A practical guide to fedora and red hat enterprise linux

Praise for Previous Editions of A Practical

Guide to Fedora ¥ and Red Hat Enterprise Linux
®

®

“Since I’m in an educational environment, I found the content of Sobell’s
book to be right on target and very helpful for anyone managing Linux
in the enterprise. His style of writing is very clear. He builds up to the
chapter exercises, which I find to be relevant to real-world scenarios a
user or admin would encounter. An IT/IS student would find this book a
valuable complement to their education. The vast amount of information is extremely well balanced and Sobell manages to present the content without complicated asides and meandering prose. This is a ‘must
have’ for anyone managing Linux systems in a networked environment
or anyone running a Linux server. I would also highly recommend it to
an experienced computer user who is moving to the Linux platform.”
—Mary Norbury
IT Director
Barbara Davis Center
University of Colorado at Denver
from a review posted on slashdot.org
“I had the chance to use your UNIX books when I when was in college
years ago at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA. I have to say that your
books are among the best! They’re quality books that teach the theoretical aspects and applications of the operating system.”
—Benton Chan
IS Engineer
“The book has more than lived up to my expectations from the many
reviews I read, even though it targets FC2. I have found something very
rare with your book: It doesn’t read like the standard technical text, it
reads more like a story. It’s a pleasure to read and hard to put down.

Did I say that?! :-)”
—David Hopkins
Business Process Architect
“Thanks for your work and for the book you wrote. There are really few
books that can help people to become more efficient administrators of
different workstations. We hope (in Russia) that you will continue
bringing us a new level of understanding of Linux/UNIX systems.”
—Anton Petukhov


“Mark Sobell has written a book as approachable as it is authoritative.”
—Jeffrey Bianchine
Advocate, Author, Journalist
“Excellent reference book, well suited for the sysadmin of a Linux cluster, or the owner of a PC contemplating installing a recent stable Linux.
Don’t be put off by the daunting heft of the book. Sobell has striven to
be as inclusive as possible, in trying to anticipate your system administration needs.”
—Wes Boudville
Inventor
“A Practical Guide to Red Hat® Linux® is a brilliant book. Thank you
Mark Sobell.”
—C. Pozrikidis
University of California at San Diego
“This book presents the best overview of the Linux operating system that
I have found. . . . [It] should be very helpful and understandable no matter what the reader’s background: traditional UNIX user, new Linux
devotee, or even Windows user. Each topic is presented in a clear, complete fashion and very few assumptions are made about what the reader
knows. . . . The book is extremely useful as a reference, as it contains a
70-page glossary of terms and is very well indexed. It is organized in
such a way that the reader can focus on simple tasks without having to
wade through more advanced topics until they are ready.”
—Cam Marshall

Marshall Information Service LLC
Member of Front Range UNIX
Users Group [FRUUG]
Boulder, Colorado
“Conclusively, this is THE book to get if you are a new Linux user and
you just got into RH/Fedora world. There’s no other book that discusses so many different topics and in such depth.”
—Eugenia Loli-Queru
Editor in Chief
OSNews.com


Praise for Other Books by Mark G. Sobell
“This book is a very useful tool for anyone who wants to ‘look under
the hood’ so to speak, and really start putting the power of Linux to
work. What I find particularly frustrating about man pages is that they
never include examples. Sobell, on the other hand, outlines very clearly
what the command does and then gives several common, easy-tounderstand examples that make it a breeze to start shell programming
on one’s own. As with Sobell’s other works, this is simple, straightforward, and easy to read. It’s a great book and will stay on the shelf at
easy arm’s reach for a long time.”
—Ray Bartlett
Travel Writer
“Overall I found this book to be quite excellent, and it has earned a spot
on the very front of my bookshelf. It covers the real ‘guts’ of Linux—
the command line and its utilities—and does so very well. Its strongest
points are the outstanding use of examples, and the Command Reference section. Highly recommended for Linux users of all skill levels.
Well done to Mark Sobell and Prentice Hall for this outstanding book!”
—Dan Clough
Electronics Engineer and
Slackware Linux User
“Totally unlike most Linux books, this book avoids discussing everything via GUI and jumps right into making the power of the command

line your friend.”
—Bjorn Tipling
Software Engineer
ask.com
“This book is the best distro-agnostic, foundational Linux reference I’ve
ever seen, out of dozens of Linux-related books I’ve read. Finding this
book was a real stroke of luck. If you want to really understand how to
get things done at the command line, where the power and flexibility of
free UNIX-like OSes really live, this book is among the best tools you’ll
find toward that end.”
—Chad Perrin
Writer, TechRepublic


