Embark on UNIX

www.ora.com is O'Reilly's website. They got their big start publishing Unix books, and continue that tradition. They have expanded the website to include on-line resources for all sorts of areas in IT, including PERL, Unix, Internet networking, etc.Check it out, but I suggest you try to remember your focus.

The best (only?) way to really get to learn Unix is to use it. Try to find a 2nd hand Unix box, with the O/S disks/tapes/CDs, and manuals. You only need a small one. Preferrably, it should be one of the reasonably "generic" Unixes, like AT&T System V ("five"). THE NCR boxes of the late 80's were the closest. If you can find one, it shouldn't cost you much, just don't expect any support.

An alternative is to build a small Intel powered computer and drop SUN Solaris 8 on it. You can pick it up as a free download from SUN's website, or purchase a whole kit cheap directly from them.

There are also, of course, all sorts of versions of Linux available. Linux is arguably just another variation of Unix, so playing with Linux will give you a taste of what Unix can be like.

With any of these, my advice is to stay away from the GUIs and MENU systems, as much as possible. Why? Because if you learn to manage a particular system through the menu system, then you have learned how to use that menu system. But your skills will not translate easily to a different system. On the other hand, if you learn from the command line, then your skills are MUCH MORE transferrable. So from a career perspective, you're much further ahead.

Good Luck.

I suggest visiting www.ugu.com. It is the Unix Guru's Universe, a web site maintained by Unix administrators and book writers. For free, you can register to receive the topic of the day. This does not add you to any Q&A lists, but simply enables you to receive one short email a day with a Unix "how to" hint. The topics are posted by other people that use the web site.

You can find cheap Unix hardware from eBay. Most of the stuff is good, but I recommend buying something that comes with a guarantee against DOA and possibly even a short warranty.

Many Unix Operating systems can install on intel platforms if you choose to go that route for starters. Solaris (Sun) is the most common, but Free BSD is also pretty common. IBM has AIX to run on their risc servers, HP has HP-UX to run on their risc servers and Compaq has Tru64 to run on its Alpha servers. There are many more, but those are the most common.

Typically your purpose for going Unix is the best way to decide whatthe best flavor is. A recent study has gone in depth on usefullness of different Unixes (including recommended hardware) Solaris is the most reliable and has the best security file management (I disagree with the file management part of that), HP has the best support and is the easiest to administer, Tru64 is the most scalable and is the cheapest, AIX is the best for networking, databases and hardware.

I hope all of this helps.

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