Linux Power Tools (2003)

How This Book Is Organized

This book is divided into five parts—Hardware Tools, User Tools, System Administration Tools, Networking Tools, and Server Tools. The book also includes a Glossary.

Part I: Hardware Tools

This book hits the ground running with a look at the core of any computer: the hardware on which the OS runs. Linux runs on a broad range of hardware. Therefore, knowing how to configure the OS to handle the hardware is critically important. This section includes three chapters covering core hardware (the CPU, video hardware, sound hardware, drivers, and software/hardware interfaces), disk hardware, and external peripherals (including USB, RS-232 serial, and parallel ports; keyboards and mice; and scanners). Of course, hardware topics appear in other chapters of the book, as well, but these chapters cover the most critical hardware components, including Linux-specific issues when picking or configuring hardware.

Part II: User Tools

The five chapters of Part II cover tools that ordinary users on a desktop system or workstation are likely to use. Specific chapters cover shells and shell scripting, using text-mode programs, using a desktop environment, using Linux office productivity tools, and miscellaneous user tools (sound editing, digital camera tools, the GIMP, web browsers, and e-mail clients). These areas have seen substantial development in the past couple of years, and they are likely to see more improvement in the future.

Part III: System Administration Tools

This part of the book is quite large, with ten chapters that cover topics relating to local system administration—that is, keeping the system running smoothly for all users. The covered topics include modifying configuration files, using Linux alongside other OSs, managing software packages, managing filesystems and files, configuring print queues, managing programs and processes, recompiling the Linux kernel, improving your X configuration, backing up your system, and general system security measures. Most of these topics are important no matter how you use your Linux system.

Part IV: Networking Tools

This section is fairly short, at just three chapters. It covers basic network configuration (including improving network performance), controlling remote access to your computer, and detecting when your system's security has been breached. These topics are all relevant to any computer that's connected to a network, whether it's a client or a server.

Part V: Server Tools

The final section of the book covers an assortment of servers. The chapters cover how to run servers, web servers, file servers, mail servers, remote login servers, and miscellaneous servers.
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