Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A competent system administrator knows that a Linux server is a high performance system for routing large amounts of information through a network connection. Setting up and maintaining a Linux server requires understanding not only the hardware, but the ins and outs of the Linux operating system along with its supporting cast of utilities as well as layers of applications software. There's basic documentation online but there's a lot beyond the basics you have to know, and this only comes from people with hands-on, real-world experience. This kind of "know how" is what we sought to capture in Linux Server Hacks . Linux Server Hacks is a collection of 100 industrial-strength hacks, providing tips and tools that solve practical problems for Linux system administrators. Every hack can be read in just a few minutes but will save hours of searching for the right answer. Some of the hacks are subtle, many of them are non-obvious, and all of them demonstrate the power and flexibility of a Linux system. You'll find hacks devoted to tuning the Linux kernel to make your system run more efficiently, as well as using CVS or RCS to track the revision to system files. You'll learn alternative ways to do backups, how to use system monitoring tools to track system performance and a variety of secure networking solutions. Linux Server Hacks also helps you manage large-scale Web installations running Apache, MySQL, and other open source tools that are typically part of a Linux system. O'Reilly's new Hacks Series proudly reclaims the term "hacking" for the good guys. Hackers use their ingenuity to solve interesting problems. Rob Flickenger is an experienced system administrator, having managed the systems for O'Reilly Network for several years. (He's also into community wireless networking and he's written a book on that subject for O'Reilly.) Rob has also collected the best ideas and tools from a number of other highly skilled contributors. Written for users who already understand the basics, Linux Server Hacks is built upon the expertise of people who really know what they're doing.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• How to Become a Hacker (p. vii)
• Preface (p. xi)
• Server Basics (p. 1)
• 1. Removing Unnecessary Services (p. 3)
• 2. Forgoing the Console Login (p. 6)
• 3. Common Boot Parameters (p. 7)
• 4. Creating a Persistent Daemon with init (p. 8)
• 5. n> &m: Swap Standard Output and Standard Error (p. 10)
• 6. Building Complex Command Lines (p. 12)
• 7. Working with Tricky Files in xargs (p. 15)
• 8. Immutable Files in ext2/ext3 (p. 17)
• 9. Speeding Up Compiles (p. 18)
• 10. At Home in Your Shell Environment (p. 19)
• 11. Finding and Eliminating setuid/setgid Binaries (p. 22)
• 12. Make sudo Work Harder (p. 25)
• 13. Using a Makefile to Automate Admin Tasks (p. 27)
• 14. Brute Forcing Your New Domain Name (p. 29)
• 15. Playing Hunt the Disk Hog (p. 29)
• 16. Fun with /proc (p. 31)
• 17. Manipulating Processes Symbolically with procps (p. 34)
• 18. Managing System Resources per Process (p. 35)
• 19. Cleaning Up after Ex-Users (p. 37)
• 20. Eliminating Unnecessary Drivers from the Kernel (p. 39)
• 21. Using Large Amounts of RAM (p. 42)
• 22. hdparm: Fine Tune IDE Drive Parameters (p. 43)
• Revision Control (p. 46)
• 23. Getting Started with RCS (p. 47)
• 24. Checking Out a Previous Revision in RCS (p. 48)
• 25. Tracking Changes with rcs2log (p. 49)
• 26. Getting Started with CVS (p. 51)
• 27. CVS: Checking Out a Module (p. 54)
• 28. CVS: Updating Your Working Copy (p. 54)
• 29. CVS: Using Tags (p. 55)
• 30. CVS: Making Changes to a Module (p. 56)
• 31. CVS: Merging Files (p. 57)
• 32. CVS: Adding and Removing Files and Directories (p. 57)
• 33. CVS: Branching Development (p. 58)
• 34. CVS: Watching and Locking Files (p. 59)
• 35. CVS: Keeping CVS Secure (p. 60)
• 36. CVS: Anonymous Repositories (p. 61)
• Backups (p. 63)
• 37. Backing Up with tar over ssh (p. 64)
• 38. Using rsync over ssh (p. 65)
• 39. Archiving with Pax (p. 66)
• 40. Backing Up Your Boot Sector (p. 72)
• 41. Keeping Parts of Filesystems in sync with rsync (p. 73)
• 42. Automated Snapshot-Style Incremental Backups with rsync (p. 78)
• 43. Working with ISOs and CDR/CDRWs (p. 84)
• 44. Burning a CD Without Creating an ISO File (p. 85)
• Networking (p. 87)
• 45. Creating a Firewall from the Command Line of any Server (p. 87)
• 46. Simple IP Masquerading (p. 90)
• 47. iptables Tips & Tricks (p. 91)
• 48. Forwarding TCP Ports to Arbitrary Machines (p. 93)
• 49. Using Custom Chains in iptables (p. 94)
• 50. Tunneling: IPIP Encapsulation (p. 96)
• 51. Tunneling: GRE Encapsulation (p. 98)
• 52. Using vtun over ssh to Circumvent NAT (p. 99)
