Sams Teach Yourself Unix System Administration in 24 Hours

Hour 19 Running Internet Services

Although there are specific network services that your Unix system runs as separate programs, notably the Apache Web server, there’s an entire class of daemons that are launched from a program that monitors incoming network connections and hands specific queries off to the right software.

That program is called inetd, and it’s simultaneously your best friend as the system administrator of a network-based computer and your worst enemy–it’s a well-known open door for hackers.

This hour will focus on this important service and its more sophisticated Linux cousin xinetd. Along the way, we’ll talk about TCP Wrapper, ...