Message from Dean - May 8th 2007
I am currently testing out a new version of the APF Bridge Component - If you notice any errors within this demo store please drop me a line.
List Price: $34.95Price: $20.80 You Save: $14.15 (40%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.4469
EAN: 9781886411357
Edition: 1
Format: Illustrated
ISBN: 1886411352
Label: No Starch Press
Manufacturer: No Starch Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 290
Publication Date: June 15, 2000
Publisher: No Starch Press
Studio: No Starch Press
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Review:
Brian Ward, author of The Linux Problem Solver, first gained fame as the writer of the Linux kernel HOWTO document, a public-domain piece of the Linux operating system's documentation set. In this volume, he steps up from the kernel's secret recipe and presents high-quality advice on Linux system administration. More specifically, he tells you what to try when your Linux system starts to misbehave, whether as a result of faulty configuration or the consequence of an attack. He also gives advice on setting up services in the first place. Generally, Ward is neutral on the question of Linux distributions, attempting to explain features that they have in common, and explaining differences where necessary.
In a lot of ways, this book is an example of traditional Linux documentation, with discussions of what various commands do and when you should use them. However, Ward has added problem-and-solution boxes amid the documentation paragraphs. The boxes describe a symptom (rdist is too slow), state the likely problem (-ocompare is slow), and suggest a solution (think twice about using -ocompare). You're kind of out of luck if the analysis of the problem doesn't pan out on your machine, but, for easy reference, there's a handy list of problems in an appendix. Pay special attention to the chapter on printing, which does a great job of explaining how this universally required service works (and can fail to work) under Linux. --David Wall
Topics covered: The Linux operating system for power users and system administrators who have a fair bit of experience in modifying and using Linux. How to install, configure, reconfigure, and repair services that have to do with networking, printing, user environments, and Internet services. How to do administration work, such as backup operations, kernel modifications, and installations from source.
Product Description:
Plenty of books teach installation of Linux. But what to do once it's running and something goes wrong or doesn't function? This book helps Linux users solve problems related to printing, networking, backup, recovery, recompiling their kernel, and more. It addresses problems both simple and complex, with detailed examples as illustrations and the complete technical information necessary to solve each problem. The first part of the book is devoted to system services, the second to maintenance. The accompanying CD-ROM contains files and programs not included in many Linux distributions and also doubles as an emergency boot disk.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
The Linux Problem Solver is that and more. As a new Linux user, I am developing an appreciation of this book in a hurry! The organization of this book is straightforward and logical, each chapter covering an essential topic of making Linux work and how to return it to working order when it stops working right, or getting it to work right after you've made an incorrect change. The author spends a chapter discussing things such as client networking, file systems, networking with Windows and Apples, printing, kernel upgrades, backups and crash recovery, and user environments. One chapter I feel deserves special praise is Chapter 6, installing software from source code, something I haven't found in other Linux books, at least not yet. Since I'm coming from a Windows environment, I'm relieved that someone out there realized new Linux users don't all automatically know how to install software in this environment.
As far as subject coverage, the author tells you the basics of what you ... Read More
Rating: -
I initially felt the title was a little misleading. However, it might be more an interpretation issue of what a "problem solver" is. I initially interpreted that as "trouble shooter". This books does not cover that aspect of administering a Linux system. Still, the format of "what to do when this occurs" is extremely useful, especially for Linux newbies. If you want the nuts and bolts of administering a Linux system, look elsewhere. However, this has a lot of places where I said, "Hey, what didn't I think of that?"...
Rating: -
It's no coincidence I use this book as the authoritative reference when I'm at work: I'm lucky enough to claim the author as our local unix god.
Anytime something on our network of several hundred linux boxes causes me to scratch my head, I ask Mr. Ward what to do and he replies "It's in the book." Invariably, it is, and he's already covered the specific problems I'm encountering.
The Linux Problem Solver is blunt about which programs are horrible and should be avoided, and which will really make your life easier. The advice it offers is always backed by lots of experience.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who's in charge of taking care of one or more linux machines. If you want to keep your machine(s) secure, get printing to work, or fix your X configuration, you'll find out how in The Linux Problem Solver.
Also makes a great gift for any System Administrator; I've given several myself!
Rating: -
If you were going to be stranded on a deserted island for the remainder of your pathetic existence and you were allowed only 5 books to keep -- what books would you want? For me there would be Dante's Comedy, the Bible, the Complete Works of Shakespeare, In Search of Lost Time, and.......The Linux Problem Solver by Brian Ward. I know what your thinking -- How am I going to run Linux on this island I'm staying on? Well, the great thing about Linux is that it's "Platform Indepedent." Yes many Linux machines happen to have Pentium chips under the hood, but you can run Linux on anything. I feel we need to abdicate this antiquated "LinTel" paradigm. And replace it with what, you ask? We can each decide that for ourselves. I for one installed and configured Apache Jserv for Linux on/in (unfortunately some tinkering was necessary) my cat Sparky last Tuesday night. Yeah that might not work for everybody, but so much is really possible and we all know it. I mean who hasn't done any shell ... Read More
Rating:  -
Brian Ward writes a good book on Linux Problems. He writes about all the things which took time and trouble out of his own life to figure out. Since he's a good writer, and he doesn't have a burning desire to show us 2 screen shots per page, he manages to do all this in only 240 pages.
His editor and publisher don't feel they could charge 40 bucks for the book without another 40 pages of index, extended table of contents, and a cdrom. The margins get wider, and the information content goes way down...
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