Category: Nonfiction Books

General publishing announcements

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“OpenZFS Mastery” sponsorships now open

I’ve shipped all the Networking for System Administrators, 2nd ed sponsor gifts. I’m getting copies for the Kickstarter backers out the door.

By popular demand, I’m opening sponsorships on OpenZFS Mastery, by myself and Allan Jude.

Epub sponsors get their names in the epub/mobi versions of the book. They will receive a free copy of the completed ebook in epub and a PDF of the print version, all DRM-free, once we finish writing it.

Print sponsors get their names in the ebook and print version of the book, the DRM-free ebook, and a physical gift that might or might not be the book. The gift will be personalized. Please provide a shipping address and a phone number that can receive SMS! My shippers are asking for phone numbers even in the US, so I’m asking you.

Once the book exists there will also be a Kickstarter, but that will act more as a pre-order. Sponsors support me as I write and test the manuscript. The print sponsorship (or Patronizing) will also be the only way to get a personalized gift mailed to you.

Here’s the book description.

OpenZFS Mastery

by Michael W Lucas and Allan Jude

Data Storage for the 21st Century

ZFS, the fast, flexible, self-healing filesystem, revolutionized data storage. Leveraging ZFS changes everything about managing Unix-like systems.

“Thanks for making ZFS knowable by everyone” — Matt Ahrens, ZFS co-creator

“Thanks for doing this… now I don’t have to” — Jeff Bonwick, ZFS co-creator

With OpenZFS Mastery you’ll learn to:

  • select hardware for ZFS systems
  • arrange your storage for optimal performance
  • configure datasets that match your enterprise’s needs
  • repair and monitor storage pools
  • expand your storage
  • use compression to enhance performance
  • determine if deduplication is right for your data
  • understand how copy-on-write changes everything
  • snapshot filesystem
  • automatically rotate snapshots
  • clone filesystems
  • optimize how ZFS uses and manages space
  • Use boot environments to make the riskiest sysadmin tasks safe
  • Delegate filesystem privileges to users
  • Delegate ZFS datasets to containers
  • Quickly and efficiently replicate data between machines
  • split layers off of mirrors
  • optimize ZFS block storage
  • handle large storage arrays
  • select caching strategies to improve performance
  • manage next-generation storage hardware
  • identify and remove bottlenecks
  • build screaming fast database storage
  • dive deep into pools, metaslabs, and more!

Whether you manage a single small server or multinational data centers, OpenZFS Mastery will simplify your life.

What’s Changed?

This might be considered a second edition of FreeBSD Mastery: ZFS and FM: Advanced ZFS, so: what’s different.

The old stuff still works, but OpenZFS has grown many features in the last ten years. The OpenZFS project now considers Linux a tier-one platform. RaidZ arrays can be expanded. ZFS rewrite. Rebalancing arrays. Native encryption. Compressed ARC. Deduplication is less useless. Even compression has changed. Gobs of stuff.

This edition will be published as a single volume.

Why Sponsor?

It’s a terrible deal, but people find reasons.

I’m hoping to get this book done in just a few months. Sponsor while you can.

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“Networking for System Administrators, 2nd ed” is arriving

The printer notified me that they’ve shipped the Patronizer and signable Kickstarter copies of Networking for System Administrators, 2nd ed to me. UPS hasn’t received them yet, but tracking numbers exist. I’ve added it to my web site, the front page gallery, and–of course–the SNMP MIB.

I’ve put the ebook, paperback, and hardcover up in my store. If you order print in the next few weeks, it should arrive before the December Solstice Holiday Of Your Choice.

It releases to retail channels 1 December 2025. While Kindle versions will be available from many retailers, it won’t be in Amazon’s Kindle store for the same reasons as my last couple of tech books (RYOMS and OMF). So you might as well buy it from me.

If you are getting a print book from me as either as a Patronizer or sponsor: be dang sure I have your address and SMS-capable phone number. Email me with any corrections or updates.

If you backed the Kickstarter for print: 17 of you still owe me current shipping addresses and SMS-capable phone number. Please fill out your survey.

I will spend Wednesday prepping shipping labels so that I can slam the books out assembly-line style. After that, I’ll check for stragglers and ship every couple of weeks.

Thanks to all of you for your support! I’m looking forward to getting this book into your hands.

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N4SA2e Fulfillment Status

The N4SA2e production process is proceeding apace.

The print books are finalized. Books for me to sign have been ordered. The printer tells me that they’ll ship to me in about 10 days.

When the printer tells me they’ve shipped, I will prepare shipping labels for Patronizers, sponsors, and Kickstarter backers. You getting an email with a tracking number doesn’t mean your book has shipped; it means I am awaiting your book. When the books arrive, the assembly line kicks in and I start packing.

Next week, I order drop shipments for Kickstarter backers. This means your survey answers will be finalized. Hopefully few of you have moved unexpectedly in the last few weeks. Remember, drop shipments do not get tracking numbers. (See “Fulfillment” at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwlucas/networking-for-system-administrators-2nd-edition/ .)

