A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux

The Most Complete, Easy-to-Follow Guide to Ubuntu Linux

“As an in-depth guide to Ubuntu, this book does an exceptional job of covering everything from using the Unity desktop to exploring key server configurations.”

–Elizabeth K. Joseph, Systems Administrator & Ubuntu Community Member

• The #1 Ubuntu resource, fully updated for Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty Tahr)–the Long Term Support (LTS) release Canonical will support into 2019
• Extensive new coverage of installation, security, virtualization, MariaDB, Python Programming, and much more
• Updated JumpStarts help you set up many complex servers in minutes
• Hundreds of up-to-date examples, plus four updated indexes deliver fast access to reliable answers

Mark Sobell’s A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux®, Fourth Edition, is the most thorough and up-to-date reference to installing, configuring, securing, and working with Ubuntu desktops and servers.

This edition has been fully updated for Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty Tahr), a milestone LTS (Long Term Support) release, which Canonical will support on both desktops and servers into 2019.

Sobell walks you through every essential feature and technique, from installing Ubuntu to working with the latest Ubuntu Unity desktop, and from configuring servers and monitoring networks to handling day-to-day system administration. His exceptionally clear explanations demystify everything from Apache, Samba, and postfix, to ufw, virtualization, and MariaDB/MySQL database management. PLUS a new chapter on programming in Python, today’s most popular system automation tool!

Fully updated JumpStart sections quickly help you get complex servers running–often in minutes. You’ll also find up-to-date guidance on new LPI and CompTIA Linux certification pathways for Linux professionals.

Sobell draws on his immense Linux knowledge to explain both the “hows” and the “whys” of Ubuntu. He’s taught hundreds of thousands of readers and never forgets what it’s like to be new to Linux. Whether you’re a user, administrator, or programmer, you’ll find everything you need here–now, and for years to come.

The world’s most practical Ubuntu Linux book is now even more useful!

This book delivers

• Completely revamped installation coverage reflecting Ubuntu 14.04’s improved ubiquity (graphical) and debian-installer (textual) installers
• Updated JumpStarts for quickly setting up Samba, Apache, postfix, FTP, NFS, CUPS, OpenSSH, DNS, and other complex servers
• Revamped and updated explanations of the ufw, gufw, and iptables firewall tools
• An all-new chapter on creating VMs (virtual machines) locally and in the cloud
• New coverage of the MariaDB open source plug-in replacement for MySQL
• Comprehensive networking coverage, including DNS/BIND, NFS, NIS, FTP, LDAP, and Cacti network monitoring
• Expert coverage of Internet server configuration and customization, including apache2 (Web) and postfix (mail)
• A new chapter covering state-of-the-art security techniques, including sudo, cryptography, hash functions, SSL certificates, plus a section on using GPG (GNU Privacy Guard) to protect documents in transit
• Deep coverage of essential administration tasks–from managing users to CUPS printing, and from configuring LANs and LDAP to building VMs (virtual machines)
• Complete instructions on keeping systems up to date using apt-get, dpkg, and other tools
• And much more . . . including a revised 500+ term glossary and four indexes