Linux Filesystems and Partitioning: A Primer
Excellent article found http://www.tipmonkies.com/2005/06/23...oning-a-primer
For those new to Linux, choosing a partitioning scheme and filesystem for their chosen distribution can be a real headache. Despite many Linux distributions carrying very slick installers nowadays, it can still be a nerve-wracking experience setting up partitions on your PC. As with most things, once you have undergone the partitioning process a couple of times you will be able to do it in your sleep.
Not only can partitioning a hard drive cause much confusion among beginner users, but the sheer number of file systems available to format a hard drive, can further stump a user. Partitioning and choosing a filesystem is very important and it is best to pick those that will accommodate your needs from the very beginning.
Read more @ the link
Linux and BSD ISO Torrents
Run GNU/Linux from a USB pen drive
http://applications.linux.com/applic...7.shtml?tid=13
You can carry GNU/Linux in your pocket with a functional, quick, and useful USB pen drive distribution. Pen drives are faster than CDs, and the small distros that fit on them don't require huge amounts of memory for the operating system and applications.
Slax is a powerful and complete bootable distro based on Slackware, equipped with kernel 2.6, ALSA sound drivers, Wi-Fi card support, X11-6.8.2 with support for many GFX cards and wheel mice, and KDE 3.4. Slax uses the Unification File System (also known as unionfs), which enables you to write whatever you want into the pen drive. Bundled software includes KDE, the KOffice office suite, GAIM for chat, the Thunderbird email client, and the Firefox Web browser.
Read on @ the link!
Beginners Guide: Server Setup with Mandrake/Mandriva 10.2
This is a detailed guide for Linux beginners about how to setup a web, mail and FTP server with Mandrake/Mandriva 10.2. It covers every aspect of the installation and demonstrates the setup process with the help of 39 screenshots. Experienced system administrators will benefit from this tutorial as well.
http://www.howtoforge.com/perfect_setup_mandrake_10_2
Amazing. step by step setting up servers for different purposes using mandrake.
The Linux Learner's Guide
*Posted here with the Authors permission*
How To Use This Document
GNU/Linux is not difficult to learn if you have the right tools and know where to look for assistance. With that in mind, The Linux Learner's Guide, or TLLG for short, is designed to make learning GNU/Linux a little less frustrating to endure. This guide is a concise collection of commonly used tricks, tips, commands and programs that will serve to help you learn the basics of GNU/Linux without the sarcasm and derision of asking a frequently asked question on a community message forum or mailing list. In addition, this document may also help you avoid the tediousness of attempting to find the information you need in The Linux Documentation Project and then translating it into understandable terms. Best of all, The Linux Learner's Guide is relatively short and designed to be easy to understand.
Written by Jem Matzan, Michelle West, Jawad Niazi, RHCT, Linux+
What this document is not is a step-by-step walkthrough or an instruction manual. Our goal is to help you help yourself by giving you the knowledge you need in order to learn on your own.
The layout of TLLG is simple: there are normal chapter headings like in a real book, along with a table of contents to help guide you to the proper section. While we recommend reading the entire document from start to finish, it is also possible to use this guide as a reference only when you need it. Commands that you type in are marked with special formatting, as in this example:
cdrecord -scanbus
So you would type the words above into your terminal or shell window and press the enter key. Follow the capitalization and punctuation exactly - GNU/Linux is very specific about that. If you do not type in the exact words, you will not get the desired results. There is also a part of this document where we quote a configuration file to show you the proper section to change. The text in the configuration file is similarly formatted to better distinguish it from the normal document text.
Where to go for help
If you have questions that are not covered here, there are several avenues available for help. If you've purchased a retail box distribution such as Mandriva, SUSE, Linspire, or Xandros, the distribution company is obligated to provide you with installation support and a way to interact with the community either through message forums or email lists. Please attempt to solve the problem on your own (either by reading this guide, the Linux Documentation Project, the manual that came with your software distribution, or by searching the Internet) before posting a question to the community. If you do not know where to go for help, try the Linux.com forums as a starting point. Communities such as this tend to be young, vibrant, and most of all, extremely helpful in helping you find a solution to your problems.
