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

High-level discovery tools

As well as these tools, which are specific to a certain bus or device type, there are also tools that can help you discover all hardware present in a system.

dmidecode

On x86 systems, you can use a program named dmidecode to retrieve and view information from the firmware (BIOS/UEFI) via the Desktop Management Interface (hence its name). That interface is also known as SMBIOS. Since it’s specific to the x86 PC firmware standards, it will not work on machines with other architectures such as ARM or MIPS, but on x86 laptops, workstations, and servers, it can help you discover information that cannot be obtained in any other way, such as the number of RAM slots.

One disadvantage is that you need root privileges to run it. Another thing to take note of is that it produces a lot of output. There is no way to reproduce a complete output in the book because it would take many pages, but for reference, here’s what the beginning of its output...