The fourth edition of 'Unix Unleashed' will take a different tack from previous editions and other Unix books: It is readable as though it is a series of lectures on individual topics from Unix Wizards. This different approach will take the reader through the following topics:

• Basic operation of the system and system administration in its simplest form: managing users and disks, starting up and shutting down the system, authenticating user connections, and administering the X Window System.

• Common subsystems - the typical day-to-day tasks of system administration: sharing files, providing basic web services, printing, e-mail, and backing up the system.

• The Unix toolset to make system administration more reliable and more powerful, and to administer more complex and important systems running on top of Unix.

• System administration as a profession: much work needs to be done not to do the job in a purely technical sense but in a practical, real-world sense.