Can you recommend websites, videos or challenges that help to learn Linux system administration? Something like the Linux Upskill Challenge or Bash challenges on hackerrank.com
Probably not exactly what you are looking for, but I’d recommend just starting to selfhost things. Have some old computer? Want to get a VPS?..
Something thats neat for selfhosting is pihole, if you feel up for it, go with docker as it makes things much easier in the long run.
Don’t be too afraid to break your software. It will happen eventually. And always remember that stuff deleted with
rmwon’t come back, thats what made me install a new OS on my VPS.This! Selfhosting your own small apps is the best way to get practical, hands on experience with Linux administration.
It’s also super fun and can be very helpful in some conditions.
On the other hand, the deeper you dive, the more at risk is your wallet, some day I will for sure have a server room somewhere.
Back in the day, we used to have “post2host” forums, where you could get VPS servers for free just by being active in the forum. That’s where I cut my teeth on Linux!
Without that, 10 years ago, I would not have my career today. I am thankful.
That sounds awesome! For me personally, when we were still in highschool, I got a VPS on netcup with two friends together. That was about 2 years ago. We’re phasing it out and all of us now have our own infrastructure.
Once it is no longer available, we plan to build a nextcloud federation.
The most important thing is to just start!
If OP wants to learn admin stuff, why use docker for pihole? The install script is already very easy to use
OP would probably learn a lot more from using the install script and running “pihole -up” command once in a while
I learned the most about linux, networks, and the internet by just getting into projects that are useful for me personally and connected to my hobbies. Self hosted projects are great for this (sftp server, torrent server, gitea, etc. https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted ) While this method really helps with motivation and will probably be the most fun, im also currently looking for some more systematic ways of learning things like security best practices.
The best challenge is to get yourself some Linux distro that, after installing, just drops you into a shell and then install and configure the server software or the desktop software yourself. You could use a Raspberry Pi for this.
I used arch btw.
Do you use linux as your daily driver ? If not,
install gentootry to daily drive an arch-based OS such as EndeavorOS, Arcolinux,Manjaro(Don’t use Manjaro).No. I had Manjoro for some time and then Linux Mint as daily driver. But nowadays I use Linux exclusively on the server side privately and professionally.
May I ask why you stopped using linux on the desktop ?
Sure. It wasn’t a decision against Linux per se. I was considering whether to get a computer with Linux again or a Mac. In the end, the deciding factor was that Apple had released the M1 Macs at this time and I was just really curious to try them out after decades of Windows and a few years of Linux.
Oh ok ! If you want to go back to linux while still using Apple hardware, or MacOS restricts you in some way you can dual boot/ wipe your drive and install Asahi linux which is a distribution designed for Apple silicons (it’s based on Arch btw 😉).
Linux Bible 10th is the #1 source to learn about Linux admin everything you need to know. You can use whatever distro with it you just want to. I used Arch even it is written for Fedora.
