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It is very complete, albeit at a minor cost... some topics are given a few sentences and then glossed over. Now, don't get me wrong. This book is to explain FreeBSD, not those little topics generously thrown in. Therefore, it shouldn't hurt the book's review. Just be aware that you will not learn Unix, X Windows or any of the other addons that can be found in Unix through this book. Obviously, it's not the book's purpose. Its purpose is to teach FreeBSD.

It would have earned five stars, but Chapter 31, Keeping Up To Date (CVS) is uneven and jumpy. This chapter came as a shock when compared to the rest of the book. I think another reviewer shared a similar complaint about it.

On a side note, a reviewer amused me by complimenting the book (giving it five stars) just because of who the author is. I'd rather buy a well-written book by a no-name author than a poorly-written book by a renowned author. It's people like this that trap other people into buying books that aren't helpful. I hope this review helped you. :)

I wasn't on a *BSD system for a couple of years of mainly using Linux, and I wanted a refresher and for the book to cover new and familiar topics. Useful things, rather than just listing the popular software used on it and not the things you need to know about them, etc.

This book covers more than the others in regards to commands, common tasks, installs, configurations and so on. It actually covers the TOPIC (Being the FreeBSD OS). Not a quick and dirty run down of a few commands and a lot of fluff like other books. This gives you what you need to know, be it you have some experience or are new.

It doesn't skip around like the other books and only offer maybe a total of one decent chapter on the topic of the book (FreeBSD), it covers many chapters worth. I can't stand when a book only has some information about the title, as much as it does about some irrelevant third party software (and only talks about it as briefly at that).

I don't want or need information about anything other than what the book is about--and finally, a FreeBSD book that covers FreeBSD. I was impressed. It may not cover everything, but it sure gets close and is very professional, well structured and informative.

Between this book, man pages and online (and up to date) documentation, it's unlikely you will need (much) more information about how to install, configure and use FreeBSD, it's tools and programs and work in it daily and have the information you need. Trust me, this book is far better than the others (see my review on "Absolute BSD: The Ultimate Guide to FreeBSD" to see what I mean).

One of the truly great features of this book are the man pages that make up about half of the book. The ability to sit on the couch and study a man page for some task or other is simply wonderful and saves the paper that would otherwise be used to print it.

The book covers in step by step fashion the setup of all normally used aspects of the system and covers them in great detail. The section on compiling a custom kernel is simply fantastic and an excellent guide for beginners. Building a custom kernel is a vital part of a fully functioning Unix system and this book makes it as simple as a cookbook.

However, the biggest shortcoming of this book is that it leads you into a topic, gets you going, and then drops you right at the point when you need it most.

Example: the book has a chapter on printing. The average home user probably has an inkjet printer, or a low-end laser. The author, though, has a fully PostScript-compatible printer, and goes on to set up printing as if everyone has this printer. No ground is covered for the every-day people, ie how to set up filters to allow PostScript printing to non-PS printers.

Also leaves other areas short, such as updating the operating system. The book has excellent coverage of how to rebuild the kernel, but if you compare the book's steps on how to update the rest of the system (ie using CVS to get from 3.2 to 3.4) with the docs provided with the operating system, or provided on the web (especially at the FreeBSD.org Handbook section) then the author misses a huge chunk of stuff that has the ability to kill a machine (yes, this happened to me but I was lucky enough to catch it before the reboot to let the system come up with the new rev of the OS).

I used the book for about the first two weeks of adding/configuring components, then realised I was getting better information off the web, provided I was willing to take the time to find it.

Lucas' "Absolute BSD" focuses solely on FreeBSD. The only "straying" involves mentioning applications which run on FreeBSD. As apps like Apache and Postfix make systems useful, this makes sense. Lehey's TCF:4E is less concentrated, as it discusses intricacies of hardware, questions to ask ISPs before signing contracts, and principles of network troubleshooting. While I probably don't need to read such topics in a book I bought (yes, bought) for FreeBSD coverage, I didn't mind these "diversions." "Grog" Lehey has been around so long his insights are truly valuable. Lehey also presents a very traditional BSD usage model, where admins check their email using "mutt" (ch. 26) and avoid "Standard" installations in favor of "Custom" installations. I found this approach useful.

Since TCF:4E is advertised as covering version 5.0, I hoped to see some introductory material on items brought from Robert Watson's "TrustedBSD" project. These were "experimental" in FreeBSD 5.0, but could change the way FreeBSD systems are administered. Overall, security didn't get as much attention in Lehey's book compared to Lucas'. For example, Lucas walked readers through deploying a jail, while Lehey doesn't mention the subject. I also found the chapter on Vinum confusing. Since Lehey created Vinum, he may need someone to step back and describe the system in layman's terms.

Overall, TCF:4E is a must-buy. I already referred to it over the weekend when installing a new FreeBSD gateway, and I expect to consult it repeatedly in the future.

The thorough, techincal style of writing works both for and against you in various sections of the text. The chapters on installation and configuring XFree86 are especially well done, while I found a few sections, most notably on setting up PPP dial-in & updating FreeBSD from source, to be a bit cryptic. Luckily, the FreeBSD project has an abundance of on-line documentation that may explain a topic in a different way that's helpful to you.

