The Complete FreeBSD: Documentation from the Source
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Product Description
FreeBSD is by far the most popular version of BSD®, the legendary operating system that has contributed a great deal to every version of Unix® in use today (including Mac OS® X). Originally a community effort by the University of California at Berkeley, FreeBSD was aimed at making Unix a little friendlier and easier to use. By the time other free operating systems came along, BSD was firmly established and very reliable. And it continues to be today. For seven years, the FreeBSD community has relied on Greg Lehey's classic, The Complete FreeBSD, to guide them through its configuration and administration. The 4th edition, covering version 5 of FreeBSD, is now available through O'Reilly Community Press. The Complete FreeBSD is an eminently practical guidebook that explains not only how to get a computer up and running with the FreeBSD operating system, but also how to turn it into a highly functional and secure server that can host large numbers of users and disks, support remote access, and provide web service, mail service, and other key parts of the Internet infrastructure. The book provides in-depth information on installation and updates, back-ups, printers, RAID, various Internet services, firewalls, the graphical X Window system, and much more. Author Greg Lehey is a member of the FreeBSD core team and has been developing, documenting, and advocating for FreeBSD for nearly ten years. Whether you're an experienced Unix user or just interested in learning more about this free operating system and how you can put it to work for you, this do-it-yourself BSD documentation will provide the information you need. The Complete FreeBSD is the second release in the O'Reilly Community Press Series. Unlike classic O'Reilly animal books, which are created to fill an information void, the Community Press titles provide convenient printed copies of documentation that is already available online. O'Reilly's role in the series is limited to providing manufacturing and distribution services rather than editorial development, so that each Community Press title reflects the editorial voice and organization of the community that has created it.Customer Reviews
Documnetation fronm the source? NOT
Cdh ManningI was expecting documentation from the source code (ie. a description of how FreeBSD internals work). This book is just another "How to use FreeBSD" book like any other.
As a result I found the title very misleading and the book did not do what I expected.
Buy it; support the author, then download it..
Thatcher Dryden Jr.Along with Michael W. Lucas' AbsoluteBSD, now called Absolute FreeBSD in it's 2nd edition, these are the 2 most useful books on FreeBSD and UNIX in general I've found.
However, this version is inferior to the "10th anniversary edition" you can download for free from:
http://www.lemis.com/grog/Documentation/CFBSD/
It's been edited a bit, and had it's formatting changed since it was published in tree form. Note that as of this writing you cannot purchase the edition available for download. It's licensed under a Creative Commons license, but I'd suggest buying this one; if for nothing else than to show support for the awesome author and for general advocacy purposes. Not that O'Reilly needs to be told about the importance of FreeBSD, but every sale is a gentle reminder of the colossal achievement that is BSD in general.
The Complete FreeBSD
S. RobinsonThis book is an in-depth and excellent source of information on the installation, configuration, and administration of FreeBSD UNIX. It covers everything about FreeBSD and does not copy but goes beyond the usual MAN pages. It should be in every FreeBSD user's library. Although it covers Version 5, it is still appropriate for persons now using FreeBSD Version 6.2. The author, Greg Lehey, has issued a free electronic version of the book [...], but the paper edition is an inexpensive way to have everything in print. If you have, or are interested in FreeBSD PC-BSD [...], I strongly recommend you buy this book.
Excellent book on FreeBSD, maybe the only one you'll need
rexbinaryThis is a very good book on FreeBSD. It touches on just about every aspect of installing, configuring, and running FreeBSD. It leans more towards desktop use then server use, but there is lots of good information on configuring network services. There is also a huge section just on networking itself.
Just by reading this book you can tell the author Greg Lehey is a smart, seasoned, no-nonsense person that is very familiar with FreeBSD. He tells you the recommended way of doing things, then follows up with his recommendation on how to do it, and why you should consider it. He is also smart in his handling of technologies that are in a rapid state of change. He points out to you the things that might have changed since the book has been printed, and where to look for updated information.
This book does stray sometimes into more general subjects such as how networking works, how CRTs work, basic UNIX commands, etc., but it's all very related, and to the point. He integrates this type of information so well that it's not distracting and really adds to the value of the book, a feat I've seen many authors fail trying to accomplish. It rounds it out to not just be a FreeBSD guide, but almost like an operator's manual to the computer. So it's suitable for not only for advanced users but for novices as well. But I wouldn't recommend this as your first UNIX book, and it certainly would not work as your first computer book.
Since the book covers so many aspects, some are not quite as detailed as others, but he always details the most important aspects, and again explains why. Due to the scope of the book, I think he covered everything as well as you could without making the book too unmanageable.
For a lot of people this may be the only book you'll need. If your wanting a full blown server administrator guide, this book may not quite fit the bill.
I am very happy with it, 5 stars worth, and I would recommend it to any one interested in learning more about FreeBSD.
A Must Have, But Could Be Better
R. SandridgeThe two books that I use most frequently when administering my FreeBSD server, are this one by Lehey and UNIX System Administration Handbook by Nemeth et al. Lehey's book is easy to understand, and covers most instances where FreeBSD varies from other Unix varieties.
My chief complaint with the book (and hence only 4 stars), is that Lehey seems to be a bit conflicted as to whether he wants his book to be a tutorial or a reference book. I have only read the 4th edition, and I suspect some of this problem is due to hauling along portions of the book that used to be necessary which really are not anymore. For example, when it comes to explaining the installation process, the book does not add much value to the free online guide, "FreeBSD Handbook" available on the FreeBSD website. In fact, due to the ever evolving nature of software, the "FreeBSD Handbook" is often more up to date than Lehey's book. In particular, Lehey's book still explains how to install XFree86, while the current version of the OS used XOrg.
Lehey does excel in giving a more thorough overview of most other aspects of FreeBSD that do not change quite as quickly. He also does a decent job of pointing the reader to other resources for further information.
Lehey created the Vinum Volume Manager (which I admittedly know nothing about, and I skipped his chapter on it), so it is no surprise that the chapter on it is in the top third largest chapters in his book.
My advice, if you are just trying out FreeBSD, you can probably get by with the free "FreeBSD Handbook" online. If you plan on maintaining a FreeBSD machine, this book is definitely handy to have on the bookshelf.