Unix as a Second Language

Sandra Henry-Stocker has been administering Unix systems for more than 25 years. She describes herself as "USL" (Unix as a second language) but remembers enough English to write books and buy groceries. She currently works for TeleCommunication Systems -- a company that builds innovative technologies to make critical connections happen -- where no one else necessarily shares any of her opinions. This blog offers advice for everyday Unix systems administration and some clever ways to approach more challenging problems. Send comments and suggestions to mailto:bugfarm@gmail.com.

by Sandra Henry-Stocker

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Sandra Henry-Stocker has been administering Unix systems for more than 25 years. She describes herself as "USL" (Unix as a second language) but remembers enough English to write books and buy groceries. She currently works for TeleCommunication Systems -- a company that builds innovative technologies to make critical connections happen -- where no one else necessarily shares any of her opinions. Send comments and suggestions to bugfarm@gmail.com.

Unix: Book Review -- Absolute OpenBSD: Unix for the Practical Paranoid by Michael W. Lucas, Open Starch Press, 2013

Posted May 20, 2013 - 09:58 pm

BSD -- the Berkeley Software Distribution flavor of Unix -- is alive and well and thriving on a remarkably secure system near you. And the second edition of Absolute OpenBSD (Michael W. Lucas, 2013, no starch press) is ready to teach you all about it.
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- Operating Systems, bsd, OpenBSD
Linux commands: Newusers adds new users ... fast and furious!

Posted May 14, 2013 - 11:39 am

Whether you're setting up accounts for existing users on a new server or providing accounts for a crop of new staff members on your primary server, it's nice to be able to do the job quickly and accurately. The newusers command in Linux is designed to make this process as smooth as possible, but it may not do everything you expect -- especially if your data file is, uh, sloppy. Let's take a look at what it does and where it might fall short of expectations.
Unix tip: Using Bash's regular expressions

Posted May 05, 2013 - 08:37 pm

Bash has quietly made scripting on Unix systems a lot easier with its own regular expressions. If you're still leaning on grep and sed commands to get your scripts to do what you need from them, maybe it's time to look into what bash can do on its own.
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- Operating Systems, bash, range
Unix: Timing your cron jobs

Posted Apr 28, 2013 - 11:11 pm

Cron is not in charge; you are. All you need to do is tell it what you want done and when you want it done.
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- Operating Systems, cron, crontab
Unix & Security: So you're about to be audited

Posted Apr 21, 2013 - 11:26 am

Don't let an ISO 27001 audit ruin your week. Chin up and follow some simple rules to chase away the pain and the worry.
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- Security, audit, ISO 27001
Cheat sheets galore: Everything you wanted to know about everything ... almost

Posted Apr 14, 2013 - 09:22 pm

A treasure trove of cheat sheets is yours for the clicking. Visit OverAPI.com for help with nearly any language or tool imaginable.
So you want to be a Unix sysadmin?

Posted Apr 07, 2013 - 10:41 pm

A number of people have asked recently what it takes to be a Unix systems administrator, what “core competencies” are required, and what are the best and worst aspects of the job. Here are some answers that might work once we get beyond “it depends”.
Unix commands and tools you just can't live without

Posted Mar 31, 2013 - 08:42 pm

Are you someone who never met a Unix command you didn't like? OK, maybe not. But are there commands you just can't imagine living without? Let's look at some that have made a big difference on my busiest days and those that people I've worked with over the years have said are their most important essentials.
Unix: When pipes don't make sense

Posted Mar 24, 2013 - 05:17 pm

While pipes are one of the things that make Unix such a powerful and versatile operating system, they don't always make sense. Many people still fall into the "useless use of a pipe" habit while still others use pipes in situations in which pipes simply don't function at all. Knowing when to pipe and when not to pipe remains a sign of Unix mastery. If you want to look Unix savvy, use pipes only when they provide a critical service and never when they're superfluous or downright wrong.
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- Operating Systems, cat, commands
Unix: Rooting out the kits

Posted Mar 17, 2013 - 08:06 pm

Finding a computer infection that is, above all else, designed to remain hidden is not easy work, but neither is it impossible. With some good insights and tools, you might just get a leg up on how the multi-billion dollar spyware industry is attacking your systems.
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- Security, analysis, chkrootkit

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