Book Image

Linux for System Administrators

By : Viorel Rudareanu, Daniil Baturin
Book Image

Linux for System Administrators

By: Viorel Rudareanu, Daniil Baturin

Overview of this book

Linux system administration is an essential aspect of maintaining and managing Linux servers within an organization. The role of a Linux system administrator is pivotal in ensuring the smooth functioning and security of these servers, making it a critical job function for any company that relies on Linux infrastructure. This book is a comprehensive guide designed to help you build a solid foundation in Linux system administration. It takes you from the fundamentals of Linux to more advanced topics, encompassing key areas such as Linux system installation, managing user accounts and filesystems, networking fundamentals, and Linux security techniques. Additionally, the book delves into the automation of applications and infrastructure using Chef, enabling you to streamline and optimize your operations. For both newcomers getting started with Linux and professionals looking to enhance their skills, this book is an invaluable hands-on guide with a structured approach and concise explanations that make it an effective resource for quickly acquiring and reinforcing Linux system administration skills. With the help of this Linux book, you’ll be able to navigate the world of Linux administration confidently to meet the demands of your role.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
1
Part 1: Linux Basics
7
Part 2: Configuring and Modifying Linux Systems
13
Part 3: Linux as a Part of a Larger System

Discovering CPU model and features

The central processor is certainly one of the most important hardware components, and there are many reasons to find out detailed information about it. The CPU model name or number and frequency are the first things you would look at to find out the age and overall performance of a machine. However, there are more details that are often useful in practice. For example, the number of CPU cores is important to know if you run applications that support multiple worker threads or processes (such as make -j2). Trying to run more processes than there are CPUs may slow the application down because some of those processes end up waiting for an available CPU, so you may want to run fewer worker processes to avoid overloading the machine.

It’s also important to know whether your CPU supports specific acceleration technologies such as AES-NI or Intel QuickAssist. If they are available, some applications can perform much better if you enable support...