Red Hat Linux Networking and System Administration Reviews

• Prep for the RHCE

  
  By on 2002-09-20
  Clear - accurate map of the topics covered in the RHCE certification. This book includes the RHCE topics and skills but most importantly does things the Red Hat way. This book is not designed for Linux newcomers but with about 3-5 months of study you can get up to speed (assuming you know networking). Not only does it provide explanations but also gives examples. I have found in many Linux books that the examples given do not work or minor details are left out (causing major headaches). The examples in this book are real and accurate. For my Linux courses this is one of three core books I reccommend to my students.
  
  

• The Best Linux Networking Book in print today!!!

  
  By on 2002-05-08
  I have "Red Hat Unleashed" and "Red Hat the complete reference"...both are helpful books if you already know networking. They are both more like dictionaries or reference journals though. "Red Hat Linux Networking and System Administration " takes you from planning a network all the way through to the end with very specific instructions...a much better text to start your Linux journey into networking. BUY THIS BOOK!!!
  
  

• Do not trust this book.

  
  By A2L46IXAMNJWJR on 2002-12-26
  I've read many Linux administration books, and consider myself a mid to senior level Linux administrator. This book has some serious problems. I'd be suprised if there weren't several other authors aside from the ones listed, because the book seems to be contradictory at times, and cobbled together.

  Most of the networking instructions are correct, and the file listings are generally all right, but the configuration instructions do not always lead to the results they're trying to achive, or do not match the output they show.

  I'd suggest a non RedHat specific book for Linux administration know how anyway - you'll get a more broad understanding of the issues without locking yourself into the way one particular distribution does things.
  
  

• Outdated and insufficient info, not very good.

  
  By A3I19RV2UJTXQ4 on 2003-05-10
  Hello all,

  I bought this book together with Red Hat Linux 8 Unleashed. I have been working on a small corporate linux server for a month now. I have referred to these books many times. Compared to RedHat Linux 8 Unleashed, this book has very little in it. Although it is "supposed to be" dedicated to administration, you will find more in general linux books. I must admit that the book is good for referencing. For example, you try to set up something. You look up the subject in the book and read the corresponding section. The material is most likely to be outdated and probably the scripts written in the book do not work anymore. (Or they are wrong from the beginning) However, you get to have an intuition about the subject and know where to start searching the web for the required material.

  To sum up, if you have a limited budget do not go with this book. I would recommend RedHat Linux 8 Unleashed instead of this. However, if you got the money, this book may have some additional stuff in administration bussiness that may be helpful to you.

  Good luck.
  
  

• BEST advanced Linux SysAdmin book! (per large Co.)

  
  By ANWWWJWSXEDBI on 2002-04-24
  This book is THE ONE to buy, for advanced RedHat SA's!
  Very complete and in-depth coverage of the more-important topics.
  And to "prove" this, the Sr. Linux admins at a large Co. have selected this as the ONE book all the SA's should refer to.
  (Also the companion security book)
  
  
• virus on the cd
  By on 2003-10-04
  The book is terrific but I found a virus on the CD. I notified Mr. Kabir but it is the publisher's responsibility and they did not provide an email address for complaints.

  virus is the Unix PSite virus and it is in the VetesCan-8-9-200.tar.gz file.

  Buyer beware!
  
  

• Fantastic Book: Pretty much everything you need to be a RHCE
  By on 2002-05-30
  From configuration, subnetting to security this book has it all. Once linux hits it big, you will want to be prepared to provide support for Red Hat boxes. This book is pretty much everything you need. Also this is the most recent Red Hat book, it covers Red Hat 7.2 (ie EXT3 file systems). So if you want to setup Tripwire, Wu-FTP or secure your box this is THE book to get. Great for weekend hackers and seasoned Solaris Admins.
  I also recommend Osborne Press's RHCE study guide. Only flaw with that book is it is based off of Red Hat 7.1.
  -Good luck
  
  
• Best reference if you don't know
  By A1OW6AQWJTO187 on 2002-06-24
  it is really good to start Linux with this ONE book, as it covers every aspect of Linux. But if you want to dig deeper and find more helpful info, maybe you need to buy other books.
  
  
• Many many typos
  By on 2002-12-24
  These books were clearly not proofread before publication. Typos in a book for a command line operating system are a definite no-no.
  
  
• One of the All-time Best Linux Books
  By A3KMWHIJT9OE2Z on 2003-04-16
  I bought this book several months ago and have been using it nearly everyday. I am relatively new to Linux and thought that this book might be too advanced for me. After using it, I did find many areas that were way beyond me, but the explanations and examples were so clear that I began to understand. I think this book has really helped me to rapidly advance my Linux knowledge and skills. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to truly master Linux.
  
  
• No Good
  By on 2002-12-06
  This book is watered down and contains typographical errors. Some errors are 1 sentence apart and contradictory. This book is not for an administrator, but rather for someone who wants an error prone introduction to RedHat.

