Tag Archives: O’Reilly

Review: Metasploit – The Penetration Tester’s Guide

Posted on by
Reply

Metasploit: The Penetration Tester's GuideMetasploit: The Penetration Tester’s Guide by David Kennedy, Jim O’Gorman, Devon Kearns, and Mati Aharoni (O’Reilly Media) is very detailed and extremely valuable in demonstrating how penetration testing can be done using Metasploit along with having the great side-benefit of being able to learn about general methods and processes a pentester will go through during the testing cycle (PTES methodology).

The initial chapters deal with introducing the reader to the PTES methodology and Metasploit as a testing product.  As the chapters progress the authors pushes the reader deeper and deeper into the Metasploit product’s features along with how to use those features to complete the penetration test processes.  In the appendix, the authors have provided instructions on how to configure test environments that can support your exploits without sending the Feds to your front door.

Overall, this book is an good resource for those people that have good technical skills in Ruby and are comfortable in a Linux environment that want to understand penetration testing and the Metasploit product.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book as part of the O’Reilly Blogger Program

Review: MapReduce Design Patterns: Building Effective Algorithms and Analytics for Hadoop and Other Systems

Posted on by
Reply

MapReduce Design PatternsI picked up MapReduce Design Patterns: Building Effective Algorithms and Analytics for Hadoop and Other Systems by Donald Miner and Adam Shook (O’Reilly) to explore the deeper analytics that were possible in using Hadoop and MapReduce.   This book definitely did not disappoint in covering many of the more advanced challenges that engineers working with Hadoop datasets will encounter once they move from the simple into the advanced.  MapReduce Design Patterns is not for the faint of heart nor the true novice in Hadoop and/or MapReduce frameworks.  A solid understanding of the fundamentals of analytics is also a valuable prerequisite to this title.

Having explored the use of Pig and Hive as a way to abstract the underlying implementations of MapReduce, MapReduce Design Patterns helped me understand what was going on “under the hood.”  This was important to me as I have learned the hard lesson that sometimes the easy way is not always the most efficient and/or effective way.  By reading through this title, I now better understand how I can use Pig and Hive for the straight forward analytics and MapReduce native for my more specialized needs – or in other words – use the right tool for the job.

To the bold adventurer new to Hadoop and MapReduce – I’d suggest that you look at this book as your follow-on study guide to be used after learning the basics and working with those frameworks for a little while.  In that view, I have no hesitations in recommending MapReduce Design Patterns to those engineers that are looking for something to help them move from entry level into advance levels of understanding in these technologies.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book as part of the O’Reilly Blogger Program

Review: Hadoop Operations by Eric Sammer

Posted on by
Reply

Hadoop Operations by Eric Sammer (O’Reilly Media) is a thoughtfully organized book that guides the operational and architectural reader into a viable Hadoop-centric solution.  In his book, Sammer spends a reasonable amount of time providing the reader with enough Hadoop background to be able to move onto the more complex considerations and actions needed to implement high quality Hadoop clusters in an operations environment.  Sammer provides some very specific information in his books that puts it into my “must have” collection for Hadoop.

First, instead of trying to cover what Hadoop can do in all flavors and colors, Sammer describes configurations that will meet the needs of a general operational implementation.  This allows the reader to focus on the key concepts of installing, configuring, and operating a Hadoop cluster instead of learning the many Hadoop features that most shops will never use.  Secondly, Sammer spends an appropriate amount of time discussing ways that an operational team can monitor and troubleshoot Hadoop clusters.  Very few authors cover the areas needed so that a solution can move from “proof of concept” into a “production-level” implementation.  Third, Sammer looks at products that work around Hadoop to either add features or allow for better maintainability/management of the system.  This gives the reader the ability to see how Hadoop fits into the larger operational model.  Finally, Sammer approaches the chapters in the book from the view of someone that has actually implemented Hadoop clusters by providing suggestion, tips, and tricks that allow the reader to bypass many of the more common challenges that Hadoop adopters can face.

I highly recommend Hadoop Operations by Eric Sammer for the operational and architectural readers that want to get a highly viable solution as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book as part of the O’Reilly Blogger Program

Review: Version Control with Git

Posted on by
Reply

A Review of Version Control With GITAlready having a background in advanced usage of ClearCase, CVS, and SVN, I picked up Version Control with Git by Jon Loeliger and Matthew McCullough (O’Reilly publisher) to understand how Git could help me solve some of the feature challenges I have been working through with other VCSs.  This book certainly was able to deliver to my expectations.

The authors work through the processes to setup and configure Git step-by-step.  In addition, they also spends a great deal of time delving into the more important topics required to work with Git as a power user.  The examples were useful and the diagrams where acceptable to convey the points needed.  There is no doubt that that the authors understand Git.  The time they take in explaining why to “do something” is important in moving the reader from a simple user of Git into becoming a power user.  The “Submodule Best Practices” chapter was helpful in solving some of my current challenges while the “Tips, Tricks, and Techniques” chapter gave me some quick wins.

While there are many ways to solve the same problem when using any VCS, I felt like the authors worked hard to provide an honest and open view of their approaches.  I highly recommend Version Control with Git to the reader that wants to understand more about a VCS like Git than simply a small number of quick commands via an IDE.  While this book is not a definitive reference guide in all things Git, it provides a solid foundation that allows the reader to head in the right path as they learn more about Git’s inner workings.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book as part of the O’Reilly Blogger Program

Review: Introducing Regular Expressions

Posted on by
Reply

Regular Expressions Reviewed by Jason ArmstrongI read Introducing Regular Expressions by Michael Fitzgerald (O’Reilly Media) to gather deeper insights into the details behind regular expressions.  Fitzgerald does not disappoint.  The reader should sit back and prepare to drink from the fire hose as Fitzgerald drives through regular expressions in many of their entry level flavors and styles.  Introducing Regular Expressions is not for the faint of heart as the reader must navigate lots of regex simulator tools and platforms in order to practice the examples that Fitzgerald fires at the reader without mercy.

If the reader is prepared for a no fluff introduction into regular expressions, then this book is for them.  The reader must be prepared for the technical hurdles needed to execute the samples provided in the book.  Fitzgerald has the reader execute regex in toolsets such as sed, grep, perl, Cygwin, vi, ack, vim, and even more regex simulation tools.  The tool setups can quickly become a distraction to the reader as they spend more time bouncing between tools than actually understanding at depth the reasons behind the samples themselves.  However, as long as the reader takes the time to work through the tools and samples, they will not only gain knowledge in regular expressions, but also many common toolsets.  At its heart, this toolset requirement demonstrates to the astute reader an understanding that unlike many IT “languages” there is no single regular expression structure or behavior.  Demonstrating that you may have to customize your use based on the tools you choose.

Overall, I’d recommend this book for two main reader types.  The first is for the reader that is looking to understand the overall behaviors and traits of regular expressions without a 500 page manual with lots of fluff.  The second is for the reader that has a basic understanding of regular expressions but would like a quick reference on why the expressions work the way they do in many cookbook and internet examples.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book as part of the O’Reilly Blogger Program