there is still much to learn after completing each exercise, but a large part of the core competencies are there and thoroughly covered. I think there is also a lot here for that reader who has lobbied to get Linux in the door and now faces the task of getting their Linux machine to play nice with the rest of the network.
You can purchase Linux Networking Cookbook from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
So does it tell you how to get you linux box to gateway a wireless router to the internet via slow phone modem?
-- Stephen.
The last time I followed advice from a cookbook I ended up in prison for three years. Anarchist's, Linux Networking... I don't care I'll never touch another cookbook again!
I got a catholic block.
That is what they are for, and is where I went when I first learned to set up my network (dns, dhcp, ipchains later iptables, etc). The neat thing is you'll stumble across something cool that you might not have thought of before.
http://tldp.org/
Sorry, this isn't meant as a personal shot at the reviewer or the book, but I just can't resist:
As a dba, I'm constantly looking to learn more about networking and system administration.
Our networking guy got busted watching 2 Girls 1 Cup last week and now I'm stuck pulling double duty while we look for a replacement.
Both can have quite an impact on the performance of my piece of the puzzle.
Look there's a reason I became a DBA, OK? I can barely calculate a subnet, let alone figure out how to get a new server up and running.
A welcome addition to the materials to help me learn about networking is Carla Schroder's "Linux Networking Cookbook".
So I went to Barnes and Noble over lunch and bought every damn computer book with an animal on it I could find, and then some.
This book is just right for the person like myself who enjoys learning by getting hands-on experience with the technology.
I lucked out with this one as it has lots of step-by-step examples for various tasks and commands.
The scope is wide and so someone with a great depth of networking experience may find that the treatments of each is a bit shallow.
I already said I was a noob, OK, cut me some slack!
On the other hand, that wide scope means this book may hold something new, even for someone with some level of experience.
But it saved my butt when the swap file partition took a crap yesterday, you could do worse.
in the story/review?
Hmmm....
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Parent is another one of those lame myminicity spams.
Kevin Smith on Prince
Ooh, you really hate karma, don't ya :)
I find that the more complicated Linux networking setups involve bonding, which is used in enterprise setups to allow you to both aggregate traffic across multiple ethernet links, and to provide automatic failover/failback in case one or more of those links go down.
Is this covered in the book? A Linux networking book that doesn't cover bonding is pretty much worthless to me as a Linux system administrator.
"When the president does it, that means it's not illegal." - Richard M. Nixon
You are correct that Linux is difficult to configure and the documentation sucks. What you don't mention is that Windows is impossible to configure and undocumented. For example, how do I configure my Windows system to mount a disk with a JFS2 filesystem? To print to CUPS? To read a 9-track tape written on TOPS-20? How do I find out?
Ubuntu comes pre-configured, it auto downloads video and audio codexes from the web, nothing difficult about it. If you do have to configure anything it's a simple point and click interface, no terminals needed.
However, if you want to learn you can even go dig up linux from scratch and go through every step in creating an entire Linux distro. It is your choice, stick with what you are given, or infinitely customize it to your liking.
And you are free to take your work and sell it, or rent it out, or give it away for free. Your choice. MySQL just sold for a billion dollars. Maybe you should get to work on writing some needed infrastructure and creating a company around it and you can
Microsoft does not give you the choice. It's their way or nothing. And no sharing with friends. And if you dare to try to compete against them on their platform, like netscape, or they will crush you.
A hosts file should be enough for anyone! Especially if they got a PFY to keep them all updated.
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
> And if you dare to try to compete against them on their
> platform, like netscape, or they will crush you.
Netscape pretty much owned the browser market, before MS wrote IE.
Therefore, it is "And if you dare to have a product that they can reimplement in a mediocre fashion and compete against you, they will, and then they will crush you."
Jayhaek88 is right then. And I have some additions. You get jobs through "networking". You never red a book .. you watch TV. You are too lazy to read so you picked up what you considered is a "shortcut" book. You don't write code ( and yes scripting is not code ) ..proof is the book that you red. You are trying to invent yourself. Your post is marketing bullshit.