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About the Companion Media


About the Companion Media

The Fedora Core 6 DVD that accompanies this book provides the software you need for a complete working Fedora system. With this software, you can install sets of software packages that result in an installation from a few hundred megabytes to up to about 7 gigabytes of software. We also include two CDs: one that is a Fedora 6 Live/Install CD, and one that contains hundreds of extra applications from the Fedora Extras repository. This book describes how to configure and use the software for those different configurations.



About the Companion Web Site

Even in a book that pushes the 1,000-page boundary, a few topics don't seem to make the cut. After you have gone through the book, you can visit the companion Web site at www. wiley .com/go/fedora6bible for some bonus material on topics such as using the X Window system, finding neat add-on software, exploring alternative administrative interfaces, Logsentry, and Portsentry.

With improved tools for learning about the contents of Fedora Core software packages, we decided to move the 40+ pages of Fedora Core software package descriptions to the Web site. Topics moved to the Web site from previous editions of this book includes information on using legacy UNIX remote commands ( rlogin, rcp , and the like), running Tripwire to manage system security, running a NetWare server in Linux (mars_nwe) and using crack and other password protection tools. Features moved from the immediately preceding edition include descriptions of the wu-FTPd FTP server, INN news server, and the sendmail.cf file.



Reach Out

If you have any questions or comments about this book, feel free to contact me by e-mail at this address: chris@linuxtoys.net .



Part I: Getting Started in Fedora and RHEL

Chapter List

Chapter 1: An Overview of Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Chapter 2: Installing Fedora
Chapter 3: Getting Started with the Desktop
Chapter 4: Using Linux Commands



Chapter 1: An Overview of Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Overview

In This Chapter

  • Introducing Fedora and RHEL

  • What is Linux?

  • Linux's roots in UNIX

  • Common Linux features

  • Primary advantages of Linux

  • What is Fedora?

  • Why choose Fedora?

  • The culture of free software

Linux was a phenomenon waiting to happen. The computer industry suffered from a rift. In the 1980s and 1990s, people had to choose between inexpensive, market-driven PC operating systems from Microsoft and expensive, technology-driven operating systems such as UNIX. Free software was being created all over the world, but lacked a common platform to rally around. Linux has become that common platform.

For several years , Red Hat Linux was the most popular commercial distribution of Linux. In 2003, Red Hat, Inc. changed the name of its distribution from Red Hat Linux to Fedora Core and moved its commercial efforts toward its Red Hat Enterprise Linux products. It then set up Fedora to be:

  • Sponsored by Red Hat

  • Supported by the Linux community

  • Inclusive of high-quality , cutting-edge open source technology

  • A proving ground for software slated for commercial Red Hat deployment and support

Red Hat Enterprise Linux, on the other hand, became the basis for Red Hat's fully supported product line, geared toward big companies with the need to set up and manage many Linux systems. After taking its software through about a year and a half of Fedora releases (about once every six to nine months), a commercial Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) product line is released that includes:

  • Subscription service to RHEL that offers stable, tested software (mostly the same software in Fedora Core that has gone through rigorous testing)

  • Multiple support programs, ranging from an online knowledge base to assistance with custom deployment, engineering, and software development

  • Official documentation, training, and certification programs

Fedora Core has, itself, become a respected and active Linux distribution that thousands of people use worldwide as a desktop, server, or programming workstation. It is the best way to get the latest Linux software that is being built on a foundation for enterprise-quality systems.

Using Fedora Core is a great way to get a head start learning the features of upcoming RHEL releases. The complete Fedora Linux operating system (referred to as Fedora Core 6) is included on the DVD that comes with this book. The two CDs you get include a Fedora Core Live CD (which doubles as a network install CD) and a Fedora Extras CD (containing hundreds of extra software packages).