Recommended Unix Sysadmin books

2008-01-01 00:00:00

When getting certified, one of the most important tools are your cram sessions. With books.. You know: dead trees? treeware? those big leafy things which you read?... But you gotta know which ones are good and which ones to avoid like the plague.

Sun Solaris SCSA 1 and 2

"Exam cram: Solaris 8 System Administrator" ~ Darrell L. Ambro, Coriolis press

478 pages, comes with seperate cram sheet with "everything you need to know for the exam".



Avoid this one. This is the book it bought at first as it got some good reviews at Amazon.com. It was also the one that I tried getting through three times over *ugh* Honestly, the book is written in a very dull style but worst of all: it really isn't that much of a cram book since the author misses almost all of the important stuff for the exams. Way too little detail, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but the starting Solaris sysadmin who needs to find a start.

"Solaris: Sun Certified System Administrator for Solaris 8.0 study guide" ~ Global Knowledge, Osborne McGraw-Hill

892 pages, comes with CD containing practice exams and a digital copy of the book.



Now _this_ is what I'm talking about! My colleague Martijn recommended this book and it really _does_ cover everything you need to know to ace the exame, plus a little more. The authors don't brush over any subject and take on each and every topic in detail. Yes, it's a big book and it may take you a while to get through it, but it's worth it. The exames included on the CD are a bit dodgy and are only good for one, maybe two attempts. In any case I recommend that you go out and get an account for a trial exame site.

Sun SCNA (TCP/IP Network admin)

"Sun certified network administrator for Solaris 8 study guide" ~ Rick Bushnell, Sun Microsystems Press

462 pages, no extras



Martijn also tipped me off about this book; apparently he aced the test with this book. I have to admit that the book _does_ take its time in explaining everything to you and that Rick doesn't leave out any details. I have to warn you though that the author also made a couple of mistakes, that he likes repetition (sometimes a little too much) and that at times he underestimates the exame (tells you that you don't need to know what he's about to explain, when you do). All in all a good book, but I'm not too crazy about it.


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