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CHAPTER 10
Advanced Administration

MANAGING A LINUX SERVER in a multi-user environment can be somewhat different from a personal graphical desktop. There are lots of new things you need to worry about, such as protecting user files, creating shared folder areas, and providing network services such as email and remote login. This chapter discusses some of the advanced administration tools required to manage a Linux server in a multi-user environment.

The chapter starts out by walking through user account management. With multiple users, you’ll need to ensure each user has his or her own user account and can be assured that their files are safe from other users. This chapter also describes how to manage file permissions for shared folder environments in such a way that multiple users can share the same files.

Next, the chapter discusses some of the odds-and-ends of managing a multi-user Linux server and multiple servers. First, methods for managing the date and time on the server, and ensuring multiple servers in an environment are all synchronized with the proper date and time. Following that, the chapter provides information on how to devise a printer strategy in your Linux environment. Printing from the command line is a little different from the graphical desktop world, so you’ll need to be aware of the commands available.

After discussing printers, the chapter walks through how Linux handles email. There are a few different email server packages available in the Linux world, and knowing how each one works will help with your decision on which one to use.

The chapter finishes up with sections on remote connecting to Linux servers using a secure shell and how to manage the system log files generated on the Linux system. Both of these topics are crucial to running a Linux server in a multi-user environment.