How Linux Works

Best-selling guide to the inner workings of the Linux operating system with over 50,000 copies sold since its release in 2014. This in-depth guide to the various components of a Linux system covers topics like how the system boots, how networking works, and what the Linux kernel actually does.

The Linux operating system is the power behind Android, Chromebooks, web servers, and the public cloud. It's impossible to know for sure, but there may well be over 60 million Linux users in the world. Developers and system maintainers need to understand how Linux works in order to use it effectively and fix it when it breaks. In this third edition of the best-selling How Linux Works, author Brian Ward peels back the layers of this well-loved operating system to make Linux internals accessible. You learn how Linux boots, how the kernel manages devices and device drivers, and how processes, networking, interfaces, firewalls, and servers work. You also learn how Linux-based development tools work, how to use shared libraries, and how to write effective shell scripts. This edition has been thoroughly updated and expanded with added coverage of Logical Volume Manager (LVM), virtualization, and containers.