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Start:   Linux Newbie Administrator Guide
Part 0: For the Undecided (Linux Benefits)
Part 1: Before Linux Installation
Part 2: >Linux Resources, Help and Some Links<
Part 3: Basic Operations FAQ
Part 4: Linux Newbie Administrator FAQ
Part 5. Learning with Linux
Part 6: How to Upgrade the Kernel
Part 7: Linux Shortcuts and Commands
Part 8: Essential Linux applications (proprietary or not)

Contents of this page:

2. Linux Resources, Help and Some Links

2.1 Any Linux reading materials?
2.2 Is there a help command?
2.3 Newsgroups
2.4 Linux Internet links

2. Linux Resources, Help and Some Links
 

2.1 Any Linux reading materials?

The RedHat Linux distribution CD contains lots of documentation. Part of it is in html format and part in plain text format. You can read it all from under DOS or MS Windows before you install Linux.

For example, a soft-copy of the RedHat manual can be viewed with any MS Windows-based html browser, e.g. Netscape for Windows or MS Internet Explorer. Just access the file D:\doc\rhmanual\manual\index.htm. (assuming your CDROM is the drive D under MS Windows). Also check the directory \doc\LDP for the excellent Linux Documentation Project manuals. For example, you can browse the Linux System Administrators' Guide by accessing the file \doc\LDP\sag\sag.html with your favorite html browser.

Also, check the directory \doc\HOWTO for the HOWTO documents, the directory \doc\HOWTO\mini for the MINIHOWTOs and the directory \doc\FAQ for a set of FAQs on different topics (FAQ="frequently asked questions"). For example, these commands will let you read the Linux-FAQ document (plain-text format) from under DOS:

D:

cd \doc\FAQ\txt

edit Linux-FAQ

Under Linux, you can read the same documentation from the CD using, for example, this command:

lynx /mnt/cdrom/doc/rhmanual/manual/index.htm

This will start lynx, a simple text-mode html browser, to view the RedHat manual. Please note that under Linux, the CD must be mounted first, and the example above assumes that the mountpoint is the directory /mnt/cdrom/. You can also use Netscape for Linux, StarOffice or any other html browser to view the RedHat manual and other documentation in the html format. You can read plain-text documents from the CD under Linux using, for example, these commands:

cd /mnt/cdrom/doc/FAQ/txt/

less Linux-FAQ

(The less command lets you scroll through the contents of a text file.)

After installing linux, the documentation, whatever part of it you installed,  is in the directory /usr/doc/ . If you didn't install the documentation, consider installing everything now, it may be worth it. For example the directory /usr/doc/LDP contains the Linux Documentation Project manuals. These commands will let you browse the Linux System Administrators' Guide:

cd /usr/doc/LDP/sag
lynx sag.html

Also, check /usr/doc/HOWTO for the HOWTO documents, and /usr/doc/HOWTO/mini for the MINIHOWTOs.

For more or updated documentation, see http://metalab.unc.edu/mdw/index.html#guide.

2.2 Is there a help command?

Most Linux commands can be run with the "--help" option. For example, this command will give you a concise help on the Linux cp (copy) command:

cp --help | less

More extensive info is accessed from the command line using the so-called manual pages man topic . For example:

man cp

will display the manual page for the "cp" (copy) command. The manual pages are the standard "help" system under Linux, and contain wealth of detailed, technical information, but typically require an effort to be understood by a newbie.

The man command uses a simple utility called less that lets you scroll through a text. Use arrows to scroll, press "q" to quit. Actually, less can do more than this. Press "h" for help when running less , or learn more about less using the command

man less

There is also the info command info topic . For example:

info cp

will give you the help for the "cp" (copy) command. Often info contains information similar to man, but more up-to-date. Unfortunately, the info navigating utility is not very intuitive, so I use man pages more often.

If you don't remember exactly the name of the command that you need to use, try apropos. For example, to obtain a list of commands which have something to do with "copy", I execute this from the command line:

apropos copy

In some menu driven programs, most notably under setup when browsing the system services, you may press F1 for info what the particular service does.

The kde windows manager includes a GUI-based "help browser", which can be started by clicking the "book with a light" icon on the Kpanel. This browser can be used to access the kde-specific help as well as the system manual pages. The Gnome desktop contains a similar help system.

If you want to learn about the many packages that come on your CDs in rpm format, you may want to use the GUI-based glint (type glint in an X-terminal) to browse through the packages, display the info that they contain, and install them if you wish (the installation has to be done as root). Under RH6.0, the glint program is substituted with gnorpm , which is much faster, but also harder to use. RedHat 6.1 contains kpackage which is the best of the three utilities.

2.3 Newsgroups

These can be a intimidating place to be--the world's strangest wackos seem to be all represented in the newsgroups. I just choose to ignore the stupid or offensive postings or e-mails. For the malicious ones, I make an exception and inform the system administrator at their originating e-mail provider. Advertisements which I receive after posting to a newsgroup get deleted before reading--I know I am not the only one doing this, so please mark your subject line clearly if you want your e-mail to be read, particularly if your e-mail address contains the string "aol".  Despite their drawbacks, newsgroups can be an efficient way of accessing the information you need.

