Re: How to learn *nix?
From: Michael Paoli (michael1cat_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 01/28/04
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Date: 28 Jan 2004 14:25:55 -0800
I have a (substantially outdated and presently off-line) web page I
did
a fair number of years ago that relatively well addressed this type of
question. Anyway, hopefully I'll bring it back on-line (and have it
updated!) sometime in the not-too-horribly-distant future. I think
probably roughly 60 to 80% of the information on the page is still
rather to quite useful, but certainly a fair bit of it needs some
serious updating (new relevant information/updates, fixing link rot,
etc.). In the meantime, however, for what it's worth, I provide a
(very slightly edited) lynx -dump of that page here, so it may still
be
fairly useful to folks looking for such information:
Unix for cheap or free: learning, obtaining, administering,
etc.
The question: If I've already got (or will get) some reasonably
suitable hardware (or access to such) and maybe even some kind of
Internet connection (dial-up or whatever), and perhaps have little
or
no budget for software or training, how can I get started learning
to
choose, install, use, and administer Unix[1]* (or Linux or ...)?
Most of the requests I get for this information are from people
interested in setting up and learning to administer Unix -
typically
wanting to start with Linux or something they can install and have
direct and full access to without spending a whole lot of money.
CAUTION: One cautionary note to start out with. If you're going to
set
up, operate, or maintain a Unix system with other people on the
system
or connected to the Internet (or a LAN where you might not trust
absolutely everyone on or with access to that LAN), you get to not
only become system administrator but also responsible for security!
Don't take this too lightly. A poorly secured system is one likely
to
be broken into, and having one's system broken into tends not to
look
very good (along with other negative consequences). Many (most, if
not
all) Unix distributions/version are not secure "out of the box".
See
the [2]SECURITY section below. (If you're not going to set system
up
on Internet or LAN or with other people on system, you can probably
worry about most security issues a little later.)
_________________________________________________________________
Linux
Linux is often a very good starting point. Depending how you get it
and what distribution, it's generally somewhere between quite
inexpensive and free - but don't let price fool you - it's a very
capable Unix operating system.
For a good starting point of information on Linux, take a look at:
[3]http://www.linux.org/
Another good place to look (tons of Linux documentation and
information):
[4]Linux Documentation Project
See also [5]Free Unix Giveaway List below.
_________________________________________________________________
BSD
Evolving along the BSD Unix tree, there are several "freely
available"
(generally no restrictions on copying and source also available)
versions:
[6]FreeBSD
[7]OpenBSD
[8]NetBSD
[9]Yahoo! BSD information
See also [10]Free Unix Giveaway List below.
_________________________________________________________________
UNIX
[11]Solaris is [12]Sun Microsystems' version of UNIX.
Sun Microsystems has offers such as:
[13]Solaris Free Binary License Program
(one may need to register and pay media and shipping charges, but
such
is typical of the "free" offers of commercial UNIX versions)
Note that Sun has both SPARC and Intel versions of Solaris.
[14]Sun Microsystems documentation on-line
[15]SCO is the longest established x86 UNIX vendor, and one of the
largest, if not the largest, commercial UNIX x86 vendor. SCO offers
free licenses for its SCO OpenServer(TM) and UnixWare UNIX systems
for
personal, non-commercial use.
[16]SCO Offers
[17]Tru64 UNIX is [18]Compaq's version of UNIX.
From Compaq we have another entry in the under US $100.00 UNIX
category:
[19]Compaq Offers Tru64 UNIX License to Non-Commercial Users
Note that you'll need to have or obtain a Compaq Alpha system (or
compatible system with Alpha CPU motherboard) to be able to run
Compaq's Tru64 UNIX - there are also Alpha ports of Linux, and with
suitable hardware one could potentially run either (or both, but
not
simultaneously) of these on the same hardware.
[20]HP-UX is [21]Hewlett Packard's version of UNIX.
[22]Hewlett Packard documentation on-line
Older Hewlett Packard systems capable of running HP-UX might be
free
or relatively inexpensive - if one is able to obtain them.
_________________________________________________________________
Unix
[23]Free Unix Giveaway List: ("list of people who are willing to
give
away a CD for a free Unix operating system (this includes Linux,
FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD); some people also offer to lend a CD
locally or to help in downloading and installing a free Unix
system.
Hardware and literature is also being given away. In all cases, the
recipient pays for shipping, but beyond that, no money changes
hands.") - also includes links on where to get/buy CDs quite cheap
with various types of Free Unix. If you want the latest software
the
Free Unix Giveaway List may not be the place to start, but if your
budget is quite tight it's an excellent resource.
[24]UNIX Reference Desk - an excellent starting point on Unix
reference materials and resources.
[25]O'Reilly & Associates has tons of excellent Unix and related
books. Some of these books also include CDs (they even have great
Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP books).
There are lots of [26]Usenet newsgroups, many with good/excellent
information regarding Unix and/or Linux, etc. Many of them also
have
quite useful FAQs. Most of these FAQs can be found on:
[27]ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/ or [28]http://www.faqs.org/ such as
[29]http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/
SECURITY
[30]CERT UNIX Configuration Guidelines some fundamental information
on
beginning to secure a Unix system.
[31]UNIX Reference Desk (Security) - some more good Unix security
pointers
[32]SANS - security publications, training, etc.
[33]Linux Administrator's Security Guide (it also contains lots of
stuff applicable to Unix in general).