What is Linux?
GNU/Linux is a Unix-like operating system invented jointly yet independently by Richard Stallman (who started the GNU project in 1984) and programmer Linus Torvalds (who designed the original Linux kernel in 1991). Linux is only a kernel (described below), but when we generally discuss ``Linux'' we are often referring to a GNU/Linux distribution. The term distribution includes the kernel, the GNU operating system that uses the kernel, and other programs and software like desktop environments, email clients, word processors, etc. that are bundled with the distribution.
10 Things You Should Do To Prepare A New Linux Installation:
Quote:
No matter which Linux distribution you choose, there are at least 10 things you do to properly prepare the operating system for day-to-day operation.
Editor's note: As part of a recent IT Soapboxblog post I asked Linux users and evangelists in the TechRepublic community to step up to the plate and take a crack at producing some informative articles and downloads on the Linux operating system. This document is just one of the submissions inspired by that challenge. Just click the Linux challenge tag to track other published submissions stemming from this grass roots project.
1. Install latest patches
There are over 200 different Linux distributions and you will need the patches that are specific to your distribution. Search for needed patches on the web site of your distribution maintainer (example: Debian; Redhat; Lindows, etc.). Other sources for updated software are Freshmeat; Ibiblio; and Linuxberg. Some systems use package managers, such as rpm (Red Hat Package Manager) or deb (Debian Package Manager), while others will require a little more effort. These links should provide access to updated software as well as pretty clear instructions for installation. Be sure to read the documentation since there may be dependencies that will need to be satisfied to ensure a smooth update.
2. Create and configure user accounts
Even if you are the sole user of your system, you still need to create a user account for normal usage. The Root, or super user, account should only be used when absolutely necessary. This improves system security and reduces the possibility of accidentally corrupting portions of the system that would render it unstable.
Most Linux distributions come with an Admin tool that can be used to create and configure user accounts. This is the best way to proceed since it will lower the possibility of typographical or other errors that could cause problems. If you will have multiple users, creation can be simplified by first configuring the Default User.
You should require that all users have secure passwords, at least eight characters long, with multiple types of characters. Do not use words as part of the password since this just makes it easier for potential hackers. Enable shadow passwords so the passwords will not be stored on the system in clear text. Any daemon or service account that does not require shell access should be modified by using the chsh command to change its shell assignment to /bin/false. This will prevent hackers from using default system accounts to login to the machine.
You should also ensure that no accounts other than Root have a user ID of zero and you should prevent remote login access without passwords by not allowing .rhost or /etc/host.equiv files.
3. Secure Root access
Securing Root, also known as Super User, is the single most important action you must take to secure your system. After ensuring you have another user account you can use to login to the system, it is good to disable Root login capability. Thus, you would login with standard user access and, when you needed the administrative capability of Root it would be accessed temporarily with the su command. Direct login by Root can be prevented in most distributions by editing the file /etc/security so there is a hash (#) at the beginning of each line. As part of this step you should:
* Ensure the telnet server package is not installed so telnet access is unavailable.
* Prevent SSH login by editing the file /etc/ssh/sshd_config. For example, in Red Hat you would change the DenyUsers line to read DenyUsers root.
* Limit Root's search path to only those directories needed for administrative tasks. Check Root’s .cshrc, .login, and .profile files to ensure the current directory (.) is not part of the search path.
* Ensure protection for files created by Root. Set Root’s umask to 077 (read, write, and execute permissions only for Root) or 022 (other users can read and execute but not change).
4. Secure physical access
Go into Setup, set a BIOS password and configure your system to boot from the hard drive only. This will prevent an attacker with physical access from simply loading a bootable disk, recycling power on the system, and gaining root access quite easily. Of course they could still accomplish the same thing by clearing the CMOS, but this does make it less likely.
