Linux in Action
Linux in Action
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Slideshare: A Fresh Approach to Learning Linux
Article: Would you hire a junior Linux admin with these skills?
Article: The Ubuntu Recovery Menu: demystifying Linux system recovery
Article: A brief overview and history of systemd -- the Linux process manager
Would you hire a junior Linux admin with these skills: Part 2
Article: AWS S3-based enterprise network file sharing using Nextcloud
Article: Securing your Linux web server
Article: Chroot: the magical healing powers of the original Linux virtualization tool
Article: Tips for top: Monitoring CPU load on Linux
The Linux operating system powers millions of web servers, data centers, and application platforms worldwide. Whether you're pushing applications to a cloud system like AWS, building a twitter bot on a Raspberry Pi, or rescuing files from a crashed laptop, Linux is required knowledge. The good news is that the same Linux command set will work for you no matter where you're using it. The better news is that Linux skills have staying power, so what you learn about Linux now will probably still work in a decade or two. Bottom line? If you're a developer, administrator, or just a weekend hacker, you need to know your way around the Linux command line. Let's get started!
"It's the best book for anyone that likes to learn more Linux and manage it."
~ Mohsen Mostafa Jokar
"Learning any computer-related skill is always a matter of the chicken or the egg. Clinton takes a gentle approach to introducing you to the Linux 'chicken' by showing you how the egg is assembled."
~ Tim Kane
"Clinton's book is exceptionally clear, organized and concise."
