Tag Archives: Administration

12 Linux System administration : Guides , PDF , Documents and Cheats

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Linux System administrators always check back for references , guides and Cheat sheets , as they are very powerful helpers and quick shortcut references  especially when then the work in progress , but also the system administration students needs to get to know those resources as important source for their education  , so in this post i collected many resources for system administrators , and linux system administration students as  quick post reference .

Guides :

1-SAG : System Admin Guide :
Its a guide for system admins and a part of LDP ( Linux Documentation Project – link -)  by Lars Wirzenius , Joanna Oja , Stephen Stafford and Alex Weeks , you can browse , read itonline or download a PDF version . Its very well classified and short in the point guide for biggners . I also recommend you to visit   Linux Documentation Project Guides ( link )  . and check out for more .

2-Linux System Administration : – PDF -
is a course module by Gbdirect.co.uk , which is very simple , with easy sections and in the point tips and guide . it also with excersises at the ending of every chapter . its very useful for startup .

3-LINUX Admin Quick Reference – PDF -:
Is a very handy reference in 5 pages PDF file , contains that kind of information you print and put it in your wall . as its title suggest : Quick reference  its very useful to keep a reference especially at the startup and first stage in your self learning progress . beginners will need it in their study process . ( Chea tsheet )

4-Debian Reference – link -:
an outstanding reference if you are going through Debian and Debian based distros , its free for use and download , available in many formats ( HTML , PDF ,TXT and PS ) .its Multi-lingual as well translated to many languages other than English : French , Italian , German , Spanish , Portuguese , Polish , Chinese ( Traditional ) , Chinese ( Simplified ) , Japanese , Russian and Finnish  .

Debian reference comes in 2 modules : full length document and short document .

5-linux system Linux Cheat Sheet  – link -:
Its by EZ Linux admin , its kinda short post but its very useful . you may check their other cheat sheets .

6-Top 10 Best Cheat Sheets and Tutorials for Linux / UNIX Commands – link – :
It is an outstanding blog post to enlist and compare between Linux/Unix Commands Cheat Sheets .

7-Linux-Unix cheat sheets – The ultimate collection – link –
Its an outstanding collection to cheat sheets regarding distros , operations as package management , commands , networking ……

8-System Administrator Interview Cheat Sheet – link – :
This is kinda a guide or a map for collection of tutorials , articles , tips , tricks and how to . its by Mj12net.org , there is also part II , you can find in here . Its good job regarding the effort and organization . ( i hope there is PDF version , cause its hard to keep on black background site ) .

9-Linux System Administration Tutorial :
Those tutorials by Developerworks to prepare you for the Linux Professional Institute’s 102 exam. , you will learn how to compile programs from sources, how to manage shared libraries, and how to use the Red Hat and Debian package management systems. You can also build your skills in fundamental Linux tasks through advanced admin .
1-Linux fundamentals, 2-Basic administration ,3-Intermediate administration ,  4-Advanced administration .

10-Linux Administration Made Easy  – link – PDF – :
Small guide by tldp .

11-Introduction to Basic Unix System Administration – link – :
I believe linux admins should keep in mind that UNIX is UNIX . so This introduction is needed , and its very helpful .

Linux Network Administration :

1-The Linux Network Administrator’s Guide – link – :
Its also by tldp ( The linux Documentation Project ) , and a quite member of their guides family . Its also in PDF format and tarred version .

Extra :

  • Ubuntu System Admin – link -: at Ubuntu`s Community Wiki
  • Debian System Admin Portal : Tips and resources – link – .
  • Megalinux.net : System Admin news , tips , tutorials – link .
  • Ugu.com : Unix system admin portal – link .
  • Librenix.com : Linux Admin information provider – link .
  • Debianhelp.co.uk : providing support for debian users – link .
  • Cyberciti.biz : Tutorials , Tips , How to , News , Resources – link .
  • Linuxsysadminblog.com : Tips , Tutorials and Resources – link .
  • Linuxadmin.org – link .

