UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

HI there I would like to become a UNIX god in...oh lets say a month.
Basically im a windows expert (stop laughing) and I want one of them high paying IT jobs that always require knowledge of some flavour of UNIX.

The last NIX that I tried was Redhat 7. I loved it!!!! But didn't have anything to do with it on my home PC so I stopped using it. I tried to get it to connect to a windows PC using SAMBA but it didn't work properly back then...or at least it wouldn't work for me. But I did find a tiny little util that did connect WIN and NIX PCs...but cant remember what its called. Im rambling...

Anyway I want to walk into an interview in lets say 4-5 weeks and know enough UNIX to get that £50,000 job and have a good idea what im doing.

What I need to know is what sort of things would I need to know in order to “know” UNIX? Im talking from a day to day operations and troubleshooting point.

What NIX would be best to use in order for me to get a good feeling for the NIX versions? I like Redhat but I have a feeling that using it would not prepare me to use HPUX or AIX...but im not sure you tell me.

As a beginners experiment im going to add a unix box to a windows network (Peer2peer not domain). And map a drive to the UNIX box so everybody can logon to the UNIX box and have their own home directory. Im guessing that I still have to use SAMBA to do this?

One more question...If I install Redhat 7 which I already have can I just install another NIX over it without destroying the data on the partition like you can with windows versions?

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Jon Tickle RULES!!!!!!!

See this other interview

A master in a month? I've done it since 1992 and don't consider myself a master - good luck.

As far as differences - HP, AIX, Solaris, SCO, Redhat, and all the others have different commands as far as administration. If you can 'master' Redhat then at least you have a base to build the others. Just remember, each has a cpu(s), disks, memory. The logic is the same just implemented differently with different commands. Most 'user' commands are the same. If you know what OS the company runs, then go in that direction - if not or if you are just trying anything, pick one and learn it.

There's no way your going to even get close to demi-god in a month let alone god-like.

Sorry dude.

You can bluff your way through windows, sort of anyway, but not Unix, its a lot more involved. If you want to be employed as a Unix Admin or such, do as RTM said and practice for about 3years.

If you are truly willing to put this much time an energy into learning something, why would you limit yourself to 30 days? Put that energy into learning UNIX and you WILL get a better paying job, just maybe not in the timeframe you specified. Nothing is free, reach for it, work for it, and you will have it.

I think 30 days is sufficient for getting a grasp on the basics. If you studied really hard for 30 days straight, you could come out knowing what everything "does" and what each file is for on a vanilla system.

Though, there is certainly a long, long, long road to mastery. Not only would you need to know certain software, but like any other skill, it takes a large amount of time to know what to do with that knowledge. The only way you can learn the idiosyncracies and operational harmony of Unix is through time. Unix isn't a vocabulary test. There is a lot of theory that you can only learn by persistence. =)

I second Mr. Proper's post.
I had no documentation when i first installed linux. The only command I knew was man, and in a few weeks even one with such a limited intellect as I soon upgraded myself to 'user' status.

While I would agree that one month is enough to become a unix user, this thread was started by someone who wants to become a unix god.

My definition of unix god: a person who can write every kernel module, every device driver, every compiler, and every other command of any unix systems. If even one piece of software on any unix system is too mysterious for you to duplicate, you are not yet a unix god.

I too would like to be a unix god. I have been persuing that dream since the early 1980's. I'm guessing that it will take another 30 years or so.