Linux Bible

Linux Bible, 9th Edition is the ultimate hands-on Linux user guide, whether you're a true beginner or a more advanced user navigating recent changes. This updated ninth edition covers the latest versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 (RHEL 7), Fedora 21, and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, and includes new information on cloud computing and development with guidance on Openstack and Cloudforms. With a focus on RHEL 7, this practical guide gets you up to speed quickly on the new enhancements for enterprise-quality file systems, the new boot process and services management, firewalld, and the GNOME 3 desktop. Written by a Red Hat expert, this book provides the clear explanations and step-by-step instructions that demystify Linux and bring the new features seamlessly into your workflow.

This useful guide assumes a base of little or no Linux knowledge, and takes you step by step through what you need to know to get the job done.

• Get Linux up and running quickly
• Master basic operations and tackle more advanced tasks
• Get up to date on the recent changes to Linux server system management
• Bring Linux to the cloud using Openstack and Cloudforms

Linux Bible, 9th Edition is the one resource you need, and provides the hands-on training that gets you on track in a flash.

Christopher Negus has been teaching and writing about Linux and UNIX for more than 25 years. He is an instructor and principal technical writer for Red Hat, Inc., and the author of dozens of Linux and UNIX books, including Red Hat Linux Bible (all editions), CentOS Bible, Fedora Bible, Ubuntu Linux Toolbox, Linux Troubleshooting Bible, Linux Toys, and Linux Toys II.

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xxxiii

Part I: Getting Started 1

Chapter 1: Starting with Linux 3

Understanding What Linux Is 4

Understanding How Linux Differs from Other Operating Systems 6

Exploring Linux History 6

Understanding How Linux Distributions Emerged 16

Finding Professional Opportunities with Linux Today 20

Summary 26

Chapter 2: Creating the Perfect Linux Desktop 29

Understanding Linux Desktop Technology 30

Starting with the Fedora GNOME Desktop Live image 32

Using the GNOME 3 Desktop 33

Using the GNOME 2 Desktop 49

Summary 60

Exercises 61

Part II: Becoming a Linux Power User 63

Chapter 3: Using the Shell 65

About Shells and Terminal Windows 66

Choosing Your Shell 69

Running Commands 70

Recalling Commands Using Command History 76

Connecting and Expanding Commands 82

Using Shell Variables 85

Creating Your Shell Environment 88

Getting Information about Commands 92

Summary 94

Exercises 95

Chapter 4: Moving around the Filesystem 97

Using Basic Filesystem Commands 100

Using Metacharacters and Operators 102

Listing Files and Directories 105

Understanding File Permissions and Ownership 109

Moving, Copying, and Removing Files 114

Summary 115

Exercises 115

Chapter 5: Working with Text Files 117

Editing Files with vim and vi 117

Finding Files125

Summary 134

Exercises 134

Chapter 6: Managing Running Processes 137

Understanding Processes 137

Listing Processes 138

Managing Background and Foreground Processes 144

Killing and Renicing Processes 146

Limiting Processes with cgroups 149

Summary 151

Exercises 151

Chapter 7: Writing Simple Shell Scripts 153

Understanding Shell Scripts 153

Summary 168

Exercises 169

Part III: Becoming a Linux System Administrator 171

Chapter 8: Learning System Administration 173

Understanding System Administration 173

Using Graphical Administration Tools 175

Using the root user account 177

Exploring Administrative Commands, Configuration Files, and Log Files 182

Using Other Administrative Accounts 189

Checking and Configuring Hardware 190

Summary 199

Exercises 199

Chapter 9: Installing Linux x 201

Choosing a Computer 202

Installing Fedora from Live media 203

Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux from Installation Media 208

