When asked about what book a junior unix sys admin should purchase first to begin building their technical library, I would always tell them to "get the red book." Now that the third edition is purple, people still refer to it as the red book, and get funny looks from their peers. This book, because it has input from so many authors, has compiled the most comprehensive cross platform unix reference I have encountered. I refer to this book when dealing with an aspect of unix on multiple vendor platforms for implementation tips and just to see the differences in how it works on each flavor of unix. There's now one out for Linux as well, I understand, and that will soon be gracing my shelves.

It is one of the best books on the subject. It is very nice overview of UNIX from system administrator's prospective. Despite it is very well written it implies great degree of familiarity with UNIX as a system. And you need some background to read and follow this one.
I would recommend Linux and UNIX for a beginner complete training suite, 4DVDs + 2CDs ed.2008
It is one of the kind and it will get you to the point of understanding conceptions that this book brings. It is really lovely reading that shapes your vision over a system and helps you to understand things in their complexity.
IT IS THE BEST UNIX administrator's reference tool I have ever seen in my life.

This is the best Unix book I have ever read. As soon as I opened the cover, I could not put it down. This book is very in depth. I have read several Unix/Linux books and none come close to this one.

If you are an admin or becomming one, or if you want to go beyond being a simple user and know WHY and HOW things work in the *nix environment, then I highly recommend this book.

It is expensive, but well worth the price.

Buying this book new is a bit pricey. I bought a used copy and it was worth every penny. If you can't find it used, then spend the full price to buy it new. I can't imagine administering my FreeBSD server without this book. I had tried a couple other books that weren't nearly has useful as this one.

As an occasional Unix system administrator, I find that this is the book that I turn to the most. It is also quite readable and can be read front-to-back. However, Unix administration is a large enough topic that you should also get Essential System Administration by Aeleen Frisch (O'Reilly). There are some areas that this book covers more thoroughly, and some where Essential System Administration has the advantage. So get both.

I liked this book very much. I found the material to be complete and thorough. The only drawback is that coverage of specific platforms (4.4 BSD, Linux 2.x, etc...) quickly makes some of the material dated. Not a big problem because the vast majority of the book covers generic Unix that is cross-platform compatible. I think sticking to only *nix concepts would have made this a 5 star book. A new book is a little too pricey though so I purchased mine used.

I have come across different UNIX/Linux books as well as e-books but this one beats them all.
It explains different aspects and concepts in a clear, detailed
manner which makes it reasonable for a beginner to understand as well as for an experienced Administrator or Engineer to use
it as a valuable reference.

The comparison and contrasting of Red Hat Linux, Solaris, HP-UX and FreeBSD is unique and a must for people working in hybrid UNIX/Linux/xBSD environments.

This book has very high rating. So I buy it. I hate to say the rating system of Amazon is not working very well. Since people from different background (from beginner to Super User to Expert developer) can rate it differently. Also, Amazon is very hard to implement a dependable rating system.

This book has very little details. I read the file system chapter, it only tells you little bit how to change access mode. I would like to know why I need a 'x' to ls -l a file, I can't find it.

If you are the person only cares how to do it, it may be fine. If you want to know why and the reasons, this book will give you little help.

My believe is to know why, you can do much more than just know how. One knows why, he can solve problems he never sees before, one only knows how, he can solve the problems only he sees them before, that is very limit.

Oreilly provides more details and it is cheaper. Even though Oreilly is missing some details too, at least the oreilly gives you more information to dig deeper later (from other books).

For the price of this book, I am disappointed the deep of the details of this book.

I first bought this book in 1995, 2nd edition, and it enabled me to succeed at my new job writing software to generate CGI scripts to administer embedded unix boxes. I just had to spend 2 hrs a night for 3 months to read and learn whats in this book. This is no overnight read, but once you've learned what's inside, you are a GOD of system adminstration. There is no equivalent O'Reilly series book - by comparison, all the O'Reilly books are watered down 3x and subsets of this book.

