Beginner LINUX Advice Knowledge Share

firespasm

Honorable
Jan 24, 2014
76
0
10,660
Hello All.

I am in the process of setting up an extra PC at my desk to start learning LINUX.

I would like some advice for a beginner (as if you were talking to yourself when you started) about how to go about working my way around LINUX, I believe I'm going to to have Centos (latest) on my system.

I have a co-worker who is a wizard at Linux and I want to learn by working backwards from tools he has written at some point after I get a decent knowledge base because then I will be able to see his structure and workflow etc..

So any advice for a beginner? Any help appreciated.

Fire
 

stillblue

Honorable
Nov 30, 2012
1,163
0
11,660
Linux is just the kernal or corps of the sytem. It's like cakes, they all have flour, milk, eggs and baking powder at their foundation but then you start adding chocolate, vanilla, nuts, rum and others to make it to your tastes.

Centos, redhat, ubuntu, mint,... they are all linux but different flavors. Don't settle for one, try a few out if possible just to see the range out there.

Also, the command line, CLI, is your friend. Most users don't need it but if you really want to get into it then the CLI is wonderfull and a whole lot faster in many cases than the gui's.

 

firespasm

Honorable
Jan 24, 2014
76
0
10,660
Thanks for your input, I will try and explore more than just Centos after I build up a base level of knowledge. I am actually looking at the Command Line Interface now, there's also a few webpages about which are helping me at the moment too
 

Lee-m

Distinguished
Jan 27, 2009
866
0
19,210
I guess Centos is as good as any, I believe its based on red hat, and thus some skills you learn, mostly command line will be transferable to red hat.

I would say Ubuntu is the beginner choice when it comes to linux. It is based on debian, so again skills you learn on the comand line, such as apptitude(apt) will be transferable. Ubuntu also has steam support etc which is cool too if your running it at home. Also driver support (mostly nvidia) is pretty good on ubuntu.
 

JOHNN93

Honorable
well if you are beginning and you want to lean more than just browsing the web and watching you tube video's on Linux.a good place to start is http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/linux.aspx.
http://www.comptiastore.com/product-p/0-07-177157-3.htm
comptia is a non profit organization.you prepare yourself to take a exam using books or free online material or with seminars.you take the exam and you are a "expert".
comptia is something like Cisco which you can give exams for ccna ccnp and so on.
although is you see it says comptia linux + powered by lpi.
LPI in the othr hand is LINUX PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE.
just like CISCO and COMPTIA.
but is more hardcore on Linux.comptia is for starters the book has essentials.it starts of by using the cli ,installing a operating system, maintaining Linux ,managing processes , and installing drivers and basic hardware.
it will prepare you for the more advanced lpi exams.
if you want to get certified you can.but the books are just awesome.
and it will give you the skills you are seeking for.
hope this helps you on learning Linux.
 


There are many different Linux distributions available, but many of this many different distributions are nothing more than slight modifications of other distributions.

RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is the gold standard for enterprise grade Linux distributions. It's a subscription based commercial product so it is not free to use. RHEL is the most widely supported distribution for engineering and design programs. It can certainly be used for home use and learning, but that would be a bit overkill. RHEL maintains a very conservative release cycle with major releases every 2 to 4 years and approximately 6 months between minor releases.

Community Enterprise Operating System (CentOS) is a binary clone of RHEL and many of the CentOS maintainers are RedHat employees. It maintains 100% binary compatibility with RHEL and contains all of the same free software as RHEL. It does provide access to RedHat's proprietary applications that are included in RHEL alongside the usual free software. CentOS is a good platform to learn on (in part because the detailed RedHat documentation is mostly applicable) but like its commercial brethren it does have a steep learning curve. CentOS releases track RHEL releases and are delayed by approximately one to three months. Version numbering is consistent between the two, so CentOS 6.5 has the same codebase as RHEL 6.5.

Fedora is a general purpose Linux distribution that serves as the upstream development branch for RHEL (that is, RHEL and by extension CentOS use a version of Fedora as a rough starting point). Fedora development is financed and directed by RedHat and serves as a testbed for new technologies that are too immature to be used in enterprise environments. It is also the operating system used by Linus Torvalds to develop the Linux kernel.
Fedora releases a new major version approximately every 6 months.

