Best selling guide to the inner workings of the Linux operating system with over 50,000 copies sold since its release in 2014. This in-depth guide to the various components of a Linux system covers topics like how the system boots, how networking works, and what the Linux kernel actually does.
1. The Big Picture
2. Basic Commands and Directory Hierarchy
3. Devices
4. Disks and Filesystems
5. How the Linux Kernel Boots
6. How User Space Starts
7. System Configuration: Logging, System Time, Batch Jobs, and
Users
8. A Closer Look at Processes and Resource Utilization
9. Understanding Your Network and Its Configuration
10. Network Applications and Services
11. Introduction to Shell Scripts
12. Network File Transfer and Sharing
13. User Environments
14. A Brief Survey of the Linux Desktop and Printing
15. Development Tools
16. Introduction to Compiling Software from C Source Code
17. Virtualization
Brian Ward has been working with Linux since 1993. He is also the author of The Linux Kernel-HOWTO, The Book of VMware (No Starch Press), and The Linux Problem Solver (No Starch Press).
"Comprehensive . . . The third edition of How Linux Works is a good
introduction to Linux that also is organized such that readers can
flip through and go as far into a subject as necessary to answer
questions at hand, skipping the more extensive explanations that
aren’t crucial for their current topic of interest. In that regard,
the book is a nice reference to have on the bookshelf."
—Lee Teschler, Microcontroller Tips
"The book is very thorough—from looking down into the hardware,
through delving into how the kernel functions, to covering the most
important commands, file systems, swap space, boot loaders,
networking and more. In fact, I'm not at all surprised that this
book has survived to its 3rd edition—both because it's a genuinely
good book and because Linux has gone through some serious changes
in the past seven years, especially related to such things as its
use of containers, the flexibility of logical volume manager and
the continued move toward virtualization. . . . This is a very
thorough and up-to-date book. After using Unix and then Linux for
nearly 40 years, I am still getting a lot of value and significant
insights from reading it."
—Sandra Henry-Stocker, longstanding Linux journalist
"If you've not read this book yet, you really should. It's very
good, highly detailed, approachable, comprehensive, and just an
overall joy to read as a Linux nerd. Highly recommend!"
—Adam Miller, @TheMaxamillion
"This book provides an overview of Linux, with some information on
how to dive deeper into its topics. Recommended."
—Ian Bruntlett, C Vu Journal Vol. 33 #4, ACCU
"I recommend [How Linux Works] if you want to learn and understand
the core functioning of Linux. [It's] the perfect book if you are
absolutely new or if you want to improve your Linux knowledge."
—It's FOSS - Linux Portal, @itsfoss2
"A fantastic book which I highly recommend whether you are new to
Linux or an old hat."
—The Security Noob
Reviews for How Linux Works:
“If you are interested in Linux, How Linux Works: What Every
Superuser Should Know is a must-read title.”
—LinuxInsider
“Lots to offer on almost every aspect of the Linux
architecture.”
—Everyday Linux User
“You’ll get an essential understanding of what’s going on under the
hood without getting bogged down in minutiae—making this a very
refreshing (and wholly recommended) addition to the Linux
literature.”
—Phil Bull, co-author of Ubuntu Made Easy and member of the Ubuntu
documentation team
“Dives straight into the transparent depths of Linux-based
operating systems and shows us how all the pieces fit
together.”
—DistroWatch
“Earns its place on the shelf as an essential reference.”
—The MagPi magazine
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