Linux Administration
Curriculum
Linux · Ops

Linux Administration Tutorial

A complete Linux administration path: filesystem, users, systemd, networking, packages, storage, security hardening, and ops capstones.

65 lessonsBeginner → ProDevOps
Start from the beginning

Curriculum

Work through each section in order. Every lesson ends with practice and key points so the idea sticks.

Beginner

Getting Started

5 lessons · ~55 min
  1. 1
    Welcome to Linux Administration

    Operate servers with confidence.

  2. 2
    Distributions Overview

    Debian/Ubuntu vs RHEL/Fedora families.

  3. 3
    Install & Cloud VMs

    Local VM or cloud instance lab setup.

  4. 4
    Terminal Survival

    Shell, prompts, and keyboard fluency.

  5. 5
    man & --help

    Learn any command from its docs.

Beginner

Filesystem

5 lessons · ~55 min
  1. 6
    Filesystem Hierarchy

    /etc, /var, /home, /usr, /opt.

  2. 7
    Navigation

    cd, ls, pwd, tree.

  3. 8
    Files & Directories

    cp, mv, rm, mkdir, ln.

  4. 9
    Permissions

    rwx, chmod, chown, umask.

  5. 10
    Finding Files

    find, locate, which, type.

Beginner

Users & Processes

5 lessons · ~55 min
  1. 11
    Users & Groups

    useradd, usermod, /etc/passwd.

  2. 12
    sudo & Root

    Least privilege administration.

  3. 13
    Processes

    ps, top, htop, kill.

  4. 14
    Job Control

    bg, fg, nohup, disown.

  5. 15
    systemd Services

    systemctl start/enable/status.

Beginner

Packages & Software

5 lessons · ~60 min
  1. 16
    apt Basics

    Install and update on Debian/Ubuntu.

  2. 17
    dnf/yum Basics

    RHEL-family package workflow.

  3. 18
    Snaps/Flatpaks Overview

    Alternative packaging systems.

  4. 19
    Compiling From Source

    When packages are not enough.

  5. 20
    Project: Web Server Box

    Install and serve a static site.

Beginner

Networking

5 lessons · ~58 min
  1. 21
    IP Addressing

    ip addr, routes, DNS basics.

  2. 22
    ss & Listening Ports

    See what is bound.

  3. 23
    Firewall Intro

    ufw/firewalld mental model.

  4. 24
    SSH Hardening

    Keys, disable password, config.

  5. 25
    Project: Secure SSH Access

    Key-only login checklist.

Intermediate

Storage

5 lessons · ~65 min
  1. 26
    Disks & Partitions

    lsblk, fdisk overview.

  2. 27
    Filesystems & Mounts

    mkfs, mount, /etc/fstab.

  3. 28
    LVM Intro

    Flexible volume management.

  4. 29
    Quotas Overview

    Limit user disk usage.

  5. 30
    Backups Mindset

    3-2-1 and restore testing.

Intermediate

Logs & Monitoring

5 lessons · ~68 min
  1. 31
    journalctl

    Query systemd logs.

  2. 32
    /var/log

    Classic log files still matter.

  3. 33
    logrotate

    Prevent disks filling with logs.

  4. 34
    Resource Monitoring

    free, df, iostat, vmstat.

  5. 35
    Project: Incident Triage

    Diagnose a full disk or high CPU.

Intermediate

Automation & Config

5 lessons · ~70 min
  1. 36
    Cron & Timers

    Schedule admin tasks.

  2. 37
    Shell Scripting for Admins

    Safe scripts with set -euo pipefail.

  3. 38
    Configuration Management Preview

    Ansible mental model.

  4. 39
    Infrastructure as Code Preview

    Terraform direction.

  5. 40
    Project: Bootstrap Script

    Idempotent server setup script.

Intermediate

Containers & Cloud

5 lessons · ~70 min
  1. 41
    Docker on Linux

    Engine install and first container.

  2. 42
    systemd + Docker

    Restart policies and services.

  3. 43
    Cloud Metadata

    Think like a cloud admin.

  4. 44
    Object Storage Concepts

    S3-compatible backups.

  5. 45
    Project: Containerized App Host

    Run nginx reverse proxy to an app.

Intermediate

Security Hardening

3 lessons · ~39 min
  1. 46
    Updates & CVE Hygiene

    Patch cadence that is real.

  2. 47
    Fail2ban / Intrusion Basics

    Reduce noisy attacks.

  3. 48
    SELinux/AppArmor Overview

    Mandatory access control ideas.

Advanced

Security Hardening

2 lessons · ~32 min
  1. 49
    Secrets on Servers

    Never bake secrets into images.

  2. 50
    Project: Hardening Checklist

    Apply a 15-point baseline.

Advanced

Capstone & Career

10 lessons · ~170 min
  1. 51
    Capstone: Production-like VM

    Users, firewall, nginx, TLS stub, monitoring.

  2. 52
    Capstone: Broken Server Drill

    Fix networking/service failures under time.

  3. 53
    Linux Interview Review

    Permissions, processes, systemd, networking.

  4. 54
    Next Steps

    SRE, platform engineering, or security ops.

  5. 55
    Final Challenge

    Document a runbook for restarting a stack.

  6. 56
    Glossary Drill

    inode, daemon, unit, CIDR, journal.

  7. 57
    Performance Checklist

    CPU, RAM, disk, network bottlenecks.

  8. 58
    Disaster Recovery Drill

    Restore from backup successfully.

  9. 59
    Portfolio Tips

    Show labs with diagrams and configs.

  10. 60
    Ethics & Responsibility

    Admin access is production trust.

Advanced

Practice Labs

5 lessons · ~80 min
  1. 61
    Practice Lab 61

    Hands-on practice lab consolidating earlier linux skills.

  2. 62
    Practice Lab 62

    Hands-on practice lab consolidating earlier linux skills.

  3. 63
    Practice Lab 63

    Hands-on practice lab consolidating earlier linux skills.

  4. 64
    Practice Lab 64

    Hands-on practice lab consolidating earlier linux skills.

  5. 65
    Practice Lab 65

    Hands-on practice lab consolidating earlier linux skills.