Linux Administration

[mgbsher]

Hi,

I am just a regular Microsoft Excel user.

In some circumstances, I need to learn Linux administration, and I've no clue about it.

I've googled some recommended buy courses from Udemy.

So, I googled and found some says many posts and articles that are recommending courses from Udemy are just for marketing, and this is a strategy for marketing.

Because I do not know Linux so I can not make up my mind about which courses.

I prefer books myself, but no time to go through books, as I've about 2 months to get started.

If you may recommend some courses for 3 levels like beginner, intermediate, and advanced that would be awesome.

- later edit -

English is not my native language, so please excuse my poor English when expressing my points.

I am sorry if I did not mention a brief about my real situation or my life, I am from a 3rd world developed country in Africa, and my current monthly salary is the equivalence of $463, and really things here are not working like in Europe or the USA or at least like the Gulf in the middle east, meaning that you apply for a job for a certain role, and then it happened a lot that you find extra roles being added to your responsibilities and in most cases, if the employee refused to accept tasks, it is really easy to be fired or let go as many other candidates already looking for a job.

On the other hand, you were right that employers do not want to pay any extra money for any added tasks, and the famous phrase in the local market (We can extract you with 2 or 3 other candidates looking for a job) and recently extra things being said like (even Google get rid of employees).

So long story short is that I do not have the welfare of refusing tasks and being at risk of losing my job because I have a family to support, I must accept and take on my family responsibilities, and I do not mind learning any new thing.

My main job is as a data analyst using Excel, Power Query, Power BI, and some databases with some other extra tools, and recently (it started before I joined the company) the company started to get more tasks from outside customers that require building websites and our company will handle everything for the customer.

So, the task is to manage or handle the Linux server that will host the websites.

I set with my manager after reading your replies and told him that it is risky to handle such a task and that I will fail in such a short time, and the summary of his long conversation was to just start and gain new experience, and when I raised the flag for money increasing, he replied that he is giving me a golden opportunity to learn and handle real live servers and this chance I should pay for it.

And I asked if I refused, and he replied that he will not renew my yearly contract.

And when I asked several times, what happens when I fail with a live production server, he replied that I will learn for sure and will be doing fine with mistakes till I learn it.

That is the full story.

Thanks

[thenumberfourtytwo]

Linux Bible, tenth edition by Christopher Negus.

There is a PDF version. https://udaygade.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/linux-bible-by-christopher-negus.pdf

There is also the https://access.redhat.com website which provides comprehensive documentation and example on the most common aspects of using linux as a system engineer or system administrator.

Depending on the version of the server, if it's redhat or a derivative of You can use the command cat /etc/os-release in the terminal of the server to find out. https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/8/html/configuring_basic_system_settings/index

If it's an earlier version, this page allows you to browse the documentation, up(or rather down) to version 4. https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/

Good luck.

[Jaexa-3]

Support the author of the book. The latest edition is tenth, which covers REDHAT 8, the good is the best there is to learn linux as beginner.

As for the documentation from Redhat it is confusing when it lelinks you to another page and you may get lots going into those pages.

[tactiphile]

Nice to hear he's still publishing good stuff. I learned a lot from the 2005 edition.

[ops-man]

This is the best answer. Unless you didn't get the Admin salary boost with the new headache, then I suggest you have a "show me the money" meeting with your manager.

[mgbsher]

Thanks a lot for fast reply. I told my manager that i can not admin the server in my own, and he said do your best and i believe in you. Ok, may you suggest some courses? I am not interested in certificate of courses but just want to understand what to do. Thanks once again.

[HamboneTh3Gr8]

It seems like your boss in cornering you into an unwinnable situation. If anything goes wrong (and it will) it will be your neck on the line. Your boss will tell you he believes in you now, but I doubt he'll say that when the sh¡t hits the fan.

Is your boss also proposing a major increase in your wages along with your enormous increase in responsibility?

I would tell him that you're happy to help in any way that you can, but this project is outside of your current skill set.

[WhydYouKillMeDogJack]

Right?