“I currently own one of your books, A Practical Guide to Linux®. I
believe this book is one of the most comprehensive and, as the title
says, practical guides to Linux I have ever read. I consider myself a
novice and I come back to this book over and over again.”
—Albert J. Nguyen
“Thank you for writing a book to help me get away from Windows XP
and to never touch Windows Vista. The book is great; I am learning a lot
of new concepts and commands. Linux is definitely getting easier to use.”
—James Moritz
“I am so impressed by how Mark Sobell can approach a complex topic
in such an understandable manner. His command examples are especially useful in providing a novice (or even an advanced) administrator
with a cookbook on how to accomplish real-world tasks on Linux. He
is truly an inspired technical writer!”
—George Vish II
Senior Education Consultant
Hewlett-Packard Company

“Overall, I think it’s a great, comprehensive Ubuntu book that’ll be a
valuable resource for people of all technical levels.”
—John Dong
Ubuntu Forum Council Member
Backports Team Leader
“The JumpStart sections really offer a quick way to get things up and
running, allowing you to dig into the details of the book later.”
—Scott Mann
Aztek Networks
“I would so love to be able to use this book to teach a class about not
just Ubuntu or Linux but about computers in general. It is thorough
and well written with good illustrations that explain important concepts for computer usage.”
—Nathan Eckenrode
New York Local Community Team


“Ubuntu is gaining popularity at the rate alcohol did during Prohibition,
and it’s great to see a well-known author write a book on the latest and
greatest version. Not only does it contain Ubuntu-specific information,
but it also touches on general computer-related topics, which will help
the average computer user to better understand what’s going on in the
background. Great work, Mark!”
—Daniel R. Arfsten
Pro/ENGINEER Drafter/Designer
“I read a lot of Linux technical information every day, but I’m rarely
impressed by tech books. I usually prefer online information sources
instead. Mark Sobell’s books are a notable exception. They’re clearly
written, technically accurate, comprehensive, and actually enjoyable
to read.”
—Matthew Miller

Senior Systems Analyst/Administrator
BU Linux Project
Boston University Office
of Information Technology

“This is well written, clear, comprehensive information for the Linux
user of any type, whether trying Ubuntu on for the first time and wanting to know a little about it, or using the book as a very good reference
when doing something more complicated like setting up a server. This
book’s value goes well beyond its purchase price and it’ll make a great
addition to the Linux section of your bookshelf.”
—Linc Fessenden
Host of The LinuxLink TechShow
tllts.org
“The author has done a very good job at clarifying such a detail-oriented
operating system. I have extensive Unix and Windows experience and this
text does an excellent job at bridging the gaps between Linux, Windows,
and Unix. I highly recommend this book to both ‘newbs’ and experienced
users. Great job!”
—Mark Polczynski
Information Technology Consultant


“When I first started working with Linux just a short 10 years or so ago,
it was a little more difficult than now to get going. . . . Now, someone
new to the community has a vast array of resources available on the
web, or if they are inclined to begin with Ubuntu, they can literally find
almost every single thing they will need in the single volume of Mark
Sobell’s A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux®.
“I’m sure this sounds a bit like hyperbole. Everything a person would
need to know? Obviously not everything, but this book, weighing in at

