About This Guide

This guide is intended for use by professional network and system administrators during the operation of SUSE® Linux Enterprise. As such, it is solely concerned with ensuring that SUSE Linux Enterprise is properly configured and that the required services on the network are available to allow it to function properly as initially installed. This guide does not cover the process of ensuring that SUSE Linux Enterprise offers proper compatibility with your enterprise's application software or that its core functionality meets those requirements. It assumes that a full requirements audit has been done and the installation has been requested or that a test installation, for the purpose of such an audit, has been requested.

This guide contains the following:

Administration

SUSE Linux Enterprise offers a wide range of tools to customize various aspects of the system. This part introduces a few of them. A breakdown of available device technologies, high availability configurations, and advanced administration possibilities introduces the system to the administrator.

System

Learn more about the underlying operating system by studying this part. SUSE Linux Enterprise supports a number of hardware architectures and you can use this to adapt your own applications to run on SUSE Linux Enterprise. The boot loader and boot procedure information assists you in understanding how your Linux system works and how your own custom scripts and applications may blend in with it.

Mobile Computing

Laptops, and the communication between mobile devices like PDAs, or cellular phones and SUSE Linux Enterprise need some special attention. Take care for power conservation and for the integration of different devices into a changing network environment. Also get in touch with the background technologies that provide the needed functionality.

Services

SUSE Linux Enterprise is designed to be a network operating system. It offers a wide range of network services, such as DNS, DHCP, Web, proxy, and authentication services, and integrates well into heterogeneous environments including MS Windows clients and servers.

Many chapters in this manual contain links to additional documentation resources. This includes additional documentation that is available on the system as well as documentation available on the Internet.

For an overview of the documentation available for your product and the latest documentation updates, refer to http://www.novell.com/documentation.

1. Available Documentation

We provide HTML and PDF versions of our books in different languages. The following manuals for users and administrators are available on this product:

Deployment Guide (↑Deployment Guide)

Shows how to install single or multiple systems and how to exploit the product inherent capabilities for a deployment infrastructure. Choose from various approaches, ranging from a local installation or a network installation server to a mass deployment using a remote-controlled, highly-customized, and automated installation technique.

Administration Guide

Covers system administration tasks like maintaining, monitoring and customizing an initially installed system.

Security Guide (↑Security Guide)

Introduces basic concepts of system security, covering both local and network security aspects. Shows how to make use of the product inherent security software like Novell AppArmor (which lets you specify per program which files the program may read, write, and execute) or the auditing system that reliably collects information about any security-relevant events.

System Analysis and Tuning Guide (↑System Analysis and Tuning Guide)

An administrator's guide for problem detection, resolution and optimization. Find how to inspect and optimize your system by means of monitoring tools and how to efficiently manage resources. Also contains an overview of common problems and solutions and of additional help and documentation resources.

Virtualization with Xen (↑Virtualization with Xen)

Offers an introduction to virtualization technology of your product. It features an overview of the various fields of application and installation types of each of the platforms supported by SUSE Linux Enterprise Server as well as a short description of the installation procedure.

Storage Administration Guide

Provides information about how to manage storage devices on a SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

In addition to the comprehensive manuals, several quick start guides are available:

Installation Quick Start (↑Quick Start Manuals)

Lists the system requirements and guides you step-by-step through the installation of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from DVD, or from an ISO image.

Linux Audit Quick Start

Gives a short overview how to enable and configure the auditing system and how to execute key tasks such as setting up audit rules, generating reports, and analyzing the log files.

Novell AppArmor Quick Start

Helps you understand the main concepts behind Novell® AppArmor.

Find HTML versions of most product manuals in your installed system under /usr/share/doc/manual or in the help centers of your desktop. Find the latest documentation updates at http://www.novell.com/documentation where you can download PDF or HTML versions of the manuals for your product.

2. Feedback

Several feedback channels are available:

Bugs and Enhancement Requests

For services and support options available for your product, refer to http://www.novell.com/services/.

To report bugs for a product component, please use http://support.novell.com/additional/bugreport.html.

Submit enhancement requests at https://secure-www.novell.com/rms/rmsTool?action=ReqActions.viewAddPage&return=www.

User Comments

We want to hear your comments and suggestions about this manual and the other documentation included with this product. Use the User Comments feature at the bottom of each page in the online documentation or go to http://www.novell.com/documentation/feedback.html and enter your comments there.

3. Documentation Conventions

The following typographical conventions are used in this manual:

  • /etc/passwd: directory names and filenames

  • placeholder: replace placeholder with the actual value

  • PATH: the environment variable PATH

  • ls, --help: commands, options, and parameters

  • user: users or groups

  • Alt, Alt+F1: a key to press or a key combination; keys are shown in uppercase as on a keyboard

  • File, File+Save As: menu items, buttons

  • ►amd64 em64t ipf: This paragraph is only relevant for the specified architectures. The arrows mark the beginning and the end of the text block.

    ►ipseries zseries: This paragraph is only relevant for the specified architectures. The arrows mark the beginning and the end of the text block.

  • Dancing Penguins (Chapter Penguins, ↑Another Manual): This is a reference to a chapter in another manual.