Essential Windows NT System Administration breaks the mold and closes the information gap for NT administrators. Ms. Frisch has been responsible for a variety of VMS, UNIX, and Windows NT systems for some 15 years, and she clearly has an unusually thorough understanding of what it takes in the way of skills, knowledge, and resources to keep a industrial-strength network of servers and clients running smoothly over a long period of time. How fortunate for us all that she appears to have a generous allotment of writing and organizational talent as well.

Beginning with broad NT concepts and then focusing sequentially on various key systems, Solomon dissects NT with a surgeon's care and a software engineer's thoroughness. That's not to say that this book is mainly about writing programs. Rather, this is the kind of guide that power users wish for, explaining why and how things happen and glossing over very little. Programmers will value the clear NT API hints. Initially, the author talks about important NT tools (such as Performance Monitor) and concepts (such as the idea of virtual memory and how it's mapped). He illustrates all abstract concepts with excellent conceptual drawings that make it easier to comprehend what NT is doing. A chapter on NT's architecture explains how the system works as a whole. Later chapters focus on individual subsystems, providing extensive coverage of processes, memory, input/output, security, caches, and NT. After reading the chapter on memory management, for instance, you'll have a solid grasp of paging and the internal settings that affect it. The book also contains experiments that guide the reader through concept-illustrating procedures. For example, readers crash their machines to see and analyze the dump log--a valuable skill.

This complete reference covers the core commands available on common Linux distributions. It contains all user, programming, administration, and networking commands with options, and also documents a wide range of GNU tools. New material in the second edition includes popular LILO and Loadlin programs used for dual-booting, a Perl quick-reference, and RCS/CVS source control commands.

Practical Unix and Internet Security is on its second edition, and its maturity shows. To call this highly readable book comprehensive is an understatement. The breadth is vast, from fundamentals (definitions of computer security; the history of Unix) and commonsense but little-observed security basics (making backups; physical and personnel security; buggy software) to modern software (NFS, WWW, firewalls) and the handling of security incidents. The section on users and passwords alone is 21 pages long--and worth every page. Useful appendices include a Unix security checklist, a list of emergency response organizations, and many references to electronic and paper resources.

Three kinds of people will like this book: those who want to install Linux for the first time, those who want to perform intermediate-level tasks (such as compiling a kernel or setting up a network), and experts looking for new information. The book's coverage of first-time installation takes a deliberate pace, pausing often to address potential problems. The kernel-building and network configuration sections are solid. The remainder of the book is packed with enough details about everything, including the Gnome windowing system and the K Desktop Environment (KDE), to keep the gurus happy. In short, this book ranks among the best Red Hat 6 manuals.

Earlier editions of O'Reilly's Running Linux served as central guides on installing, configuring, and using the OS. The third edition of this guide covers the kernel through version 2.2.1 and will prove especially useful to those with high technical aptitudes and a well-tested willingness to experiment with their computing environments. The explanation of how to rebuild the kernel--a particularly daunting task for many--deserves special praise, as do the sections on configuring network links and servers. Users will find that the informative, prose-heavy style packs maximum information into this book's pages. For example, the purpose of a Linux element is described and then the reader is shown various ways of using it, complete with explicit statements of what you type and what you get in response. Back this book up with a good command reference (Linux in a Nutshell is solid), and you'll be well on your way to Linux mastery.

Simply the best System V and Solaris reference on the market today, Unix in a Nutshell won't steer you wrong. The book's concise style delivers the essential information on Unix, shell, and utility commands. Its command documentation is clear and complete and its examples are relevant and easy to follow.