Other books that may be helpful to FreeBSD users are _The FreeBSD Handbook_ (ISBN: 1571762418), a hard-copy of the Handbook from FreeBSD's website, and Kirk McKusick's _The Design and Implementation of the 4.4BSD Operating System_ (ISBN: 0201549794). I also understand that McKusick is updating the second book to be _The Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD Operating System_, but am unsure when this will be published...

It's easy to read, has many information and examples and it was written by Greg Lehey, a Core Team Member, envolved on BSD since the early Berkeley days.

The fist chapter introduces the reader the history of Unix and BSD before entering on technical discussions. There are chapters dedicated (deeply) to X, Samba, Apache, Firewall and many more.

The weakest part Complete FreeBSD are the chapters about CVS ad upgrading, but the Kernel customization chapter that comes after brings back the high value of this book.

This Complete FreeBSD is a must-have to any FreeBSD user and admnistrator. Use it in conjunction with Unix Power Tools and the FreeBSD Handbook and you you will have 99% of the information you neeed.

The book is not well targeted...it tries to reach down to the UN*X newbie, but it doesn't have enough depth for the guru.

The books also repeats the same things over and over, but in slightly different ways, forcing you to go back to previous sections to see if you misread something. An editor should have gone over this and forced a reorganization of the ideas.

This is the only book on the market that provides an overview of FreeBSD, so I applaud Lehey for making the attempt. It seems, however, that the book requires some serious refocusing, redaction and polishing in order to be useful to a given UN*X audience.

However, Greg must think about some update.

This book by Greg Lehey is very helpful as a guide to keep going. It points out the differences between the Microsoft way of naming files and the difference in the command line conventions that a DOS user, for example, would be familiar with. The rest of the book is comprehensive enough by the look of it. With any details remaining, resolvable with a little bit of perseverance ( not that I am much of a power user, as yet). The issue of which type of desktop is discussed, with some pointers on how to modify their operation. How to accommodate files specific to Windows and Linux, etc.

My experience with Microsoft Windows at the NT, 2000PRO and XP-PRO levels has been good. But the reason for looking at FreeBSD Unix was to get around having to keep up with the huge differences in the way each new deployment of a Microsoft system requires. My expectation is that having learned the way of working with Unix the once. It will not be too much different as the OS is updated.

Except for very specific instances, users new to FreeBSD, would do well to consider running the software on a decent machine, and not some old redundant machine. This will let them try out much more of what is available on the distribution packages, and with much speedier results. In my case the simplest option was to buy a hard drive rack and a couple of trays, which allows me - at this stage - to experiment with FreeBSD Unix and easily swap back to Windows, or Linux, etc without having the place coming down with odds and ends of computers.

The Complete FreeBSD should suit those getting off the ground with its clear and amicable delivery.

I think the book lacks the description of coexistense with other operating systems (Samba coverage is shallow) and modern GUI desktop like KDE (I found it different in some details from Linux). It should also be more up-to-date.

Not to mention referring to a companies products by the company name, i.e. "Install Microsoft to use that". That simply shocked me, those are the lines I would expect from a absolute computing amateur, not a seasoned professional. I can think of several PAGES where the word "Microsoft" is used to mean "A Windows Operating System" 5 or more times, that's silly.

I wholly recommend the book, but could look forward to a 5th edition text that's not so easily distracted.

It's easy to read, has many information and examples and it was written by Greg Lehey, a Core Team Member, envolved on BSD since the early Berkeley days.

The fist chapter introduces the reader the history of Unix and BSD before entering on technical discussions. There are chapters dedicated (deeply) to X, Samba, Apache, Firewall and many more.

The weakest part Complete FreeBSD are the chapters about CVS ad upgrading, but the Kernel customization chapter that comes after brings back the high value of this book.

This Complete FreeBSD is a must-have to any FreeBSD user and admnistrator. Use it in conjunction with Unix Power Tools and the FreeBSD Handbook and you you will have 99% of the information you neeed.

Configuring UNIX and XFree can be a nightmare but this book makes it seem like you've known for years,

Moreover though, this book can guide you from the rudiments of the file system, to firewalls, name servics, and setting up NFS. When you get tired of using the command prompt, learn how to configure your X-Windows sessions. Once you feel the power of being able to control your enviroment, you'll never want to give it to Microsoft again.

Don't be fooled. FreeBSD is UNIX, not a clone like Linux. FreeBSD or bust!!!

Get this book to get into BSD. Get on the internet to get better.

I recommend it for FreeBSD owners who have no clue how to install it and recompile the kernel.

I think it's important to note that FreeBSD is a solid, robust OS that Yahoo, Link Exchange, Hotmail, and many more are betting their whole business on. You can't go wrong with FreeBSD!

Since it is a full Unix-like OS you will want a book that covers everything from how to configure DNS, NAT, Sendmail, NFS, NIS, Hardware, Ports, and everything else under the sky. This book really delivers! The way it is written makes you feel like you are interacting with a human. It's clear, concise, and doesn't put you to sleep.

If you are a Linux user who want to fiddle around with FreeBSD then go for it! So many businesses use FreeBSD it's definately worth knowing. Besides, the FX company that made the movie "The Matrix" used 30 FreeBSD machines each with 1GB RAM and Pixar's Renderman! *VERY COOL*

The book is well written and is used as a daily resource. Even though, I've read the book several times, I keep finding things to tune and otherwise improve. <Grin>