Red Hat Fedora and Enterprise Linux 4 Bible (Bible)

RHCE Red Hat Certified Engineer Linux (Exam RH302)

Linux Pocket Guide

A Practical Guide to Linux(R) Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming

Distributions

Red Hat Linux Networking and System Administration

Format: Paperback
Author: Terry Collings
ReleaseDate: 21 October, 2005
Publisher: Wiley
Rating:

No experience necessary
But I never had to work with it in an enterprise level until now. I have been working in a Windows IT environment for over 7 years, but had no Linux experience except for installing it on a test machine (but then again, even a 5 year-old could install it since it's so easy). Without any solid experience with Linux and armed only with this book (and 7 years of "figuring it out" IT skills), I managed to get Redhat ES v3 running on an old server class machine with an older RAID controller. I even got it to talk to Windows clients AND the old HP-UX servers (I didn't have Unix experience either!). The boss was impressed! This is an excellent book that doesn't get annoying (like those Dummies books) or pretends to be a "Linux Admin book for Beginners" like that other book that's out there. I started with an older version of this book from the library, and this new version is even better. This book is a great investment and I'm glad I bought it.

Right at my level
People have complained that this book (in its earlier editions) are too simplified and beginnerish. Now in its third edition along with a DVD that includes Full Fedora Core 4, the latest (as of 10/18/05). I guess then that I'm not enough of a guru to go to something more advanced.

I find the background that this book gives is exactly at the level I need. Some books that simply say 'type this in. ' Other books take a few hundred pages to explain what's happening at a level where I've forgotten the question by the time I get to the end of the description. This book is positioned at a nice level inbetween. I know what to type in and I have some understanding of why.

I further like the writing style and the way they use bold face, 'Notes' and 'Tips' to emphasize things. These features enable me to find out what I need more quickly. Finally, there are additions from the earlier editions which explain things that caused questions or were left out.

I'd rank this as an intermediate level book. It's not a here's how to start with Linux book. Nor is it an in great depth geek level book. I guess I like it so well, because it's at about the level I need.

Very good book
If you need more detail on some stuff, you will need to reference some other book or check online. Very good book with lots of information, but sometimes the author gets carried away with his so-called version of MAN pages. The book did have some errors and wrong diagrams, just wished someone have proof read it better.