Sudo Mastery: User Access Control for Real People

by Michael W. Lucas

Unix-like operating systems have a primitive access control system. The root account can do anything. Other users are peasants with only minimal system access. This worked fine in UNIX’s youth, but today, system administration responsibilities are spread among many people and applications. Each person needs a tiny slice of root’s power. Sudo lets you divide root’s monolithic power between the people who need it, with accountability and auditability. Sudo Mastery will teach you * design a sudo policy rather than slap rules together * simplify policies with lists and aliases * use non-Unix information sources in policies * configure alternate sudo policies * manage shell environments * verify system integrity and perform intrusion detection * have a common sudo policy across your server farm * manage sudo policies via LDAP * log and debug sudo * log and replay full sudo sessions * use authentication systems other than passwords While many people use sudo, most use only a small part of it’s features. Chances are, you’re doing it wrong. Master sudo with Sudo Mastery.

Genres: Technology, Computer Science

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2013

About the author

Michael W. Lucas is the author of fifty-odd critically-acclaimed nonfiction books. As Michael Warren Lucas, he's written several novels.

Reviews

[Abhishek Jaisingh · Rating 4 out of 5]

the book gives you a new perspective on `sudo` giving details on why, how and when of using sudo rather than just being a means to get root access. Read this if you are still wondering why appending sudo makes the commands just work magically.

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

Excellent book on how to Master sudo, examples that will help you in your day to day work.