Linux Bible

Christopher Negus

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781119578895
• Edition: 10
• Topic: Informatique
• Subtopic: Systèmes d'exploitation

The industry favorite Linux guide

Linux Bible, 10th Edition is the ultimate hands-on Linux user guide, whether you're a true beginner or a more advanced user navigating recent changes. this updated tenth edition covers the latest versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL 8), Fedora 30, and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. It includes information on cloud computing, with new guidance on containerization, Ansible automation, and Kubernetes and OpenShift. With a focus on RHEL 8, this new edition teaches techniques for managing storage, users, and security, while emphasizing simplified administrative techniques with Cockpit. Written by a Red Hat expert, this book provides the clear explanations and step-by-step instructions that demystify Linux and bring the new features seamlessly into your workflow.

This useful guide assumes a base of little or no Linux knowledge, and takes you step by step through what you need to know to get the job done.

• Get Linux up and running quickly
• Master basic operations and tackle more advanced tasks
• Get up to date on the recent changes to Linux server system management
• Bring Linux to the cloud using Openstack and Cloudforms
• Simplified Linux administration through the Cockpit Web Interface
• Automated Linux Deployment with Ansible
• Learn to navigate Linux with Amazon (AWS), Google (GCE), and Microsofr Azure Cloud services

Linux Bible, 10th Edition is the one resource you need, and provides the hands-on training that gets you on track in a flash.

Part I
Getting Started

IN THIS PART

• Chapter 1 Starting with Linux
• Chapter 2 Creating the Perfect Linux Desktop

CHAPTER 1
Starting with Linux

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IN THIS CHAPTER

• Learning what Linux is
• Learning where Linux came from
• Choosing Linux distributions
• Exploring professional opportunities with Linux
• Becoming certified in Linux

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The operating systems war is over, and Linux has won. Proprietary operating systems simply cannot keep up with the pace of improvements and quality that Linux can achieve with its culture of sharing and innovation. Even Microsoft, whose former CEO Steve Ballmer once referred to Linux as “a cancer,” now says that Linux's use on its Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service has surpassed the use of Windows.

Linux is one of the most important technological advancements of the twenty-first century. Beyond its impact on the growth of the Internet and its place as an enabling technology for a range of computer-driven devices, Linux development has become a model for how collaborative projects can surpass what single individuals and companies can do alone.

Google runs thousands upon thousands of Linux servers to power its search technology. Its Android phones are based on Linux. Likewise, when you download and run Google's Chrome OS, you get a browser that is backed by a Linux operating system.

Facebook builds and deploys its site using what is referred to as a LAMP stack (Linux, Apache web server, MySQL database, and PHP web scripting language)—all open source projects. In fact, Facebook itself uses an open source development model, making source code for the applications and tools that drive Facebook available to the public. This model has helped Facebook shake out bugs quickly, get contributions from around the world, and fuel its exponential growth.

Financial organizations that have trillions of dollars riding on the speed and security of their operating systems also rely heavily on Linux. These include the New York Stock Exchange, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

As cloud continues to be one of the hottest buzzwords today, a part of the cloud groundswell that isn't hype is that Linux and other open source technologies continue to be the foundation on which today's greatest cloud innovations are being built. Every software component that you need to build a private or public cloud (such as hypervisors, cloud controllers, network storage, virtual networking, and authentication) is freely available for you to start using from the open source world.

The widespread adoption of Linux around the world has created huge demand for Linux expertise. This chapter starts you down a path to becoming a Linux expert by helping you understand what Linux is, where it came from, and what your opportunities are for becoming proficient in it.

The rest of this book provides you with hands-on activities to help you gain that expertise. Finally, I show you how to apply that expertise to cloud technologies, including automation tools, such as Ansible, and containerization orchestration technologies, such as Kubernetes and OpenShift.

Understanding What Linux Is

Linux is a computer operating system. An operating system consists of the software that manages your computer and lets you run applications on it. The features that make up Linux and similar computer operating systems include the following:

• Detecting and preparing hardware: When the Linux system boots up (when you turn on your computer), it looks at the components on your computer (CPU, hard drive, network cards, and so on) and loads the software (drivers and modules) needed to access those particular hardware devices.
• Managing processes: The operating system must keep track of multiple processes running at the same time and decide which have access to the CPU and when. The system also must offer ways of starting, stopping, and changing the status of processes.
• Managing memory: RAM and swap space (extended memory) must be allocated to applications as they need memory. The operating system decides how requests for memory are handled.
• Providing user interfaces: An operating system must provide ways of accessing the system. The first Linux systems were accessed from a command-line interpreter called a shell. Today, graphical desktop interfaces are commonly available as well.
• Controlling filesystems: Filesystem structures are built into the operating system (or loaded as modules). The operating system controls ownership and access to the files and directories (folders) that the filesystems contain.
• Providing user access and authentication: Creating user accounts and allowing boundaries to be set between users is a basic feature of Linux. Separate user and group accounts enable users to control their own files and processes.
• Offering administrative utilities: In Linux, hundreds (perhaps thousands) of commands and graphical windows are available to do such things as add users, manage disks, monitor the network, install software, and generally secure and manage your computer. Web UI tools, such as Cockpit, have lowered the bar for doing complex administrative tasks.
• Starting up services: To use printers, handle log messages, and provide a variety of system and network services, processes called daemon processes run in the background, waiting for requests to come in. Many types of services run in Linux. Linux provides different ways of starting and stopping these services. In other words, while Linux includes web browsers to view web pages, it can also be the computer that serves up web pages to others. Popular server features include web, mail, database, printer, file, DNS, and DHCP servers.
• Programming tools: A wide variety of programming utilities for creating applications and libraries for implementing specialty interfaces are available with Linux.

As someone managing Linux systems, you need to learn how to work with those features just described. While many features can be managed using graphical interfaces, an understanding of the shell command line is critical for someone administering Linux systems.

Modern Linux systems now go way beyond what the first UNIX systems (on which Linux was based) could do. Advanced features in Linux, often used in large enterprises, include the following:

• Clustering: Linux can be configured to work in clusters so that multiple systems can appear as one system to the outside world. Services can be configured to pass back and forth between cluster nodes while appearing to those using the services that they are running without interruption.
• V...