The chapter that introduces the Internet is the best I've ever seen, over my 20 years career writing IP software. The information on how to manage disk drives is excellent. I bought the 3rd edition and gave my 2nd edition to the most promising syst admin at my previous employer. This book was recommended to me by the past president of Berkeley Software Design, Inc. as the best one available. This person is also past president and current executive chairman of SAGE - the systems administrator's guild.

If there is a tragic flaw in this book, it's probably that its weak on reference on where to go for even more information. Otherwise, this is _the_ _encyclopedia_ of systems administration.

I must confess, I read this book as a novel. My wife thinks I am nuts. Exctied over a SysaAdmin book? This one was not only good USEFUL technical information, but it was easy to read.
What makes this book so useful is that it is filled with information that I can use. It explained some differences with Linux/Solaris/FreeBSD that I needed to see side by side since I support all these. I found the info on kernel tuning, interface tuning and such to be most helpful. I have been supporting various flavors of UNIX for 6 years and this book is the best. I consider this the UNIX Bible.
Especially helpful was the recommendation of a well stocked Company Wine Cellar to cure "System Administrator's Syndrome". I am having difficulty getting this funded however.
In all seriousness, this book belongs on every UNIX admins desk. If you are looking for something to help you setup KDE on Red Hat, this book is not for you. It is for people who admin *ix servers.

There is a new edition of this excellent book. Go to ISBN number 0130206016.

Just a average book. Topics are not deeply explained.

Sorry folks, but I'm not overly thrilled with the book. I had much higher expectations of this book based on other reviews. Perhaps, the book speaks better to a UNIX SA. However, I'm not necessarily convinced of that, either. Granted the book covers most of the important UNIX Admin topics. However, the coverage of various topics is way too shallow. For example, the section on kernel parameters is nil to none. Fortunately, I didn't buy this book as new and bought a used copy so I didn't shell out as much money. I surely wouldn't shell out the full price for a new copy. I don't recommend this book as a sole UNIX SA reference guide. I found the UNIX Power Tools book a much better UNIX reference than this book for my particular needs.

This is the best of all books on UNIX administration. Good all around, nicely formatted, and easy to follow.

This book can be recommended as one of the top notch Unix books which have ever written. The writing style, meticulous details and the organization of the contents shows the knowledge of the authors regarding the subject. Check out also the other reviews, afaik i couldn't see anybody rating this book below 4 stars.

If Evi or any of the other authors are reading this by any chance, Thanks a lot guys and please do keep up the good work!

Cheers.

I am a senior engineer for network security operations. I read "UNIX System Administration Handbook, Third Edition" (USAH:3E) to improve my knowledge of UNIX systems from a security analyst perspective. I am not a professional system administrator and I am not qualified to refute USAH:3E's advice. Nevertheless, because I deal with FreeBSD, Linux, and Solaris on a daily basis, I found USAH:3E to be insightful and invaluable.

USAH:3E stands out for three reasons. First, it covers the three most popular UNIX operating systems I know: FreeBSD, Linux, and Solaris. (The authors also support HP-UX, but I have no direct experience with that OS.) By comparing the features and configuration of multiple operating systems, USAH:3E is frequently far more educational than a single-OS book. USAH:3E is the one OS book I would include in my incident response kit, along with "Incident Response" by Mandia/Prosise/Pepe.

Second, USAH:3E is written to inform and entertain, and does both very well. While most OS books are content to explain the "what," and few include the "how," USAH:3E also delivers the "why." USAH:3E peers deep into the workings of the OS, but keeps the discussion clear and concise. For example, pp. 48-51 provide an excellent discussion of signals. Table 4.1 lists 13 'UNIX signals that every administrator should know,' showing whether processes can catch or block each. This chart and the text finally illuminated the difference between 'kill PID' and 'kill -9 PID' at the level of the OS. Furthermore, the writing style is direct, with numerous humorous references and personal opinions.

The third unique aspect of USAH:3E is the author's uncanny ability to include relevant hints and trivia. For example, as an intrusion detector, I sometimes see Windows machines appear with self-assigned 169.254.0.0/16 addresses. I also see Windows machines attempt to dynamically "update" DNS entries on uncooperative BIND servers. USAH:3E explains both events, and also how Windows 2000 increased the query load on the root name servers within a week of its release. (Remember, this is a UNIX book!)

