Absolute OpenBSD, 2nd Edition: Unix for the Practical Paranoid

by Michael W. Lucas

OpenBSD, the elegant, highly secure Unix-like operating system, is widely used as the basis for critical DNS servers, routers, firewalls, and more. This long-awaited second edition of Absolute OpenBSD maintains author Michael Lucas's trademark straightforward and practical approach that readers have enjoyed for years. You'll learn the intricacies of the platform, the technical details behind certain design decisions, and best practices, with bits of humor sprinkled throughout. This edition has been completely updated for OpenBSD 5.3, including new coverage of OpenBSD's boot system, security features like W^X and ProPolice, and advanced networking techniques.

You'll learn how to:
–Manage network traffic with VLANs, trunks, IPv6, and the PF packet filter
–Make software management quick and effective using the ports and packages system
–Give users only the access they need with groups, sudo, and chroots
–Configure OpenBSD's secure implementations of SNMP, DHCP, NTP, hardware sensors, and more
–Customize the installation and upgrade processes for your network and hardware, or build a custom OpenBSD release


Whether you're a new user looking for a complete introduction to OpenBSD or an experienced sysadmin looking for a refresher, Absolute OpenBSD, 2nd Edition will give you everything you need to master the intricacies of the world's most secure operating system.

Genres: Technical, Reference, Nonfiction, Computer Science, Computers, Technology, Textbooks

536 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

Michael W. Lucas is the author of several critically-acclaimed nonfiction books and assorted short fiction. He was on the Internet before the Web existed, and now works for an independent telecommunications wholesaler in Michigan.

Reviews

[Altivo Overo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books about OpenBSD are scarce. If there has to be only one, this is a fairly good choice. A good overview of the system as well as a fair introduction to UNIX. Not for the novice use however, the book assumes familiarity with basic concepts.

[James Tomasino · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only complaint is that it doesn't automatically update content with each release of OpenBSD. The man pages do, at least.

[Federico · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining book meant to introduce the experienced sysadmin to the OpenBSD community. The advice on how to best interact with the community seems to be: just avoid it, if you can. The general parts are interesting for anyone curious about operating systems (history of BSD, OpenBSD philosophy, TCP/IP architecture etc.), even more than you'd expect (Theo de Raadt's role hasn't changed much, CVS is still in use, traditional init is still there etc.). However many of the sections about specific programs are naturally out of date, so I've only skimmed them quickly and I can't tell how good they are/were. Who knows, maybe OpenBSD users are still using PPP and the root password, ever rebelling to the coup by the "senior sysadmins" who relegated other users to the sudoers file.

[Eren]

Chapter 20 sonrasını şimdilik işime yaramadığı için okumadım. Kitap genel olarak OpenBSD'nin temel kurulumu, güvenlik, paket yönetimi, masaüstü kullanımı gibi konuları anlaşılır şekilde anlatıyor. OpenBSD'ye merakınız varsa ve okuyarak bir şeyleri öğrenmeyi seviyorsanız son basım 2015 olmasına rağmen güzel bilgiler var içerisinde.

[DeadTrees · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book secured Michael W. Lucas's position as my favorite technical writer.

Many of the reviews here mention the book as a great reference - which it is - but I'd like to add that it's also a great cover-to-cover read. Lucas has a very easy-to-read style with humor in exactly the right places.

[Aaron Rogier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this because I was curious about OpenBSD. What I found in the pages was a wealth of insight into how *nix type operating systems are architected and practical advice that exceeds the scope suggested by the title.

[Elvin Aslanov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent author easy to understand covering OpenBSD completely enough. I could understand sudoers(5) easier than the manual page and PF than the FAQ.

[richardphoto.jpg (Rich) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike makes droll subject matter entertaining, with none of the bloat of most technical books. A great writer.

[Guillermo García Rojas C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really a great book. Everything you need to completely master OpenBSD.

[David Glad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book best serves as a reference when I tinker with OpenBSD. (As it currently stands, I guess OpenBSD is not quite for me, as the FreeBSD community does an excellent job being all things to almost all people. That said, OpenBSD is a great project and definitely teaches good security practices.)

Does seem funny how essentially OpenBSD says the ultimate authority are its manual (man) pages and even the site's install guide (written in a FAQ-style format) says that any conflict reverts back to the man page as the one truth. Needless to say part of the role of books such as this is to help grow the community and clout, which Lucas certainly seems to have found a niche (but hopefully growing!) audience with BSD software.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as a technical book about an operating system, it's a great technical reference with plenty of explanation for the OpenBSD noob.

[Jonathan Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. As always Lucas is the standard other tech writers should aim for.

[Peter]

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