UNIX and BSD books

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We are now associated with Amazon.com so that you can order some of these books directly from them. Ordering from these "Order from Amazon" links is a way of helping to fund the OpenBSD project.

• OpenBSD-specific books
• BSD-specific books
• Unix user guides
• Unix administration
• Unix programming
• Network administration
• Cryptography

OpenBSD-specific books

Building Linux and OpenBSD Firewalls

by Wes Sonnenreich, Tom Yates.

This book describes the OpenBSD 2.5 installation process and the elementary management of the system firewalling tools.

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BSD-specific books

The Design and Implementation of the 4.4 BSD Operating System

by Marshal Kirk McKusick, Keith Bostic, Michael J. Karels, John S. Quarterman

At 549 pages plus an index, this book must be considered comprehensive. McKusick, Bostic and Karels are well known as prime movers at Berkeley CSRG (Computer Systems Research Group) during the 4.3/4.4BSD period. This book covers the 4.4 and 4.4-Lite releases, and discusses everything you wanted to know about how the system operates. Not 100% applicable, but probably the closest there is to an overall system internals manual for OpenBSD.

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Source Code Secrets: The Basic 386BSD Operating System Reference (Volume 1 of Operating System Source Code Secrets)

by L. W. Jolitz, William Jolitz; 1997

The Jolitzes built the first port of BSD to the PC-386 architecture, and deserve a lot of credit for making BSD portable to this low-cost architecture. The earliest versions, called "386bsd", were described in articles in Dr. Dobbs Journal. This book goes beyond the articles, and provides a comprehensive annotated collection of source code. Not all of it applies to modern versions of OpenBSD, of course, but you can still learn a lot from it.

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Berkeley Unix: A Simple and Comprehensive Guide

by James Wilson

Begins with the basic commands and finishes with advanced programming techniques. Offers strong coverage of systems calls.

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An Introduction to Berkeley Unix and ANSI C

by Jack Hodges

An introduction to the operating system and the programming language. Intended for self-study, requires no previous knowledge of Unix. Covers the fundamentals of programming; the correct use of syntax; programming style, debugging, logic, and system programming with C.

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4.4 BSD User's Reference Manual (URM)

published by O'Reilly, 1994

This is just a reprint of the man pages for users. Your OpenBSD distribution includes the online man pages, which are specific to OpenBSD, and more up-to-date. So you don't need this one: use the man command instead.

4.4 BSD System Manager's Manual (SMM)

published by O'Reilly, 1994

This book details what you need to know to run a BSD system. Quite a bit of this material is relevant to OpenBSD. Unfortunately it is currently out of print. Worse, due to licensing restrictions from AT&T, the electronic editions of these were not included in the 4.4BSD distributions, so most of them are not included with OpenBSD. The few that are may be found via the Documents page.

BSD mit Methode

published by C&L Computer- und Literaturverlag GmbH, 1998

A book in German on all three freenix BSDs covering the essentials of installation, X configuration and system administration, as well as PERL programming and tips on LaTeX/Lyx. The book also covers the KDE desktop environment.
Includes older versions of OpenBSD on the two included CD-ROMs.
Apparently not available through Amazon.com, but Lehmann's Online Bookshop lists it. However, you might want to pick up a more recent version of the CD-ROM.

Unix user guides

Unix Made Easy

by John Muster

A general Unix book that covers all areas of the system.

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UNIX Power Tools

by Jerry D. Peek, Tim O'Reilly, and Mike Loukides

This book is now in its second edition. It discusses hundreds of neat tricks, little-known techniques, and add-on utilities. Be aware that many of the utilities are either included with OpenBSD or, more commonly, are already available as ports or packages. So most of section 52.03, complaining about how hard it is to port software to different UNIXes, can be disregarded if you learn about the Ports Mechanism that is part of OpenBSD.

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The Multi-Boot Configuration Handbook

by Rod Smith

Book explaining techniques for Multi-booting.

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Unix administration

UNIX System Administration Handbook

by Evi Nemeth, Garth Snyder, Scott Seebass, Trent R. Hein

This is an excellent book on Unix system administration.

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Essential System Administration

by AEleen Frisch

This book covers many fundamental tasks in system administration. It includes examples for a wide range of Unix operating systems, including BSD.

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Unix programming

Unix Systems for Modern Architectures

by Curt Schimmel

This book leads its reader through all the low-level kernel models for multi-processing architectures. OpenBSD does not implement multi-processing capabilities as of yet, but what do you think the developers are reading?

