Amber on Nostr: I was stuck on this part, we all started somewhere when it comes to system ...
I was stuck on this part, we all started somewhere when it comes to system administration. Namely, I started my linux experience out by installing ubuntu 14.04 on my desktop because windows kept bluescreening. What you’ll want to do is find a starting point, something that you can use to learn how to troubleshoot. If you want to learn more about Linux there’s nothing wrong with picking a "beginner" (side note: I hate that term because yeah sometimes I literally just want a stable system I don’t have to constantly tinker with and deal with broken things) distro. So, what part of Linux is interesting to you I would ask. If you don’t know where to start the first place I would recommend is learning about the package manager on your distribution. You’re going to be using it a lot anyway, and it’s easier to get that off the bat. For example, if you pick a distribution based off of Debian or ubuntu (keep in mind that ubuntu is not exactly just a derivative of Debian that is misinformation) I would recommend learning about the difference between dpkg and apt.
Questions I would tell you to look up first, "How do I update my system via the command line?" It’s not always as simple as just `man apt` although that is a way to look at it. What is the difference between `apt upgrade` and `apt dist-upgrade` for instance. Looking at the various flags and figuring out what they do. Familiarize yourself with some of the common things between *nix like operating systems. Do something like `ls -al /` ask yourself, what is /usr? What is /var? what is /opt? Familiarize yourself with some of these common directories. You’ll need to know about the filesystem layout regardless of system. What’s the difference between /usr/bin and /bin? What’s /sbin? Just small questions like that can go a long way. It’s getting used to being curious about the system that’s the learning curve imo. Deploying nginx is only really going to teach you deploying nginx. If you follow the wiki you’re not going to get into things like "Hm, what is a service account?". Do something like explore /etc/passwd. Look at the various accounts there. You’ll get into questions like "Should I run nginx under its own account and group such as nginx:nginx?".
Look at permissions, ask yourself what is chmod? What is a mask. How does linux handle filesystem permissions across filesystems. What’s the difference between chmod 755, chmod 777, chmod 644? Using man pages can be daunting, getting into the habit of going `man chmod` or whatever other tool is a good one to get into even if you’re going to google the question. Explore various configurations on the system, what’s in /etc/profile.d? What’s in /etc/skel (I’ll link this one because it’s relevant to almost all of these questions https://www.linfo.org/etc_skel.html). How do I create users on my system? What is usermod -aG? There’s a variety of things you can do to explore and find "rabbit holes" that give you more questions to ask, utilize these to learn more about your system.
Questions I would tell you to look up first, "How do I update my system via the command line?" It’s not always as simple as just `man apt` although that is a way to look at it. What is the difference between `apt upgrade` and `apt dist-upgrade` for instance. Looking at the various flags and figuring out what they do. Familiarize yourself with some of the common things between *nix like operating systems. Do something like `ls -al /` ask yourself, what is /usr? What is /var? what is /opt? Familiarize yourself with some of these common directories. You’ll need to know about the filesystem layout regardless of system. What’s the difference between /usr/bin and /bin? What’s /sbin? Just small questions like that can go a long way. It’s getting used to being curious about the system that’s the learning curve imo. Deploying nginx is only really going to teach you deploying nginx. If you follow the wiki you’re not going to get into things like "Hm, what is a service account?". Do something like explore /etc/passwd. Look at the various accounts there. You’ll get into questions like "Should I run nginx under its own account and group such as nginx:nginx?".
Look at permissions, ask yourself what is chmod? What is a mask. How does linux handle filesystem permissions across filesystems. What’s the difference between chmod 755, chmod 777, chmod 644? Using man pages can be daunting, getting into the habit of going `man chmod` or whatever other tool is a good one to get into even if you’re going to google the question. Explore various configurations on the system, what’s in /etc/profile.d? What’s in /etc/skel (I’ll link this one because it’s relevant to almost all of these questions https://www.linfo.org/etc_skel.html). How do I create users on my system? What is usermod -aG? There’s a variety of things you can do to explore and find "rabbit holes" that give you more questions to ask, utilize these to learn more about your system.