5. Remove and/or disable unnecessary system services
The command ls –l /etc/rc.d/rc3.d/S* or ls –l /etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S* for graphics mode will show startup scripts. You can then verify only necessary services are running and use chkconfig to stop a service from loading at startup. An example command would be:
/sbin/chkconfig –levels 2345 <service_name> off
Where <service_name> is the service which should not run and 2345 refers to the run-levels where the command will apply.
Some distributions will need to have services removed from/etc/xinetdor /etc/xinetd.conf. The service listed in /etc/xinetd.confcan be disabled simply by placing a hash mark (#) at the beginning of the line that loads it.
6. Control network access
Most distributions automatically include TCP wrappers which may be used to control services based on IP addresses and host names. Edit /etc/hosts.allow to read ALL: LOCAL to permit local logins and edit /etc/hosts.deny to read ALL: ALL to deny remote connections. Specific ports may be listed if you need to allow some remote connections.
IPTABLES regulate the ports from which packets will be allowed to access your system. Some distributions, including RedHat, automatically configure this based on which system services are specified as required during system installation. Please consult the documentation for your particular distribution to ensure this important "firewall" is enabled.
If you must have FTP enabled, make sure it’s as secure as possible. Reference CERT Tech Tips for instructions on FTP configuration.
7. Configure auditing and system logs
Log files can be your most important tool in resolving any difficulties that arise. Syslog is the daemon that controls the Linux log files and its configuration is controlled by /etc/syslog.conf. All log files should be owned by Root.
There is a new generation logging daemon that allows greater sorting capability, thereby making management easier. Review its capabilities at FreshmeatSyslog-ng
Logwatch or Swatch are well-known, tested and tried utilities for automatically monitoring log files and alerting you to possible problems.
8. Configure file security
Only Root should have access to CRON. Otherwise, anyone gaining access to the system could schedule a damaging process to run at any time. Root should be the owner and group for /etc/fstab, /etc/passwd, /etc/group, /etc/shadow. Verify the permissions for these files are 644, except for /etc/shadow, which should be 400.
9. Prepare for disaster recovery
Create a boot disk for your newly configured system. Most distributions include the utility Mkbootdisk which makes this a simple endeavor.
You should plan to backup important data on a regular basis. To create a tarball of a specific list of directories, issue the command:
tar -cvf archive-name.tar dir1 dir2 dir3...
Where archive_name.tar is the name of the tarball you are creating and dir1, dir2, etc. are the directories being copied to it.
Suggestions for more comprehensive backups may be found at this "HowTo" and serious fault tolerance can be provided by creating a system image of your ideal load.
10. Plan for system maintenance
Get yourself added to some mailing lists that will notify you of updates for your Linux distribution. Distribution maintainers usually have a mailing list for notifying users when a new stable distribution or important patches have been released.
The Tech Republic
The Linux Documentation Project HOWTO-INDEX
Good info here...
This document contains an index to the Linux HOWTOs as well as other information about the HOWTO project.
http://howtos.linux.com/howtos/HOWTO-INDEX/index.shtml
http://www.tldp.org/
Shell TIP: the "alias" command
For shell lovers only :D
With the keyword "alias", a shell built-in command, you can create a new (shorter) name for executing another (long) command.
alias NEW_SHORT_NAME OLD_LONG_COMMAND
Example:
Code:
alias rar "/usr/local/rar/rar"
alias jfig2 "java -jar /usr/local/JavaApp/jfig2.jar"
You can store your preferred alias in an hiddend file, named .alias that should be stored in you home directory ~
Here below some useful alias command:
Code:
alias cp "cp -i"
alias mv "mv -i"
alias rm "rm -i"
alias ll "ls -lgaF"
alias lt "ls -lgaFt"
alias l "ls -lFGhX"
alias jj "ps auxwwww | grep "
alias h "history"
alias pack "tar xvzf"
alias unpack "tar cfvz"
#run X in 8 bit mode
alias startx8bit "startx -- -depth 8"
#run another X session
alias startxGhost "startx -- :1"
NOTE: I usually work with tcsh instead of the bash, which is the default linux shell, so if you use bash you may find some minor differences.