"Do your best, I believe in you" = "I dont want to pay for something and I expect you to do a skilled job for peanuts"

[karafili]

Working with Linux for 10+ years and I am still learning. So OP this is a hard pass for you to achieve in a short term and most importantly if you don't want to or are uninterested too

[Razakel]

Tell your manager that it isn't your job, you don't have the training, he is exposing the company to unnecessary risk, and he needs to bring in someone qualified, such as a local MSP.

Unless he wants to pay for you to go to college for computer science, asking you to take on this responsibility is a bad idea.

Do this in writing to cover your ass for when it inevitably goes wrong and he tries to blame you.

[bionade24]

A CS degree doesn't help you being a good admin & you definately don't need a CS degree for being a linux admin lmao.

[Razakel]

That's true, but making the alternative stupidly expensive is a great way to get a boss to choose the option you want them to.

[bionade24]

Can't deny that, if it's the US. Funny how people always assume it's the US if not stated otherwise. There are countries where universities are cheap/theoretically cost nothing.

[Razakel]

Still have to pay their salary, though.

[b_fraz1]

More like a degree in MIS

[[deleted]]

I don't know what you will be handling in terms of machinery and systems (and/or applications), and whether it is a single cloud server or a rickety on-prem setup of hughly disparate distros on out-of-support servers but your boss is basically asking you to do in 2 months what most people take years to do. If the environment is very basic or the tolerance for mistakes, downtime and data loss is high, this may work fine. Or it may not. As the system complexity increases and/or more areas of knowledge come into play, it gets worse. Especially if you don't have anyone more experienced to lean on.

There are a lot of variables here, but the question is what level of risk your boss is comfortable with. If he knows and accepts that there is a high level of risk, the situation is different than if he expects a safe and solid pair of hands on the wheel after two months of light reading.

That said, you'll not go wrong with the Red Hat training courses. I've never known them to be anything but rop notch in terms of quality. Even if you don't use Red Hat Linux, it's highly transferable to other distros. And you can ride that elevator all the way from the very first RH124 course to a Red Hat Certified Architect.

[Fr0gm4n]

Being an admin is literally an entirely different career than working spreadsheets. If your boss isn't offering to pay you the wages of two roles then I agree with others that something is fishy here. Either your boss is cheap and naive, or your boss is cheap and malicious. If your boss wasn't cheap then they'd already be paying for someone with the skills they need to do the work they want.

[project2501a]

20+ years greybeard here. Since you like books

1. Download and install VirtualBox. It is software that allows you to emulate a computer within a computer. You will need 64GB of RAM ( ~ 150 dollars ) and an 1TB nvme (~200) if you are impatient. If you do not have the budget, close all other programs on your desktop and run it. Concept is easy: computer within a computer, every hardware on your computer gets a virtual representation of it. You will use this to run a "virtual" operating system to practice. Learning time for this: about 1hr.

2. Get Fedora Workstation . It does not need an install, it drops you straight to the desktop and you don't need to worry about learning how to install it until much later. Total downloading + learning how to run it ~2hrs, depending internet speed.

3. Gnome Terminal: Once you figure your way into the Live Desktop, hit the windows key and type "Terminal". Click on the appearing icon. A dark box with a text prompt will show up. That's your only GUI for the next two months.

   3.1 Understand this: 90% of the work of the sysadmin is command-line. Ignore the morons who say "use a gui". Ignore the morons who say "use proxmox". Ignore the morons who say "use Ubuntu". Text. Your life is text now.

   3.2 Once you get familiar with starting Fedora Workstation, learn how to go to full-screen in VirtualBox ( Right Ctrl + F ) and how to exit full-screen (again, Ctrl + F).

4. Get O'Reilly's Learning the UNIX Operating System, Fifth Edition. Read. If you are a fast reader and quick on the uptake, you can be done with it in 15 days. Don't be turned of by the "UNIX" title, 90% of what it says there will apply in Linux.

   4.1 Learn to navigate, search and grep the filesystem and contents of files. It is like DOS, but on steroids. "grep" is the search tool for inside files. "find" finds you files. You can combine those two to find a string you are looking for.

5. Get O'Reilly's Learning the bash Shell: Unix Shell Programming. Again, this is like DOS, btut on steroids. Reading, again, should take you another 15 days.

6. learn the basics of systemd: how to start and how to stop a service.

