Linux for Windows Administrators (Mark Minasi Windows Administrator Library)

Outdated and relatively thin even for its time. Mark needs to update completely this volume since his works are some of the most comprehensive and readable on the market.

The first edition of this book was on my wishlist for some time, so when I found out that Mark wrote second edition I preordered the book the same day. One reason for that is because of the author itself (I read his fourth edition of Mastering Windows 2000 Server and I was really impressed by both the technical level and comprehensiveness of the book - believe me, this man really knows how to explain complex topics in plain English with real life examples), the second reason is the fact that there is no good alternative on the market - I couldn't find any other book of this kind. Linux books tends to be targeted either to already experienced users of Linux/Unix or to total newbies without any networking/OS background whatsoever. I have several years of Windows NT experience on my back so I don't want to re-learn some basic topics that are common to all network operating systems. I was looking for a quick headstart approach to transfer some of my knowledge from NT environment to Linux. Now, that I read the second edition of the book I'm really sorry that I waited so long, if I bought the first edition it would probably saved me some hair ;-). Here is why this book should be on every bookshelf of Windows/Linux administrators; At first I was a little skeptic to buy a book about Linux from one of the leading authors on Windows technology, even if I knew that writing style will be superb and that book is co-authored by Linux expert Dan York. I was expecting "GUI approach" to explain basic Linux administration. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that book is all about using command line to administer Linux. This is REALLY GOOD news ! (And don't worry there is excellent chapter on setting up X environment, one of the best that I read so far.) One strength of the book is also that when appropriate author explains or compare command or feature in familiar lingo for us NT admins, like the sentence "..To set what we'd call in the NT world the Everyone/Full Control permission for speech.txt, you would type chmod 777 speech.txt". In my reviews I usually honor some chapters more than the others, this time I can't pickup my favorite chapter, in all 10 chapters I learned something new. They're all up to the task to introduce you to the topic and give you a headstart, for example, now I know that server in the X world is not a 'server' and the client is really not a 'client' ;-) or I also learned how the system of starting/stopping daemons work on Linux, how file permissions work on Linux and what are the limitations compared to NT, how to setup my own DHCP, DNS, FTP, Web and mail server, how to setup NFS, NIS and SAMBA, or to compile my own kernel and many more. Considering the size of the book (less than 500 pages) I think it's one of the finest material that you can find on the topic, especially if you're NT admin starting to explore the wonders of Linux. Highly recommended!

Most people reviewing this book either love it or hate it. I won't go to quite that extreme, but I do have to say that the book missed the mark in a number of areas. While it is most certainly a matter of editorial discretion, the author seems to have a habit of giving some subjects hardly any mention at all, while providing us with pages of agonizing details on other subjects that most readers will simply want to skip over. Probably the biggest lost opportunity in this book is the author's one sentence devoted to Webmin, which is unquestionably the single most useful tool for Windows admins transitioning over to Linux. There are entire books devoted to Webmin that will have most Windows admins running a Linux server in no time, and without having to learn any of the exhaustive command line skills that the author recommends. For those who DO want to learn Linux from the inside out, there is an amazing lack of depth when it comes to basic command line skills. This book would have been immeasurably more useful if it devoted a chapter (or appendix) to explaining some of the more useful commands. I learned more about grep than I ever wanted to know, but there are dozens of just as useful commands that the author never touched upon. So, if you want to learn the most basic command line skills, you are going to need to buy another book. As some of the other reviewers mentioned, the author comes off as being a bit snobbish when it comes to Linux; quick to complain, slow to compliment. I would rather have had the author use the space reserved for complaints and grumblings with some useful information. It does get a bit old after awhile. That being said, the author does do a good job of keeping your attention and moves from chapter to chapter in a very logical manner. Unlike many Linux books, the chapters in this book do not seem thrown together at random. It's a book that you will most likely want to read from cover to cover, instead of just using as a reference. Despite the author's occasional whining, I really enjoyed the book's flow and progression through various topics. The book must have been very up-to-date at the time, but is starting to show its age. The author bases all of his experience with RedHat, who is now dropping out of the "consumer" market, and only offering a very expensive server version now. Thus, RedHat is not the Linux distribution that most of you will want to start off with. All in all, the book was well worth reading, despite its age and shortcomings. This would be a good first book for you to read if you are a Windows admin trying to learn Linux, but you will definitely need other books on the subject before even considering deploying a Linux server on your network.