Well there is always space for more , but this is what i mean for people who want to start-up on their own , if you found more guides , cheat sheets , or tutorials for system administration  drop it in here as a comment .

LinuxNov NEWS 102 “Distributions”

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102 LinuxNov NEWS discussing Distributions release, software, Desktops, Mobile, Window Managers, and many distribution released based on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, debian based, Slackware. even more with more software released this week for Mobile, Desktop.

Beginning with distributions released for this week

Slackware Linux 13.1

released with different desktops. Slackware 13.1 is available in both 32-bit x86 and 64-bit x86_64 editions, and brings with it many major improvements, like KDE SC version 4.4.3, the 2.6.33.4 Linux kernel, a new toolchain, updated libraries, and major applications such as Firefox and Thunderbird.

Fedora 13

Released with a lot of new features, available for 32, 64 bit and different desktops for Gnome, xfce spin, KDE spin, and LXDE spin.

Also made a quick review for fedora 13 Gnome version, you can find download options Here

IMAGIC OS Sho

Based on ubuntu 10.04 LTS distribution, integrated many softwares with it for social media, multimedia, editing, ftp clients, server cloud, using extension 4 filesystem for more security. also using KDE 4.4 desktop interface with plasma effects.

Release announcement – Download Options

openSUSE 11.3 Milestone 7

upgrades for gnome, KDE, XFce, LXDE, better supporting for Netbook, improving package dependencies, and new spider oak file sharing and backup tool. and many features. check for more

Release announcement – Download Options

SME Server 7.5

Built on Cent OS SME Server is a leading Open Source distribution for small and medium enterprises. It is a simple, powerful, secure Linux server for networking and communicating, used by thousands of individuals, companies and organizations all over the world. SME Server provides a friendly, free alternative to expensive proprietary software, standing apart from the competition by shipping with most common functionality preconfigured, and features a number of popular additional enhancements in the form of downloadable Contributions.

Release announcement – Download Options

MeeGo 1.0

open source project compiling between moblin and maemo os, to get a great performance for Netbooks, laptops , even mobiles phones, and now it’s available to download, This release provides developers with a stable core foundation for application development and a rich user experience for Netbooks. The MeeGo Netbook user experience is the first to appear, with the development of the MeeGo Handset user experience moving to the open in June.

Release announcement – Download options

Endian Firewall 2.4

Endian Firewall Community version 2.4 is now available! This release introduces new features and lots of bugfixes that make EFW 2.4 a significant improvement in the development of the Endian product family.

Endian Firewall Community is a “turn-key” linux security distribution that turns every system into a full featured security appliance with Unified Threat Management (UTM) functionality. The software has been de signed with “usability in mind” and is very easy to install, use and manage, without losing its flexibility. The features include a stateful packet inspection firewall, application-level proxies for various protocols (HTTP, FTP, POP3, SMTP) with antivirus support, virus and spamfiltering for email traffic (POP and SMTP), content filtering of Web traffic and a “hassle free” VPN solution (based on OpenVPN). The main advantage of Endian Firewall is that it is a pure “Open Source” solution that is sponsored by Endian

Release announcement – Download endian 2.4 Options

Peppermint-One-05222010

Lubuntu based distribution comes with a lot of web based applications, with LXDE desktop and openbox window manager, and many new features integrated with it. check more information about packages and main features for it on release announcement.

