Top of My Reading List
Category None
Andrew Binstock writes in Software Development Times, that "Time Management for System Administrators" (by Thomas Limoncelli) is a must read. I can't think of any management texts that are specific to system administration, though there are a few for developers and general IT (e.g., the masterful "Mythical Man-Month"). When I spend time with administrators, many basic issues are the consequence of simply not reading the logs, checking functionality or confirming acceptable performance. I've ordered the book, and I'll give my analysis of it when I finish it. A second book recommended by Andrew is "Steal This Computer Book 4.0" (by Wallace Wang), which provides an overview of IT security concerns. There are so many good security books, that I've come to suggest that along with anyone one of them the reader needs to be using the software. I have several favorite software installations (and, just like security books, there are many good software distros): - nUbuntu. The reason I like the Ubuntu security distro, is because it's a live-CD based on Ubuntu, so it recognizes just about any hardware (including wi-fi cards) on which it runs. On the downside, you have to manually set your eth0 or ra0 NICs if you are not relying on DHCP--which can be tricky for some. - Network Security Tool Kit. Instead of a Live-CD, you can install a VM image of the entire OS, which includes Nessus and many, many tools. It's more complete than nUbuntu, but then it comes with a larger footprint and must be pre-installed. I personally do not like installing an encyclopedia of security tools on my main OS. As a consultant, I think walking into a customer holding equipment bristling with hacking tools presents a murky image. I'd rather have a live-CD that I can suggest using as the needs arise, or a VM image that I can run (or delete).
Andrew Binstock writes in Software Development Times, that "Time Management for System Administrators" (by Thomas Limoncelli) is a must read. I can't think of any management texts that are specific to system administration, though there are a few for developers and general IT (e.g., the masterful "Mythical Man-Month"). When I spend time with administrators, many basic issues are the consequence of simply not reading the logs, checking functionality or confirming acceptable performance. I've ordered the book, and I'll give my analysis of it when I finish it. A second book recommended by Andrew is "Steal This Computer Book 4.0" (by Wallace Wang), which provides an overview of IT security concerns. There are so many good security books, that I've come to suggest that along with anyone one of them the reader needs to be using the software. I have several favorite software installations (and, just like security books, there are many good software distros): - nUbuntu. The reason I like the Ubuntu security distro, is because it's a live-CD based on Ubuntu, so it recognizes just about any hardware (including wi-fi cards) on which it runs. On the downside, you have to manually set your eth0 or ra0 NICs if you are not relying on DHCP--which can be tricky for some. - Network Security Tool Kit. Instead of a Live-CD, you can install a VM image of the entire OS, which includes Nessus and many, many tools. It's more complete than nUbuntu, but then it comes with a larger footprint and must be pre-installed. I personally do not like installing an encyclopedia of security tools on my main OS. As a consultant, I think walking into a customer holding equipment bristling with hacking tools presents a murky image. I'd rather have a live-CD that I can suggest using as the needs arise, or a VM image that I can run (or delete).
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