~ Jonás Medina de los Reyes
Table of Contents detailed table of contents
1. Welcome to Linux
1.1. What makes Linux different from other operating systems
1.2. Basic survival skills
1.2.1. The Linux file system
1.2.2. Getting around: Linux navigation tools
1.2.3. Getting things done: Linux file management tools
1.2.4. Keyboard tricks
1.2.5. Pseudo File Systems
1.2.6. Showing 'em who’s boss: sudo
1.3. Getting help
1.3.1. Man
1.3.2. Info
1.3.3. The Internet
1.4. Summary
1.5. Definitions
1.6. Security best practices
1.7. Command line review
1.8. Test yourself
1.8.1. Answer Key:
2. Linux virtualization - building a safe and simple Linux working environment
2.1. What is virtualization?
2.1.1. How virtualization works
2.2. Working with VirtualBox
2.2.1. Working with Linux package managers
2.2.2. Defining a virtual machine
2.2.3. Installing an Operating System
2.2.4. Cloning and sharing a VirtualBox VM
2.3. Working with LXC
2.3.1. Getting started with LXC
2.4. Summary
2.5. Definitions
2.6. Security best practices
2.7. Command line review
2.8. Test yourself
2.8.1. Answer Key:
3. Remote connectivity - safely access networked machines
3.1. The importance of encryption
3.2. Getting started with OpenSSH
3.2.1. The OpenSSH package
3.3. Logging into a remote server with SSH
3.4. Password-free SSH access
3.4.1. Generating a new key pair
3.4.2. Copying the public key over a network
3.4.3. Working with multiple encryption keys
3.5. Safely copying files with scp
3.6. Using remote graphic programs over SSH connections
3.6.1. Linux process management
3.6.2. Viewing processes with the ps command
3.6.3. Working with systemd
3.7. Summary
3.8. Definitions
3.9. Security best practices
3.10. Command line review
3.11. Test yourself
3.11.1. Answer Key:
4. Archive management: backup or copy entire filesystems
4.1. Why archive?
4.1.1. Compression
4.1.2. Archives: some important considerations
4.2. What to archive
4.2.1. Identifying partitions on a Linux file system
4.3. Where to back up
4.4. Archiving files and file systems using tar
4.4.1. Simple archive and compression examples
4.4.2. Streaming file system archives
4.4.3. Aggregating files
4.4.4. Preserving permissions and ownership—and extracting archives
4.5. Archiving partitions with dd
4.5.1. dd operations
4.5.2. Wiping disks with dd
4.6. Synchronizing archives with rsync
4.7. Planning considerations
4.7.1. Incremental or differential backups?
4.8. Summary
4.9. Definitions
4.10. Security best practices
4.11. Command line review
4.12. Test yourself
4.12.1. Answer Key:
5. Automated administration: configuring automated offsite backups
5.1. Scripting with Bash
5.1.1. A sample script
5.2. Back up data to AWS S3
5.2.1. Install the AWS command line interface (CLI)
5.3. Schedule regular backups with cron
5.4. Schedule irregular backups with anacron
5.4.1. Running the S3 sync job
5.5. Schedule regular backups with systemd timers
5.6. Summary:
5.7. Definitions
5.8. Security best practices
5.9. Command line review
5.10. Test yourself
5.10.1. Answer Key:
6. Emergency tools: build a system recovery device
6.1. Working in recovery/rescue mode
6.1.1. The GRUB bootloader
6.1.2. Using recovery mode on Ubuntu
6.1.3. Using rescue mode on CentOS
6.1.4. Finding command line rescue tools
6.2. Building a live-boot recovery drive
6.2.1. System rescue images
6.2.2. Writing live-boot images to USB drives
6.3. Putting your live-boot drive to work
6.3.1. Test system memory
6.3.2. Damaged partitions
6.3.3. Recovering files from a damaged file system
6.4. Chroot: mounting a file system as a process
6.5. Summary
6.6. Definitions
6.7. Security best practices
6.8. Command line review
6.9. Test yourself
6.9.1. Answer Key:
7. Web servers - build a MediaWiki server
7.1. Building a LAMP server?
7.2. Setting up an Apache web server
7.2.1. Installing the Apache web server on Ubuntu
7.2.2. Installing the Apache web server (httpd) on CentOS
7.2.3. Understanding network ports
7.2.4. Controlling network traffic
7.2.5. Populating your website document root
7.3. Installing an SQL database
7.3.1. SQL administration
7.4. Installing PHP
7.4.1. Installing PHP on Ubuntu
7.4.2. Installing PHP on CentOS
7.5. Installing and configuring MediaWiki
7.5.1. Troubleshooting missing extensions
7.5.2. Connecting MediaWiki to the database
7.6. Summary
7.7. Key terms
7.8. Security best practices
7.9. Command line review
7.10. Test yourself
7.10.1. Answer Key:
8. Networked file sharing - build a Nextcloud file sharing server
8.1. Enterprise file sharing and Nextcloud
8.2. Installing Nextcloud using snaps
8.3. Installing Nextcloud manually
8.3.1. Hardware prerequisites
8.3.2. Building a LAMP server
8.3.3. Apache configuration
8.3.4. Downloading and unpacking Nextcloud
8.4. Administrating Nextcloud
8.5. Using AWS S3 as primary Nextcloud storage
8.5.1. Connect Nextcloud to an S3 bucket
8.6. Summary
8.7. Key terms
8.8. Security best practices
8.9. Command line review
8.10. Test yourself
8.10.1. Answer Key:
9. Securing your web server
9.1. The obvious stuff
9.2. Controlling network access
9.2.1. Configuring a firewall
9.2.2. Using non-standard ports
9.3. Encrypting data in transit
9.3.1. Preparing your website domain
9.3.2. Generating certificates using Let’s Encrypt
9.4. Hardening the authentication process
9.4.1. Controlling file system objects with SELinux
9.4.2. Installing and activating SELinux
9.4.3. Applying SELinux policies
9.4.4. System groups and the principle of least privilege