Release announcement – Download Options

Zenwalk Linux 6.4

big fan of zenwalk distro cause it based on Slackware with XFCE 4.62 window manager, other updated with many applications for multimedia gstreamer, and openoffice 3,2.0, and uisng Xorg 7.5 and more features check release announcement for more.

check the release announcement and Download Options For Zenwalk Linux 6.4

Qimo 4 Kids 2.0

Based on Xubuntu distribution, it’s a really good choice for kids, with a lot of suitable applications for children, we are going to make a quick review for it soon.

check the release announcement and Download Options for Qimo 2.0

sidux 2010-01 preview 1

Debain based distribution coming with two desktops for KDE and xfce. Now that KDE 4.4.3 and kernel 2.6.34 have entered the archive, we have the pleasure to announce the immediate availability of the first preview for sidux 2010-01 “Ύπνος”.

check the release announcement for more informations – Download Options for Sidux 2010 – 01 preview 1

That’s for last released distribution so far, adding LinuxNov 102 News for Software hardware soon. :)

[How To]: Install LXDE Desktop On Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

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LXDE is really lightweight desktop and that what this desktop name stand for, a lot of distributions right now using LXDE desktop, if you was a windows user you will feel it looks similar to it a little bit. But this is not the idea, LXDE comes with a lot of integrated packages with it for file manager “PCMan file manager”, and music player LXmusic, and many other packages.

LXDE menu panel

File manager for LXDE

Music player and themes manager for LXDE Desktop, also you will be able to change themes and icons

Installation process:

you download it and install it from  LXDE website This way recommended to other distribution or

for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS

Go To Terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install lxde

## will ask you for the administration password

then it will take some time for the installation process

after the Installation over, Log out and log in with LXDE Desktop

Enjoy LXDE on Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

That’s it for now.

Diagnose MySQL database server with Jet Profiler On Ubuntu

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Jet Profiler for MySQL is a really good tool to diagnostic MySQL database for tables, user performance, query, using graphical visualisation, and it’s user friendly.

Main features such as ” Top Queries, Top Users, Top Tables, Top States, Replication Profiling, Master and Slave statistics, MyISAM Lock Analysis, Query Ratings, Query Visualization, Slow Queries, Zoomable GUI, General Server Metrics, Save / Load Support, Low Overhead, Supports all MySQL Versions, …”

check this one minute video for  how t o use Jet Profiler for MySQL database. Here

More information and Download Options Here

('Read more...')

10 Empathy Themes

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Empathy is a messaging program which supports text, voice, and video chat and file transfers over many different protocols. You can tell it about your accounts on all those services and do all your chatting within one application.

Themes listed down there working for Empathy and Adium, Empathy supports Adium Message Styles starting from 2.27.3 (if built with WebKitGtk support).

How to install Empathy Themes:

This on ubuntu 10.04 LTS

paste the theme folder to this directory “/usr/share/adium/message-styles”

Renkoo

Renkoo and Renkoo Naked have custom background support!!!! Dreams do come true!!

Download

Paraphernalia

This message style is the realisation of design ideas I’ve had in my head over the past few months. It builds on the basic stripped-down code of a previous, unreleased theme.

Download

Modern

This is the first version released and I have set it at v.8 because there are still a number of things I have not touched as of yet. You will probably get unexpected results with.

Metal Chat 2

This is the child of the first Metal Chat, a messageview created for Proteus a long, long time ago. Metal Chat 2 blends more of the Tiger Spotlight feel into the mix, along with a slight gleam to the metal itself. Several color variants included,with and without the top header bar.

NoteBoard


NoteBoard! is a beautiful modern Message Style for AdiumX. It’s the first Message Style that fully represents what WebKit is capable of, ie. CSS Animation (http://webkit.org/blog/130/css-transforms/).

GoneDark

Glossy, simple, dark… and light.

Changes

.53
Added 2 new variants to GoneDark: Crimson & Steel.
Added new style called GoneDark Polarized, the albino brother of GoneDark.
GoneDark Polarized contains 5 themes: Arctic, Cosmos, Firelight, Margarita & Standard.
Added Service name to message window.
Fixed issue with long strings not wrapping to the next line.
Fixed the ability to change the background. Changing fonts still an issue.

GAIA Messageview

Exclusive release of the messageview included in the GAIA suite.
Graphics by Imrik, updated and reworked by myself.

