Automating System Administration with Perl - Tools to Make You More Efficient

If you do systems administration work of any kind, you have to deal with the growing complexity of your environment and increasing demands on your time. Automating System Administration with Perl, Second Edition, not only offers you the right tools for your job, but also suggests the best way to approach specific problems and to securely automate recurring tasks.

Updated and expanded to cover the latest operating systems, technologies, and Perl modules, this edition of the "Otter Book" will help you:

Manage user accounts
Monitor filesystems and processes
Work with configuration files in important formats such as XML and YAML
Administer databases, including MySQL, MS-SQL, and Oracle with DBI
Work with directory services like LDAP and Active Directory
Script email protocols and spam control
Effectively create, handle, and analyze log files
Administer network name and configuration services, including NIS, DNS and DHCP
Maintain, monitor, and map network services, using technologies and tools such as SNMP, nmap, libpcap, GraphViz and RRDtool
Improve filesystem, process, and network security

This edition includes additional appendixes to get you up to speed on technologies such as XML/XPath, LDAP, SNMP, and SQL. With this book in hand and Perl in your toolbox, you can do more with less -- fewer resources, less effort, and far less hassle.

List of contents

Inhaltsverzeichnis
Chapter 1 Introduction
Automation Is a Must
How Perl Can Help You
This Book Will Show You How
What You Need
Some Notes About the Perl Versions Used for This Book
Some Notes About Using Vista with the Code in This Book
Locating and Installing Modules
It s Not Easy Being Omnipotent
References for More Information
Chapter 2 Filesystems
Perl to the Rescue
Filesystem Differences
Walking or Traversing the Filesystem by Hand
Walking the Filesystem Using the File::Find Module Walking the Filesystem Using the File::Find::Rule Module
Manipulating Disk Quotas
Editing NTFS Quotas Under Windows
Querying Filesystem Usage
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 3 User Accounts
Unix User Identities
Windows-Based Operating System User Identities
Building an Account System to Manage Users
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 4 User Activity
Process Management
File and Network Operations
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 5 TCP/IP Name and Configuration
Services
Host Files
NIS, NIS+, and WINS
Domain Name Service (DNS)
DHCP
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 6 Working with Configuration Files
Configuration File Formats
All-in-One Modules
Advanced Configuration Storage Mechanisms
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 7 SQL Database Administration
Interacting with a SQL Server from Perl
Using the DBI Framework
Using ODBC from Within DBI
Server Documentation
Database Logins
Monitoring Space Usage on a Database Server
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 8 Email
Sending Mail
Common Mistakes in Sending Email
Fetching Mail
Processing Mail
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 9 Directory Services
What s a Directory?
Finger: A Simple Directory Service
The WHOIS Directory Service
LDAP: A Sophisticated Directory Service
Active Directory Service Interfaces
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 10 Log Files
Reading Text Logs
Reading Binary Log Files
Structure of Log File Data
Dealing with Log File Information
Writing Your Own Log Files
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 11 Security
Noticing Unexpected or Unauthorized Changes
Noticing Suspicious Activities
Danger on the Wire, or Perl Saves the Day
Preventing Suspicious Activities
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 12 SNMP
Using SNMP from Perl
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 13 Network Mapping and Monitoring
Network Mapping
Presenting the Information
Monitoring Frameworks
What s Left?
Module Information for This Chapter
References for More Information
Chapter 14 Experiential Learning
Playing with Timelines
Playing with Geocoding
Playing with an MP3 Collection
One Final Exploration
Remember to Play
Module Information for This Chapter
Source Material for This Chapter
Appendix The Eight-Minute XML Tutorial
XML Is a Markup Language
XML Is Picky
Two Key XML Terms
Leftovers
References for More Information
Appendix The 10-Minute XPath Tutorial
XPath Basic Concepts
References for More Information
Appendix The 10-Minute LDAP Tutorial
LDAP Data Organization
Appendix The 15-Minute SQL Tutorial
Creating/Deleting Databases and Tables
Inserting Data into a Table
Querying Information
Changing Table Information
Relating Tables to Each Other
SQL Stragglers
Appendix The Five-Minute RCS Tutorial
References for More Information
Appendix The Two-Minute VBScript-to-Perl Tutorial
Translation Tactics
References for More Information
Appendix The 20-Minute SNMP Tutorial
SNMP in Practice
Colophon

About the author

David N. Blank-Edelman is the Director of Technology at the Northeastern University College of Computer and Information Science and the author of the O'Reilly book Perl for System Administration (with a second edition due out very soon). He has spent the last 24+ years as a system/network administrator in large multi- platform environments, including Brandeis University, Cambridge Technology Group, and the MIT Media Laboratory. He was the program chair of the LISA 2005 conference and one of the LISA 2006 Invited Talks co-chairs.

Summary

Covering operating systems, technologies, and Perl modules, this title helps you: manage user accounts; monitor filesystems and processes; work with configuration files in important formats such as XML and YAML; administer databases, including MySQL, MS-SQL, and Oracle with DBI; and, work with directory services like LDAP and Active Directory.

Product details

• Authors: David N Blank?edelman, David Blank-Edelman, David N. Blank-Edelman, David N Blank–edelman
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 17.06.2009
• EAN: 9780596006396
• ISBN: 978-0-596-00639-6
• No. of pages: 526
• Weight: 880 g
• Series: OREILLY
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > IT, data processing > IT; Programmier- und Skriptsprachen, allgemein, Programming and scripting languages: general, LDAP, Windows XP, Active Directory, log files, sysadmin