Debian is another enterprise grade Linux based operating system that serves as a popular upstream target for derivative distributions. Debian maintains a conservative major release cycle with approximately two years between major releases.

Ubuntu is a popular user-oriented Linux distribution that has historically derived much of its foundation from Debian. This has changed significantly in recent years. Ubuntu's aim is to create a home and user friendly environment, so it's often recommended for beginners. Ubuntu is also heavily used by hobbyists because it has a liberal release cycle of major revisions every 6 months and includes a broad collection of up to date software. The speed and scope of Ubuntu's revisions and lack of quality control have given it a less-than-stellar reputation in the enterprise sector though.

Mint is an popular desktop Linux distribution that is derived from Ubuntu and Debian. It is very media-centric and aims to "undo" some of the controversial elements of Ubuntu while continuing to focus on the user. Just as CentOS releases track RHEL releases, Mint releases track Ubuntu releases by approximately one month.

Most tasks are transferable between all operating systems that are based on a combination of Linux and GNU software.

Most remaining tasks are transportable between Fedora/RHEL/CentOS, and between Debian/Ubuntu/Mint

CentOS and Fedora are probably the best targets for "learning Linux". If you simply wish to use Linux, go with Ubuntu or Mint.
 

firespasm

Honorable
Jan 24, 2014
76
0
10,660
Hey guys, this is awesome advice, thanks for your input really appreciated.

Just explaining about the other distributions of Linux and I already know more than a few days ago. Interesting about certifications and potential exams gives me something to gear towards in the long run. Nice plug for Comptia, I'm getting on some of that training material and hopefully taking some tests to get certified, thanks for that link. Well worth a browse.

So I decided to choose a minimal install and go from there in Centos, I'm using it through Oracle VM box so I can still drop in and out of my windows system, I think I'm going to try and get my email through it first or perhaps something a little lighter like registering which HDD and peripherals are attached to my system. Unsure as of yet.

Can anyone explain cobbler and puppet to me? Is this like the windows Microsoft deployment package?

Ta
 

Fibonacci

Reputable
Jul 31, 2014
3
0
4,510
Here's another way of learning something (anythings, not only linux): throw yourself in the deep and keep at it.

When i finally decided to use linux as my main system, i just copied all my important files to an external HDD, and installed a fresh linux distribution, no windows involved. Whatever I did, even read basic tutorials on linux, i did that on the linux machine. Also, doing very simple things, like opening a program from the terminal, i did that in linux, rather than first 'read about it on your windows machine'. That way, you are forced to use linux in all possible ways.
 

sulumordna

Distinguished
Oct 16, 2011
182
0
18,710


This is basically what I did too, except I had an old single core laptop that wasn't being used. I started with Ubuntu 7.04 feisty. I was always to timid to give Linux a serious go before that, but I'm glad I familiar with it. As stated before, back up anything important you have and give it a go. There are lots of forums out there with loads of information. Most of the GNU/Linux community is friendly and willing to help (lol, unlike the FreeBSD people that will tell you learn the system and read the documentation first).

CentOS is a solid distro. I had many of my Windows based games running smoothly on CentOS 6 and Fedora 18/19. WoW and Rift played good (Rift had some issues with the loading and cut-scenes but was perfectly playable) as did a few Steam games (Windows version) with WINE.

Don't be afraid of the terminal emulator, terminal/command line is your friend.

 

david_brent

Honorable
Aug 23, 2013
13
0
10,520


I would recommend Ubuntu as the starting distribution. As a good tutorial website I recommend this one: Linux tutorial
 

firespasm

Honorable
Jan 24, 2014
76
0
10,660
Brilliant Link, really good resource. Thanks. I sourced some training material on the web for my Comptia exams, the last one I'm doing is Linux + so I have plenty of time to get to grips with it. I was also looking at Zorin OS but I don't think that distro is for me as its too much like windows.

Thanks