just under 1200 pages, covers so much so thoroughly that there won’t
be much left out. From install to admin, networking, security, shell
scripting, package management, and a host of other topics, it is all
there. GUI and command line tools are covered. There is not really any
wasted space or fluff, just a huge amount of information. There are
screen shots when appropriate but they do not take up an inordinate
amount of space. This book is information-dense.”
—JR Peck
Editor
GeekBook.org
“I have been wanting to make the jump to Linux but did not have the
guts to do so—until I saw your familiarly titled A Practical Guide to
Red Hat® Linux® at the bookstore. I picked up a copy and am eagerly
looking forward to regaining my freedom.”
—Carmine Stoffo
Machine and Process Designer
to pharmaceutical industry
“I am currently reading A Practical Guide to Red Hat® Linux® and am
finally understanding the true power of the command line. I am new to
Linux and your book is a treasure.”
—Juan Gonzalez
“Overall, A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux® by Mark G. Sobell provides all of the information a beginner to intermediate user of Linux
would need to be productive. The inclusion of the Live DVD of the
Gutsy Gibbon release of Ubuntu makes it easy for the user to test-drive
Linux without affecting his installed OS. I have no doubts that you will
consider this book money well spent.”
—Ray Lodato
Slashdot contributor
www.slashdot.org

¥

A Practical Guide to Fedora and
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
®

SIXTH EDITION

®


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¥

A Practical Guide to Fedora and
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
®

®

SIXTH EDITION

Mark G. Sobell

Upper Saddle River, NJ • Boston • Indianapolis • San Francisco
New York • Toronto • Montreal • London • Munich • Paris • Madrid
Capetown • Sydney • Tokyo • Singapore • Mexico City

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where
those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed
with initial capital letters or in all capitals.
The author and publisher have taken care in the preparation of this book, but make no expressed or implied warranty of any
kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in
connection with or arising out of the use of the information or programs contained herein.
The publisher offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales, which may
include electronic versions and/or custom covers and content particular to your business, training goals, marketing focus, and
branding interests. For more information, please contact:
U.S. Corporate and Government Sales
(800) 382-3419

For sales outside the United States, please contact:
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Visit us on the Web: informit.com/ph
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sobell, Mark G.
A practical guide to Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux / Mark G. Sobell.—6th ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-13-275727-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Linux. 2. Operating systems (Computers) I. Title.
QA76.76.O63S5945 2012
005.4'32—dc23
2011023929
Copyright © 2012 Mark G. Sobell
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission must
be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any

form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission to use material
from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to (201) 236-3290.
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-275727-0
ISBN-10:
0-13-275727-3
Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at Edwards Brothers in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
First printing, August 2011


For my great-niece
Casey Rose.
Welcome to the world!


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Brief Contents
Contents xv
List of JumpStarts xxxix
Preface xli
1

Welcome to Linux

PART I
2
3

1

Installing Fedora/RHEL Linux

23

Installation Overview 25
Step-by-Step Installation 51

PART II Getting Started with Fedora/RHEL 87
4
5
6
7

Introduction to Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux
The Linux Utilities 145
The Linux Filesystem 185
The Shell 225

PART III

Digging into Fedora/RHEL

89

255

8 Linux GUIs: X and GNOME 257
9 The Bourne Again Shell 279

10 Networking and the Internet 359

xiii


xiv Brief Contents

PART IV
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

System Administration

405

System Administration: Core Concepts 407
Files, Directories, and Filesystems 501
Finding, Downloading, and Installing Software
Printing with CUPS 559
Building a Linux Kernel 583
Administration Tasks 601
Configuring and Monitoring a LAN 645

531

PART V Using Clients and Setting Up Servers
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26

OpenSSH: Secure Network Communication 673
FTP: Transferring Files Across a Network 701
sendmail: Setting Up Mail Servers, Clients, and More 729
NIS and LDAP 759
NFS: Sharing Directory Hierarchies 791
Samba: Linux and Windows File and Printer Sharing 817
DNS/BIND: Tracking Domain Names and Addresses 845
system-config-firewall and iptables: Setting Up a Firewall 891
Apache (httpd): Setting Up a Web Server 917

PART VI
27
28

Programming Tools 967

Programming the Bourne Again Shell
The Perl Scripting Language 1057

PART VII

Appendixes

1103

A Regular Expressions 1105
B Help 1115
C Security 1125
D The Free Software Definition 1145
Glossary 1149
JumpStart Index 1199
File Tree Index 1201
Utility Index 1205
Main Index 1211

969

671


Contents
List of JumpStarts xxxix
Preface xli
Chapter 1: Welcome to Linux 1
The History of UNIX and GNU–Linux 2
The Heritage of Linux: UNIX 2
Fade to 1983 3
Next Scene, 1991 4
The Code Is Free 5

