Linux for Networking Professionals: Securely configure and operate Linux network services for the enterprise

This is a very well-written book, which is ideal for anyone who's just started out learning Linux networking. It starts out with a great overview of basic networking theory, and then goes through the basic networking commands. Then, you get an overview of the various networking services that Linux can run, and how to set them up. Everything is clearly explained, so even if you're a Linux beginner, you won't have any problems following the material.There is one thing though, of which the Linux beginner needs to be aware. That is, in Chapter 2, the author gives the impression that he's performing the demos on Ubuntu Server, when in reality he's performing them on Ubuntu Desktop. The difference is that Ubuntu Server and Ubuntu Desktop use two different types of networking services, which means that these demos won't work if you're using Ubuntu Server. But, if you use Ubuntu Desktop, everything in Chapter 2 will work just fine, and everything after Chapter 2 will work fine on either Server or Desktop. (I'm not taking off a star for this. It's just something that the reader needs to know about.)Overall, a great book, which I highly recommend.

This book’s writing style is clear and easy to understand. There is a clear focus on not just installing and configuring various network services but also an extensive amount of coverage is included detailing the procedures needed to secure and test these services for vulnerabilities (particularly with DNS, DHCP, and SNMP among others). A plethora of tools and techniques for monitoring and analyzing network traffic from a variety of sources is covered really well.There is ample coverage of the use of legacy networking tools and their modern equivalents. An example of this includes the usage and comparisons between the old ifconfig command set and the new ip command set. Another example is the legacy iptables commands and the newer nftables commands to manage firewalls. However, there are no examples that use firewalld, but the usage of nftables makes up for this omission.A fair bit of network theory is sprinkled throughout the book and the basics (as well as some more advanced aspects of networking) are covered well in Chapter 3 along with useful examples that utilize numerous tools that can be used to explore these topics. I especially appreciated the sections that demonstrated the use of the /proc kernel file system area to explore various network connection properties.Chapter 5 contains some very excellent examples on how to create an inventory of your network environment to be used with security audits. Although SELinux and AppArmor were both discussed, their coverage was extremely light without much in the way of useful examples. The rest of the security topics within the book definitely ease the pressure from this mild shortcoming.The book as a whole is definitely written for the network and server administrators in a secure corporate environment. There is plenty in here for a home network setup, but there are plenty of other books on those topics. The key audience here are those working in very large and global networks with regards to load balancing and dealing with various cloud services and centralized authentication systems. I recommend this book to any Linux professional, as there is just too much good information contained within these pages that systems and network professionals need to know.

Sophisticated delivery of a complex topic. This edition covered modern networking as well as legacy commands and concentrates on Command Line Interface tools as it should considering the intended professional audience. I only gave this book three stars because numerous sections of the book refer to the appendix, which for some inexplicable reason is missing from my copy. Most aggravating of all is the topic of IPv6 in completely missing, because it was put in the appendix. Is it my specific copy or is everyone also missing the appendix from their printed book?