Red Hat Linux 9 Bible

Mastering Red Hat Linux 9

Red Hat Linux 9 Professional Secrets

Red Hat Linux Administration: A Beginner's Guide (Beginner's Guide)

Distributions

Red Hat Linux 9 Unleashed (Unleashed)

Format: Paperback
Author: Bill Ball
ReleaseDate: 08 May, 2003
Publisher: Sams
Rating:

Better for Linux workstations than servers
There are some computer books out there that really nail a topic and make all other books superfluous in the process. Red Hat Linux can be something of a mystery when first starting out, and I found this book in my predecessor's office when I took the plunge. This is not such a book, but Red Hat Linux 9 Unleashed does provide helpful knowledge when using the distribution. I would first read the official documentation and the man pages before considering purchase. Some of the content is a verbatim copy of the official Red Hat documentation.

The layout and design of the book is very clean and easy on the eyes. I read this book when I didn't know much of anything about Linux, and the installation walkthrough was very helpful. The explanation of user accounts, permissions, and groups was also well done. I occasionally reference this book when I have a question about shell scripting, the file structure, or the general workings of Linux. This book is very broad and generalized, which is good enough to partially answer any question.

The only real criticism I have for Red Hat Linux 9 Unleashed stems from that generality. There are some Linux topics that deserve and require a really thorough study - like the IP Tables firewall. Several hundred pages have been dedicated to that service, so if security is a factor for your Linux machine, expect to look for other resources. Perhaps sensing the need for this sort of thing, the text lists some helpful links at the end of each section. Services like Apache and Samba are highlighted here, but I would choose a book dedicated soley to the service in question over a jack of all trades text.

Pretty Good...
This book is still really good reference when I get stuck trying to do something Red Hat, the sections on the kernel is very well written, but this book isn't a good tutorial on Linux in general. When I had purchased Red Hat Linux 9 Unleashed I had already dived head first into Linux, so I knew some things about the subject. A book I would recommed to the novice and also the power user is "Linux: Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition -- by Paul Sheer" its old, but its a classic.

Book fine, CDs unusable
The second CD seems to have a production problem. Book seems to be a usable introduction to Linux, but don't buy it to get the software. Both the original and the replacement sent to me hang up the install process and result in an unbootable PC.