Some of you sent corrections to the ebook. Those corrections have been uploaded.

Ebooks are fulfilled. I still have to write the stretch goal advice column. It’ll be exclusive to my backers and supporters, at least until the 10-year collection comes out.

Oh, and: the special edition looks pretty decent. I am pleased with it.

Once I ship the books, I will open sponsorships on OpenZFS Mastery.

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N4SA2e Print Sponsor Address Check

Anywhere from 1%-5% of sponsors move before I ship print sponsor gifts. (Yes, they’re gifts, not preorders. Because I send sponsors things.) In the past, I’ve eaten the cost of reshipping these. With hundreds of print sponsors, that small error rate becomes an expensive pile.

So I went into my store system, extracted all the sponsor orders on “Networking for System Administrators, 2nd edition,” and converted them to a GoShippo postage ordering spreadsheet so I’m all set to order postage for sponsor gifts. I then wrote a script to extract sponsor addresses from the file and email them to request address verification and a shipping phone number.1

If you’re a print sponsor of this book, you should have an email requesting you verify your address and phone number. If address and phone number are correct, ignore the mail. If something is wrong or missing, please reply with corrections. Yes, some folks will miss the verification. I’ll wind up eating some reshipping cost. But with your help it’ll be less than otherwise–and you’ll get your books earlier!

If you didn’t get the email, you probably also didn’t get the email with the ebook links. Email me with your order number and I’ll try again.

I’m also amused to note that for the first time since I started offering book sponsorships, several print sponsors left the United States. I charge extra shipping for overseas sponsors. I’m not doing chasing people for extra, though. Those folks have my sympathy, envy, and gratitude.

I probably need to set a “so you fled the US” policy for future sponsorships, though.

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“Networking for System Administrators” Kickstarter closing soon

If you back the campaign, you also get copies of FreeBSD Mastery: ZFS and SSH Mastery.

I wouldn’t be shocked to break the $ git commit murder stretch goal.

I would be surprised to break the Advanced ZFS goal.

Plus there’s the online “launch party,” which is a highfalutin’ way to say “I’ll open a Zoom and we can hang out for an hour.”

This is also your last chance to get the backers-only special edition. It will never be commercially available. I’ll have a few extra to solve fulfillment problems, yes. They’ll go up for charity auctions.

I’m biased, so here’s Ray with an outside opinion.

Listen to the network manager. Back this book.

Thank you.

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“Networking for System Administrators, 2nd ed” Kickstarter is live

The silly thing funded in fifteen minutes, and has gone high enough that all backers get a bonus ebook of FreeBSD Mastery: ZFS.

Yes, Allan and I are working on a new edition of the ZFS book. But the old one is still good, and applies to OpenZFS on any Unixy system.

Anyway, it’s there if you want it. The higher the Kickstarter goes, the more books I will give away.

The truth is, I don’t expect the current trajectory to continue. I made a point of asking folks to back the first day, in the hope that Kickstarter would notice momentum and slap “Project We Love” on it, blessing me with front page exposure. They still might. We’ll see.

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Launching tomorrow: “Networking for System Administrators, 2nd edition”

The N4SA2e Kickstarter opens tomorrow, about 8AM EDT. Why “about?” The launch is manual. I must log in and hit a button. The first 512 bytes of my brainstem are barely enough to hold the instructions for obtaining caffeine, so it won’t be first thing.

This one feels weird. With 232 sponsors, 170 of them print sponsors, it’s my most sponsored book, which makes me think that I’ve already taken a good chunk out of my market. But the Kickstarter pre-launch page has 380 followers, more than I’ve ever had before. Maybe that’s great? Maybe they’re interested sponsors? Who knows?

What’s gonna happen? Not a damn clue.

I do know that getting a Kickstarter “Project We Love” badge means that KS gives the project an algorithmic boost. I also know that they choose PWL, in part, based on first day backer momentum. If the book interests you, please consider backing it the first day. Of course, I’d welcome your support any day!

Once the book ships to sponsors and Kickstarter backers it will be exclusive in my store for 30 days, the I will release it to retailers. I expect it to retail for $12.99, which means it will not be in Amazon’s Kindle store. Kindle users can buy it from other stores, but not Amazon’s.

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“Networking for System Administrators, 2nd edition” sent to copyedit

The title basically says it all. Now I’ll start working on the new OpenZFS Mastery with Allan Jude. That work, of course, will stop once those copyedits return and I have to produce the book.

I’m tentatively scheduling the N4SA2e Kickstarter to start 16 September and run through 7 October. Three weeks is a long time for a Kickstarter, but it worked well for the mail book. If you’re interested in getting the book before the general public can, go to the Kickstarter page and click “Notify me now.”

Once the book is released, it’ll be exclusive to my store for a month before hitting retailers.