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

  • Why you should check out LVM

    Posted Oct 22, 2012 - 08:34 pm

    Take your Linux servers to the next level by taking advantage of LVM2 -- the best way to manage your disk space!

  • A little bit of history

    Posted Oct 15, 2012 - 06:00 pm

    Basic use of the history command is part of any good introduction to Unix, but there's a lot more to this basic feature than repeating your most recent commands. In fact, some of the more useful applications of command history are typically overlooked and many users may not fully understand just how the command works.

  • Bitrix24: A serious intranet that even you can afford

    Posted Oct 07, 2012 - 06:08 pm

    Have you been putting off setting up an Intranet site because you can't afford the guy who could set it up and manage it for you? Here's an option that you might want to consider.

  • Beyond 755

    Posted Oct 01, 2012 - 03:36 pm

    Are you still living in the world of 755; of user, group and other; and of chmod? If you haven't put Unix ACLs into use, maybe it's time to reconsider how they might compliment your system security process.

  • On to better booting

    Posted Sep 24, 2012 - 10:51 am

    Coming soon to a Linux near you? The dramatic improvements in Linux booting are slowly taking over and traditional start scripts are fading fast.

  • En route to multi-user

    Posted Sep 17, 2012 - 10:57 am

    Anyone too comfortable with the idea of run states on Unix systems might not be ready to hear this, but the process of going from a cold piece of hardware to multi-user mode has taken a couple very sharp turns in the last six years or so. Maybe you just aren't in the habit of looking under the hood and questioning how your system gets to the point of prompting you to log in, but that process has been going through some major upheavals.

  • sensible sudo-ing

    Posted Sep 10, 2012 - 05:26 pm

    The sudo command can give you fine-grained security on your Unix servers, but only if you avoid giving too many people the right to run any command as root, especially any command as root without proper logging.

  • Ubuntu made ... fun! (Book Review: Ubuntu Made Easy)

    Posted Sep 03, 2012 - 10:31 am

    Q: Why don´t you see Penguins in Britain? A: Because they´re afraid of Wales But, if you did, they'd probably be reading this fun new book -- Ubuntu Made Easy: A Project-Based Introduction to Linux, no starch press, 2012 is the most easy-to-read, properly pitched and fun Linux book that I've ever read.

  • sed: not just for pipes and one-liners

    Posted Aug 26, 2012 - 07:03 pm

    sed is the command of choice for changing this to that between a set of pipes, but there are a lot more tasks you can use it for -- some that it handles much better than the more obvious choices.

  • EZ monthly sar reports

    Posted Aug 20, 2012 - 10:13 am

    Want a script that sends you (up to) monthly sar reports without you having to think about the process? Today's script is way smarter than what I showed you a few weeks ago. It just works with the data it finds.

Join today!

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