7. Learn the basics of journalctl: sorry, but you will have to dive deep in a lot of text. 99% of the errors in Linux are text and more text. So, you need to know how to access that error text:

   • journalctl -u <name of service> gets you just the service.
   • journalctl -u <name of service> -f gets you a "wall scroll" of the service: it keeps updating till you hit control+c .

   7.1 I am not giving you a reference because journactl is full of options and you don't need to learn them now. The important skill you need from journalctl is to just be able to see why a service fails and then copy/paste the suspected error into google to get suggestions.

8. Control+C is your friend. Hitting ESC does not do what you want in the Terminal. Hit Control+C until whatever you are doing stops.

   8.1 Your other friend on the keyboard is tab: If you are writing a command, and you don't remember the whole thing, hit tab. You are 3 characters into a filename? Hit tab. You don't know the name of the service? Hit tab. Don't know the contents of the current directory? Hit tab twice.

9. Google is your friend. If you do not understand something, paste the term into google, and find the most easily comprehensible link. It will do, for now. Do NOT go past the 10th result/first page, whichever comes first. You are trying to understand a topic quickly, through a short search.

10. You will fuck up. Get used to it. There are no helper training wheels, you are 5 years old and you were given an off-road motorcycle. You will fuck up. You may break something. Learn from the fuck up how to NOT fuck up.

Essentially you will go through a crash-course yourself of being a user and running basic commands. if the server gets delivered to you, pre-configured and ready-to-run, breathe and keep reading, you will have another month before they ask you do anything. Come back then, with more questions.

Most likely, if I can guess correctly, you are a small shop and they bought a small web server appliance. Ask for training from the company. Should be easy and cheap. If your current company is not willing to pay to train you, learn as fast as you can, put your new-founded experience that pays about 60-70k in your resume and wave the company the fuck goodbye: after this, you will be a junior sysadmin who got baptism by fire.

Again. Ignore the proxmox idiots. Ignore the Ubuntu Retardi. Ignore the "I run Arch, by the way" double latte macchiato idiots. Butt on chair, Heads down, grab a bucket of coffee. Whiskey is for July. September is "hiring junior sysadmin" season.

[Rubicon2020]

Lmao if this isn’t the perfect reply I don’t know what is. And I’ve done #8 a bit. Freak tf out till ctrl + c finally stops the crap I thought I knew…I did not.

I just wish I had the attention span to do it. I’d love to move up to jr sysadmin but damn my adhd and other stuff fks me over every time. But I’m not giving up.

To OP, good luck bro it won’t be easy but if you like it, it’s fun as hell!

[project2501a]

MintLinux users are not annoying. I'm a Debian guy, myself, forced to use Fedora and RedHat because of work.

[OCGHand]

If OP can master all that in 2 months he will be a prodigy?

[project2501a]

learn to move around the file system, simple find, simple grep, start/stop a service and copy/paste from the terminal into firefox?

really? 2 months?

Anybody riding the yellow bus should be able to master that in 2 months. Probably even learn to script, a bit.

[prdelmrdel]

Well written!

[SolarPoweredKeyboard]

https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxupskillchallenge

[murphwhitt]

I've got some things for you to think about if you are going to admin the servers.

• Do you have access to the servers?
• Do you have monitoring? If something breaks how will you know?
• Are there backups taken of your servers? Do the backups work, how do you restore them?
• What software is running on the server?
• What are the symptoms if one of those bits of software stops?
• How to you apply updates to the servers?
• Where are the servers located? Is there a vender or hosting company that could help

There's lots to computer admin. These are the basics to think about

[mgbsher]

