Chapter29.Desktop System Administration

Chapter 29. Desktop System Administration

What You'll Learn in This Chapter:

• How to view and manage the list of running processes

• How to manage print jobs

• How to configure or reconfigure network interfaces

• How to start, stop, and manage services

• How to add and delete user and group accounts

• How to access and browse through the system logs

In this chapter, you learn to perform a number of system administration tasks using the Linux desktop. Although you won't always have access to the desktop environment (often the case if you've installed a server-only configuration), the desktop tools are generally easier to use than their command-line counterparts.

Although most of the tools in this chapter must be run as root to function properly, in most cases you don't actually need to be logged in as root to use them. If you are logged in to your desktop as another user and start one of these tools, you are prompted for the root password; once you enter the password, the tool starts. In some tools, you are prompted for the root password only if you attempt to make a change or perform an operation requiring root privileges.