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A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux
The Most Complete, Easy-to-Understand, and Useful Guide to Ubuntu Linux Desktops and Servers
Ubuntu Linux is a state-of-the-art operating system, and you need a book that's just as advanced. Along with being the most comprehensive reference to installing, configuring, and working with Ubuntu, A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux® also provides extensive server coverage you won't find in any other Ubuntu book.
Best-selling author Mark Sobell begins by walking you through every feature and technique you need to know, from installing Ubuntu – using the DVD included with the book – to working with GNOME, Samba, exim4, Apache, DNS, NIS, firestarter, and iptables. Sobell's exceptionally clear explanations demystify everything from system security to Windows file/printer sharing.
Sobell presents full chapters on using Ubuntu from the command line and GUI; thorough system administration and security guidance; and up-to-the-minute, step-by-step instructions for setting up networks and every major type of Internet server. Along the way, you'll learn both the "hows" and the "whys" of Ubuntu. Sobell knows every Linux nook and cranny: He's taught hundreds of thousands of readers and never forgets what it s like to be new to Linux. Whether you're a user, administrator, or programmer, this book gives you all you need – and more.
Don't settle for yesterday's Unbuntu Linux book…get the ONLY book that meets today's challenges and tomorrow's!
This book delivers…
Coverage of important Ubuntu topics, such as sudo and the new Upstart init daemon
More practical coverage of file sharing with Samba, NFS, and FTP
More detailed, usable coverage of Internet server configuration, including Apache, exim4, and DNS/BIND
More state-of-the-art security techniques, including firewall setup using firestarter and iptables, as well as a full chapter on OpenSSH and an appendix on security
Deeper coverage of meat-and-potatoes system and network administration tasks from managing users to CUPS printing, configuring LANs to building a kernel
A more practical introduction to writing bash shell scripts
Complete instructions on how to keep your Linux system up-to-date using aptitude, Synaptic, and the Software Sources window
And much more…including a 500+ term glossary, five detailed appendixes, and a comprehensive index to help you find what you need fast
Print book includes DVD! Get the full version of the Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) release.
1209 pages, Paperback
First published December 28, 2007
30 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Mark G. Sobell
34 books7 followersMark G. Sobell, author of many best-selling books, including A Practical Guide to Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Sixth Edition, A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux, Third EditionA Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming, Third Edition (all from Prentice Hall), has more than thirty years of experience working with UNIX and Linux. He is the president of Sobell Associates Inc., a consulting firm that designs and builds custom software applications for UNIX and Linux systems and provides training and support.
Mr. Sobell started working with computers part time after high-school where he worked on the Dartmouth Time-sharing system where they developed the BASIC programming language and on IBM OS/360 systems. He started writing when he worked for microcomputer company Cromemco in the late 1970's. He published his first book A Practical Guide to UNIX in 1982 and started Sobell Associates in 1984. He has been writing and consulting ever since.
- http://www.sobell.com/other/bio.html
Mr. Sobell started working with computers part time after high-school where he worked on the Dartmouth Time-sharing system where they developed the BASIC programming language and on IBM OS/360 systems. He started writing when he worked for microcomputer company Cromemco in the late 1970's. He published his first book A Practical Guide to UNIX in 1982 and started Sobell Associates in 1984. He has been writing and consulting ever since.
- http://www.sobell.com/other/bio.html
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 13, 2018
Okay. This book is a little dated, but I purchased it for under a dollar at a going-out-of-business sale of our local Half Price Books store. And it helped me orient myself towards the most recent Long-Term Support (LTS) of Ubuntu (version 16.04, Xenial Xerxes) which I have installed on a fifteen-year-old laptop.
For most tasks, Ubuntu is as easy and intuitive to learn and use as Windows or Apple operating systems. And Linux, of which Ubuntu is a "flavor" of, is quite safe, since 1) there are so few Linux machines out there running Ubuntu, and 2) Ubuntu updates it's core OS frequently, with thousands of programmers crawling through the open-source code to locate vulnerabilities, making it more secure than Microsoft of Apple's offerings, which are proprietary and closed-source.
And best of all, Ubuntu is FREE.
That said, Linux is far from Shangrala. There are drawbacks. To do some things that you can do on a PC or Mac easily, like install an Apache/ MySQL/ PHP stack to develop a test server, you'll need to use the command-line, called "terminal" in Linux. And the syntax is loads different than the Microsoft commands most techies are used to.
That's where this book was invaluable. Because it highlights the basic syntax of core tasks you'll need to do in order to succeed in running a Linux machine. And even where the syntax has changed, you'll understand enough about the basic terminal syntax, and what Linux can do, to Google a look at the current code.
