Beginning Unix system administration

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Broodmdh

I want to make the transition from Windows system administration to FreebsdBSD, but I don't have a good sense of how it all works. Are there Unix equivalents to everything you would find in a normal windows network (domain controller, active directory, exchange etc), or does it follow a different model? Are there any good books that detail network configurations?
 
Broodmdh,

it all depends on what you mean when you mention "administration". If you are administering Windows Servers that work with AD on some networks that use AD features, then transition to a *NIX counterpart would mean a) to administer a *NIX OS of your choice, b) to administer SAMBA. By that, I mean that there is the administration part of the operating system itself, and the administration part of the service you wish to offer. This is also true for Windows Servers, that have a part of knowing how to administer a service (like DNS, AD, DHCP) and how to administer the server itself (file permissions, tuning it, managing software, etc)

In general, typical *NIX administration usually involves file services (NFS, SAMBA, etc), web services (apache, thttp, etc), DNS services (ISC bind, etc), ftp services (proftpd, vsftpd), mail services (sendmail, postfix, spamassassin, clamav, etc), and others. Administering these services, means that you have to learn how they are configured (which is not always as easy as it sounds), how do they get started and stopped, and that's almost all of it. Sometimes, though, problems will arise that will be related to the OS underlying your services. When these problems arise, you'll have to be as well acquainted with the OS you've chosen as possible, in order to address them.

In order to move to administering a *NIX OS, you'll need to learn a few things with respect to *NIX architecture, *NIX commands, pick your OS of choice (eg FreeBSD), learn your OS' third party software management tool, and then its structure and idiosyncrasies (architecture, and supported drivers, filesystems, etc). Then, install the services you wish to offer and play with them.

Good luck
 
Thanks for the quick replies!

I'm setting up a small lab for learning purposes, and I've always wanted to become more familiar with FreeBSD. Currently, my day job involves both application/service administration and OS administration on a Windows network. I want to learn how to offer the same basic functionality using Unix that I do with Windows. I'm sure the learning curve will be steep, but this is purely to serve my own interests so I'm not on any kind of schedule.

I'm going to look for a copy of the Corporate Networker's Guide, and any other suggestions you offer would be welcome. I'm a little concerned that a book authored in 2000 won't have much bearing on the latest version of the OS, but can I assume that the basics haven't changed too greatly since then?
 
Unix basics haven't changed in at least 30 years ;)

Also be sure to read our excellent handbook: FreeBSD Handbook (also available in other languages)
 
I suggest that you set aside everything you have learned about Microsoft systems administration specifics. Exchange uses specific terms (hubs, transports, connectors) that you won't find in any UNIX mail server software, albeit UNIX set the standard for email long before Exchange was born.

It's the Microsoft way. They have different workflow and different terms for a specific reason; if it's the first software you've learned, everything else will seem "weird" and different, making the transition harder.
 
Broodmdh said:
I want to make the transition from Windows system administration to FreebsdBSD, but I don't have a good sense of how it all works. Are there Unix equivalents to everything you would find in a normal windows network (domain controller, active directory, exchange etc), or does it follow a different model? Are there any good books that detail network configurations?
Click to expand...


Whilst Unix can serve pretty much anything Windows can (and more!), you will find that Unix does a lot less hand-holding in general.

This is both a blessing and a curse - if you know what you're doing, it hassles you less with the "are you sure?" stuff, but it will also generally not complain (or warn you) if you do something stupid. The admin is presumed to be competent, whereas in the Windows world, the OS generally assumes you're an idiot, and will (generally) prevent setting up a configuration that won't work. If you want to configure something in a broken/brain damaged way, Unix will allow you to do so (it assumes the admin knows best - which may or may not be true :D).


I'd suggest that TCP/IP networking knowledge and unix network services go hand in hand. If you don't have a reasonable knowledge of TCP/IP, I'd suggest getting your head around that first/as well.
 
throAU said:
I'd suggest that TCP/IP networking knowledge and unix network services go hand in hand. If you don't have a reasonable knowledge of TCP/IP, I'd suggest getting your head around that first/as well.
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I fully agree. You'll need at least a good understanding of IP addresses, subnet masks, routing and how they interact. Knowledge like that is invaluable. When you start dealing with firewalls you'll need a little bit more deeper knowledge, knowing how a three-way-handshake works will help immensely.
 
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