[ Thanks to Carlie
for this link. ]
“I liked the book in my previous review because it was field
stripped, no-nonsense and to-the-point. I like this one for a
different reason: it’s chatty. Yes, it does its stated job
very well, and it can be followed to set up all parts of a FreeBSD
install (the inclusion of a FreeBSD 4.2 CD is a nice touch). I like
particularly the fact that its “How to Install FreeBSD” chapter
assumes the worst case scenario in every step, instead of some
Linux material I’ve seen that assumes that the RedHat install will
just smoothly work 100% of the time and never give Signal 11
messages. It also provides useful and educational troubleshooting
sections to accompany the various how-to sections. However, it will
occasionally explain how to do a same thing or related thing in
Windows or some operating system. Some of you might be scratching
your heads as to why this exists, but remember, it assumes a
heterogeneous environment and/or a corporate one that’ll have
Windows, OS/2, Novell etc. kicking around. It also gives a lot of
very cool “what to do if” paragraphs that explain how/why things
can go wrong. I was pleasantly surprised, for example, to see a
section on how to convert your usernames and passwords from Solaris
to FreeBSD, so you can just port them all over if/when doing a
migration. Very nice.”
“I may not feel completely 100% comfortable starting or
converting my own corporate network with FreeBSD with this book,
but I feel FAR more comfortable with this book, and going and
checking out the web links and RFCs he mentions in the text in
appropriate places than I would if I had a really technical book
that described the ins and outs of FreeBSD to a T. Because with
this book, I have a “big picture” view of what I’m doing explained
well, interspersed with thought-out detailed descriptions of
completing various tasks, and a clue as to where to go and look if
I get stumped with the book that’s in my hands. I’ve not felt that
in a long time. There’s even a controversial chapter on FreeBSD
advocacy. I was surprised at it when I saw it in the Contents page,
but it was maturely written, and obviously designed to assist the
manager or technologist in making a case for FreeBSD Vs some other
solution. It was maturely written and did not slander any other
technology, arguing that there is a place for everything.”