Introduction
Welcome to the System Administrators Guide.
The System Administrators Guide contains information on how to customize your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system to fit your needs. If you are looking for a step-by-step, task-oriented guide for configuring and customizing your system, this is the manual for you. This manual discusses many intermediate topics such as the following:
- Setting up a network interface card (NIC)
- Performing a Kickstart installation
- Configuring Samba shares
- Managing your software with RPM
- Determining information about your system
- Upgrading your kernel
This manual is divided into the following main categories:
- Installation-Related Reference
- File Systems Reference
- Package Management
- Network Configuration
- System Configuration
- System Monitoring
This guide assumes you have a basic understanding of your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. If you need help installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, refer to the Installation Guide. For more general information about system administration, refer to the Introduction to System Administration. If you need more advanced documentation such as an overview of file systems, refer to the Reference Guide. If you need security information, refer to the Security Guide.
1. Changes To This Manual
This manual has been reorganized for clarity and updated for the latest features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. Some of the changes include:
- Updated
Kernel ModulesandManually Updating the KernelChapters - The
Kernel Modulesand theUpgrading the Kernel Manuallychapters include updated information in regards to the 2.6 kernel. Special thanks to Arjan van de Ven for his hard work in helping to complete this chapter. - An Updated Network File System (NFS) Chapter
- The Network File System (NFS) chapter has been revised and reorganized to include NFSv4. Special thanks to Steve Dickson for his hard work in helping to complete this chapter.
- An Updated OProfile Chapter
- The OProfile chapter has been revised and reorganized to include updated information in regards to the 2.6 kernel. Special thanks to Will Cohen for his hard work in helping to complete this chapter.
- An Updated X Window System Chapter
- The X Window System chapter has been revised to include information on the X11R6.8 release developed by the X.Org team.
Before reading this guide, you should be familiar with the contents of the Installation Guide concerning installation issues, the Introduction to System Administration for basic administration concepts, the System Administrators Guide for general customization instructions, and the Security Guide for security related instructions. This guide contains information about topics for advanced users.
