Solaris Administration: A Beginner's Guide

Rating:
Summary: The title says it all -- this is a good "beginner's guide"
Review: I am a senior engineer for network security operations. I read this book to improve my knowledge of Solaris. Previous reviewers express widely differing opinions of "Solaris Administration: A Beginner's Guide" (SA:ABG). These reactions seem to be based on their expectations of the book. If you need an in-depth Solaris reference, buy "Solaris 8: The Complete Reference." If you want an introductory text with more content than "Solaris for Managers and Administrators," try SA:ABG.

Solaris users have traditionally suffered a lack of good third-party administration books. While not as useful as the excellent "Linux Administration: A Beginner's Guide," SA:ABG gives the reader enough information to start administering Solaris machines. This is a practical book, showing how to install the OS, use the shell, and add/remove/create packages. As a Solaris advocacy book, SA:ABG also shows Windows and Linux admins how their favorite GUI or command-line features have Solaris counterparts.

Certain aspects of SA:ABG pleasantly surprised me. For example, chapter 8 shows how to use 'truss' to trace system calls, and gives brief descriptions of /proc tools like pflags, pcred, pmap, and so on. Chapter 19 explained why NIS and NIS+ are still useful on a DNS-enabled network, and made comparisons to the Windows 2000 Active Directory. I also appreciated learning how to use Samba tools like nmblookup, smbclient, and smbstatus to interface with Windows or Samba servers.

On the negative side, SA:ABG's security chapter explained how to disable services started by inetd, but didn't fully describe how to disable non-inetd services using /etc/init.d/ scripts. This sort of advice is critical for newbie Solaris admins. Solaris offers a slew of network services by default; disabling the majority of them is a priority. I also believe the sample bash scripts on pages 113-117 could have used clearer syntax, using brackets where needed.

I have yet to read "THE" Solaris administration book, suitable for beginners and wizards alike. If you're new to Solaris, SA:ABG is a good place to start. If you need advanced instruction, keep looking!

(Disclaimer: A received a free review copy from the publisher.)

Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly suprising
Review: I am a Windows network admin trying to learn more about Solaris, and this book suited me just fine. Maybe some of the presentation was too simple if you are a UNIX guru - but this book is definitely for admins new to Solaris. I'm really surprised by some of the reviews here about lack of content - I found each chapter well laid out and easy to read with examples.

Rating:
Summary: NOT WORTH IT
Review: I couldn't make sense of NIS+ until I read this book. My boss gave me an impossible deadline (read yesterday) to convert our DNS only network to use NIS+. This book explained the process of setting up NIS+ in ENGLISH using EXAMPLES. If only there were more books like this around. I hate books which are just copies of system manuals. Five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Pequeñito pero poderoso el chiquitin !
Review: Seamos realistas, puede existir un libro pequeño pero que contenga la mayor parte de las operaciones eseciales que hacen falta para sobrevivir como un administrator Solaris; pero seamos tambien honestos, es un libro para principiantes, lo que no le quita el merito de contener topicos sumamente utiles.
Hace 6 meses atras afronte la necesidad de moverme de NT/2000 hacia Solaris, y luego de caminar un poco alguien me recomendo a este pequeño como la puerta que debo utilizar para acceder a Solaris sin traumarme.
Pues funciona, es muy bueno, es practico y es tan claro que no hay forma de perderse. Se ha convertido en mi libro de consulta diaria, pues es muy facil encontrar en sus paginas la informacion, ejecutarla y hecho!. Honestamente lo recomiendo.
Claro, luego de haberlo leido querras saber mas, sin duda llegara el momento que desearas ver numeros que no existen entre sus paginas, asi que luego salta a Solaris - A practical guide. Ambos forman una tupla especialmente buena aunque sus autores probablemente nunca lo sepan.
Te recomiendo este libro si tienes conocimientos sobre administracion de sistemas NT/2000, unix o Red Hat y deseas moverte a Solaris. Este pequeño libro es un buen amigo para comenzar a vivir y convivir con el poderoso Solaris.
Espero que mi revision te sirva. Saludos.
Piyux.

Rating:
Summary: ok for beginners
Review: The book is excellent for an introduction to Solaris for Windows Administrators. I am a Windows Systems Engineer, interested in learning Solaris...but I have been sitting around waiting for Solaris 8 certification books to be printed. This is an excellent introductory to the world of Sun and the "Solaris Way". A lot of references comparing how things are done in the Windows world to help with orientation. The one bad thing is the Author is a bit Solaris pushy...suggesting that Solaris is the smartest idea for all environments and all situations. He also beats up on Linux a bit...which may be justified, but not in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Designed for Windows Admins Not Familiar w/Unix
Review: The book is excellent for an introduction to Solaris for Windows Administrators. I am a Windows Systems Engineer, interested in learning Solaris...but I have been sitting around waiting for Solaris 8 certification books to be printed. This is an excellent introductory to the world of Sun and the "Solaris Way". A lot of references comparing how things are done in the Windows world to help with orientation. The one bad thing is the Author is a bit Solaris pushy...suggesting that Solaris is the smartest idea for all environments and all situations. He also beats up on Linux a bit...which may be justified, but not in this book.

Rating:
Summary: not laid out well...
Review: There is a lot of excellent information in this book, worded well for most people that are unfamiliar with *nix or Solaris. However, in my opinion, the information was not layed out in a logical manner. In the tech world, there are two styles of book - a Read through cover-to-cover book, and a reference book. This book fits neither category - be prepared to jump around a bit to find the info you are looking for.

Rating:
Summary: Save you money
Review: This book is very poorly written. The author jumps from subject to subject with no logic. He introduces examples with commands that are not defined and leaves it to the reader to decipher the intent. Subjects are introduced assuming that knowledge that you are looking for is understood.

Rating:
Summary: Crappy
Review: What a waste of $40. This book was really basic and did not actually help me administer anything...don't buy it. You can't return the download either....total crap!

Rating:
Summary: Crappy
Review: What a waste of $40. This book was really basic and did not actually help me administer anything...don't buy it. You can't return the download either....total crap!