Linux Server Administration Course

Lesson 1 • File and Directory Management

Covers creating, moving, copying, and deleting files and directories. Directly supports configuration and log management tasks in later chapters.

Lesson 2 • Linux Architecture and Distributions

Covers kernel, shell, and userspace relationships plus major server distros. Establishes the conceptual map students use throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Shell Environment and Variables

Explains environment variables, PATH, and shell configuration files. Prepares students to customise and script their server environments.

Lesson 4 • Text Editing and File Viewing

Introduces vim, nano, and text-viewing utilities for reading and editing configs. Essential for every configuration task covered in the course.

Lesson 1 • Privilege Escalation with sudo

Configures sudo to delegate root-level tasks without sharing the root password. Enforces least-privilege administration across all server roles.

Lesson 2 • User Account Management

Covers creating, modifying, and deleting user accounts and their attributes. Forms the identity layer that all permission and security work depends on.

Lesson 3 • Traditional File Permissions

Explains read, write, and execute bits for owner, group, and others. Provides the baseline access control model used on every Linux system.

Lesson 4 • Special Permissions and ACLs

Covers SUID, SGID, sticky bit, and POSIX ACLs for fine-grained control. Extends baseline permissions to handle complex multi-user scenarios.

Lesson 1 • Swap Space Configuration

Covers swap partitions and swap files for virtual memory management. Ensures servers handle memory pressure without crashing critical services.

Lesson 2 • Filesystem Maintenance and Repair

Teaches fsck, disk health checks, and quota management for long-term reliability. Prepares students to diagnose and recover from storage failures.

Lesson 3 • Disk Partitioning Fundamentals

Covers MBR vs. GPT partition tables and tools like fdisk and gdisk. Establishes the physical storage foundation for all filesystem work.

Lesson 4 • Filesystem Creation and Mounting

Teaches mkfs, mount, and /etc/fstab for persistent filesystem configuration. Connects raw partitions to the directory tree for application use.

Lesson 1 • Patch Management and Update Strategy

Establishes policies for scheduled updates, security patches, and rollback procedures. Balances stability with timely vulnerability remediation.

Lesson 2 • Compiling Software from Source

Covers the configure, make, and install workflow for source-based deployments. Handles cases where packaged versions are unavailable or insufficient.

Lesson 3 • RPM-Based Package Management

Covers rpm, yum, and dnf for Red Hat family distributions. Provides the skills to manage software on the most common enterprise Linux platforms.

Lesson 4 • Debian-Based Package Management

Covers dpkg, apt, and apt-get for Debian and Ubuntu server environments. Mirrors RPM skills for the other dominant enterprise Linux family.

Lesson 1 • Creating and Customising systemd Units

Covers writing unit files for custom services, timers, and targets. Allows students to integrate any application into the systemd lifecycle.

Lesson 2 • Signals and Process Control

Covers sending signals with kill, pkill, and killall to manage process behaviour. Enables controlled shutdown, reload, and termination of services.

Lesson 3 • Task Scheduling with cron and at

Teaches crontab syntax and the at command for one-time and recurring task automation. Complements systemd timers for legacy and simple scheduling needs.

Lesson 4 • systemd Service Management

Teaches systemctl commands for starting, stopping, enabling, and inspecting units. Directly manages the services that constitute a production server stack.

Lesson 1 • Routing and Name Resolution

Teaches routing table management and DNS resolver configuration. Ensures servers can reach required hosts and resolve names reliably.

Lesson 2 • Network Diagnostics and Troubleshooting

Teaches systematic use of ping, traceroute, ss, and tcpdump for fault isolation. Enables rapid diagnosis of connectivity and service reachability issues.

Lesson 3 • Firewall Management with firewalld and iptables

Covers zone-based firewalld rules and foundational iptables chains. Protects services by controlling inbound and outbound traffic at the host level.

Lesson 4 • SSH Configuration and Hardening

Configures OpenSSH for secure remote access and applies hardening best practices. SSH is the primary administrative channel for all remote server work.

Lesson 1 • PAM and Authentication Hardening

Configures PAM modules to enforce password complexity, lockout, and MFA. Strengthens the authentication layer against brute-force and credential attacks.

Lesson 2 • Host-Based Intrusion Detection

Covers file integrity monitoring with AIDE and rootkit scanning with rkhunter. Detects unauthorised changes to critical system files and binaries.

Lesson 3 • Kernel and Service Hardening

Applies sysctl parameters, disables unused services, and restricts kernel features. Reduces the exploitable attack surface at the OS and service level.

Lesson 4 • SELinux and AppArmor Fundamentals

Introduces mandatory access control with SELinux modes, contexts, and policies. Adds a kernel-enforced security layer beyond traditional DAC permissions.

Lesson 1 • Capacity Planning and Trend Analysis

Uses historical metrics to forecast resource exhaustion and plan upgrades. Ensures servers meet future demand without emergency provisioning.

Lesson 2 • Performance Tuning with tuned

Applies tuned profiles and manual kernel parameter tuning for workload optimisation. Translates monitoring findings into measurable performance improvements.

Lesson 3 • System Logging with journald and rsyslog

Covers journald structured logging and rsyslog forwarding for centralised log management. Provides the observability foundation for all operational and security work.

Lesson 4 • Alerting and Monitoring Agents

Deploys lightweight monitoring agents and configures threshold-based alerts. Shifts operations from reactive to proactive incident management.