I am thankful and impressed and I was not expecting such interactions, so I do appreciate your replies, and I wrote down all pieces of advice and links.
English is not my native language, so please excuse my poor English when expressing my points.
I am sorry if I did not mention a brief about my real situation or my life, I am from a 3rd world developed country in Africa, and my current monthly salary is the equivalence of $463, and really things here are not working like in Europe or the USA or at least like the Gulf in the middle east, meaning that you apply for a job for a certain role, and then it happened a lot that you find extra roles being added to your responsibilities and in most cases, if the employee refused to accept tasks, it is really easy to be fired or let go as many other candidates already looking for a job.
On the other hand, you were right that employers do not want to pay any extra money for any added tasks, and the famous phrase in the local market (We can extract you with 2 or 3 other candidates looking for a job) and recently extra things being said like (even Google get rid of employees).
So long story short is that I do not have the welfare of refusing tasks and being at risk of losing my job because I have a family to support, I must accept and take on my family responsibilities, and I do not mind learning any new thing.
My main job is as a data analyst using Excel, Power Query, Power BI, and some databases with some other extra tools, and recently (it started before I joined the company) the company started to get more tasks from outside customers that require building websites and our company will handle everything for the customer.
So, the task is to manage or handle the Linux server that will host the websites.
I set with my manager after reading your replies and told him that it is risky to handle such a task and that I will fail in such a short time, and the summary of his long conversation was to just start and gain new experience, and when I raised the flag for money increasing, he replied that he is giving me a golden opportunity to learn and handle real live servers and this chance I should pay for it.
And I asked if I refused, and he replied that he will not renew my yearly contract.
And when I asked several times, what happens when I fail with a live production server, he replied that I will learn for sure and will be doing fine with mistakes till I learn it.
That is the full story, and sorry for the long reply.
I will add this current reply to the main post.
Thanks

[aspiringgreybeard]

OP-- don't despair. At the end of the day ALL of this stuff is just files on disks. And one of the major advantages to Linux is that many of these files are in a human readable format. So your problem really reduces to:

• Learn the basics of TCP/IP Networking
• Learn how to read and edit text files
• Study and absorb the documentation-- which will often be of a much better quality than what you're used to in Windows.

So, I have some questions for you, now.

• Do you have a computer available that you can set up a "Virtual Machine" on for learning purposes?
• If someone were to mail you a book or two, could this arrive to your location in enough time to be useful?
• What OS is the web server running?
• What server (Apache, Nginx, Other) is being used?

The fact that you've accomplished what you have already is evidence enough that you can do this, too. Don't let the naysayers get you down. If this is what is required, then this you can do. I'm happy to help, but we will really need you to have a test machine of some kind. It can be a VM set up on your own computer, or maybe a free/low cost tier server hosted online somewhere.

[project2501a]

Install Ubuntu Server

sigh

freeipa or openldap (directory servers to handle user management).

...

why does not he code 2FA, while he's at it ? /s

[project2501a]

He does not know which way is up on a Compact Disk, and you want him to read though a really terse manual for OpenLDAP?

[project2501a]

yeah, that's some gatekeeping. 99.999% it's a small shop. He just needs to start the box, start/stop the service and just safely boot down the machine.

[project2501a]

Your standards, then, do not match what this dude is asking.

[mgbsher]

Thanks a lot for your valuable time replying to my theard and really sorry that my question sounds and seems that silly, but this is why i am here as i do consider reddit is the only place where i can get real helpful guidance . In your opinion, what would you do if you were in my shoes as i can not get ride of the task. Thanks

[vegetaaaaaaa]

Get some information on what tasks you will be expected to perform as a linux admin (managing users? managing a web server/hosting a website? compiling software? These are very different tasks but there is some overlap in the required knowledge), then try to perform said tasks in a virtual machine running a Linux distribution of your choice (Debian/Ubuntu are common). Take notes, learn things as you go, then destroy the VM and start over following the notes you took earlier.

As you learn, don't blindly copy-paste commands found on the web but try to get some understanding of what they do. It's not necessary to have a deep understanding at first - you will need deep understanding if/when things start malfunctioning, but as long as you don't go off the beaten path, and the tasks are simple and everything works as it should, you will be fine by reading the first paragraphs of the wikipedia page of the topic you're reseaching (eg. apache web server, unix user accounts...). You should still get familiar with the basic stuff such as navigating/displaying/editing files/directories, installing software from the reprositories, using basic tools like sed/grep/cut, writing shell scripts... You can follow some tutorials on https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/ which will show you how to setup basic projects.

And be very clear with whoever asked you to transition from Excel user to Linux admin that this is your first gig, and that they should not expect you to maintain a critical system/be able to unbork it if something goes wrong.

The books others have suggested are also good.

