Re: REQUEST FAST HELP
- From: James Tabak <jamej12@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2008 21:29:24 -0700 (PDT)
On Apr 27, 7:09 pm, Dave <f...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
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/07...
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...
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.
**********
** My review of the book by
Thank you I'll be ordering the second book today. I really appreciate
you taking the time to provide such a helpful and complete answer to
my question. Thanks again, jim
.
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