Have Fun! 6
What Is so Good About Linux? 6
Why Linux Is Popular with Hardware Companies and Developers 9
Linux Is Portable 10
The C Programming Language 10
Overview of Linux 11
Linux Has a Kernel Programming Interface 11
Linux Can Support Many Users 12
Linux Can Run Many Tasks 12
Linux Provides a Secure Hierarchical Filesystem 12
The Shell: Command Interpreter and Programming Language 14
A Large Collection of Useful Utilities 15
Interprocess Communication 16
System Administration 16

xv


xvi

Contents

Additional Features of Linux 16
GUIs: Graphical User Interfaces 16
(Inter)Networking Utilities 17
Software Development 17
Conventions Used in This Book 18
Chapter Summary 20
Exercises 20

PART I

Installing Fedora/RHEL Linux

Chapter 2: Installation Overview

23

25

The Desktop Live CD and the Install DVD 26
More Information 27
Planning the Installation 28
Considerations 28
Requirements 28
Processor Architecture 30
Interfaces: Installer and Installed System 31
Which Are You Installing: Fedora or Red Hat Enterprise Linux? 32
Fedora/RHEL Releases 33
Fedora Standard Versions 33
Fedora Spins 33
Installing a Fresh Copy or Upgrading an Existing Fedora/RHEL System?
Setting Up the Hard Disk 34
RAID 41
LVM: Logical Volume Manager 42
The Installation Process 43
Downloading and Burning a CD/DVD 44
The Easy Way to Download a CD/DVD ISO Image File 44
Other Ways to Download a CD/DVD ISO Image File 45
Verifying an ISO Image File 47

Burning the CD/DVD 48
Gathering Information About the System 48
Chapter Summary 49
Exercises 50
Advanced Exercises 50

Chapter 3: Step-by-Step Installation 51
Running a Fedora Live Session 52
Booting the System 53
Installing Fedora/RHEL 54
Installing from a Live Session (Fedora) 55
Installing/Upgrading from the Install DVD 56

34


Contents

xvii

The Anaconda Installer 58
Firstboot: When You Reboot 65
Initializing Databases and Updating the System 67
Installation Tasks 67
Modifying Boot Parameters (Options) 67
Using Disk Druid to Partition the Disk 71
palimpsest: The GNOME Disk Utility 77
Using the Kickstart Configurator 81
Setting Up a Dual-Boot System 82
gnome-control-center/Displays: Configures the Display 85

Chapter Summary 85
Exercises 86
Advanced Exercises 86

PART II Getting Started with Fedora/RHEL 87
Chapter 4: Introduction to Fedora and Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 89
Curbing Your Power (Superuser/root Privileges) 90
A Tour of the Fedora/RHEL Desktop 90
Logging In on the System 91
Configuring Fallback Mode (Fedora) 92
Installing and Using gnome-tweak-tool (Fedora) 94
Introduction to the Desktop 95
Launching Programs from the Desktop 96
Switching Workspaces 98
Setting Personal Preferences 99
Mouse Preferences 101
Working with Windows 102
Using Nautilus to Work with Files 102
Updating Software 109
Session Management 110
Getting Help 111
Feel Free to Experiment 111
Logging Out 111
Getting the Most Out of the Desktop 112
GNOME Desktop Terminology 112
Opening Files 113
Panels 113
The Main Menu 114
Windows 115

The Object Context Menu 119


xviii

Contents

Updating, Installing, and Removing Software Packages 122
Updates 123
Add/Remove Software 124
Where to Find Documentation 125
GNOME Desktop Help Window 125
man: Displays the System Manual 126
apropos: Searches for a Keyword 127
info: Displays Information About Utilities 128
The ––help Option 131
HOWTOs: Finding Out How Things Work 131
Getting Help 132
More About Logging In 134
The Login Screen 134
What to Do if You Cannot Log In 135
Logging In Remotely: Terminal Emulators, ssh, and Dial-Up Connections 135
Logging In from a Terminal (Emulator) 136
Changing Your Password 137
Using Virtual Consoles 138
Working from the Command Line 139
Correcting Mistakes 139
Repeating/Editing Command Lines 141
Chapter Summary 142
Exercises 143