Eclipse

Transparency abound, Eclipse can stand in front of anything. It’s fun, subtle, beautiful, utterly kick-ass, and any other adjective you want it to be.
Now with more variants and cleaner code.

Download

Candybars

Candybars is a simple message view style without buddy icons and other unnecessary distractions. It comes in 25 different color variations.

Download

Adium Matte

Adium Matte is the Adium version of iChat Matte. It simulates iChat’s bubbles but instead of the default aqua appearance, it uses a matte appearance that is more subtle and appealing.

Because of the limitations of Adium Message Styles and my own time, I was only able to make incoming variants. Your message color will always be aqua. Feel free to change this to anything you want with the main.css stylesheet in the xtra. It will accept any color and mask it accordingly.

Download

[Books Directory]: 10 free Linux Administration Books

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10 free GNU/Linux Administration Books

Linux based distributions have a lot of different administration options and privilege options, Books listed here will help you with administrations privilege for different distributions debian, fedora, redhat, ubuntu, gentoo, opensuse, mandriva, …..

Also other books for security administrations, and files system directory hierarchy, software help you to secure you system, securing VPN servers,…

## so here we go…

1. Linux Administration Made Easy

This documentation will attempt to summarize the installation and configuration, as well as the day-to-day administrative and maintenance procedures that should be followed to keep a Linux-based server or desktop system up and running. It is geared to an audience of both corporate as well as home users. It is not intended to be a full overview of Unix operations, as there are several good texts available as well as on-line documentation which can be referred to in cases where more detailed information is required.

2. The Linux System Administrator’s Guide

The Linux System Administrator’s Guide, describes the system administration aspects of using Linux. It is intended for people who know next to nothing about system administration (those saying “what is it?”), but who have already mastered at least the basics of normal usage. This manual doesn’t tell you how to install Linux; that is described in the Installation and Getting Started document. See below for more information about Linux manuals.

3. Filesystem Hierarchy Standard

The filesystem standard has been designed to be used by Unix distribution developers, package developers, and system implementors. However, it is primarily intended to be a reference and is not a tutorial on how to manage a Unix filesystem or directory hierarchy.

4. Linux Administrator’s Security Guide

There are numerous definitions for “computer security”, and most of them are correct. Essentially computer security means enforcement of usage policies, this must be done since people and software have flaws that can result in accidents, but also because someone may want to steal your information, use your resources inappropriately or simply deny you the use of your resources.

5. Debian GNU/Linux System Administrator’s Manual (Obsolete Documentation)

This manual assumes the reader is familiar with using a Unix system and/or understands Debian User Reference Manual. Additional reading for System Administrator is Debian GNU/Linux Network Administrator’s Manual. Both of these are available from the Debian Documentation Project. Another useful book is “Linux System Administrator’s Guide” by Lars Wirzenius, available from Linux Documentation Project, http://metalab.unc.edu/LDP/ .

6. Forensic Discovery

The target audience of the book is anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of how computer systems work, as well as anyone who is likely to become involved with the technical aspects of computer intrusion or system analysis. These are not only system administrators, incident responders, other computer security professionals, or forensic analysts, but also anyone who is concerned about the impact of computer forensics on privacy.

7. Best Practices for Managing Linux and UNIX Servers

Call it the Linux fallacy. It’s the conventional wisdom that says Linux/UNIX gives you lots of power and reliability in exchange for far more complex and costly systems management. But in fact Linux/UNIX shouldn’t be a tradeoff–as long as you also implement a set of proven best practices.

8. GNU/Linux Advanced Administration

The GNU/Linux systems have reached an important level of maturity, allowing to integrate them in almost any kind of work environment, from a desktop PC to the sever facilities of a big company.

9. COIT13146 Systems Administration

In the course Systems Administration.  It is an attempt to give you an overview of the course and more importantly of computing, Linux and Systems Administration.

Many students commented that they felt lost in the detail of Linux without having an overall picture of how it fits together.  Hopefully this chapter will go some way towards solving this problem, and will provide some sort of small map and compass so you have an idea of where you are and where you are going.

