In this comprehensive guide that details "behind the scenes" tuning secrets and explains many previously undocumented features, there are real-world performance examples that illustrate how widely available tools can be used to troubleshoot and tune an NFS environment.

System Performance Tuning answers one of the most fundamental questions you can ask about your computer: How can I get it to do more work without buying more hardware? In the current economic downturn, performance tuning takes on a new importance. It allows system administrators to make the best use of existing systems and minimize the purchase of new equipment. Well-tuned systems save money and time that would otherwise be wasted dealing with slowdowns and errors. Performance tuning always involves compromises; unless system administrators know what the compromises are, they can't make intelligent decisions.Tuning is an essential skill for system administrators who face the problem of adapting the speed of a computer system to the speed requirements imposed by the real world. It requires a detailed understanding of the inner workings of the computer and its architecture. System Performance Tuning covers two distinct areas: performance tuning, or the art of increasing performance for a specific application, and capacity planning, or deciding what hardware best fulfills a given role. Underpinning both subjects is the science of computer architecture. This book focuses on the operating system, the underlying hardware, and their interactions. Topics covered include: Real and perceived performance problems, introducing capacity planning and performance monitoring (highlighting their strengths and weaknesses). An integrated description of all the major tools at a system administrator's disposal for tracking down system performance problems. Background on modern memory handling techniques, including the memory-caching filesystem implementations in Solaris and AIX. Updated sections on memory conservation and computing memory requirements. In depth discussion of disk interfaces, bandwidth capacity considerations, and RAID systems. Comprehensive discussion of NFS and greatly expanded discussion of networking. Workload management and code tuning. Special topics such as tuning Web servers for various types of content delivery and developments in cross-machine parallel computing For system administrators who want a hands-on introduction to system performance, this is the book to recommend.

A modern computer system that's not part of a network is even more of an anomaly today than it was when we published the first edition of this book in 1991. But however widespread networks have become, managing a network and getting it to perform well can still be a problem.Managing NFS and NIS, in a new edition based on Solaris 8, is a guide to two tools that are absolutely essential to distributed computing environments: the Network Filesystem (NFS) and the Network Information System (formerly called the "yellow pages" or YP).The Network Filesystem, developed by Sun Microsystems, is fundamental to most Unix networks. It lets systems ranging from PCs and Unix workstations to large mainframes access each other's files transparently, and is the standard method for sharing files between different computer systems.As popular as NFS is, it's a "black box" for most users and administrators. Updated for NFS Version 3, Managing NFS and NIS offers detailed access to what's inside, including: How to plan, set up, and debug an NFS network Using the NFS automounter Diskless workstations PC/NFS A new transport protocol for NFS (TCP/IP) New security options (IPSec and Kerberos V5) Diagnostic tools and utilities NFS client and server tuning NFS isn't really complete without its companion, NIS, a distributed database service for managing the most important administrative files, such as the passwd file and the hosts file. NIS centralizes administration of commonly replicated files, allowing a single change to the database rather than requiring changes on every system on the network.If you are managing a network of Unix systems, or are thinking of setting up a Unix network, you can't afford to overlook this book.

One of the original developers of the NFS and WebNFS offers unique insight into these key technologies, for both programmers creating and debugging NFS-based applications and network engineers creating new implementations. Readers can gain a deeper understanding of how network file protocols are designed and learn how NFS is implemented on UNIX, Windows NT, Java and web browsers.

Starts with the basics of Red Hat, the leading Linux distribution in the U.S., such as network planning and Red Hat installation and configuration Offers a close look at the new Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and Fedora Core 4 releases New chapters cover configuring a database server, creating a VNC server, monitoring performance, providing Web services, exploring SELinux security basics, and exploring desktops Demonstrates how to maximize the use of Red Hat Network, upgrade and customize the kernel, install and upgrade software packages, and back up and restore the file system The four CDs contain the full Fedora Core 4 distribution