Linux Learning

[kadams]

Good morning everyone. I was wondering where did you all start your linux learning. I picked up an acloud guru membership in an attempt to study. I feel like the info is just not sticking. I learn better by actually doing the work. What are some of your study habits? What books/videos do you recommend for beginners?

[tlagrange]

Best way is to switch your desktop to a Linux desktop. Something like Ubuntu LTS. That's how I got into it because it forces you to learn if you want to get any work (or play!) done.

[Hugonaut]

Red Hat - RHCSA - RH124 & RH134 are great courses to attend - Even if you don't have a RHEL License you can always use CentOS which is free. The RH124 & RH134 courses provide physical massive texts book that are awesome as well. -I Prefer reading a real book but a PDF is also available. https://www.pdfdrive.com/rh124-rhel7-d33426286.html

https://linuxacademy.com/ is also a great learning tool.

[m_donovan]

Setup a test JamfPro instance running on Linux any flavor. I recommend Ubuntu but that is just because that is what I am used to. This way you can test out JamfPro features, workflows and learn some about Linux. Google is your friend.

[kadams]

@tlagrange, I do have ubuntu installed on virtual box. I haven't used it too often though. Would that teach me the commands? I do a lot of google and copy paste. I have just enough knowledge to read through some stuff. I know that linux is a skill that i'll need to advance my career.

[mschroder]

Is it really Linux you want to learn, or is it the CLI of the Mac? There are many similarities between Linux and BSD which the Mac is largely based on. So you can learn a lot already by using the Terminal and exploring the command line and shell commands. If it really is Linux you should ask yourself which distribution, since there are enough differences between the various distributions. If you have to work with a certain distribution learn that one, otherwise you might get confused by the differences in the names and places of config files and tools.

[kjen]

@kadams Like you I learn best by doing the work. They way I got comfortable with Linux, which I now use almost exclusively, is by jumping right into the deep end and switching to it on my personal computer. This was many years ago but I opted for Mint then switched to Ubuntu a year later. This forced me to do a lot of troubleshooting and along the way I learnt about how the OS worked what the different components are and about Linux in general. This worked well for me but it was stressful and I did experience a lot of down time at the beginning.
I find getting info online a little easier with Ubuntu when it comes to drivers for consumer products/hardware and more desktop focused software like gaming or productivity. On the server side Ubuntu or CentOS/RedHat tend to have pretty good documentation and community support. I did a lot of copying and pasting of commands when I first started learning Linux as well. Be careful doing this and stick to reputable resources and read forum responses before just running the first sudo command some one claims will resolve your problem. I strongly encourage you take a close look at what the commands are and try to understand not only what they are doing but why. This will be very time consuming at first but it will get faster and easier the more you do it, and it will give you a deeper understanding of the OS.

[kadams]

@kjen , I want to get my linux + certification. Right now im using Acloud Guru's linux course. I think its pretty tough but im going to continue doing it. I do use linux every day but I don't really understand it. Hopefully I get pass the point of copy and pasting. Im on ubuntu server for this linux course.

[kadams]

@mschroder , I want to learn linux, python and AWS. I would like to get into cloud computing. I've been a support tech at my company almost 2 years. I did some other support work prior to that as well. I feel it's time for me to be more serious about my career development. Working with Jamf has helped me realize what I like doing. Deploying software and configuring systems is interesting to me.

[tak10]

Are you planning on advancing into a Linux role at your current company? If so, I would recommend concentrating on the Linux flavor your company uses.
If you like hands on, try Linux Academy.

Here are more study materials you can try. Linux System Administration Tutorials and Courses

[kadams]

@tak10, im currently in a support role. im looking to advance into anything that involves more cloud computing. I've been doing support for almost 2 years at my current company. Before that I worked on a company doing less complicated support work. I also worked 2 years doing IMAC work. I've realized that isn't where I would like to stay. I want to do more complicated and meaningful work. I find dealing with people all day to be extremely exhausting.

[shaquir]

Hi @kadams,
I came across these guides:
https://ryanstutorials.net/bash-scripting-tutorial/
https://ryanstutorials.net/linuxtutorial/

They give you the core knowledge of scripting in Bash and Linux environments in an easy to read manner. Once you understand the basics, if you are resourceful enough, you can easily build off it and better understand other scripts. I previously tried linux academy but ended up going the Pluralsight route for my Linux+ certs.

Here is another website I found to be helpful:
https://wilsonmar.github.io/mac-osx-terminal/

All things considered,
https://linuxacademy.com/linux/training/course/name/the-system-administrators-guidep-to-bash-scripting
Looks like a really good guide.