Understanding Cloud-Based Installations 211

Installing Linux in the Enterprise 211

Exploring Common Installation Topics 213

Summary 231

Exercises 231

Chapter 10: Getting and Managing Software 233

Managing Software on the Desktop 233

Going Beyond the Software Window 235

Understanding Linux RPM and DEB Software Packaging 236

Managing RPM Packages with YUM 240

Installing, Querying, and Verifying Software with the rpm Command 252

Managing Software in the Enterprise 256

Summary 257

Exercises 258

Chapter 11: Managing User Accounts 259

Creating User Accounts 259

Understanding Group Accounts 268

Managing Users in the Enterprise 270

Centralizing User Accounts 278

Summary 281

Exercises 281

Chapter 12: Managing Disks and Filesystems 283

Understanding Disk Storage 283

Partitioning Hard Disks 285

Using Logical Volume Management Partitions 295

Mounting Filesystems 301

Using the mkfs Command to Create a Filesystem 310

Summary 311

Exercises 311

Part IV: Becoming a Linux Server Administrator 313

Chapter 13: Understanding Server Administration 315

Starting with Server Administration 316

Managing Remote Access with the Secure Shell Service 323

Configuring System Logging 334

Checking System Resources with sar 340

Checking System Space 341

Managing Servers in the Enterprise 344

Summary 344

Exercises 345

Chapter 14: Administering Networking 347

Configuring Networking for Desktops 348

Configuring Networking from the Command Line 360

Configuring Networking in the Enterprise 371

Summary 374

Exercises 374

Chapter 15: Starting and Stopping Services 377

Understanding the Initialization Daemon (init or systemd) 378

Checking the Status of Services 399

Stopping and Starting Services 403

Enabling Persistent Services 408

Configuring a Default Runlevel or Target Unit 412

Adding New or Customized Services 414

Summary 422

Exercises 422

Chapter 16: Configuring a Print Server 423

Common UNIX Printing System 423

Setting Up Printers 425

Working with CUPS Printing 435

Using Printing Commands 439

Configuring Print Servers 441

Summary 446

Exercises 446

Chapter 17: Configuring a Web Server 449

Understanding the Apache Web Server 449

Getting and Installing Your Web Server 450

Starting Apache 454

Troubleshooting Your Web Server 471

Summary 475

Exercises 475

Chapter 18: Configuring an FTP Server 477

Understanding FTP 477

Installing the vsftpd FTP Server 479

Starting the vsftpd Service480

Securing Your FTP Server 483

Configuring Your FTP Server 488

Using FTP Clients to Connect to Your Server 492

Summary 496

Exercises 497

Chapter 19: Configuring a Windows File Sharing (Samba) Server r 499

Understanding Samba 499

Installing Samba 500

Starting and Stopping Samba 502

Securing Samba 506

Configuring Samba 511

Accessing Samba Shares 521

Using Samba in the Enterprise 525

Summary 525

Exercises 526

Chapter 20: Configuring an NFS File Server r 527

Installing an NFS Server 529

Starting the NFS service 530

Sharing NFS Filesystems 531

Securing Your NFS Server 536

Using NFS Filesystems 540

Unmounting NFS filesystems 549

Summary 549

Exercises 550

Chapter 21: Troubleshooting Linux 551

Boot-Up Troubleshooting 551

Troubleshooting Software Packages 568

Troubleshooting Networking 573

Troubleshooting Memory 580

Troubleshooting in Rescue Mode 585

Summary 587

Exercises 587

Part V: Learning Linux Security Techniques 589

Chapter 22: Understanding Basic Linux Security 591

Understanding Security Basics 591

Monitoring Your Systems 608

Auditing and Reviewing Linux 622

Summary 624

Exercises 624

Chapter 23: Understanding Advanced Linux Security 627

Implementing Linux Security with Cryptography 627

Implementing Linux Security with PAM 648

Summary 668

Exercises 668

Chapter 24: Enhancing Linux Security with SELinux 669

Understanding SELinux Benefits 669

Understanding How SELinux Works 671

Configuring SELinux 679

Monitoring and Troubleshooting SELinux 689

Putting It All Together 694

Obtaining More Information on SELinux 695

Summary 695

Exercises 696

Chapter 25: Securing Linux on a Network 699

Auditing Network Services 699

Working with Firewalls 710

Summary 724

Exercises 724

Part VI: Extending Linux into the Cloud 727

Chapter 26: Using Linux for Cloud Computing 729

Overview of Linux and Cloud Computing 729

Trying Basic Cloud Technology 732

Setting Up a Small Cloud 734

Summary 747

Exercises 747

Chapter 27: Deploying Linux to the Cloud 749

Getting Linux to Run in a Cloud 749

Creating Linux Images for Clouds 751

Using OpenStack to Deploy Cloud Images 760

Using Amazon EC2 to Deploy Cloud Images 765

Summary 766

Part VII: Appendixes 769

Appendix A: Media 771

Appendix B: Exercise Answers 781

Index 839

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