Linux Fundamental

  Navigating the Linux Desktop To be a Linux systems administrator, it is necessary to be comfortable with Linux as a desktop operating system and have proficiency with basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills. Using Linux for productivity tasks, rather than depending on Windows or Macintosh systems, accelerates learning by working with Linux tools on a daily basis. Systems administrators do far more than manage servers; they are often called upon to assist users with configuration issues, recommend new software, and update documentation among other tasks. Most Linux distributions allow users to download a “desktop” installation package that can be loaded onto a USB key. This is one of the first things aspiring system administrators should do; download a major distribution and load it onto an old PC. This process is fairly straightforward, and tutorials are available online. The Linux desktop should be familiar to anyone who has used a PC or Macintosh with ic...

Linux started out as something that would only run on a computer like Linus Torvald's: an Intel 386 PC with a specific hard drive controller, but since anyone could add to or change Linux, people started building support for other hardware. Eventually, Linux started supporting other chips with an emphasis on small size and low power consumption. Because of this flexibility, a significant number of device makers have used Linux as the operating system for their hardware products. Today we call these  embedded systems  because they are designed to do a specific task on hardware optimized for only that purpose. These systems encompass a tremendous diversity of devices that are used today, from cell phones to smart TVs and appliances, to remote monitoring systems for pipelines and factories. As Linux evolved, specialized processor chips were developed for consumer and industrial devices to take advantage of its capabilities. Support for Linux has become so ubiquitous that it i...

Red Hat Red Hat  started as a simple distribution that introduced the Red Hat Package Manager (RPM). The developer eventually formed a company around it, which tried to commercialize a Linux desktop for business. Over time, Red Hat started to focus more on the server applications, such as web- and file-serving and released  Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) , which was a paid service on a long release cycle. The release cycle dictates how often software is upgraded. A business may value stability and want long release cycles, while a hobbyist or a startup may want the latest software and opt for a shorter release cycle. To satisfy the latter group, Red Hat sponsors the  Fedora Project  which makes a personal desktop comprising the latest software but is still built on the same foundations as the enterprise version. Because everything in Red Hat Enterprise Linux is open source, a project called  CentOS  came to be. It  recompiled  all the RHEL pa...

Linux users typically obtain an operating system by downloading a  distribution . A Linux distribution is a bundle of software, typically comprised of the Linux kernel, utilities, management tools, and even some application software in a package which also includes the means to update core software and install additional applications. The distribution takes care of setting up the storage, building the kernel and installing hardware drivers, as well as installing applications and utilities to make a fully functional computer system. The organizations that create distributions also include tools to manage the system, a package manager to add and remove software, as well as update programs to provide security and functionality patches. The number of Linux distributions available numbers in the hundreds, so the choice can seem daunting at first. However, the decision points are mostly the same as those highlighted for choosing an operating system. Role With Linux, there are mul...

Apple  makes the  macOS  operating system, which is partially based on software from the FreeBSD project and has undergone UNIX certification. macOS is well known for being “easy to use”, and as such has continued to be favored by users with limited access to IT resources like schools and small businesses. It is also very popular with programmers due to its robust UNIX underpinnings. On the server side,  macOS Server  is primarily aimed at smaller organizations. This low-cost addition to macOS desktop allows users to collaborate, and administrators to control access to shared resources. It also provides integration with iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad. Some large corporate IT departments allow users to choose macOS since users often require less support than standard Microsoft productivity deployments. The continued popularity of macOS has ensured healthy support from software vendors. macOS is also quite popular in the creative industries such as graph...

Microsoft  offers different operating systems according to the machine’s role: desktop or server? The desktop version of Windows has undergone various naming schemes with the current version (as of this writing) being simply  Windows 10 . New versions of this OS come out every 3-5 years and tend to be supported for many years. Backward compatibility is a priority for Microsoft, even going so far as to bundle virtual machine technology so that users can run older software. Windows Server  currently (as of this writing) is at version  2019  to denote the release date. The server can run a GUI but recently Microsoft, largely as a competitive response to Linux, has made incredible strides in its command line scripting capabilities through PowerShell. There is also an optional Desktop Experience package which mimics a standard productivity machine. Microsoft also actively encourages enterprise customers to incorporate its Azure cloud service.