Superior application performance is more crucial than ever—and in today’s complex production environments, it’s tougher to ensure, too. If you use Linux, you have extraordinary advantages: complete source code access, plus an exceptional array of optimization tools. But the tools are scattered across the Internet. Many are poorly documented. And few experts know how to use them together to solve real problems. Now, one of those experts has written the definitive Linux tuning primer for every professional: Optimizing Linux® Performance.

Renowned Linux benchmarking specialist Phillip Ezolt introduces each of today’s most important Linux optimization tools, showing how they fit into a proven methodology for perfecting overall application performance. Using realistic examples, Ezolt shows developers how to pinpoint exact lines of source code that are impacting performance. He teaches sysadmins and application developers how to rapidly drill down to specific bottlenecks, so they can implement solutions more quickly.

Linux, like all Unix variants, was built for networking above all. As a result, its networking features are flexible and reliable–and daunting to Linux newcomers who aren’t familiar enough with terms and concepts even to know what to look for in the documentation. Bryan Pfaffenberger does a service to people new to Linux networking with Linux Networking Clearly Explained, an assume-nothing guide to local area networks (LANs) and Internet connectivity under the open-source operating system. Pfaffenberger shows how to do everything–file sharing, printer sharing, inter-machine backups, and Internet connection sharing–that most home and office computer users want to do with their LANs. He explains how Linux fits into an environment of diverse equipment, showing how to make Linux machines talk to Mac OS units and Windows computers.

This book is an easy-to-read guide to using IPCop in a variety of different roles within the network. The book is written in a very friendly style that makes this complex topic easy and a joy to read. It first covers basic IPCop concepts, then moves to introduce basic IPCop configurations, before covering advanced uses of IPCop. This book is for both experienced and new IPCop users. IPCop is a powerful, open source, Linux based firewall distribution for primarily Small Office Or Home (SOHO) networks, although it can be used in larger networks. It provides most of the features that you would expect a modern firewall to have, and what is most important is that it sets this all up for you in a highly automated and simplified way. This book is an easy introduction to this popular application. After introducing and explaining the foundations of firewalling and networking and why they’re important, the book moves on to cover using IPCop, from installing it, through configuring it, to more advanced features, such as configuring IPCop to work as an IDS, VPN and using it for bandwidth management. While providing necessary theoretical background, the book takes a practical approach, presenting sample configurations for home users, small businesses, and large businesses.

This cookbook contains ready-to-use hacks to solve problems Vim users encounter daily, from personalizing Vim to optimizations that boost productivity. It does not cover basic use of the editor but focuses on making life easier for experienced Vim users. Vim is a highly configurable, open-source, multi-platform text editor that is included as standard in most Linux distributions. It can edit code in any language, has a scripting language that allows extensions to its functionality, and is editor of choice for many programmers. This book is up to date with the new features in Vim 7.0. Chapters cover: changing the appearance of the Vim editor; improved file and buffer navigation; using templates, auto-completion, folding, sessions, and registers; formatting text and code and using external formatting scripts; Vim scripts and scripting. Each recipe has a self-contained description of the task it covers, how to use it, the benefits of using it, and compatibility with earlier versions of Vim.

Ubuntu Linux is a state-of-the-art operating system, and you need a book that’s just as advanced. Along with being the most comprehensive reference to installing, configuring, and working with Ubuntu, A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux® also provides extensive server coverage you won’t find in any other Ubuntu book.

Best-selling author Mark Sobell begins by walking you through every feature and technique you need to know, from installing Ubuntu–using the DVD included with the book–to working with GNOME, Samba, exim4, Apache, DNS, NIS, firestarter, and iptables. Sobell’s exceptionally clear explanations demystify everything from system security to Windows file/printer sharing.