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Lions' Commentary on UNIX 6th Edition with Source Code

by John Lions

Although the UNIX described in this book is to BSD as a Model T Ford is to a 70's Mustang or Thunderbird, UNIX inventor Ken Thompson claims that "After 20 years, this is still the best exposition of the workings of a 'real' operating system." Originally circulated in illicit photocopies, this is the book that most first- and second-generation UNIX hackers cut their code-teeth on. Recommended as a good introduction to how a timesharing OS works, if you've not been inside one before. Substantially shorter than the McKusick book above.

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The Practice of Programming

by Brian W. Kernighan and Rob Pike

Brian Kernighan had a hand in two other books which we recommend even though they're not UNIX specific, but are useful to programmers on UNIX and elsewhere. This book covers practical programming considerations for C, C++ and Java. Highly recommended.

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The Elements of Programming Style

by Brian W. Kernighan and P. J. Plauger

This book is similar to The Practice of Programming, but older. The examples are given in Fortran and PL/I.

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Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment

by W. Richard Stevens

This is a very detailed and easy to read book. It has several examples that you can learn from. There is plenty of information about library and system calls, and associated information so that you can use them. This book along with the OpenBSD manual pages make an excellent combination.

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The C Programming Language

by Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie

This is a clear and concise guide to the C programming language, perhaps the only one you will ever need. It focuses strictly on the C language, not how to use your compiler or anything else.

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C: A Reference Manual

by Samuel P. Harbison and Guy L. Steele

If you only had two books on C, then along with The C Programming Language, this would be your second one! This book is not a tutorial (hence the title), it deals with syntax, data types, ISO C library functions, and C/C++ compatibility.

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Network administration

SSH, The Secure Shell.

by Daniel J. Barrett and Richard Silverman

The Definitive Guide. OpenSSH is covered in detail.

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TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1

by W. Richard Stevens

"Network administration" is really an inappropriate heading for this book. It is an encyclopedia of the TCP/IP protocol suite. This book provides information, and diagrams useful to understand the suite to its' lowest level. Home enthusiasts, developers, and network administrators alike will enjoy this book.

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Kerberos: A Network Authentication System

by Brian Tung

A guide for administrators of Kerberos-based networks. Explains concepts of the Kerberos system, as well as the installation and administration of it.

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IPSec: The New Security Standard for the Internet, Intranets and Virtual Private Networks

by Naganand Doraswamy and Dan Harkins

This book explains the IPSec protocol suite. It also describes its relation to the current deployments, such as VPNs, and future ideas.

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Computer Networks

by Andy Tanenbaum

This book is an high-level guide to modern computer networking. It presents a wide range of protocols, concepts, and technologies. It covers technologies from fiber to wireless, LANs, Mobile IP, and a lot more.

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DNS and BIND

by Paul Albitz and Cricket Liu

This book is an excellent introduction to DNS and BIND, useful for anyone who has to implement DNS under OpenBSD.

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DHCP

by Ted Lemon and Ralph E. Droms

Recommended by the Internet Software Consortium, which is the organization that produces the DHCP client/server software included with OpenBSD.

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Managing NFS and NIS

by Hal Stern

Gives essential information with examples on managing NFS and NIS.

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Cryptography

Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C

by Bruce Schneier

A comprehensive explanation of Cryptography, with information about its history, protocols, and algorithms. This book is a great introduction to cryptography, with the necessary basics to understand the field. Also, it has a very extensive reference section.
From Amazon, someone commented " It is common to find that masters of mysterious technical arts are poor communicators. Bruce Schneier demonstrates exceptional skill as a technical communicator. Here is a book about an esoteric subject - one built on a foundation of theoretical mathematics - that ordinary folk can read. Sure, one needs to be motivated by an interest in the subject, and the technical level sometimes requires a more than ordinary background in number theory and the like - but a degree in theoretical mathematics is not necessary to derive pleasure and profit from reading Applied Cryptography."

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Handbook of Applied Cryptograpy

by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot and Scott A. Vanstone

A new and detailed look at Cryptography. The authors write:

... Public-key cryptographic techniques are now in widespread use, especially in the financial services industry, in the public sector, and by individuals for their personal privacy, such as in electronic mail. This Handbook will serve as a valuable reference for the novice as well as for the expert who needs a wider scope of coverage within the area of cryptography. It is a necessary and timely guide for professionals who practice the art of cryptography.

The entire book is available for free downloading (for personal use only) from the book authors' site, in PDF or PostScript.

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SSL and TLS Essentials: Securing the Web

by Stephen A. Thomas

This book offers introductory coverage of the SSL and TLS protocols, with examples. The SSL protocol is currently the basis of secure data transfer and secure transactions on the Internet. Aside from encryption, this book also covers data integrity and details the SSL protocol.

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Big Book of IPsec RFCs: Internet Security Architecture

compiled by Pete Loshin

A complete reprint of the IPSec RFCs with an extensive index and glossary.

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