Unix as a Second Language

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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. 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

Trusted Voice

  • Solaris Tip: Have Your Files Changed Since Installation?

    Posted Nov 18, 2009 - 02:16 pm

    One way to check the integrity of files on your Solaris systems is by comparing their ownership, sizes and checksums against their original values. You don't need expensive application software to do basic integrity checking. One easy and free way to do this is to take advantage of a file that your system maintains on your behalf and a command called pkgchk.

  • Unix How To: Unix Resolutions for 2010

    Posted Dec 30, 2009 - 10:35 am

    Midnight, Dec 31st is rapidly approaching and there's no better time than this to resolve to be the best Unix sysadmins we can be. Here are some New Year's Unix Resolutions worth keeping.

  • Discovering PHP

    Posted Nov 05, 2008 - 03:04 pm

    It's no wonder that many content management systems are written in PHP. With enough practice, you could probably write one yourself. Check out this tutorial and cookbook for a head start on learning this extremely versatile language.

  • Course Review -- The Art of Exploitation: Bootcamp Edition

    Posted Apr 21, 2010 - 06:06 am

    I just returned to work following a two-week hacking class. Called "The Art of Exploitation: Bootcamp Edition", this class has pushed me through to the "aha" (I really got it) stage of what hacking really is and how it works. Definitely in the "red team" (attack) camp, this high intensity, short time frame "bootcamp" class went from basics to realistic, seriously complicated hacking within its modest two week time frame.

  • Python for kids ... and adults intimidated by the very idea of programming

    Posted Dec 29, 2012 - 05:32 pm

    If you love Unix but fear programming or have a kid who you'd like to convince that programming is fun, here's a book you really should consider.

  • Who's Using Samba?

    Posted Feb 18, 2009 - 04:22 pm

    There's a lot more to monitoring Samba than checking whether the daemons are running. The smbstatus command can tell you who's using it and show you what files they're updating.

  • Getting help with scat

    Posted Aug 18, 2009 - 01:47 pm

    Since we looked at mdb last week and probed into a core dump, we should take a quick look at another tool for analyzing core dumps. The "scat" tool provides an easy way to extract an extensive amount of information from a core dump and provide it to you in a relatively readable fashion (as readable as data from a core dump is ever likely to be). Once you start the tool, you can get some help figuring out what commands to use.

  • Greening the Data Center

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 - 04:20 pm

    Think you're the only one having problems keeping your data center cool and powered up? Think again. At least the Green Grid (an international non-profit organization with a mandate to increase energy efficiency in the IT sector) is coming up with answers and I got to go to a trade show!

  • Unix How-To: When Telnet isn't Telnet

    Posted May 19, 2010 - 01:48 pm

    The security dudes have been badmouthing telnet for a couple of decades now, reminding us that this old time tool for connecting to remote systems exposes our passwords to the snooping masses. But the telnet command itself still has some handy uses that shouldn't be abandoned.

  • Grappling with disk space

    Posted Sep 24, 2008 - 03:30 pm

    Disks are getting bigger and bigger, but so are our users' data collections. How do you quickly pin down the source of the problem when a file system suddenly fills up? Let's look at some useful commands.
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