Getting started resources

I'm a windows systems admin looking to branch out into Linux. Both to improve my current position and beef up my skill set. With that said what are some good books to get started?

I'm currently experimenting with Ubuntu, but was wondering what are some of the more popular distros? What is the demand in the marketplace looking for? What books are good?

Thanks!

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sprkymrk

My favorite book on Linux for a Windows admin is the one by Mark Minasi "Linux for Windows Administrators ".
Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Administrators-Minasi-Administrator-Library/dp/0782141196/sr=1-11/qid=1158407770/ref=sr_1_11/103-3320541-1723808?ie=UTF8&s=books

SRTMCSE

sprkymrk wrote:

My favorite book on Linux for a Windows admin is the one by Mark Minasi "Linux for Windows Administrators ".
Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Administrators-Minasi-Administrator-Library/dp/0782141196/sr=1-11/qid=1158407770/ref=sr_1_11/103-3320541-1723808?ie=UTF8&s=books

Haha, that would've been a simple amazon search. Thanks, I'll give it a look see!

Slowhand

I recently passed my Linux+ using the TestOut Linux+ training course. The instructor in the videos is a hard-boiled Linux/Unix admin, but he is very much in favor of relating a lot of topics to "how you would do it in Windows". That's not to say he references everything this way, but he did a good job of helping me understand how a lot of topics related to what I already knew from my MCSA experience, as well as teaching everything in a very concise and clear manner.

http://www.testout.com/linuxplus/index.htm

Aside from that, I used the Sybex Linux+ book, and am currently reading O'Reilly's "LPIC In A Nutshell" book, both of which are excellent.

Slowhand

As far as what distros are "best". . . I'd say that learning Debian, Red Hat, and Slackware should cover every type of distro flavor. However, in most cases, I see Red Hat and SuSE as the big industry players, and I would definately recommend getting familiar with these guys, even if it's Fedora and OpenSuSE.org.

Aside from that, Solaris and BSD are pretty heavily used in corporate environments, (not Linux, but still related,) so I'd get familiar with them, too.

mgmguy1

I love useing Sabayon, It's based off Gentoo.

Slowhand

mgmguy1 wrote:

I love useing Sabayon, It's based off Gentoo.

Gentoo and the like are good distros, and I like them. I would, however, recommend for anyone studying for the Linux+ or LPI tests to study up on Debian, the OS that Gentoo is based on. Debian, Red Hat, and Slackware are all specifically asked about on some of these tests, and are considered by CompTIA and LPI as the "base distros" in the Linux world. In most cases, it's questions on the package managers, and there will be a few points on "how is Debian/Red Hat/Slackware similar/different from Unix on this particular issue?" that you'll come across.