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diff --git a/content-org/blog.org b/content-org/blog.org index e196f3f..4eb94d3 100644 --- a/content-org/blog.org +++ b/content-org/blog.org @@ -7,10 +7,103 @@ #+HUGO_WEIGHT: auto #+HUGO_SECTION: blog -* 2024 [25/25] :@blog: +* 2024 [26/26] :@blog: :PROPERTIES: :EXPORT_HUGO_SECTION: blog/2024 :END: +** DONE Absolute FreeBSD +CLOSED: [2024-03-28 Thu 22:08] +:PROPERTIES: +:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: absolute-freebsd +:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER: abstract The ultimate guide to FreeBSD +:EXPORT_HUGO_PAIRED_SHORTCODES: img-r +:END: + +I may have been a BSD devotee for almost year, but I have close to zero knowledge about it. +I get by, I see the benefits, but it's all surface level. +It was the same when it came to Linux - I can /use/ Linux, but I don't /know/ Linux. + +Absolute FreeBSD is a Tour de France of FreeBSD. +You get to know how the OS operates, what tools are provided, and to use it effectively. + +Let's star with the bad as I have two gripes with it. + +#+attr_shortcode: "mwl-absolute-freebsd.jpg" +#+begin_img-r +Cover +#+end_img-r +First, only halfway through MWL informs the reader that it's aimed at /server administrators/. +I am primarily a PC user of FreeBSD, so not all the knowledge is usable. +Counter argument: if you run FreeBSD, out of all other OSes, there is a huge chance that you will want to know it's ins-and-outs. + +The second: this book is partially an advert. +MWL wrote a lot of other books which deepen knowledge one might get from this book - Jails, ZFS and other file systems. +Those are huge subjects and they well deserve a dedicated book each, but even though we have /Absolute/ book here, it is not absolute. +It is especially visible in the chapter about Jails - the reader learns that such things exists, how to use it (on a superficial level) but that's it. +Want to use Jails? +Better get yourself /FreeBSD Mastery: Jails/. + +For the rest of this review let's ignore the /absolute/ claim and look at the book for what it is. +And what is, is nothing short of amazing. + +We start with learning what FreeBSD is, why to use it, and how to install it. +All of those go much deeper than the official /Guide/ go. + +After this brief (if 100 pages can be considered brief) introduction we are thrown at the deepest pits of /FreeBSD/. +We have no idea how to use it, but MWL jumps into the booting process. +It makes sense as not using SystemD is one of the most praised elements of BSDs, but I would have expected learning how to install a program. +Nope! +It' rc time! + +Having read the book in it's entirety, it makes a lot of sense, but when I was reading it, it made little sense. +MWL shows the new administrator how the OS /operates/ before showing how to /operate it/. +To be an effective administrator, one needs to know the /whats/ more than /hows/. +It's much easier to do something, when one has the base knowledge. + +Then we jump to backing up the OS. +Surely, any administrator needs to know how to do it[fn:tarsnap]. +It's one of those things, which are impossible to fix /during/ an outage. + +The next few chapters were especially challenging for me. +Ever tried to recompile a kernel? +Let's learn how to recompile a custom one. +Ever wondered how networking works? +Let's talk about networking in /FreeBSD/. +Want to have a secure system? +Sure you do, there's a chapter for you! +Interested in how the disc is used? +ZFS, UFS and other acronyms? +Here you go! +There's a lot of info on how data becomes 1s and 0s on a disc. +MWL even throws tidbits of historical knowledge, as one may encounter such systems. + +We are now on page 371, the middle point. +The reader proved himself worthy and the plot thickens. +Time to learn how to use the OS! +And we start with a great surprise: in my Linux days, the =/etc= was always a labyrinth of random files. +For /FreeBSD/ we've got an in-depth analysis of everything that the default installation throws there. +And after that we *finally* learn how to install Firefox in a chapter called "Making Your System Useful". +After that we're wrapping up with upgrading system and erratas plus advanced topics for specific installs - like email send-out or DHCP. +We end with the (aforementioned) Jails and information about how to engage with the community and involve yourself with FreeBSD development. + +Is /Absolute FreeBSD/ and absolute book? +Nope. +That's false advertising. +I'd be pretty angry if the book wasn't as good as it is. +It made FreeBSD the /comfiest/ OS I've ever used. +Nowhere else has a single book gave me enough confidence in my ability of no only not breaking the system, but to fix it. + +Essential read. +I give it a 4.75/5. + +*** Meta +- Read as PDF on Onyx Boox Note Air 2. +- Issues bought from Humble Bundle +- Next up: back to "The C programming language" by K&R. +Wish me luck! + +[fn:tarsnap] You guessed it, There is related a book and it's amazing! Vide [[https://www.tiltedwindmillpress.com/product/tarsnap-mastery-online-backups-for-the-truly-paranoid/][Tarsnap mastery]] + ** DONE Andrzej Sapkowski's Time of Contempt CLOSED: [2024-03-24 Sun 22:27] :PROPERTIES: |