  -Ryan
  
  

• Great Red Hat Book for Your Linux Bookshelf
  By A1OCVK0493SKUL on 2003-01-23
  I thought this book covered a lot of material and did it quite well. It is specifically tailored to the Red Hat O/S and provides good instructions for many areas of system administration.

  On the negative side, I did find some typos in the book, but I have never read a book that didn't have some typos. Comparing this book to many others I have seen on many topics, I think that it is no worse in typos than other similar high quality books. The fact that the book has a few typos in no way affects my opinion that the material covered in this book is accurate and presented well.

  I would recommend this book to anyone who is familiar with RHL and wants to learn more in a concise, thoughtful manner!
  
  

• A comprehensive Red Hat Linux book
  By A1MQW2YW57X1E9 on 2003-03-12
  If you are using, or thinking about using Red Hat Linux, you should buy this book. I found this book to be very useful for nearly everything I wanted to do on my system. Following the examples in the book I was able to configure Apache, Samba, NFS and anything I needed to use the system on my network. I highly recommend this book to Red Hat Linux users.
  
  
• Right at my level
  By A1M8PP7MLHNBQB on 2005-10-19
  Now in its third edition along with a DVD that includes Full Fedora Core 4, the latest (as of 10/18/05). People have complained that this book (in its earlier editions) are too simplified and beginnerish. I guess then that I'm not enough of a guru to go to something more advanced.
  
  I find the background that this book gives is exactly at the level I need. Some books that simply say 'type this in.' Other books take a few hundred pages to explain what's happening at a level where I've forgotten the question by the time I get to the end of the description. This book is positioned at a nice level inbetween. I know what to type in and I have some understanding of why.
  
  I further like the writing style and the way they use bold face, 'Notes' and 'Tips' to emphasize things. These features enable me to find out what I need more quickly. Finally, there are additions from the earlier editions which explain things that caused questions or were left out.
  
  I'd rank this as an intermediate level book. It's not a here's how to start with Linux book. Nor is it an in great depth geek level book. I guess I like it so well, because it's at about the level I need.
  
  
• No experience necessary
  By A14WB7L34INPPY on 2006-03-08
  I have been working in a Windows IT environment for over 7 years, but had no Linux experience except for installing it on a test machine (but then again, even a 5 year-old could install it since it's so easy). But I never had to work with it in an enterprise level until now. Without any solid experience with Linux and armed only with this book (and 7 years of "figuring it out" IT skills), I managed to get Redhat ES v3 running on an old server class machine with an older RAID controller. I even got it to talk to Windows clients AND the old HP-UX servers (I didn't have Unix experience either!). The boss was impressed! This is an excellent book that doesn't get annoying (like those Dummies books) or pretends to be a "Linux Admin book for Beginners" like that other book that's out there. I started with an older version of this book from the library, and this new version is even better. This book is a great investment and I'm glad I bought it.
  
  
• very "beginnerish"
  By on 2003-11-18
  As some of the other reviewers have said, this book is very watered down. The names of various utilities and how to install them from the command line & the graphical interface are mentioned, and in some cases a small amount of detail is provided. This book provided a good starting point for most linux networking utilities but that is about it.
  
  
• Well done - a bit outdated in 2003
  By on 2003-11-19
  It's a great book with very thorough descriptions of things that other books (e.g. RH 8 unleashed) gloss over or don't cover at all - NIS as an example. Doesn't just tell you the commands to use like some ceritifcation books but explains how things are structured from the ground up. It's getting a little outdated although fundamentally it's still ok.
  
  
• Great Reference
  By A1ZU9J0P55DA09 on 2005-02-05
  Don't listen to any reviews on this page that are dated before 2004 as they refer to the first edition of this book. The second edition covers RH Enterprise. What I like about this book is that it doesn't have all the "fluff" found in may sys. admin. books. By fluff I mean, introductions to basic commands, piping, ect. The System Administration sections contain a lot of little, specific details that most books simply don't include. Overall, an excellent reference book.
  
  
• Very good book
  By A299QVBP9OFPGL on 2005-02-10
  Very good book with lots of information, but sometimes the author gets carried away with his so-called version of MAN pages. If you need more detail on some stuff, you will need to reference some other book or check online. The book did have some errors and wrong diagrams, just wished someone have proof read it better....
  
  
• Not a great guide, not really great.
  By ATUW69AECZJDL on 2007-02-02
  If I could I would give this book two and a half stars, but 2 will do. I am a complete noob when it comes to Linux and got this book for class. The book is getting really outdated. I had several different problems installing fedora and it was no hope. Not a great guide for a true beginner but makes a decent reference. I like a lot of examples when starting something new and the examples in this book are lacking. For being 1,000 pages its surprising what is left out.
  
  

• RHCE Red Hat Certified Engineer Linux Study Guide (Exam RH302) (Certification Press)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Administration Unleashed
• A Practical Guide to Linux(R) Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming
• A Practical Guide to Red Hat(R) Linux(R): Fedora(TM) Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (3rd Edition)
• Red Hat Linux Administration: A Beginner's Guide (Beginner's Guide)