Linux Administration Course

Lesson 1 • Getting Help and Reading Documentation

Teaches man pages, info pages, and built-in help flags as primary self-sufficiency tools. Reduces dependency on external resources during real administration work.

Lesson 2 • Filesystem Hierarchy and Navigation

Maps the standard Linux directory tree and teaches shell navigation commands. Provides the spatial awareness needed for every subsequent administrative task.

Lesson 3 • Shell Basics and Command-Line Proficiency

Introduces Bash syntax, command structure, and I/O redirection. Enables students to execute, chain, and redirect commands confidently from day one.

Lesson 4 • Linux History and Distribution Landscape

Covers the Unix lineage, the GNU/Linux project, and major distribution families. Establishes context for choosing and working with any Linux variant.

Lesson 1 • User Accounts and Authentication Files

Explains /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, and /etc/group as the foundation of local identity. Connects file structure to real account management operations.

Lesson 2 • File Permissions and Ownership

Explains read, write, execute bits for owner, group, and others using chmod and chown. Directly enables secure file and directory access control.

Lesson 3 • Creating and Managing User Accounts

Covers useradd, usermod, userdel, and passwd with their key options. Builds hands-on skill for provisioning and deprovisioning accounts at scale.

Lesson 4 • Special Permissions and Access Control Lists

Covers SUID, SGID, sticky bit, and POSIX ACLs for fine-grained access control. Extends the standard permission model to complex multi-user environments.

Lesson 1 • Monitoring Processes and System Activity

Teaches ps, top, htop, and /proc for real-time and snapshot process inspection. Connects monitoring output to actionable administration decisions.

Lesson 2 • Process Priority and Scheduling

Teaches nice, renice, and the Linux CFS scheduler to control CPU allocation. Allows administrators to tune workload performance under resource contention.

Lesson 3 • Job Control and Background Execution

Explains foreground, background, and suspended jobs using built-in shell job control. Enables efficient multitasking within a single terminal session.

Lesson 4 • Signals and Process Control

Covers POSIX signals, kill, killall, and pkill for process termination and control. Enables safe and targeted intervention in misbehaving processes.

Lesson 1 • Compiling Software from Source

Teaches the configure-make-install workflow for software not available as packages. Extends deployment capability to custom or cutting-edge software versions.

Lesson 2 • Debian-Based Package Management

Covers dpkg, apt, and apt-get for Debian and Ubuntu family systems. Provides parallel skills to the RPM section for cross-distribution competency.

Lesson 3 • Universal Package Formats

Introduces Snap, Flatpak, and AppImage as distribution-agnostic deployment options. Broadens software management skills beyond traditional package managers.

Lesson 4 • Package Management Concepts

Explains packages, repositories, metadata, and dependency graphs as foundational concepts. Prepares students to reason about software state before touching any tool.

Lesson 1 • Disk Partitioning Schemes

Covers MBR and GPT partition tables using fdisk, gdisk, and parted. Establishes the physical storage foundation required for all filesystem work.

Lesson 2 • Disk Quotas and Storage Monitoring

Teaches quota tools, df, du, and iostat for capacity planning and enforcement. Prevents storage exhaustion and enables proactive resource management.

Lesson 3 • Filesystem Creation and Management

Teaches mkfs variants, mount options, and /etc/fstab for persistent mounts. Connects raw partitions to usable storage accessible by the operating system.

Lesson 4 • Logical Volume Management

Explains physical volumes, volume groups, and logical volumes using LVM tools. Enables flexible, online-resizable storage without downtime.

Lesson 1 • Network Diagnostics and Troubleshooting

Applies ping, traceroute, ss, tcpdump, and nmap to isolate connectivity faults. Develops a systematic diagnostic methodology applicable to any network problem.

Lesson 2 • Routing and Name Resolution

Teaches static routes, default gateways, and /etc/resolv.conf for DNS configuration. Enables full end-to-end connectivity setup from interface to application layer.

Lesson 3 • Network Fundamentals for Linux Admins

Reviews TCP/IP layers, addressing, subnetting, and key protocols relevant to administration. Ensures all students share the networking vocabulary needed for the rest of the chapter.

Lesson 4 • Interface Configuration and Management

Covers ip, nmcli, and NetworkManager for configuring Ethernet and wireless interfaces. Builds the core skill of bringing a Linux host onto a network reliably.

Lesson 1 • Managing Services with systemctl

Covers start, stop, enable, disable, and status subcommands for day-to-day service control. Builds the operational fluency needed for routine administration tasks.

Lesson 2 • Journald and Log Management

Uses journalctl to query, filter, and export structured logs from the systemd journal. Enables rapid diagnosis of service failures and system events.

Lesson 3 • Systemd Architecture and Units

Explains unit types, unit files, and the dependency graph that systemd uses to order startup. Provides the conceptual model required to manage any service effectively.

Lesson 4 • Systemd Timers and Scheduled Tasks

Replaces cron with systemd timer units for scheduled task execution. Provides more reliable, loggable scheduling integrated with the service manager.

Lesson 1 • Functions, Error Handling, and Debugging

Teaches function definition, return codes, set -e, and bash -x for reliable scripts. Transforms working scripts into maintainable, production-safe automation.

Lesson 2 • Loops and Iteration

Covers for, while, and until loops with break and continue for flow control. Enables processing of lists, files, and command output in automated workflows.

Lesson 3 • Control Flow and Logic

Teaches if-then-else, case statements, and test expressions for conditional logic. Enables scripts to make decisions based on system state and input values.

Lesson 4 • Text Processing and Data Manipulation

Applies grep, sed, awk, and cut to parse and transform structured text data. Enables scripts to extract, reformat, and act on real system and log data.