10. GNU/Linux Desktop Survival Guide

The aim of this book is to get you up to speed with GNU/Linux and to deliver a fun and productive environment. It guides you through the many different regions of a GNU/Linux system with a focus on getting your desktop environment to do what you want it to do. It is comprehensive with basic support for the user who installs and maintains the system themselves (whether in the home, office, club, or school). It provides insights and step-by-step procedures that deal with specific tasks in setting your system up and maintaining it. The book covers many of the core features of a GNU/Linux system and you will gain the knowledge to enjoy and use one of the most comprehensive and useful developments in the history of computing.

Review : Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Beta 2

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Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Beta 2 released, before we begin this review check the release announcement and “release notes, Downloaad“.

we already reviewed ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 3 and Beta 1 , check the release notes for both older versions to know the improvement accomplished on last release.

so here we go,

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Beta 2 review

Installed on virtual machine “sun virtualbox” application with this Hardware specifications:

  • single core processor 2.1 GHz
  • 512 MB of ram
  • 12 MB of video memory

# Installation Process

boot it first time as live session it was working good, after the installation it was working super fast really good.

after the installation it boot super fast, really impressed with booting time about 9 second booting time at first time booting, usually any operating system after the installation it boot really quick but after the installing any extra application you their will be some lagging time to boot up.

Their is not a big difference between Beta 1 and Beta 2 themes, both of them looks the same but at bug report their a lot of reported bugs on radiance theme fixed on ubuntu 10.04 beta2

same main installed packages for applications.

Yahoo still the default search engine on firefox instead of Google search engine. with firefox version 3.6.3, it’s up to you can change the search engine later firefox options.

using last version of Gnome so far ” Gnome 2.30″ , Linux kernel v 2.6.32

security issues fixed, improvement on ubuntu one, ubuntu enterprise cloud, new default open source driver for nvidia hardware

I really like the new version of nautilus comes with Gnome 2.30 if you are not familiar with nautilus and gnome 2.30 visit this link

really like the splitting view on windows, split view come really handy on to open to directory side by side with difference icon view really good.

To activate split mode on opened windows press F3 or go to view menu and select it.

also you can drag and drop folders and files split view.

same new features included with ubuntu 10.04 beta 2 with menus and right click menu for copying files to and moving to.

Pros :

Awesome booting time

Gnome 2.30 desktop really good with a lot of new features.

Ambiance and Radiance looks really good themes

Cons :

none, with me so far working really good I don’t have any problems, also thinking to install it as default distribution.

and we waiting for ubuntu 10.04 LTS final version April 29th 2010  :)

Give it a try, as usual please report any bugs you got,

here to know how to report any bugs you got to ubuntu community and Bugsquad

peace out  :)

How to add repositories on Ubuntu 9.10

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Common applications installed using synaptic package manager already installed by referring from default repositories added on ubuntu 9.10 or any other version it’s the same way to add extra repositories for other distributions such as ubuntu 10.04 LTS beta 1

Default repositories on ubuntu monitored by ubuntu community, so in this post i will show you how to add extra repositories for ubuntu 9.10 and 10.04 LTS beta 1 as well.

1. Adding repositories

you can get access to it using:

a.  synaptic package manger

System menu  —> Administration —> Synaptic —> Settings —> Repositories

b.  System menu —> Administration —> Software Sources

Common repositories already added on software sources by ubuntu and kubuntu. some application need to add extra repositories to be able to install it in your machine, will use this as example

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/moovida-packagers/ppa/ubuntu karmic main

access the software sources, will ask you for root password then go to other software and press add button and paste the apt line like this one up there

If you want to backup all repositories you already have type this command on terminal

sudo cp -i /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list_backup

This will copy you repositories list to this folder “./etc/apt/ ” with name called sources.list_backup

2. adding repositories key

some application need repositories key to get rid of so warning massages during the installations

so you will find more instructions on the website for installing this package and it will mention repositories key you can add it directly from the terminal.

