Re: REQUEST FAST HELP

James Tabak wrote:
Haven't touched Solaris for 4+ years and that was Solaris 7. Now, I
have to get up to speed fast on Solaris 10. What are the best books
both from a typical SysAdmin perspective and from a higher level
overview.
Thank you all,
jim


IMHO the book by Bill Calkins

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Solaris-System-Administration-Exam-Cram/dp/0789734613

is excellent (I gave it 5/5 on Amazon) and the book by Paul Sanghera

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Certified-Administrator-CX-310-200-CX-310-202-Certification/dp/0072229594/ref=pd_sim_b_title_1

is useless (I gave it 1/5 on Amazon).

These contrast with other reviewrs, where Sanghera's book does a little better on average.

These are my reviews
*****************************
** Sanhhera. I rated it 1/5. From Amazon 5 out of 6 found my review helpful **

The book has lots of white space on the pages with no text. If I wanted to look at white paper I'd buy a packet from the stationers.

The book first discusses the kernel, but then goes back to the very basics, which is not what I personally want. For example, it shows you how to respond to

login:

You are told you need to type your username, press RETURN and that the system will respond with a request for your password. The book tells you to enter your password and press RETURN. We are told the password will not be echoed to the screen for security reasons. (There's no mention of logging into remote systems via CDE or Sun Java Desktop).

Then the 'cd' command is discussed.

If I needed a book at that level, I'd buy a beginners, dummies or idiots guide - not one aimed at Sun's Solaris exams.

The coverage is not very deep, which is inevitable given the amount of whitespace and the level it starts at.

I also bought the book "Solaris 10 System Administration Exam Prep 2" by Bill Calkins. Despite Bill Calkins' book being 50% more expensive, it is much better value. Since that book is recommended by several Sun employees involved in setting the exam, I can only assume the level is about right, which means this book is far too basic.
*************************

And the Caskins book. I rated it 5/5. From Amazon 22/25 found it useful.


*************************

This book really is excellent and one of the best technical books I have seen - and I have 5 bookcases full of books, with many of the books being technical ones.

It is endorsed by several Sun employees responsible for the Solaris Certification exams so I assume the level is right and not too basic, although I have not taken the exams yet (I will take CX-310-200 next month).

Even if you have no intension of doing the SCSA exams, this forms an excellent book on Solaris 10 for system administrators.

The book actually covers Solaris 10, including the new SMF and zones, unlike some books which cover only Solaris 9 but claim to cover Solaris 10. I'm advised by a Sun employee one book claims to cover the Solaris Security Certification exams for Solaris 9 and 10, despite the fact Sun have not yet written the Security Certification exams for Solaris 10. At the time I wrote this review, there are several books on the market with Solaris 10 on their covers, but it appears their authors has not seen Solaris 10 - so watch out. (I'd ask for a refund in such cases).

This book does exactly what it says on the cover - to coin a phase from some well known TV adverts in the UK. It is not therefore a beginners book, so not ideal if you know very little UNIX. If you don't have root access and have no intension of getting root access, then the book is not for you. If however you want to do Sun's exams, or administor Solaris 10 systems, I don't think you will find a better book.

I'm disappointed the software supplied with the book only run on Microsoft Windows. I'd much prefer the software to run on Solaris as well as Windows. Building a cross-platform (Windows, Solaris x86 and Solaris on SPARC) exam can't be too hard can it, especially when there are open-source tools that I think could aid in this? (I'm thinking of a basic Apache server running at a port >1024 with php support, then some php based exam software). If that is not suitable, write something in C or C++.

I have not looked at the software with this book - other than check the CD is indeed only for Windows.

If I could give a mark out of 10, I would give 9, rather than 10, due to the operating systems the software runs on. But a mark of 4 stars would be a gross injustice, so I am giving 5 stars, despite my concerns about the software.

Dr. David Kirkby Ph.D.

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** My review of the book by

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Relevant Pages

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  • Re: FTC Complaint filed
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