No Starch Press, the leading English-language publisher of BSD books, has just released its eagerly awaited Building a Server with FreeBSD 7 (April 2008, 288 pp., ISBN 9781593271459). This modular guide to building a FreeBSD server is carefully designed to make it easy for users to choose the packages that they need, with step-by-step directions for installation and configuration.
"When I first saw the design of this book, I knew we had something that would just work," said No Starch Press publisher Bill Pollock. "Hong devised a format that is easy to reference, and its modular approach simplifies what can be a daunting process."
Hong's straightforward style makes it easy for the do-it-yourself crowd to build a server quickly using the ports collection (a software package management system). But rather than wade through the thousands of ports available, Hong focuses on the most popular and useful ones. Each package is treated as an independent project (and given a difficulty rating), so readers can dip into the book at any point to install just the packages they need, when they need them. The book's modules cover topics like:
- Running common FreeBSD admin commands and tasks
- Managing the FreeBSD ports collection
- Installing third-party apps like Apache, Courier-IMAP, SpamAssassin, CUPS, Cyrus SASL, MediaWiki, and WordPress
- Setting up MySQL, NTP, ISC DHCP, ISC BIND DNS, PHP, OpenLDAP, OpenSSH, OpenSSL, and OpenVPN
Appendixes explain user management, backup/restore, and network protocols.
Building a Server with FreeBSD 7 will have readers running their own server loaded with useful modules in no time, with a minimum of hassle.
For a review copy or more information please email nostarchpr@oreilly.com. Please include your delivery address and contact information.
About the Author
Bryan Hong graduated with an aeronautical science degree and spent part of his career flying jets for a regional carrier in the eastern United States. Since he was traveling constantly, he sought a way to centrally host a personal website, retrieve email, and access files when away from home. His research and experience installing FreeBSD led to his writing Building a Server with FreeBSD 7.
Additional Resources
Sample chapter, "Apache HTTP Server" (PDF)
Table of contents overview
Detailed table of contents (PDF)
Index (PDF)
Large cover image
Building a Server with FreeBSD 7
Bryan Hong
ISBN 9781593271459, 288 pages, $34.95 USD
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