As a security professional, I need to be familiar with the common systems and applications I encounter. USAH:3E fulfilled this need admirably. Professional system administrators may prefer to buy single-OS or single-application books.

(Disclaimer: I received a free copy from the publisher.)

I've read through probably a dozen Linux and Unix books, and though this book isn't specifically for any one platform, it's got pointers that cover the major ones (and gives you details on platform-specifics when appropriate).It's well-organized, easy (and actually fun) to read, and well worth the money. It's not too superficial that you can get it via osmosis, and not so detailed that it puts you to sleep. Compare it to the other books on the shelf and you'll see what I mean. I wish they had this book out when I was in college 10 years ago. This is your one-stop base Unix / Linux book... If you need more details than this provides, then you should look into O'Reilly's application-specific books -- for geeks only. :)

I've purchased the second edition about two years ago; it was a very helpfull book, many times I carry it on my briefcase.

This new edition is quite comprehensive, if you want a book with lots of information packed on it, this is a must have.

This book is getting a little long in the tooth; in its day it was the one best book for the beginner that comprehensively covered four of the common OS's (Solaris, HPUX, Redhat, FreeBSD) in detail from a non-enterprise (ie academic or small business) perspective. There is emphasis on the fundamentals without overt scholasticism or vendor certification test prep b.s., followed up by real-world war stories and healthily opinionated recommendations (although I still don't understand why they like gated so much.)

After doing enterprise and dot-com sysadmin for 10+ years I found myself in a new job supporting an academic environment where the users were running 8 different OS's and had no money. One of the first things I did was reread this book cover to cover.

This, when combined with O'Reilly's _Unix in a Nutshell_ will provide the reader with not only the 'how' of unix system administration, but the 'why' as well. Honest, insightful, witty, and frequently dead-on-target in a zen sort of way, the third edition of this book is a treasured reference, and a good read while applying patches. I own two copies; one for home and one for the office. I have given this book as a Christmas gift to other unix administrators. It's that good.

A very excellent reference book for new and experienced unix administrator, which use FREE BSD, LINUX, HP-UNIX and SOLARIS as an example and cover both basic and advanced topics in clear english.

This is a true classic and pretty much the only general Unix sysadmin book you will ever need. The sections on DNS and sendmail are thorough and precise (the sendmail section is so good you do not need the sendmail O'Reilly "bat" book anymore). It covers almost every single aspect of system admin, has humour and is strongly opinionated.
The real strength is that it uses examples from the 4 most important Unix's in todays market. If you know how to configure networking under Linux and need to know how to do it under Solaris then this book is for you.

Some might have wanted AIX instead of FreeBSD, and vanilla Linux instead of RedHat: I think the choice of covering RedHat, FreeBSD, Solaris and HP/UX is spot on (as is the whole book).

It's _the best Unix sysadmin _ book out there (forget about the cd-rom: it's not needed).

You can't afford to be without this book if you develop or maintain networks. This is or should be as much a classic as K&R's "C a Programming Language" is to serious programmers.

I have thousands of dollars in computer books. And as a network security analyst, I used most of them often. But I carry this book in my bag all the time. Since I work in a mixed environment, this book proves invaluable in helping me tackle Solaris, Linux and HP-UX issues. I have not seen another book that covers so much so well in less than 1000 pages. If you use unix, get this book. It will be among your top 5 books in the "best money spent" category!

When chef's in Holland learn to cook there is only one book they will use to learn the different techniques. The same goes for this book. Every Linux/BSD/UNIX administrator must have this book in his back of goodies (next to the perl cookbook offcourse).

The content of the book explaines every basic and advanced technique needed to administret, set-up or manage systems from 1 to severel hundreds. It gives usefull tips, very good hints and also educates in good unix practice. We at Nebula give all our new staff members this book and give them 3 weeks time to study it before taking an exam in it.