Advanced Exercises 144

Chapter 5: The Linux Utilities

145

Special Characters 146
Basic Utilities 147
ls: Lists the Names of Files 148
cat: Displays a Text File 148
rm: Deletes a File 148
less Is more: Display a Text File One Screen at a Time 149
hostname: Displays the System Name 149
Working with Files 149
cp: Copies a File 149
mv: Changes the Name of a File 150
lpr: Prints a File 151
grep: Searches for a String 152
head: Displays the Beginning of a File 152
tail: Displays the End of a File 153
sort: Displays a File in Order 154
uniq: Removes Duplicate Lines from a File 154
diff: Compares Two Files 154
file: Identifies the Contents of a File 156


Contents

| (Pipe): Communicates Between Processes 156
Four More Utilities 157

echo: Displays Text 157
date: Displays the Time and Date 158
script: Records a Shell Session 158
unix2dos: Converts Linux and Macintosh Files to Windows Format
Compressing and Archiving Files 159
bzip2: Compresses a File 160
bzcat and bunzip2: Decompress a File 161
gzip: Compresses a File 161
tar: Packs and Unpacks Archives 162
Locating Utilities 164
which and whereis: Locate a Utility 164
locate: Searches for a File 166
Displaying User and System Information 166
who: Lists Users on the System 166
finger: Lists Users on the System 167
w: Lists Users on the System 168
Communicating with Other Users 170
write: Sends a Message 170
mesg: Denies or Accepts Messages 170
Email 171
Tutorial: Using vim to Create and Edit a File 172
Starting vim 172
Command and Input Modes 174
Entering Text 175
Getting Help 176
Ending the Editing Session 179
The compatible Parameter 179
Chapter Summary 179
Exercises 182
Advanced Exercises 183

Chapter 6: The Linux Filesystem
The Hierarchical Filesystem 186
Directory Files and Ordinary Files
Filenames 188
The Working Directory 190
Your Home Directory 191
Pathnames 191
Absolute Pathnames 192
Relative Pathnames 193

187

185

159

xix


xx

Contents

Working with Directories 194
mkdir: Creates a Directory 194
cd: Changes to Another Working Directory 196
rmdir: Deletes a Directory 197
Using Pathnames 198
mv, cp: Move or Copy Files 198

mv: Moves a Directory 199
Important Standard Directories and Files 199
Access Permissions 202
ls –l: Displays Permissions 202
chmod: Changes Access Permissions 203
Setuid and Setgid Permissions 205
Directory Access Permissions 207
ACLs: Access Control Lists 208
Enabling ACLs 209
Working with Access Rules 209
Setting Default Rules for a Directory 212
Links 213
Hard Links 214
Symbolic Links 216
rm: Removes a Link 218
Chapter Summary 219
Exercises 221
Advanced Exercises 222

Chapter 7: The Shell 225
The Command Line 226
Syntax 226
Processing the Command Line 229
Executing a Command 231
Editing the Command Line 231
Standard Input and Standard Output 232
The Screen as a File 232
The Keyboard and Screen as Standard Input and Standard Output 233
Redirection 234
Pipes 239

Running a Command in the Background 242
Filename Generation/Pathname Expansion 244
The ? Special Character 245
The
Special Character 246
The [ ] Special Characters 247
Builtins 249
Chapter Summary 250
Utilities and Builtins Introduced in This Chapter 250
Exercises 251
Advanced Exercises 252

*


Contents xxi

PART III Digging into Fedora/RHEL 255
Chapter 8: Linux GUIs: X and GNOME 257
X Window System 258
Using X 260
Desktop Environments/Managers 265
The Nautilus File Browser Window 266
The View Pane 267
The Sidebar 267
Control Bars 269
Menubar 269
The Nautilus Spatial View (RHEL) 272
GNOME Utilities 273
Pick a Font Window 273

Pick a Color Window 274
Run Application Window 274
Searching for Files 274
GNOME Terminal Emulator/Shell 276
Chapter Summary 277
Exercises 277
Advanced Exercises 278

Chapter 9: The Bourne Again Shell 279
Background 280
Shell Basics 281
Startup Files 282
Commands That Are Symbols 285
Redirecting Standard Error 285
Writing a Simple Shell Script 288
Separating and Grouping Commands 292
Job Control 296
Manipulating the Directory Stack 298
Parameters and Variables 301
User-Created Variables 302
Variable Attributes 305
Keyword Variables 307
Special Characters 315
Processes 316
Process Structure 316
Process Identification 317
Executing a Command 318
History 319
Variables That Control History 319
Re-executing and Editing Commands 320

