Burgess fine book … is a well-articulated introduction to a corpus of guiding principles for systems administrators … I consider this an important book … I think that Burgess will become part of the required reading for future (and current) systems administrators. Peter Salus, Usenix Association Features
broad coverage of Linux and other Unix versions, Windows, Macs and mainframes
practical - supplemented with reference section containing practical recipes and advice
vendor/platform independent view of the technical, theoretical, practical and social/ethical aspects of system administration
strong pedagogy - end of chapter exercises plus teaching guide available from website
Principles of Network and System Administration focuses on the general principles involved in setting up, configuring and maintaining computer communities. A robust discipline of system administration is now coming of age and both academics and industry recognize the need to formalize the problems which system administrators tackle. Amongst the challenges faced in planning and designing an efficient community of computers are:
designing a network which is logical and efficient
deploying large numbers of machines which can later be easily upgraded
deciding what services are needed
planning and implementing adequate security
providing a comfortable environment for users
developing ways of fixing errors and problems which occur
keeping track of the enormous amount of ever-increasing volume of information
Whilst providing practical illustrations of technical specifics through examples, Burgess steers away from the overwhelming details of specific operating systems. Trainee administrators and students alike need to understand a wealth of issues relating to heterogeneous environments before understanding the quirks of any one particular system. Moreover this book teaches good practice for working in a global community of networked machines and organizations — which extends beyond being technically savvy to being professionally and ethically responsible.