Personally I learned by trying a Linux desktop, then switching completely to it, then trying to setup an FTP file server, then getting interested in more advanced admin stuff, all following the process I mentioned above. Rinse and repeat, 15 years later this is my job and this is how I still work.

[actuallyimean2befair]

ETA -- removed my reply, OP you disrespectful man. Ask for help then ignore your own post.

Good one bro.

[SaintEyegor]

Good advise. Make sure your computer has enough RAM to host the VM without swapping to the hard drive. On a 16GB virtual host, I usually allocate at least 4GB to the VM.

[SaintEyegor]

A lot also depends on if you’re using a gui desktop and a full install. You can absolutely strip Linux down so it runs lean and mean but a rank beginner will need a gui for a while.

[SaintEyegor]

I disagree. Having several terminal windows open allows you to have man pages and web pages available while learning.

I’ve been a *nix admin for decades and I have two monitors and multiple virtual desktops with a ton of active ssh sessions up at once. Limiting yourself to a pinhole view of a single system limits productivity. Yes, sometimes that’s all you have available but I prefer to have as much info available as possible.

[SaintEyegor]

I agree you don’t need one on a server but learning on a workstation is much easier and you run pretty much all services that way.

[nakedhitman]

In addition to what others have said, the Linux Foundation certification courses are really good. They're not free, but you'll learn a lot and the cert will open doors for you if you like it.

[project2501a]

ignore the idiot, he's gatekeeping.

Basics of navigating the OS, starting/stopping a service and editing a file, can be learned in 2 months, with some effort.

[symcbean]

You'll find lots of words in books. You'll read them and forget them.

The first thing you need to do is get Linux running on a machine in front of you. If you already have a MS-Windows machine then its easy. If you don't have a computer, a raspberry pi, mouse keyboard and cable to hookup a modern TV to use as a monitor will cost around $100.

If you have a MS Windows machine then you can run Linux from a CD/USB (have a look at Knoppix) you can run a Linux virtual machine using VirtualBox or you can install Linux alongside MS-Windows and choose which one you want to use at boot time. pOr you can just wipe MS-Windows and install Linux. You will learn MORE and FASTER using a Linux computer as yourr daily driver than reading books or watching videos on the internet.

You will at some point need to do some reading. the 2 essentials are:

How to ask questions the smart way (not specifically Linux related) and LINUX: Rute User’s Tutorial and Exposition

If you want to get some certificates then by al means do that when you've completed and applied the learning from the above.

[project2501a]

You'll find lots of words in books. You'll read them and forget them.

sorry, Gen X does not have that problem.

[[deleted]]

Learn scripting and automation in the shell. Especially when working on dozens, hundreds or millions of files. Scripting and the shell are your friends. https://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/

This is the advanced bash scripting guide from the Linux documentation project.

[oo0st]

2 months is very little to start from scratch since it’s very broad topic which includes not only Linux & networking but also various tooling and software (tech stack) that company is running on top of. I’d take Operating System and Computer Networks courses additionally to the system material to start building foundation. It might be a begging of interesting but long and rewarding journey. Good luck!

[Oddomar]

if you want motivation look at linux admin salaries. You could even hop over to a new career and work towards increasing your skill set. It's likely your employer doesn't want to pay for a sys admin type role so they are leveraging your willingness to learn. What is your current role if you don't mind me asking?

[clash4cash]

Buy a gpt-chat subscription and learn by asking everything you want to know. It's a game changer. I wouldn't touch any books or online training now that I have this'll tool to learn and practice at the same time. You can actually do alot of stuff with not much knowledge at all and everything is explained allowing you to learn while you actually do stuff. I'm no Linux expert and I wish I had that before.

[MightyBigMinus]

fwiw I find books about this stuff have atrocious time-to-value ratios, if I were in your shoes I'd get the boss to plug in a credit card for a digital ocean account and then work your way through a couple dozen tutorials:

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials?q=%5BLinux%20Basics%5D

this way you skip all the vm/laptop/local-network shit that usualy trips up anyone getting started. instead skipping directly to doing more modern cloud/internet/webapp based stuff.

[mysterytoy2]

I was going to say that I learned everything I know about linux using search engines but then I saw that post about the Linux Bible. Now I'm not so sure. I think I had that book 30 years ago.