The Readline Library 328


xxii

Contents

Aliases 334
Single Versus Double Quotation Marks in Aliases 335
Examples of Aliases 336
Functions 338
Controlling bash: Features and Options 340
Command-Line Options 340
Shell Features 341
Processing the Command Line 344
History Expansion 345
Alias Substitution 345
Parsing and Scanning the Command Line 345
Command-Line Expansion 345
Chapter Summary 354
Exercises 356
Advanced Exercises 357

Chapter 10: Networking and the Internet 359
Introduction to Networking 360
Types of Networks and How They Work 362
Broadcast Networks 362
Point-to-Point Networks 363
Switched Networks 363
LAN: Local Area Network 364

WAN: Wide Area Network 367
Internetworking Through Gateways and Routers 367
Network Protocols 370
IPv4 372
IPv6 373
Host Address 376
CIDR: Classless Inter-Domain Routing 380
Hostnames 380
Communicate Over a Network 381
finger: Displays Information About Remote Users 381
Mailing List Servers 382
Network Utilities 382
Trusted Hosts 382
OpenSSH Tools 383
telnet: Logs In on a Remote System 383
ftp: Transfers Files Over a Network 385
ping: Tests a Network Connection 386
traceroute: Traces a Route Over the Internet 387
host and dig: Query Internet Nameservers 388
whois: Looks Up Information About an Internet Site 388


Contents xxiii

Distributed Computing 390
The Client/Server Model 390
DNS: Domain Name Service 391
Ports 393
NIS: Network Information Service 394
NFS: Network Filesystem 394

Network Services 394
Common Daemons 395
Proxy Servers 398
RPC Network Services 398
WWW: World Wide Web 400
Browsers 401
Search Engines 401
URL: Uniform Resource Locator 401
Chapter Summary 402
Exercises 403
Advanced Exercises 404

PART IV

System Administration

405

Chapter 11: System Administration: Core Concepts

407

Running Commands with root Privileges 409
The Special Powers of a Privileged User 410
Gaining root Privileges 410
Using su to Gain root Privileges 413
Using sudo to Gain root Privileges 415
sudoers: Configuring sudo 419
Locking the root Account (Removing the root Password) 425
consolehelper: Allows an Ordinary User to Run a Privileged Command 425

The init Daemon 426
The systemd init Daemon (Fedora) 426
The Upstart init Daemon (RHEL) 436
SysVinit (rc) Scripts: Start and Stop System Services (Fedora/RHEL) 442
System Operation 448
Runlevels 448
Booting the System 449
Single-User Mode 449
Going to Graphical Multiuser Mode 451
Logging In 451
Logging Out 453
Bringing the System Down 453
Crash 455


xxiv

Contents

Rescue Installed System 457
Securing a System 458
Avoiding a Trojan Horse 458
SELinux 459
PAM 463
System Administration Tools 469
Textual Administration Utilities 469
Graphical Configuration Tools 475
Setting Up a Server 477
Standard Rules in Configuration Files 478
rpcinfo: Displays Information About rpcbind 480

The xinetd Superserver 481
Securing a Server 484
DHCP: Configures Network Interfaces 489
More Information 490
How DHCP Works 490
DHCP Client 491
DHCP Server 491
nsswitch.conf: Which Service to Look at First 494
Information 494
Methods 495
Search Order 495
Action Items 495
compat Method: ± in passwd, group, and shadow Files
Getting Help 497
Chapter Summary 497
Exercises 498
Advanced Exercises 499

496

Chapter 12: Files, Directories, and Filesystems 501
Important Files and Directories 502
File Types 514
Ordinary Files, Directories, Links, and Inodes 515
Device Special Files 515
Filesystems 519
mount: Mounts a Filesystem 520
umount: Unmounts a Filesystem 523
fstab: Keeps Track of Filesystems 524
fsck: Checks Filesystem Integrity 525

tune2fs: Changes Filesystem Parameters 526
Chapter Summary 528
Exercises 528
Advanced Exercises 528