I really like Minasi's Windows books. I've learned virtually everything I know about Windows from Mark; I only found this book after I had read a number of other Linux books, and I have to say, although there isn't anything drastically wrong with this book, virtually every other introduction to Linux I had read was better than this book. I like Mark Sobell's books and I like Fedora unleashed. The absolute best starting point book I ran accross was Linux Sustem Administration; A beginner's Guide by Steve Shah and Wale Soyinka. After their book you will have enough confidence to run your own machine and enough of a foundation to start looking at deeper more narrow titles.

i barely knew how to spell linux and last night after browsing through this book i set up both a web and dns box. these men are serious about relaying the "how-to's" about difficult technology to the common man and they are absolute masters at it. hands down this book is exactly what it says it is. a linux book for windows administrators. it will show you how to tightly integrate linux into a windows network in several different ways. the thing that i learned early on about linux is that there is usually more than one way to do something and that is what i loved about this book. it shows many different ways to do the same thing so when you get stuck doing something one way, they say, "ok then, we'll try it this way. i have looked at all, and i do mean all of the books available on linux and there is absolutley no comparison. this includes the oreilly collection which we all know are some of the finest books on the market. girls/guys....do you want to save yourselves a ton of money in licensing costs and integrate this powerful little beast into your lan? stop reading this review and go buy this book. you will not need anything else. going through this book is the most usefull fun that i have had since getting into IT. keep em' coming mark! you are the absolute king of the tech writing world!!

I have been a Windows Administrator for over 8 years, and I have been installing Linux for test purposes since 1996. The trouble was that once I got Linux installed, I never could do anything with it, it was just too frustruating to use. Using this book as a guide, I managed to set up a fully functional Linux test server in about 1 week of free time (and with three kids, two under the age of two, there is not that much free time to be had). This book quickly walks you through the similarities and differences of Linux and Windows, and does not spend ANY time with redundant subjects like "What is a network," "What is TCP/IP," etc. like a lot of other books tend to do. Mark is very good about pointing you to other resources so that you can go further on any given subject if you want. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone interested in Linux, especially if you already have some sort of Windows background. On the same subject, I recommend all of Mark's books, as I feel that they are some of the best resources to be had for the area that they cover.

This books is different than anything else on the shelf. First Minasi doesn't spend 2 chapters discussing the history of linux. Second, this is full of concise, accurate information and examples. Third, this book does presume you are a guru, or an idiot but EXACTLY what the title says a "Windows Administrator(s)". Fourth, Minasi's wit had me laughing aloud several times. This is a FUN read. I have read (cover to cover) this book 3 times; my other books I reference. I used this book and a few others to learn enough about linux to land a linux engineers job (from an MCSE System Admin) and grab a 29.5% pay hike. A great ROI. Paid for itself in about an hour!

Are you tired of Linux books written for former Unix admins? Or ones that constantly knock Microsoft products? (hey, we may not LOVE Microsoft but we usually have to LIVE with it's products). Are you an experienced NT/Win2k Admin? Then this book is a MUST have for your collection. Mark (along with Dan York) attacks Linux from an NT/Win2k point-of-view. As a NT/Win2k admin, I KNOW Win2k/NT file permissions...what makes Linux file permissions different? I KNOW how to set up a DNS/DHCP server in NT/Win2k...how do I set up a LINUX DHCP/DNS server? What makes a Linux web server different from IIS in NT/W2k? Mark/Dan do NOT waste your time re-explaining concepts we already know. Instead, they explain how to do the same stuff we've been doing for years in NT/Win2k in Linux. Even if you're not running any Linux in your present environment, you probably will some day. I highly recommend this book!!