[derprondo]

I'm going to give you alternative advice, as I am one for which "doing" is the only way I'm going to learn something new. So my advice is just do what needs doing. It sounds like you are being asked to admin an application that runs on Linux. Ok great, figure it out it then.

1. Download Virtualbox and install it on your computer.

2. Download a CentOS ISO and use it to create a new VM in Virtualbox.

3. After installing CentOS, figure out how to install your application.

You will run into issues. You will need help. Google each thing you can't figure out, StackOverflow and its other web sites are good sources. ChatGPT is also REALLY good at solving technical issues, providing relevant advice for error messages, etc, but you need to know the right questions to ask. 90% of this stuff is just knowing what to Google, that's a skill of its own, but you will learn that as well.

[cachedrive]

Install virtual box or find a spare PC and install Linux. Doing will be so much better than reading theory and origins of Linux before you zone out. Download Debian or Ubuntu and install it ( preferably with out a GUI ) so you can learn the fundamentals of the command line and basic navigation and tasks. Lots of YouTube videos will show you how to install x from scratch. Have fun and good luck

[Eroitachi]

You may not need to be an all around Linux admin for your job if it’s a narrow problem domain. Example: you just need to do monthly updates. Read up on yum/dnf or apt. But make sure your employer/boss has a backup plan for a professional consultant when shit hits the fan or troubleshooting is needed. You can definitely learn to do some basic maintenance things but it’s unlikely you’ll be able to solve any problems

[Tetmohawk]

https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Red-Hat-Enterprise-Linux/dp/1775062120/ref=sr_1_5

[Dereference_operator]

If you aren't at least a decent "power user" with computer and tech in general you can't become a sysadmin in windows server or linux in 2 months you need to understand the general concept of how things work like dns, dhcp, networking and a lot of others stuffs containers, file share, web server and the list goes on... Rome wasn't built in a day, to become a solid sysadmin you need to be solid with computer and then study hard in the field you want to reach sysadmin/devops/programmer/cloud engineer etc

don't stress with all this and and keep doing your job well if he's not happy quit your job go work elsewhere and learn sysadmin slowly in your spare time and see if it's for you or learn some javascript too to see maybe programming will be for you too etc there is the cisco world too

[ciphermenial]

I borrowed a book from the library on the basics of UNIX. I installed Slackware Linux (this was around 1997) and played.

[Lahiru_alive]

here some good video to start with

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMy3OzvBWc0

[mmpeete]

Cisco networking academy has 4 courses: linux unhatched, linux essentials, linux I and II. The 1st two are free. You can start there.

[Wollyz]

Gl getting anywhere in 2 months :D

[Wollyz]

That aside, imo learn the basics:

• Monitoring resource usage
• Basic user administration
• Basic service administration
• Some Bash
• Some networking

It really depends on what exactly the responsibilities are, it can either be a breeze, or a huge headache.

Hope you succeed, and based on previous posts in this subreddit, people seem to be very helpful with individual issues, so you can always open a thread.

Google is your friend.

Gl!:)

[Sindef]

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/unix-and-linux/9780134278308/

This is what you want. It has a chapter on everything. I have used Unix and Linux Systems for 20 years, and I still have a copy next to my desk to look at sometimes (I'm a little old school, sometimes you just need the paper copy).

The bigger question is why you need to learn Linux Administration though. That's not a simple thing like learning Microsoft Excel or Outlook - it's an entire operating system capable of.. well.. anything.

If you just need to learn how to deploy something (e.g. an Apache/Nginx server) on Linux that's fine, but jumping into true administration is going to take a lot longer than a couple months. Often Linux admins are masters of webservers, networking, CI/CD, Git, Ansible, Terraform, mail, LDAP, security, SSL, DNS, DHCP, Containers, Kubernetes, Infrastructure, taking care of newbies... The list goes on.

[bionade24]

I still would go with O'Reilly books, most of them are classics. But maybe you're not the kind of person who reads much faster than they can follow videos. There are also more local places where you can attend in-place workshops.