9.4.5. Isolating processes within containers
9.4.6. Scanning for dangerous user ID values
9.5. Auditing system resources
9.5.1. Scanning for open ports
9.5.2. Scanning for active services
9.5.3. Searching for installed software
9.6. Summary
9.7. Key terms
9.8. Command line review
9.9. Test yourself
9.9.1. Answer Key:
10. Securing your network connections - create a VPN or DMZ
10.1. Building an OpenVPN tunnel
10.1.1. Configuring an OpenVPN server
10.1.2. Configuring an OpenVPN client
10.1.3. Testing your VPN
10.2. Building intrusion-resistant networks
10.2.1. Demilitarized zones (DMZs)
10.2.2. Resistant networks: design considerations
10.2.3. Using iptables
10.2.4. Create a DMZ using Shorewall
10.3. Building a virtual network for infrastructure testing
10.4. Summary:
10.5. Key terms
10.6. Command line review
10.7. Test yourself
10.7.1. Answer Key:
11. System monitoring - working with log files
11.1. Working with system logs
11.1.1. Logging with journald
11.1.2. Logging with syslogd
11.2. Managing log files
11.2.1. The journald way
11.2.2. The syslogd way
11.3. Consuming large files
11.3.1. grep
11.3.2. awk
11.3.3. sed
11.4. Intrusion detection
11.4.1. Set up a mail server
11.4.2. Installing Tripwire
11.4.3. Configuring Tripwire
11.4.4. Generate a test Tripwire report
11.5. Summary:
11.6. Key terms
11.7. Security best practices
11.8. Command line review
11.9. Test yourself
11.9.1. Answer Key:
12. Sharing data over a private network
12.1. Sharing files through the Network File System (NFS)
12.1.1. Setting up the NFS server
12.1.2. Setting up the client
12.1.3. Mounting an NFS share at boot time
12.1.4. NFS security
12.2. Samba: sharing files with Windows users
12.2.1. Testing your Samba configuration
12.2.2. Accessing a Samba server from Windows
12.3. Symbolic links: sharing files with yourself
12.3.1. Symbolic vs. hard links
12.4. Summary:
12.5. Key terms
12.6. Security best practices
12.7. Command line review
12.8. Test yourself
12.8.1. Answer Key:
13. Troubleshooting system performance issues
13.1. CPU load problems
13.1.1. Measuring CPU load
13.1.2. Managing CPU loads
13.1.3. Making trouble (simulating CPU load)
13.2. Memory problems
13.2.1. Assessing memory status
13.3. Storage availability problems
13.3.1. Inode limits
13.4. Network load problems
13.4.1. Measuring bandwidth
13.4.2. Solutions
13.4.3. Shaping network traffic with tc
13.5. Monitoring tools
13.5.1. Aggregating monitoring data
13.6. Summary:
13.7. Key terms
13.8. Security best practices
13.9. Command line review
13.10. Test yourself
13.10.1. Answer Key:
14. Troubleshooting network issues
14.1. Understanding TCP/IP addressing
14.1.1. NAT addressing
14.2. Establishing network connectivity
14.3. Troubleshooting outbound connectivity
14.3.1. Tracking down the status of your network
14.3.2. Assigning IP addresses
14.3.3. Configuring DNS service
14.3.4. Plumbing
14.4. Troubleshooting inbound connectivity
14.4.1. netstat: internal connection scanning
14.4.2. netcat: external connection scanning
14.5. Summary
14.6. Key terms
14.7. Security best practices
14.8. Command line review
14.9. Test yourself
14.9.1. Answer Key:
15. Troubleshooting peripheral devices
15.1. Identifying attached devices
15.2. Managing peripherals with Linux kernel modules
15.2.1. Finding kernel modules
15.2.2. Manually loading kernel modules
15.3. Manually managing kernel parameters at boot time
15.3.1. Passing parameters at boot time
15.3.2. Passing parameters via the file system
15.4. Managing printers
15.4.1. Basics of lp
15.4.2. Managing printers using CUPS
15.5. Summary:
15.6. Key terms
15.7. Security best practices
15.8. Command line review
15.9. Test yourself
15.9.1. Answer Key:
16. DevOps tools — deploy a scripted server environment using Ansible
16.1. What can deployment orchestrators do for you
16.2. Ansible: installation and setup
16.2.1. Organize Ansible hosts
16.2.2. Test connectivity
16.3. Authentication
16.3.1. Administrating remote hosts using permissions
16.4. Ansible playbooks
16.4.1. Write a simple playbook
16.4.2. Multi-tiered, roles-powered playbooks
16.4.3. Managing passwords in Ansible
16.5. Summary:
16.6. Key Terms
16.7. Security best practices
16.8. Command line review
16.9. Test yourself
16.9.1. Answer Key:
About the book
Linux in Action is a task-based tutorial that will give you the skills and deep understanding you'll need to administer a Linux-based system. This hands-on book guides you through real-world projects so you can practice as you learn. You'll learn critical techniques like virtualization, disaster recovery, infrastructure security, data backup, web servers, DevOps, and system troubleshooting. Plus, each chapter ends with a command-line review, list of security best practices, unfamiliar terms & definitions, and exercises to bring home the key takeaways!
What's inside
- Setting up a Linux environment suitable for safely experimenting with modern technologies
- Managing secure remote connectivity
- Securing a web server
- Building a system recovery device
- Securely sharing files within a local network and across the internet
- Creating a VPN to safely connect to a server
- Troubleshooting network and system performance issues
- Making automated and reliable backup solutions
Manning Early Access Program (MEAP) Read chapters as they are written, get the finished eBook as soon as it’s ready, and receive the pBook long before it's in bookstores.
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