Rating:  - Soporific, misleading and deceptive
I found this book to be quite hard to follow through. In addition, he assumes too much and does not get into details. I found impossible to follow, if you are new to Linux administration. Furthermore, some of the examples do not work. He goes somehow deep into theory and not into practical working examples. Some sections are missing details, and overall, after installing your server, the book does not provide an easy-to-follow manual, or an specific introduction to Linux servers. I wish I could have read something like this, before I bought this book. To me, it is a complete waste of time and money. I understand that there are not too many books written on this subject, that really are worth while to buy; but, this follows into the category of "the crappy ones." I believe, that to write in a way that everyone understands, one has to understand that not everyone is born knowing everything, and if one writes a book is to provide with accurate information, at least. This is one of the worst, if not the worst, book I have ever had - providing that I had to endure, long time ago, the old worthless text books, provided while I was studying at the school of computer science.
Rating:  - Just the right size, and level of detail
I haven't finished it yet, but I have read much of it, and from someone who dislikes the typical computer "tomes" of the 600+ page variety, this <300 book seems very well written, and does still contain a very good amount of detail. Much of the topics were familiar, as I was already using other flavors of linux, but there are enough differences to make this a very worthwhile read for me.
Travis-
Rating:  - not wat i expected....
this book is a bit misleading... it said that it was for ubuntu server, wich for the most part it is... i would like to warn ones who are looking for a book on webserving... this book has like three or so pages on this subject and these are breif and general. other sections are very good, and in decent detail... if you would like a book on webserving look for one on apache. jus my opinion. Jesse Fender
Rating:  - Great Introduction to Ubuntu Administration
Ubuntu has become one of the fastest growing and arguably most friendly Linux distributions over the last few years. This book is designed to help someone who has no knowledge of Linux become a basic system administrator. While it will not make them an expert among people who know Linux well it will make them sufficiently knowledgeable to do most of the common administrative functions.
The author starts with installing Ubuntu server and moves into information that most Ubuntu users do not understand such as using the command line interface, working with files, and understanding the directory structure. Once the reader has this basic understanding he moves them to some of the common tasks like using software repositories to install and update software packages and user accounts, groups, permissions, access control lists, quotas, an PAM modules. However, the book could use an expanded section on firewalls as this is a major part of Linux server administration.
Other important areas covered include a chapter on writing shell scripts. the basics of SSH and tunneling, DNS, DHCP, NTP, using Ubuntu as a file and print server (cups, NFS, and Samba configurations), Apache, virtual hosts, PHP, MySQL, FTP, and virtualization. For many of these areas, including Samba, Apache, PHP, and MySQL, the coverage is just the minimum you need to know. This is expected as there are complete volumes written just on each of these subjects that are larger than this book. This books still gives you a solid introduction to these subjects that is appropriate for the audience the author is trying to reach.
This book is a great introduction to Ubuntu Server administration and moves the reader from the novice to lower intermediate level but really not close to a professional Ubuntu administrator. Nonetheless, it is recommended for those new to Ubuntu servers as it does touch on and provide a working knowledge of pretty much all the most common areas of Linux server administration.
Rating: - Nice book and really helpful for novices
The book is clear and concise. It explores several important topics in Ubuntu (linux) server administration from the novice point of view. Although several features are common among several linux distros, the book tries to use the ubuntu way when it is appropriated. Just pay attention: a new edition is coming soon (oct/2008). I did not like the paper used, it is rough and thick, like several others paperback books.
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