Three stars. It didn't knock my socks off, but it familiarized me with the basics.
For most tasks, Ubuntu is as easy and intuitive to learn and use as Windows or Apple operating systems. And Linux, of which Ubuntu is a "flavor" of, is quite safe, since 1) there are so few Linux machines out there running Ubuntu, and 2) Ubuntu updates it's core OS frequently, with thousands of programmers crawling through the open-source code to locate vulnerabilities, making it more secure than Microsoft of Apple's offerings, which are proprietary and closed-source.
And best of all, Ubuntu is FREE.
That said, Linux is far from Shangrala. There are drawbacks. To do some things that you can do on a PC or Mac easily, like install an Apache/ MySQL/ PHP stack to develop a test server, you'll need to use the command-line, called "terminal" in Linux. And the syntax is loads different than the Microsoft commands most techies are used to.
That's where this book was invaluable. Because it highlights the basic syntax of core tasks you'll need to do in order to succeed in running a Linux machine. And even where the syntax has changed, you'll understand enough about the basic terminal syntax, and what Linux can do, to Google a look at the current code.
Three stars. It didn't knock my socks off, but it familiarized me with the basics.
February 2, 2009
I use various versions of Ubuntu Linux for both work and home, so I consider myself well qualified to review a book on this topic. The following is a reprint of the review I wrote for my blog:
I upgraded my Ubuntu VM to 8.10 just for this review (well, not "just" for this review, but mostly). Of course, Sobell's second edition of this "I-weigh-a-ton" tome covers both 8.04 and 8.10, but I run 8.04 on my production machine, so I figure I've got the book covered. Judging by the size of the book though, I'd have to assume that Sobell has it covered as well. But does he? Unlike Godzilla, size doesn't always matter. Let's have a look.
A casual viewing of the book's back cover tells the reader that they can expect to find out just about everything there is to know about anything they can do with Ubuntu. While most folks think of Ubuntu as the most "desktop user" friendly version of Linux, and the most likely contender to chip away at Microsoft Windows' death grip on the home desktop market, there's a lot more to consider. At least according to the blurb I read, the server aspects of Ubuntu are well covered here. The list includes Apache, DNS, LDAP, NIS, and Samba, and that's just for starters. This isn't a "switch from Windows to Ubuntu Linux" text written for the average home PC user. It's, at least in theory, an "all-in-one" guide for everything you ever wanted to know about Ubuntu (but were afraid to ask).
The rest can be found at A Million Chimpanzees.
I upgraded my Ubuntu VM to 8.10 just for this review (well, not "just" for this review, but mostly). Of course, Sobell's second edition of this "I-weigh-a-ton" tome covers both 8.04 and 8.10, but I run 8.04 on my production machine, so I figure I've got the book covered. Judging by the size of the book though, I'd have to assume that Sobell has it covered as well. But does he? Unlike Godzilla, size doesn't always matter. Let's have a look.
A casual viewing of the book's back cover tells the reader that they can expect to find out just about everything there is to know about anything they can do with Ubuntu. While most folks think of Ubuntu as the most "desktop user" friendly version of Linux, and the most likely contender to chip away at Microsoft Windows' death grip on the home desktop market, there's a lot more to consider. At least according to the blurb I read, the server aspects of Ubuntu are well covered here. The list includes Apache, DNS, LDAP, NIS, and Samba, and that's just for starters. This isn't a "switch from Windows to Ubuntu Linux" text written for the average home PC user. It's, at least in theory, an "all-in-one" guide for everything you ever wanted to know about Ubuntu (but were afraid to ask).
The rest can be found at A Million Chimpanzees.
January 25, 2011
Purchased this book intended to learn a bit more about Linux in general. At the time I read this book I was already familiar with Linux, just wanted to go in deeper. Working with Ubuntu on my laptop and Arch on my desktop. I believe it's well written for the beginner as for the more advanced user.
If you want to learn more about the Linux system; directory structures, linux filesystem, shell (a little bit of bash scripting), security and even compiling your own kernel, then this book is a good way to start.
If you want to learn more about the Linux system; directory structures, linux filesystem, shell (a little bit of bash scripting), security and even compiling your own kernel, then this book is a good way to start.
November 25, 2009
Good to for beginner
April 29, 2011
We are using this book for one of my college classes and it makes learning Ubuntu Linux easy to grasp, and that's no small feat!
March 5, 2017
All right for review of Linux and some specifics about Ubuntu.
August 30, 2010
I sure am enjoying Ubuntu!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews