Perl for System Administration

Some people plan to become administrators. The rest of us are thrust into it: we are Webmasters, hobbyists, or just the default "technical people" on staff who are expected to keep things running. After some stumbling around repeating the same steps over and over again (and occasionally paying the price when we forget one), we realize that we must automate these tasks, or suffer endless frustration. Thus enters Perl. The Perl programming language lets you write quick yet powerful scripts for automating many administrative tasks. It's modular, it's powerful, and it's perfect for managing systems and services on many platforms. Perl for System Administration is aimed at all levels of administrators--from hobbyists to card-carrying SAGE members-- sysadmins on multi-platform sites. Written for several different platforms (Unix, Windows NT, and MacOS), it leads you through the pockets of administration where Perl can be most useful for sites large and small, including: Filesystem management User administration with a dash of XML DNS and other network name services Database administration using DBI and ODBC Directory services and frameworks like LDAP and ADSI Using email for system administration Working with log files of all kinds Security and network monitoring including SNMP Each chapter concentrates on a single administrative area, discusses the possible pitfalls, and then shows how Perl comes to the rescue. Along the way we encounter interesting Perl features and tricks, with many extended examples and complete programs. You can simply use the scripts included in the book as written or with minimal adaptation. But it's likely you'll also get a taste of what Perl can do, and start extending those scripts for tasks that we haven't dreamed of. Perl for System Adminstration doesn't attempt to teach the Perl language, but it is an excellent introduction to the power and flexibility of Perl, and whets your appetite to learn more. It's for anyone who needs to use Perl for system administration and needs to hit the ground running.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1. Introduction System Administration Is a Craft How Perl Can Help This Book Will Show You How What You Need Locating and Installing Modules It's Not Easy Being Omnipotent References for More Information 2. Filesystems Perl to the Rescue Filesystem Differences Walking or Traversing the Filesystem Walking the Filesystem Using the File::Find Module Manipulating Disk Quotas Querying Filesystem Usage Module Information for This Chapter References for More Information 3. User Accounts Unix User Identity Windows NT/2000 User Identity Building an Account System to Manage Users Module Information for This Chapter References for More Information 4. User Activity MacOS Process Control NT/2000 Process Control Unix Process Control Tracking File and Network Operations Module Information for This Chapter References for More Information 5. TCP/IP Name Services Host Files NIS, NIS+, and WINS Domain Name Service (DNS) Module Information for This Chapter References for More Information 6. Directory Services What's a Directory? Finger: A Simple Directory Service The WHOIS Directory Service LDAP: A Sophisticated Directory Service ADSI (Active Directory Service Interfaces) Module Information for This Chapter References for More Information 7. SQL Database Administration Interacting with an SQL Server from Perl Using the DBI Framework Using the ODBC Framework Server Documentation Database Logins Monitoring Server Health Module Information for This Chapter References for More Information 8. Electronic Mail Sending Mail Common Mistakes in Sending Email Receiving Mail Module Information for This Chapter References for More Information 9. Log Files Text Logs Binary Log Files Stateful and Stateless Data Disk Space Problems Log Analysis Module Information for This Chapter References for More Information 10. Security and Network Monitoring Noticing Unexpected or Unauthorized Changes Noticing Suspicious Activities SNMP Danger on the Wire Preventing Suspicious Activities Module Information for This Chapter References for More Information A. The Five-Minute RCS Tutorial B. The Ten-Minute LDAP Tutorial C. The Eight-Minute XML Tutorial D. The Fifteen-Minute SQL Tutorial E. The Twenty-Minute SNMP Tutorial Index