[34]comp.security.unix
[35]comp.os.linux.security
Note also that for any particular Unix distribution/version, there
is
generally a mechanism to check that you have current
security-related
patches/updates, and also to subscribe and receive e-mail
notifications of new security patches/updates as they become
available. Some vendors/distributions may term such "errata", most
will have facilities specifically for checking on current
security-related patches/updates and receiving e-mail notices as
new
ones are released.
General tips/suggestions/recommendations
Some tips to those new to Unix or new to installation or systems
administration of Unix:
Backup - if you're installing onto disk(s) or portions thereof
which
contain data you care about, you would be well advised to be sure
you
have it backed up first. If you've never dealt with installing
Unix,
it may be easiest to install one of the major
distributions/versions
from CDROM. Having relevant documentation handy while installing
will
make things much easier (printed out, hardcopy reference/install
manual, or in files and format you can usefully access and read on
another system while going through the install). Check hardware
requirements before starting an installation - not every Unix
distribution/version will support or work on all hardware; checking
relevant documentation first can avoid unpleasant surprises. Once
you
install a Unix system, you become not only user but system
administrator (and security administrator). You would do well to
familiarize yourself with at least the core issues of Unix systems
administration. [36]O'Reilly & Associates (referenced above) has
some
excellent books on Unix systems administration and computer and
Internet/network security. Some of the other security, Usenet, and
FAQ
materials mentioned elsewhere in this document can also form
good/excellent starting points. Check out at least some of the
relevant [37]security information before sticking any Unix system
on
the Internet (or on LAN with any untrusted users/access or allowing
other people to use the system). If you seriously think you want to
do
Unix systems administration as or as a significant part of your
livelihood, you might want to read [38]alt.sysadmin.recovery for
quite
a while first.
_________________________________________________________________
General information about this document:
current contact information on author/maintainer:
[39]michael1cat@yahoo.com
Wish list of stuff to add/enhance for this document:
* a bit more detail on Net/Free/OpenBSD
* some more information and links on other key Unix versions
* periodic posting to specific relevant Usenet groups
* mirror locations
* UNIX is a [40]registered trademark of [41]The Open Group in the
United States and other countries
A slight bit of definition - at least within the context of this
document I use UNIX to refer to systems which have met the UNIX
branding/certification requirements and can carry or use or are
eligible to use the UNIX trademarked name (although such systems
might
primarily be referred to under different names). I'll use Unix to
refer to both UNIX and also "UNIX-like" systems - i.e. systems
sufficiently similar in functionality and interoperability with
UNIX
that for most purposes they are more conveniently treated as a
common
class of operating system. In some other context you may see *nix
used
as I'm using Unix in this document.
All company and product brand names mentioned may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders, and are hereby
acknowledged.
References
1. file:free_and_frugal_unix_starts.html#UNIX(R)
2. file:free_and_frugal_unix_starts.html#security
3. http://www.linux.org/
4. http://www.linuxdoc.org/
5. file:free_and_frugal_unix_starts.html#giveaway
6. http://www.freebsd.org/
7. http://www.openbsd.org/
8. http://www.netbsd.org/
9. http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Operating_Systems/Unix/BSD/
10. file:free_and_frugal_unix_starts.html#giveaway
11. http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/
12. http://www.sun.com/
13. http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/binaries/
14. http://docs.sun.com/
15. http://www.sco.com/
16. http://www.sco.com/offers/
17. http://www.unix.digital.com/
18. http://www.compaq.com/
19. http://www.unix.digital.com/webadvisory/non_comml.html
20. http://www.hp.com/products1/unix/operating/index.html
21. http://www.hp.com/
22. http://www.docs.hp.com/
23. http://visar.csustan.edu/giveaway.html
24. http://www.geek-girl.com/unix.html
25. http://www.oreilly.com/
26. news:*
27. ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/
28. http://www.faqs.org/
29. http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/
30. http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/unix_configuration_guidelines.html
31. http://www.geek-girl.com/unix.html#security
32. http://www.sans.org/
33. http://www.securityportal.com/lasg/
34. news:comp.security.unix
35. news:comp.os.linux.security
36. file:free_and_frugal_unix_starts.html#oreilly
37. file:free_and_frugal_unix_starts.html#security
38. news:alt.sysadmin.recovery
39. mailto:michael1cat@yahoo.com
40. http://www.opengroup.org/trademarks.htm#The Open Groups
Trademarks
41. http://www.opengroup.org/
halve27@hotmail.com (halve) wrote in message news:<5beb0f9e.0401280426.15ef77b@posting.google.com>...
> I really think I am missing out on a
> huge part of the computer world by not knowing unix or any other
> flavors of *nix. I am not thinking of implementing any *nix based
> stuff at work right now, but maybe down the road. I would really like
> to just setup on a machine at home and learn the shell and be good in
> it. I have used freebsd several times, but it was more from a users
> standpoint and not a administrators. I can navigate the directories
> and that is about it.
>
> I really dont want to get into a gui environment right away, I just
> want to learn the basics of the shell, and then more advanced stuff
> and then maybe move onto installing, software like snort, squid etc
> and have a nice nix based home network.
>
> Where would yall reccomend I start, is there a good os out there that
> can help teach me the ins and outs of a shell?
>
> I hope this question makes since. Thanks everyone!
- Next message: Ralph McElmurry: "printing condensed to PS printer"
- Previous message: Scott McMillan: "Re: ESDI to spanned floppies using ghost"
- In reply to: halve: "How to learn *nix?"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
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