• 53. Automatic vtund.conf Generator (p. 105)
• Monitoring (p. 110)
• 54. Steering syslog (p. 110)
• 55. Watching Jobs with watch (p. 113)
• 56. What's Holding That Port Open? (p. 114)
• 57. Checking On Open Files and Sockets with Isof (p. 115)
• 58. Monitor System Resources with top (p. 118)
• 59. Constant Load Average Display in the Titlebar (p. 119)
• 60. Network Monitoring with ngrep (p. 121)
• 61. Scanning Your Own Machines with nmap (p. 123)
• 62. Disk Age Analysis (p. 124)
• 63. Cheap IP Takeover (p. 126)
• 64. Running ntop for Real-Time Network Stats (p. 129)
• 65. Monitoring Web Traffic in Real Time with httptop (p. 131)
• SSH (p. 139)
• 66. Quick Logins with ssh Client Keys (p. 139)
• 67. Turbo-mode ssh Logins (p. 141)
• 68. Using ssh-Agent Effectively (p. 142)
• 69. Running the ssh-Agent in a GUI (p. 144)
• 70. X over ssh (p. 145)
• 71. Forwarding Ports over ssh (p. 146)
• Scripting (p. 149)
• 72. Get Settled in Quickly with movein.sh (p. 149)
• 73. Global Search and Replace with Perl (p. 151)
• 74. Mincing Your Data into Arbitrary Chunks (in bash) (p. 153)
• 75. Colorized Log Analysis in Your Terminal (p. 155)
• Information Servers (p. 157)
• 76. Running BIND in a chroot Jail (p. 158)
• 77. Views in BIND 9 (p. 160)
• 78. Setting Up Caching DNS with Authority for Local Domains (p. 165)
• 79. Distributing Server Load with Round-Robin DNS (p. 167)
• 80. Running Your Own Top-Level Domain (p. 168)
• 81. Monitoring MySQL Health with mtop (p. 169)
• 82. Setting Up Replication in MySQL (p. 172)
• 83. Restoring a Single Table from a Large MySQL Dump (p. 175)
• 84. MySQL Server Tuning (p. 175)
• 85. Using proftpd with a mysql Authentication Source (p. 178)
• 86. Optimizing glibc, linuxthreads, and the Kernel for a Super MySQL Server (p. 180)
• 87. Apache Toolbox (p. 182)
• 88. Display the Full Filename in Indexes (p. 185)
• 89. Quick Configuration Changes with IfDefine (p. 186)
• 90. Simplistic Ad Referral Tracking (p. 188)
• 91. Mimicking FTP Servers with Apache (p. 191)
• 92. Rotate and compress Apache Server Logs (p. 193)
• 93. Generating an SSL cert and Certificate Signing Request (p. 194)
• 94. Creating Your Own CA (p. 196)
• 95. Distributing Your CA to Client Browsers (p. 198)
• 96. Serving multiple sites with the same DocumentRoot (p. 201)
• 97. Delivering Content Based on the Query String Using mod_rewrite (p. 203)
• 98. Using mod_proxy on Apache for Speed (p. 204)
• 99. Distributing Load with Apache RewriteMap (p. 206)
• 100. Ultrahosting: Mass Web Site Hosting with Wildcards, Proxy, and Rewrite (p. 208)
• Index (p. 213)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Linux continues its surge in popularity-especially in the server market, which appreciates the lower cost and higher stability of this open source option. Red Hat provides basic coverage of one widely used distribution, from setting up a Linux server to setting up intranet services (like DHCP). This guide will be especially useful to network administrators moving from a Windows NT/2000 environment to Red Hat Linux; Linux's differences from Windows are stressed, and a background in NT/2000 network administration is assumed. Quizzes, projects, tips, notes, and summaries make it a good self-study resource. Clear explanations and examples recommend it for all libraries. Server Hacks, the first entry in O'Reilly's new series, contains real-world tips, tools, and scripts for working Linux administrators, allowing them to tweak their servers to maximum effectiveness and resolve common situations with minimal fuss. Hacks are broken down into common tasks, such as server basics (speeding up compiles) or monitoring (What's holding that port open?). Each tip explains why and how it can help maintain server efficiency or solve common problems, with a welcome balance of humor and practicality. Highly recommended. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Rob Flickenger has been a professional systems administrator for more than 10 years, and all around hacker for as long as he can remember. Rob enjoys spreading the good word of open networks, open standards, and ubiquitous wireless networking. His current professional project is Metrix Communication LLC, which provides wireless hardware and software that embodies the same open source principles he rants about in his books. Rob also works with the U.N. and various international organizations to bring these ideas to places where communications infrastructure is badly needed. He hopes that all of this effort is contributing toward the ultimate goal of infinite bandwidth everywhere for free. He is the author of Linux Server Hacks, Wireless Hacks, and Building Wireless Community Networks (which is in its second edition).