Because it's very popular among Internet service providers (ISPs), FreeBSD is likely the Unix flavor you work with when you Telnet into the server that hosts a Web site. For that reason, it's worth having FreeBSD Unleashed around if you frequently need to log in to various hosted environments but don't do your day-to-day work on a FreeBSD computer. If you're running FreeBSD on your own machine--and more than a few Linux critics say you should be--you'll get even more out of this book, particularly if you prefer to have your reference materials on paper. It's a good idea to have them that way when you're having problems getting FreeBSD to connect to the Internet, after all.

This book explains, succinctly, how to do basic utilitarian stuff like moving files and creating users, and advanced utilitarian stuff like "building the world" from raw source. Further, the authors explain Unix concepts (like the shell and its relationship to the kernel) clearly and in ample detail. Michael Urban and Brian Tiemann also go beyond FreeBSD itself, explaining such concepts as wide area networks (WANs) and basic, environment-neutral Perl programming. Whether these inclusions are valuable extras or extraneous padding depends upon your perspective, but there's no doubt that the authors maintain a high quality standard throughout their documentation of FreeBSD and its allied technologies. --David Wall

Topics covered: Using and enjoying the FreeBSD flavor of Unix, with emphasis on versions 4.4 and 5.0. Instructions and explanations--all rather detailed--appear on installing the operating system, configuring groups and users, setting up daemons (including those for network services like mail), and connecting to other computers (as well as the Internet). Installable copies of FreeBSD 4.4 and 5.0 ship with this book.


From Book News, Inc.
This guide to FreeBSD outlines the technology, offers practical advice on its uses, and covers the skills and knowledge needed to employ it effectively. It provides instruction on installing FreeBSD, configuring and customizing the operating system, using the X Windows system, setting up networking services, installing a file server, and maintaining security. Included are CD-ROMs featuring FreeBSD 4.5 and a preview of FreeBSD 5.0. Urban is a systems administrator and webmaster. Tiemann is a Web designer.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


Book Description

Did you know that the special effects used in The Matrix were rendered using the FreeBSD system? Yahoo and the Internet Movie Database are also powered by FreeBSD. Now you can learn how to use FreeBSD to its full potential as well! FreeBSD Unleashed is a complete reference guide for FreeBSD administrators, developers, webmasters and database administrators and developers who want to learn more about this Unix-based, robust network. Once you've learned the tips and tricks included in FreeBSD Unleashed, you will be able to contribute your ideas to the FreeBSD open source project and help it grow!


Book Info
Teachers the reader everything he or she needs to know in order to use FreeBSD to its full potential. This book can be a very economical and powerful solutions to your needs. Softcover. CD-ROM included.


From the Back Cover
FreeBSD is a freely available Unix system based on the BSD distribution from the University of California at Berkeley. It is an open source project developed by volunteers all over the world.FreeBSD is extremely robust and powers some of the largest Internet sites in the world, including Yahoo! and the Internet Movie Database. It has also been used for other high-end applications, such as special effects rendering in movies. The special effects in The Matrix were rendered on a cluster of FreeBSD systems.FreeBSD Unleashed, 2/e teaches the reader everything he or she needs to know in order to use FreeBSD to its full potential. It shows individuals how to put to use the same FreeBSD power that many high-profile Internet sites depend on to work. Whether someone needs and enterprise class server, a small business server, or a dependable workstation, this book provides a powerful solution to the reader's needs.


About the Author

Michael Urban is a biology student at the University of Minnesota. His current work on research projects involving African lions for the Lion Research Center includes programming projects with Java and C++. Michael has worked with various forms of Unix for several years, including FreeBSD, Linux, and Solaris. He has also worked as a technical analyst and is the author of Sams Teach Yourself FreeBSD in 24 Hours, also from Sams Publishing. In his free time, which is very sparse these days between exams and research projects, he enjoys reading and is also starting to pursue wildlife photography.

Brian Tiemann has been a constant user of FreeBSD since his student days at Caltech, where he used it to build a movie fan Web site that continues to grow and sustain an ever-increasing load. Born in Ukiah, California, Brian has remained in the state all his life; he currently lives in San Jose and works in the networking appliance field. Aside from FreeBSD, his other interests include Macintoshes, motorcycles, and animation, topics about which he writes frequently.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
With FreeBSD 5.0, anyone with spare PC hardware can launch a web site, run a small-business network, or simply be productive, without Microsoft costs or Linux controversy. FreeBSD is rock-solid reliable, predictable, and very easy to live with -- once you learn how. FreeBSD Unleashed, Second Edition will teach you how, regardless of what you want to do with it.

Michael Urban and Brian Tiemann cover FreeBSD from every angle: the user-level working environment (booting, shells, Gnome, X Window usage and configuration); day-to-day administration; monitoring and tuning; networking; email, web, FTP, and routing services; databases; Windows file sharing; security; and more.

For many readers, the ￯﾿ﾽFreeBSD Survival Guide￯﾿ﾽ migration chapter will pay for the book. First, Urban and Tiemann quickly summarize the differences Windows admins need to know about: differences in ownership, permissions, privileges, login names, and file sharing; software and service pack alternatives, et cetera. Next, they do likewise for Linux, covering differences in filesystem organization, ports and packages, device names, shells, and much more. (Thankfully, software compatibility is only a minor issue, thanks to the Linux binary-compatibility package.)

Best of all, the dos and don￯﾿ﾽts: ￯﾿ﾽDon￯﾿ﾽt forget to add yourself to the ￯﾿ﾽwheel￯﾿ﾽ group at installation time! Very little is more disheartening than building a new server, driving 50 miles to the co-location facility, locking the server in a cabinet, driving home, trying to log in, and discovering you can￯﾿ﾽt get root access.￯﾿ﾽ If you suspect the authors have been there, we￯﾿ﾽll bet you￯﾿ﾽre right. Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

FreeBSD is a freely available Unix system based on the BSD distribution from the University of California at Berkeley. It is an open source project developed by volunteers all over the world.

FreeBSD is extremely robust and powers some of the largest Internet sites in the world, including Yahoo! and the Internet Movie Database. It has also been used for other high-end applications, such as special effects rendering in movies. The special effects in The Matrix were rendered on a cluster of FreeBSD systems.

FreeBSD Unleashed, 2/e teaches the reader everything he or she needs to know in order to use FreeBSD to its full potential. It shows individuals how to put to use the same FreeBSD power that many high-profile Internet sites depend on to work. Whether someone needs and enterprise class server, a small business server, or a dependable workstation, this book provides a powerful solution to the reader's needs.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal