This reference documents the features of the Linux 2.6 kernel in detail so that system administrators and developers can customise and optimise their systems for better performance.

Over the last few years, Linux has grown both as an operating system and a tool for personal and business use. Simultaneously becoming more user friendly and more powerful as a back-end system, Linux has achieved new plateaus: the newer filesystems have solidified, new commands and tools have appeared and become standard, and the desktop--including new desktop environments--have proved to be viable, stable, and readily accessible to even those who don't consider themselves computer gurus. Whether you're using Linux for personal software projects, for a small office or home office (often termed the SOHO environment), to provide services to a small group of colleagues, or to administer a site responsible for millions of email and web connections each day, you need quick access to information on a wide range of tools. This book covers all aspects of administering and making effective use of Linux systems. Among its topics are booting, package management, and revision control. But foremost in Linux in a Nutshell are the utilities and commands that make Linux one of the most powerful and flexible systems available. Now in its fifth edition, Linux in a Nutshell brings users up-to-date with the current state of Linux. Considered by many to be the most complete and authoritative command reference for Linux available, the book covers all substantial user, programming, administration, and networking commands for the most common Linux distributions. Comprehensive but concise, the fifth edition has been updated to cover new features of major Linux distributions. Configuration information for the rapidly growing commercial network services and community update services is one of the subjects covered for the first time. But that's just the beginning. The book covers editors, shells, and LILO and GRUB boot options. There's also coverage of Apache, Samba, Postfix, sendmail, CVS, Subversion, Emacs, vi, sed, gawk, and much more. Everything that system administrators, developers, and power users need to know about Linux is referenced here, and they will turn to this book again and again.

Contains an introduction to the operating system with detailed documentation on commands, utilities, programs, system configuration, and networking

The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is the leader in obtaining the independent, vendor-neutral certification that provides proof of the necessary skills in demand by IT departments. LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell is written with the LPI exams in mind by including information on the required Topics and Objectives. Beyond preparing to pass the LPIC Level 1 exams, this book provides an excellent understanding of Linux concepts and functions. LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell prepares system administrators for both of the General Linux LPIC Level 1 exams (101 and 102). The book is divided into two parts (one for each of the LPIC Level 1 exams), and each part features a summary of the exam, a Highlighter's Index, labs, suggested exercises, and practice exams. Part 1 covers Exam 101: GNU and Unix commands; devices, Linux filesystems, and the filesystem hierarchy standard; boot, initialization, shutdown, and run levels; documentation; and administrative tasks. Part 2 covers Exam 102: hardware and architecture; Linux installation and package management; the Linux kernel; text editing, processing, and printing; shells, scripting, programming, and compiling; the X Window System; networking fundamentals; network services; and security. While this book is designed to help system administrators prepare for the LPI certification exams, the tutorial-style approach will help newbies learn more about their Linux system. For those preparing to take the LPI certification exams, this book will prove to be invaluable in its scope and breadth.

Learn how to write high-quality kernel module code, solve common Linux kernel programming issues, and understand the fundamentals of Linux kernel internals Key Features Discover how to write kernel code using the Loadable Kernel Module framework Explore industry-grade techniques to perform efficient memory allocation and data synchronization within the kernel Understand the essentials of key internals topics such as kernel architecture, memory management, CPU scheduling, and kernel synchronization Book DescriptionLinux Kernel Programming is a comprehensive introduction for those new to Linux kernel and module development. This easy-to-follow guide will have you up and running with writing kernel code in next-to-no time. This book uses the latest 5.4 Long-Term Support (LTS) Linux kernel, which will be maintained from November 2019 through to December 2025. By working with the 5.4 LTS kernel throughout the book, you can be confident that your knowledge will continue to be valid for years to come. You’ll start the journey by learning how to build the kernel from the source. Next, you’ll write your first kernel module using the powerful Loadable Kernel Module (LKM) framework. The following chapters will cover key kernel internals topics including Linux kernel architecture, memory management, and CPU scheduling. During the course of this book, you’ll delve into the fairly complex topic of concurrency within the kernel, understand the issues it can cause, and learn how they can be addressed with various locking technologies (mutexes, spinlocks, atomic, and refcount operators). You’ll also benefit from more advanced material on cache effects, a primer on lock-free techniques within the kernel, deadlock avoidance (with lockdep), and kernel lock debugging techniques. By the end of this kernel book, you’ll have a detailed understanding of the fundamentals of writing Linux kernel module code for real-world projects and products.What you will learn Write high-quality modular kernel code (LKM framework) for 5.x kernels Configure and build a kernel from source Explore the Linux kernel architecture Get to grips with key internals regarding memory management within the kernel Understand and work with various dynamic kernel memory alloc/dealloc APIs Discover key internals aspects regarding CPU scheduling within the kernel Gain an understanding of kernel concurrency issues Find out how to work with key kernel synchronization primitives Who this book is for This book is for Linux programmers beginning to find their way with Linux kernel development. If you’re a Linux kernel and driver developer looking to overcome frequent and common kernel development issues, or understand kernel intervals, you’ll find plenty of useful information. You’ll need a solid foundation of Linux CLI and C programming before you can jump in.

To thoroughly understand what makes Linux tick and why it's so efficient, you need to delve deep into the heart of the operating system--into the Linux kernel itself. The kernel is Linux--in the case of the Linux operating system, it's the only bit of software to which the term "Linux" applies. The kernel handles all the requests or completed I/O operations and determines which programs will share its processing time, and in what order. Responsible for the sophisticated memory management of the whole system, the Linux kernel is the force behind the legendary Linux efficiency. The new edition of Understanding the Linux Kernel takes you on a guided tour through the most significant data structures, many algorithms, and programming tricks used in the kernel. Probing beyond the superficial features, the authors offer valuable insights to people who want to know how things really work inside their machine. Relevant segments of code are dissected and discussed line by line. The book covers more than just the functioning of the code, it explains the theoretical underpinnings for why Linux does things the way it does. The new edition of the book has been updated to cover version 2.4 of the kernel, which is quite different from version 2.2: the virtual memory system is entirely new, support for multiprocessor systems is improved, and whole new classes of hardware devices have been added. The authors explore each new feature in detail. Other topics in the book include: Memory management including file buffering, process swapping, and Direct memory Access (DMA) The Virtual Filesystem and the Second Extended Filesystem Process creation and scheduling Signals, interrupts, and the essential interfaces to device drivers Timing Synchronization in the kernel Interprocess Communication (IPC) Program execution Understanding the Linux Kernel, Second Edition will acquaint you with all the inner workings of Linux, but is more than just an academic exercise. You'll learn what conditions bring out Linux's best performance, and you'll see how it meets the challenge of providing good system response during process scheduling, file access, and memory management in a wide variety of environments. If knowledge is power, then this book will help you make the most of your Linux system.

Device drivers literally drive everything you're interested in--disks, monitors, keyboards, modems--everything outside the computer chip and memory. And writing device drivers is one of the few areas of programming for the Linux operating system that calls for unique, Linux-specific knowledge. For years now, programmers have relied on the classic Linux Device Drivers from O'Reilly to master this critical subject. Now in its third edition, this bestselling guide provides all the information you'll need to write drivers for a wide range of devices.Over the years the book has helped countless programmers learn: how to support computer peripherals under the Linux operating system how to develop and write software for new hardware under Linux the basics of Linux operation even if they are not expecting to write a driver The new edition of Linux Device Drivers is better than ever. The book covers all the significant changes to Version 2.6 of the Linux kernel, which simplifies many activities, and contains subtle new features that can make a driver both more efficient and more flexible. Readers will find new chapters on important types of drivers not covered previously, such as consoles, USB drivers, and more.Best of all, you don't have to be a kernel hacker to understand and enjoy this book. All you need is an understanding of the C programming language and some background in Unix system calls. And for maximum ease-of-use, the book uses full-featured examples that you can compile and run without special hardware.Today Linux holds fast as the most rapidly growing segment of the computer market and continues to win over enthusiastic adherents in many application areas. With this increasing support, Linux is now absolutely mainstream, and viewed as a solid platform for embedded systems. If you're writing device drivers, you'll want this book. In fact, you'll wonder how drivers are ever written without it.

Find an introduction to the architecture, concepts and algorithms of the Linux kernel in Professional Linux Kernel Architecture, a guide to the kernel sources and large number of connections among subsystems. Find an introduction to the relevant structures and functions exported by the kernel to userland, understand the theoretical and conceptual aspects of the Linux kernel and Unix derivatives, and gain a deeper understanding of the kernel. Learn how to reduce the vast amount of information contained in the kernel sources and obtain the skills necessary to understand the kernel sources.

LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell,Second Edition is an invaluable resource for determining what you needto practice to pass the Linux Professional Institute exams. This bookwill helpyou determine when you're ready to take the exams, which aretechnically challenging and designed to reflect the skills thatadministrators needin real working environments. As more corporations adopt Linux as the networking backbone for theirIT systems, the demand for certified technicians will becomeeven greater. Passing the LPI exams will broaden your career optionsbecause the LPICis the most widely known and respected Linux certification program intheworld. Linux Journal recognized the LPI as the bestTraining andCertification Program. The exams were developed by the LinuxProfessional Institute,an international, volunteer-driven organization with affiliates in adozen countries. The core LPI exams cover two levels. Level 1 tests a basic knowledge ofLinux installation, configuration, and command-lineskills. Level 2 goes into much more depth regarding systemtroubleshooting andnetwork services such as email and the Web. The second edition of LPILinuxCertification in a Nutshell is a thoroughly researchedreference to these exams. The book is divided into four parts, one foreach of theLPI exams. Each part features not only a summary of the core skills youneed, but sample exercises and test questions, along with helpful hintsto letyou focus your energies. Major topics include: GNU and Unix commands Linux installation and package management Devices, filesystems, and kernel configuration Text editing, processing, and printing The X Window System Networking fundamentals and troubleshooting Security, including intrusion detection, SSH, Kerberos, andmore DNS, DHCP, file sharing, and other networking infrastructure Email, FTP, and Web services Praise for the first edition: "Although O'Reilly's Nutshell series are intended as 'DesktopReference' manuals, I have to recommend this one as a goodall-round read; not only as a primer for LPI certification, but as anexcellent introductory text on GNU/Linux. In all, this is a valuableaddition toO'Reilly's already packed stable of Linux titles and I look forward tomore from the author."--First Monday

Provides "hands-on" information on writing device drivers for the Linux system, with particular focus on the features of the 2.4 kernel and its implementation