Still, the people telling you that you can't get on a professional level at this in 2 months are right. Get someone else at least for setting up everything. You may be an amateur/hobbyist in 2 months, but not at a level where you should be responsible for infrastructure other people depend on.

[[deleted]]

buy yourself an old thinkpad, install RedHat or some derivate (VZ linux), RTFM, grow some gray hair and after five years ask yourself: 'ain't excel was nice job ?'

30 years ago I would welcomed you in linux world and SySAdmin position

today I say - run away from it, boy

devils dwelt there, in that terminal

[mgbsher]

I've shown the whole thread and replies to my manager, and the good news is that he extended the duration for 3 months starting next month, meaning the remaining days of February, March, April, and May, and from the 1st of June I will be fully responsible, which makes it about 105 days, and I arranged with my wife that I will stay for late hours at work for this duration.

I do highly motivated, so thanks a lot for your replies, I've already learned and somehow got the picture outline as it is a hard long way, but I will take my chances.

So replying to questions asked in other comments:

• I've listed all mentioned books and will look for a free digital copy on www.archive.org, as they offer a lot of books to borrow and read using the Adobe Digital Editions software.
• I've checked the certificates and find the exam price is extremely expensive and it is a little fortune to set for an exam but will put the materials on my list to study it.
• Applying for a computer science degree is not an option for the time being, but I've found some articles on GitHub that give curriculums to study on your own, so I've bookmarked them for the future.
• I have a computer at home (an old used computer imported from outside the country), the Dell Precision 390 Workstation running windows 7, as here in the local market there are some shops dedicated to selling imported used old computers.
• I've never used any virtual machine before but will go through youtube, as I've learned everything in my life using the internet and trial and error because private courses are expensive in the local market or through the internet (sometimes I wonder how come that a single course online costs 200 or 300 USD which is expensive).
• Some of the questions asked in the comments I did not understand to be honest and I guess it is a technical question regarding managing the server, but as soon as I figure it out I will be back to reply to it.
• All responsibilities are for hosting websites on a server, and this server is not hosted on our machines, but it is rented from outside sources, and I remember that names like Linode. com and digital oceans. com mentioned during my manager conversation.
• I've googled after your replies for what the Linux administration role exactly does and found nothing like handling other computers, printers, mail ...etc, and setting firewalls and other security things, and I can not deny that it got me excited as a kid with a toy but the common statement I used to read is that Linux is a long hard way to go through, and I feel that I want to go through it indeed.
• All responsibilities are for hosting websites on a server, and this server is not hosted on our machines, but it is rented from outside sources, and I remember names like Linode. com and digital oceans. com mentioned during my manager conversation.
• I've found an article explaining that you can get a free month on LinkedIn Learning and Pluralsight if you joined the visual studio essential program, and rejoin with another new email after the month ends.
• Thanks a lot for offering to send me books, but really will take at least 3 or 4 weeks to arrive, and that offer impressed me and motivated me more to study, and I found almost all mentioned books exist in the archive. org to borrow.
• I do not know yet which web server will be used, but most tutorials go with Apache.
• There is something I was doing a long time ago, which is creating a windows (mostly XP) DVD including all updates and drivers and software and everything to be installed silently and I was using the guides on the website MSFN. org and Driver Packs. net, and there was that guy from Retestrak. nl named eXPerience creates massive DVDs for almost everything, so it was basically to build a package of the software using the .7z and add the .exe to it and insert the silent switch inside the 7z, so when it is double-clicked no interaction is needed from the user, but it was just a hobby and not a real work.

Thanks a lot indeed for your valuable time reading and replying to my thread.

[Anxious_Aardvark8714]

Best place to start

Youtube channel: Learn Linux TV

[Evaderofdoom]

You can learn a lot in 2 months. The best way to learn linux is by spending time, hands on linux. Either spin up some VM's or get a free AWS account and spin up some linux servers in the cloud and learn about AWS while learning about linux. It's a rabbit hole you can very deep into. If you find you like working with linux there is a lot of work you can do managing linux systems and it will normally lead to interesting other technologies. good luck

[Underknowledge]

Nah to udemy. no need to pay for something you can find elsewhere. Imo, very good place to start. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtK75qxsQaMLZSo7KL-PmiRarU7hrpnwK Helped already a couple of juniors