That’s it for now. :)

How to Install/Uninstall RPM Packages and source packages

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Hello guys,

In this post I already showed you how to install/Uninstall DEB packages.

Now I will show you how to install/uninstall RPM packages, and how to install sources RPMs

Distributions such as Redhat, Fedora, and CentOS using packages with .rpm extension

1. Installing RPM packages

” rpm -uvh ” Will use this command to install packages

  • what’s uvh means ?

u : used for updating RPM packages to last version

v : show verbose messages while running command lines

h : Gives you hash “#” characters during installation process

Terminal :

###############################################################

Access the directory for downloaded package for example : cd download

Your@username-laptop:~$ rpm -Uvh package name.rpm
..
.
Installation process successfully

###############################################################

2. Installing sources RPMs

Some packages you want to install required a source files to work with kernel  version. Here is the command for installing source packages

Require root privilege

Your@username-laptop:~$ rpmbuild –rebuild package name ending with “.src.rpm” extension

3. Uninstalling RPM packages

Terminal :

###############################################################

Your@username-laptop:~$ rpm -e package name

###############################################################

  • you will need root privilege to remove this package
  • make sure you type package correctly with version if available as show on -qa command listing

That’s it for now. :)

How to Install/Uninstall DEB Packages

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Hello Guys,

Easiest way to install software on Ubuntu is using DEB Packages, cause Ubuntu distribution based on Debian distribution, unlike Fedora, Redhat, and CentOS using RPM packages. ”  Will cover how to install/Uninstall RPM packages on Next Post”

so, will begin with

1. Installing DEB packages

Ubuntu make it really easy to install softwares on your distribution by using ” Ubuntu software center ” Or using ” Synaptic Package Manager ” , but sometimes you can’t find these packages you want listed on “software center or synaptic” but you already have a DEB packages and you want to install it using terminal.

For example I Downloaded application called ” Skype ”

http://download.skype.com/linux/skype-ubuntu-intrepid_2.1.0.81-1_amd64.deb   ” DEB package name on Red color “

” Download location : Home/Your Username/Downloads “

Go to Terminal
Your@Username-laptop:~/Downloads$ dpkg --install skype-ubuntu-intrepid_2.1.0.81-1_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg-i "package name"
” make sure you write package name as you see it on directory list, or copy and paste it “

Something will show up that the process complete successfully
2. Uninstalling DEB Packages
Go to Terminal
Your@Username-laptop:~$ Sudo dpkg --remove "package name"
sudo dpkg-r "package name"
without quote ” “
password:     Type your password

Something will show up that the process complete successfully and the package has been removed.

That’s it for now, and will cover Installing/uninstalling RPM packages on next How To’s …?

Ubuntu 10.04 Alpha 3

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Steve Langasek has announced the availability of the third alpha release of Ubuntu 10.04, code name “Lucid Lynx”: “Welcome to Lucid Lynx Alpha 3, which will in time become Ubuntu 10.04 LTS.” New features: “The default search engine has been changed to Yahoo! The default home page will use either Google or Yahoo! depending on user setting. Alpha 3 includes the 2.6.32 kernel based on 2.6.32.8. Alpha 3 of Kubuntu features the new KDE SC 4.4. The nouveau video driver is now the default for NVIDIA hardware, this driver provides kernel mode setting, which will give improved resolution detection. We now feature built-in integration with Twitter, identi.ca, Facebook, and other social networks with the MeMenu in the panel.

release announcement and release notes for further information and known issues. Download (SHA256): lucid-desktop-i386.iso (686MB, torrent), lucid-desktop-amd64.iso (689MB, torrent). Also released today are new alpha CD/DVD images ofKubuntu (download, release notes), Xubuntu (download), Edubuntu (download),Mythbuntu (download) and Ubuntu Studio (download).