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"This book works in tandem with the OpenBSD's manual pages. As a result, it will help many users grow and get the most from the system."—Theo de Raadt, OpenBSD project leader.
"The OpenBSD system intimidates many administrators who would benefit from using it. This book lets people start much higher up on the curve. Secure Architectures with OpenBSD not only presents the hows, but also shows some of the whys that only insiders know."—Mike Frantzen, NFR Security
"Secure Architectures with OpenBSD explains all of the tasks an administrator has to know about to successfully maintain an OpenBSD server. It helps the reader save time by condensing the vast amount of information available in man pages into a compact form, reducing unneeded information, and explaining other things in much more detail and prose than a man page can afford."—Daniel Hartmeier, the OpenBSD Project
"This book will become the de facto text for OpenBSD administration. Unix and BSD books abound, but none cover OpenBSD with the clarity and expertise of Palmer and Nazario. They explain the optimal way to configure and administer your OpenBSD machines, with a keen eye to security at all stages."—Brian Hatch, coauthor of Hacking Exposed Linux and Building Linux Virtual Private Networks
Descended from BSD, OpenBSD is a popular choice for those who demand stability and security from their operating system. No code goes into OpenBSD without first undergoing a rigorous security check, making it a terrific choice for Web servers, VPNs, and firewalls.
Secure Architectures with OpenBSD is the insider's guide to building secure systems using OpenBSD. Written by Brandon Palmer and Jose Nazario, this book is a how-to for system and network administrators who need to move to a more secure operating system and a reference for seasoned OpenBSD users who want to fully exploit every feature of the system.
After getting readers started with OpenBSD, the authors explain system configuration and administration, then explore more exotic hardware and advanced topics. Every chapter of the book addresses the issue of security because security is integrated into almost every facet of OpenBSD. Examples appear throughout the book, and the authors provide source code and system details unavailable anywhere else. This goes well beyond the basics and gives readers information they will need long after they have installed the system.
Key topic coverage includes:Secure Architectures with OpenBSD takes you inside OpenBSD, giving you the insights and expertise no system manual can provide. The companion Web site tracks advances and changes made to the operating system, and it contains updates to the book and working code samples.
"This book works in tandem with the OpenBSD's manual pages. As a result, it will help many users grow and get the most from the system."—Theo de Raadt, OpenBSD project leader.
"The OpenBSD system intimidates many administrators who would benefit from using it. This book lets people start much higher up on the curve. Secure Architectures with OpenBSD not only presents the hows, but also shows some of the whys that only insiders know."—Mike Frantzen, NFR Security
"Secure Architectures with OpenBSD explains all of the tasks an administrator has to know about to successfully maintain an OpenBSD server. It helps the reader save time by condensing the vast amount of information available in man pages into a compact form, reducing unneeded information, and explaining other things in much more detail and prose than a man page can afford."—Daniel Hartmeier, the OpenBSD Project
"This book will become the de facto text for OpenBSD administration. Unix and BSD books abound, but none cover OpenBSD with the clarity and expertise of Palmer and Nazario. They explain the optimal way to configure and administer your OpenBSD machines, with a keen eye to security at all stages."—Brian Hatch, coauthor of Hacking Exposed Linux and Building Linux Virtual Private Networks
Descended from BSD, OpenBSD is a popular choice for those who demand stability and security from their operating system. No code goes into OpenBSD without first undergoing a rigorous security check, making it a terrific choice for Web servers, VPNs, and firewalls.
Secure Architectures with OpenBSD is the insider's guide to building secure systems using OpenBSD. Written by Brandon Palmer and Jose Nazario, this book is a how-to for system and network administrators who need to move to a more secure operating system and a reference for seasoned OpenBSD users who want to fully exploit every feature of the system.
After getting readers started with OpenBSD, the authors explain system configuration and administration, then explore more exotic hardware and advanced topics. Every chapter of the book addresses the issue of security because security is integrated into almost every facet of OpenBSD. Examples appear throughout the book, and the authors provide source code and system details unavailable anywhere else. This goes well beyond the basics and gives readers information they will need long after they have installed the system.
Key topic coverage includes:Secure Architectures with OpenBSD takes you inside OpenBSD, giving you the insights and expertise no system manual can provide. The companion Web site tracks advances and changes made to the operating system, and it contains updates to the book and working code samples.
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The examples given and configuration elements explained have helped lead me on to further information and make the logical links between components which I did not see clearly before. This is certainly an excellent book for anyone currently administering or considering deploying OpenBSD servers. It covers setting up mail servers, DNS, NFS - in fact, armed with this book, most technical people could probably have a central infrastructure running in a few days.
After reading this book for four days I felt confident enough to begin configuring many of the services. In the last 48 hours I have setup DNS, mail and NFS using the clear and precise instructions & examples from this book - And the great thing is, I know WHY it is done that way. This book, together with the OpenBSD project's manual pages and "Absolute OpenBSD" by M. Lucas have given me the confidence I need to prepare and deploy systems which are secure and reliable.
This is simply a great book which every new and experienced OpenBSD admin should read.
The authors and Addison Wesley are to be congratulated for the fantastic layout, the "code" examples stand out, they are pithy and illustrate the point. The one exception to that is the IPsec VPN chapter. Also, it is really easy reading for such a bone breakingly technical book.
I particularly enjoyed the PF chapter, it is a first rate treatment of firewalling, covers the bases nicely. The backup chapter is also well done, but I would argue more strongly on behalf of level 0 (full) backups. It is a an important enough concept to get more than a sentence. The introduction to systrace was wonderful. I am not sure covering snort in 7 pages is a good idea, but the fundamentals are there. I know covering apache in 9 pages is asking for trouble since it tends to be internet reachable.
If you are looking for a platform with better networking capability than Linux, or if you are already running OpenBSD in anything other than a purely hobbyist fashion, you should strongly consider this book.
- at first glance the title may lead you to believe it's about securing OpenBSD - it's not. It is about using an inherently secure operating system, OpenBSD, to its best advantage.
- you will need to be an experienced UNIX or Linux (or ideally OpenBSD) system admin to get the most out of the content.
- it is intended to be used in conjunction with OpenBSD man pages; as noted by another reviewer this book aggregates a lot of OpenBSD documentation, making it a convenient reference.
Because OpenBSD is more than a little different from other *NIX variants, and because it is cantankerous with respect to installation and configuration, the material in this book will save a lot of time and reduce the learning curve for anyone migrating to the OpenBSD environment. Reasons for this migration include the enhanced security by default and the inherent stability of this operating system.
Chapters 3, 4 and 5 are good places to start to get up-to-speed in OpenBSD because they thoroughly cover installation, basic use (especially with respect to the not-so-standard filesystem layout), and basic default services. All of Section II is essential reading for those new to OpenBSD. Among the topics covered are user admin (almost identical to other *NIX variants), pre-compiled third party software packages (unique to OpenBSD, especially with respect to ports tree), and other administrative tasks and operations. Section III, advanced features, is also essential and will greatly reduce the learning curve.
Overall this is an exceptionally well-written book that covers everything you need to know about OpenBSD from installation, and administration maintenance perspectives.
My favorite aspect of SAWO is its coverage of the internal workings of certain aspects of OpenBSD. Ch 4 features an enlightening walk-through of the /etc/rc script. Ch 13 not only describes how to use the ports tree, it explains how that system of software installation works. In some cases the authors reach beyond subjects strictly associated with OpenBSD, such as compilers (ch 21) and CVS (appendix A and elsewhere). As OpenBSD relies heavily on widely-used open source tools for standard administration, I welcome these discussions.
I also congratulate the authors' decision to focus on practical aspects of OpenBSD administration or functionality. Ch 3 gives installation advice for non-i386 hardware users. Ch 17 explains how to enable STARTTLS. Ch 22 shows why Pf is superior to many or most commercial firewalls. Some of the material can even be applied to the other BSDs, like the coverage of mergemaster in ch 31 or the advice on using IPv6 in tandem with IPv4 in ch 28.
I only have a few critiques of SAWO. Ch 27 (VPNs) was a little terse and hard to follow. I didn't think the authors needed to address applications like Snort (ch 30), when entire best-selling books are written about that very topic. I did not see a single diagram in the whole book. A picture speaks a thousand words, especially when explaining IPSec modes!
The second edition of SAWO will have plenty to add, including coverage of spamd, Common Address Redundancy Protocol (CARP), and pfsync. I suggest BSD users of all types take a close look at SAWO and consider supporting the OpenBSD project by purchasing books like this and official OpenBSD CDs.
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