Guess it's time I should visit the bookstore to pick up some books so that I could learn how to effectively manage a web server at the root level.

What are the subjects one needs to know to learn how to manage/administrate a web server at the root level?

I would like to mention that though I am quite computer literate, I currently possess virtually no knowledge about networking.

I guess the total number of my questions in this forum will reduce considerably then... to the relief of many, I bet :D

Learner

I bought the latest "DNS & BIND" book from O'Reilly (3rd edition), it's very good for explaining....you guessed it...DNS & BIND

DNS & Bind sits on my bookshelf just to the right of me, and is showing signs of over-usage, about a year after I bought it. It's a great little book to use.

Depending on which OS you go for, if you're running Linux/Apache you can always just download and print off all the free documentation and FAQs provided throughout the Net. Always up to date and if you have a prob, most forums will have an answer. Some of the books from the O'Reilly range will also help. In case you're wondering, yes, RAQs run a version of *nix (can't remember the exacty version and type however).

If you're running Win2K, I recommend going for Mastering Win2K Server by Mark Minasi. I've also got it sitting next to me right now and its depth, particularly covering IIS is excellent. You can have a look at this book at Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0782127746/ref%3Db%5Fbr%5Fts%5F1/002-7502180-9127244

It would also be useful to get a good grounding in TCP/IP, since you will need to configure certain aspects of networking on your server occasionally, and if you ever branch off, TCP/IP networking's a great area to get into. The book on TCP/IP from O'Reilly covers it superbly, as does the MCSE series.

I beleive that for Linux administration, a book called
"Administering a Linux Web server" or similar will be ready by 1-2 weeks. If the book is good (we can't know yet) it may just be what you are looking for as an all-around book about server administration.

I personally learnt Linux (red hat) with a book called 'Red Hat Linux 6 Server' wich is pretty good in my opnion, as it covers many aspects from isntalling linux to using default commands, (the most used cmds are classed), setting up and administering apache, bind, smtp&pop4, Telnet&ssh, firewall, basic security, optimization, etc.

I also found som good linux doc at http://www.linux.com, they are in html, doc or pdf format... and they are free & well written.

I especially recommend 'Securing Optimizing Linux RH edition', a book dedicated to show you how to optimize your Red Hat server and drain every little drop of power, squeeze it to what it really can produce and make it as safe as you can do it without being a security expert. A big A+
<edited>direct url: http://openna.com/books/Securing-Optimizing-Linux-RH-Edition-1_3.pdf </edited>

Note: The 2 mentionned books are found at amazon.com


[Edited by Félix C.Courtemanche on 09-15-2000 at 08:46 PM]