The sub-title of this book is, A System Administrator's Guide to Heterogeneous Networking, a term that describes a situation in which Windows and Linux have to interoperate. Such a scenario is becoming more common and may also involve the presence of various versions of Windows, including some that are no longer supported by Microsoft.

Linux is usually first introduced as a server operating system — especially where no GUI is required — and may later find its way into other applications. It is cheap, reliable, and can be built to include just those features required for a specified task.

This title is not about advocating Linux over Windows, but does briefly address the problems of migration, and solutions that will satisfy some situations. It presents a sharp picture to the intended audience without lengthy discussion (however, an appendix examines desktop Linux in more detail).

Roderick Smith has written and co-authored several books on Linux and is an experienced Linux administrator; in the preface to Linux in a Windows World he describes the intended audience: "I've written this book with an administrator of a Windows network in mind, but with the assumption that you know the basics of Linux administration ... [but may be] uncertain of the details of where Linux might fit into your network of how to get started configuring particular Linux server programs". The focus is on "using Linux servers to help Windows desktop systems".

The book is in parts: an overview of Linux's place in a Windows network; using Samba for file and print sharing; centralised authentication tools (specifically using Linux to manage WinNT domains, LDAP, and Kerberos); remote login tools (for which Linux is well suited); and a selection of Linux server programs (including mail and network backups).

Content is fully detailed and supported by screen captures, diagrams, and extensive use of example code. I doubt that any Windows network administrator with a working knowledge of Linux would need to resort to other resources in order to deploy Linux successfully. This is a remarkably comprehensive coverage of the subject that should be in libraries —public and corporate — that have holdings on networking administration.
 

Roderick Smith: Linux in a Windows World ISBN 0-596-00758-2 Published by O'Reilly, 478 pp., RRP $84.95 incl. GST

Reprinted from the April 2006 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

[ About Melbourne PC User Group ]