Before going to the newsgroups, I would highly recommend DejaNews (http://www.dejanews.com/home_ps.shtml).  This is a huge archive of newsgroup postings and you can search it using nice search tools. This way, you can often find an answer to your question without going through tons of trash, and without exposing yourself to anger after posting a question which "was already asked ten times this week". You may be surprised by the amount of information available through Dejanews.

There are several newsgroups devoted to Linux and they seem much better than other newsgroups (maybe they are better policed by the Linux experts?). Here is a short list:
news:comp.os.linux.announce  (moderated--the postings are done by a moderator, who reviews them prior to the posting. Inspect the footer of any message for info how to post.)
news:comp.os.linux.help
news:comp.os.linux.setup
news:comp.os.linux.misc  (miscellaneous)
news:comp.os.linux.advocacy  (Use this one for discussion of pros and cons of Linux and perhaps a comparison of Linux with other operating systems. This is an excellent newsgroup if you like getting into endless arguments).
news:alt.linux.sux  (Here you can read/write really all opinions on Linux.)
news:comp.os.linux.networking
news:comp.os.linux.x (X-windows)
news:comp.os.unix  (general UNIX newsgroup)

Please note that there is a newsgroup etiquette ("netiquette"), and you risk rejection and perhaps expose yourself to flames if you choose to break it. The major points:
- don't post on a topic that is unrelated to the subject of the newsgroup;
- don't post to many newsgroups at the same time (cross-post);
- use plain ASCII, don't post attachments, pictures, html, etc.;
- don't advertise (particularly commercial products).

Useful abbreviations/acronyms:

Here are some abbreviation/acronmyms used frequently on icq and not found in a standard Webster dictionary:

Please mail me if you know of other interesting abbreviations that a Linux administrator ought to know :-)

2.4 Any Linux Internet links?

There are surely thousands of Internet sites devoted to Linux. Here are some Linux links which I like, in no particular order. If you need something else, you should find a useful pointer on one of these pages.

 

http://sunsite.auc.dk/linux-newbie/	Master site for this document (LNAG). Bookmark it.
http://www.kalug.lug.net/linux-admin-FAQ/	Linux Admin FAQ (the non-Newbie).
http://members.aa.net/~swear/pedia/learning-linux.html	Gary's Encyclopedia--Learning Linux. Bookmark it.
http://jgo.local.net/LinuxGuide/	Josh homepage. Good resource for learning Linux.
http://www.control-escape.com/	This site seems good for newbies!
http://qlink.queensu.ca/~3srf/linux-admin/	Linux administration made easy (LAME). "All new and improved" (Apr. 99). Recommended.
http://metalab.unc.edu/mdw/index.html#guide	Lots of Linux documentation. Bookmark it.
http://www.slashdot.org/	Discussions for nerd, hackers, gurus, etc. (= /.)
http://www.freshmeat.org/	Update on today's releases of Linux software
http://linuxtoday.com/	Linux news--excellent daily reading. Bookmark it.
http://www.llp.fu-berlin.de/	The Linux Lab Project. Data acquisition etc.
http://www.linuxberg.com/	Linuxberg. Big portal. They have everything there. I like their rating of Linux software and am installing only packages that received 5 penguins ;-) .  Bookmark it.
http://counter.li.org/linuxcounter_eng.html	The Linux counter. Register yourself as a linuxer!
http://www.ap.univie.ac.at/users/havlik/Album/Linux-Counter/	See Dennis Havlik's impressive maps on Linux growth and geographical distribution.
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/iwj10/linux-faq/index.html	Linux FAQ.
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/	Tons of Linux software at the Sunsite archive. Bookmark it.
http://stommel.tamu.edu/~baum/linuxlist/linuxlist/linuxlist.html	Linux applications.
http://www.boutell.com/lsm/	Linux applications.
http://www.linuxlinks.com/Software/	Linux applications.
http://directorysearch.mozilla.org/Computers/Operating_Systems/Linux/	Great new portal (better than yahoo) with excellent links for Linux newbies.
http://dir.yahoo.com/.../Unix/Linux/	Yahoo's entries for Linux.
http://www.debian.org/	Debian Linux site.
http://www.redhat.com/support/docs/hardware.html	Linux hardware compatibility list.
http://metalab.unc.edu/mdw/links.html	Lots of useful Linux links
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~conradp/linux/	Scores of excellent links.
http://www.linuxstart.com/documentation/	More links to Linux documentation.
http://www.linuxlinks.com/	Even more Linux links.
http://www.gnu.org/	Master GNU site (GNU's-Not-Unix. This is a recursive definition).
http://www.redhat.com/	The Red Hat site. It is typically too busy to bother.