There is one thing to say about the book and that is that it currently explaines redhat 6.x release. Due to the various changes in the Redhat 7.x releases an update (or extra release) would be very welcome. as example: Xinetd is not explained yet in the book but that will def. happen in the fourth release for which we can't wait for to get our hands on.. Problem.. it's not out yet.. :-)

So dear new guy in the unix world, and old chap. Yes A deffinate buyer!!

This book should be on the bookshelf of every System Administrator. In fact, you're not even qualified to be an Admin without this book. It gives actual experience and opinions, both of which are sorely lacking from most computer books.

If all you want is a restatement of the man pages, this book is probably not for you. However, if you want actual insight on not only how to do the job, but how to do it well, this book is for you!

Highest recommendations.

This is the best book to keep handy along with UNIX in a nutshell, and maybe Essential System Administration with something for your favorite flavor of scripting and/or SQL.

Again, this is one of my most tattered books and travels with mealways. I can't count how many times it has saved my life and hours of looking elsewhere, even with internet access. Truly essential. GET THIS BOOK!

I have the Red cover (2nd ed.), and the only thing it didn't cover was AIX, but then there's always smit.

The seminal work in the field. If you can have only one Unix administration book, this should be it.

This book broadly covers a number of different versions of Unix, and doesn't go into as much depth as some other books may, but all the essential topics are covered, and with real-world practical advice.

This is the second Unix book that I've read from cover to cover. It covers e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, just take a look at the table of contents! It's filled with good examples and good advice. The only thing I didn't like about it was the hefty price.

After reading the reviews for this book, I rushed out to buyit. I have overseen operations for a Unix system but not been ahardcore administrator per se. Nevertheless I've had to perform basictasks to keep it going. I decided it was time to become much more Unixsavvy. I've read about half the guide and perused the rest. It is aclass piece of work, but in no way do I suggest it for a beginner. The text is written with a tone of sophistication and experience that the beginner will not grasp completely. It is a must to get the basics of Unix down solid before considering this book for administration. The Peachpit Quickstart series has been a great starter for me in many areas and Unix is no different. The book is a superb introduction to Unix...it is TRULY for beginners. Get those basics down and get Unix on your box...then as your second purchase, get the Administrator's Handbook...A first book it IS NOT.

Even though I'm a senior Unix admin, and know most of what is covered in the book, I couldn't resist ordering a copy (my employer generously paid for it). There's loads of technical information, but what really makes this book outstanding is it is full of opinions, recommendations, and war stories, almost all of which seem to be true and useful (except I'm still baffled why they like gated.) No filler - 100% useful stuff. This book is still the stranded-on-a-desert-island standard for entry-level Unix admins.

This book is excellent, definitely a must-have. The downside is the price. If you find it on sale, pick it up!

This book is not for beginners, but is easy to read nonetheless. It covers all facets of system administration including real-life "gotchas" which make the book interesting as well as informative. I must have a dozen books on *nix and this is easily the best.

This book is by far the best book out there for general UNIX system adminstration. The third edition is even better than the second. Whereas the second edition sometimes got bogged down in trying to mention too many different UNIX flavors, this new addition just concentrates on four main ones (HP-UX, Solaris, Red Hat Linux, and BSD). An excellent decision because it nows has great details and specifics about the four types. An excellent reference and it's entertaining to read too! Highly recommended.

This is the latest iteration of an absolutely essential guide to the art and science of Unix system administration. The authors earn my respect for calling things as they see them; while sometimes this is good for a chuckle (some of their swipes at Sun for nonstandard and stupid things in Solaris), it's even more useful when they're citing best practices. For those familar with Mark Minasi's books on Windows NT/2000, the tone is pretty similar. Though it won't be the largest computer book on your shelf, the information content (or "signal to noise ratio") is very, very high. What's not to like? The price, for one thing: at $68 (list), this is an extremely expensive paperback. The book also makes reference to a number of things on the companion web site but the site itself hasn't been updated since the second edition, so the supplemental materials (which used to be on an included CD-ROM) simply aren't available right now (27-Nov-2000). Hopefully the authors will correct this problem in the not-too-distant future.