UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hi Corona688 you said "That's the thing -- Linux/UNIX are systems, not "things to learn". You need to learn how to solve problems in it, not just "learn x" then "learn y" then "learn z". This is because they're sets of smaller tools to be used together, not a short list of big premade things." i am fully aware of this. Its more like an expression what i said. I just say learn as it was easy to express. I fully understand what you mean though.

After lots of research and talking to various people in industries I have decided to start the Red Hat System Administration I (RH124) path.

Are there any books you guys can recommend. or will i just buy the one thats on the RH web site.

thanks for all your input guys!!! i really appreciate it...

If you want to specialise in Red Hat Linux, then the best source of training material is Red Hat. They also run courses.

To answer your earlier post (I got cut off):

The Internet is a bit random for unix and Linux information. I'd start with a decent specialist summary book. For example the O'Reilly "Unix and Linux System Administration Handbook". This book also itemises the role of the Administrator and covers the commands you need to know and makes the essential differences between unix and Linux clear.

As an Adminstrator, if you come across a system which does not have a backup the only reason to login is to configure a backup. After this you can do more. Do not change anything on a system unless you have a backup and a clear regression plan. (No, I don't work for National Westminster Bank!).

You are unlikely to encounter a site where all the desktop PCs are running Linux. It is so important to understand how to connect Microsoft desktops to unix, Linux and Windows Servers. There is a lot less difference than people imagine since Microsoft effectively dropped Lan Manager in favour of TCP/IP. There is a lot of unix in Windows NT and later Windows Operating Systems.

Very true. It is the eternal trade off whether to know a little bit about everything, or a lot about one area.
My best advice at this stage is to download one of the Linux distributions and try some shell scripting with it. We have this forum that helped me a lot, so chances are it will help you too. In other words, 1 year may become the norm rather than the 2 years.

Unixes (and Linuxes) have most features, commands, concepts, etc. in common. If you learn one Unix - any Unix - and sit down in front of another one you will be able to do anything a user wants to do without even thinking. Alas, the finer points of administration - management of users, filesystems, network adapters, tuning, etc. - can differ widely. So, while any Unix system is almost the same from a user POV it can differ widely for the administrator.

The position of software developers is somewhere in between: Unix is more like a standard than a certain system and in principle, if you use all the standard Unix system calls you are guaranteed to be able to compile the same source and have it run on any other Unix-system unchanged. Well, that is the theory and while the practice is of course different it comes remarkably close to being so.

Always bear in mind that Unix is not only an OS at all. Unix comes out of academic research and it is as much a culture as it is an OS. Most times it isn't about doing something, but doing it right. In this regard right usually means "being in tune with a long-term strategic plan and according to some bigger concept of how things can and should be done". This makes Unix systems, diverse as they may be, quite predictable on a certain level. There are only so many ways to do something in the "right" way.

This "right way" is often something hard to point at. Like, say, the concept of "fairness" or "justice" it is hard to explain what exactly it encompasses. Still, anyone immersed in the same culture will immediately recognize a thing to be "just" or the opposite in a very consistent way. The judgement of Unix people about attempts at a solution being right or wrong will converge over time to a similar degree.

I hope this helps.

bakunin

First of all I'd point out that Linux is freely available to install on a sacrificial box at home and that the concepts (if not the detail) carry over between both fairly well. I initially learnt to use Linux because I found it fun and found work with an ISP through helping out on a LUG mailing list. Subsequently I was hired to a position which exposed me to Solaris and the differences, while many, are well documented (the unix rosetta stone site was invaluable initially). So I'd advise tinkering with Linux at home and perhaps certification (the RedHat certification is good but pricey, the LPI is worthwhile as it shows you have done enough to make yourself useful but RedHat is the de-facto industry standard. CEntOS is a pretty exact copy of RedHat but free to use.

1) There are plenty of both
2) I'd go the other way, but by and large yes, unless you have the misfortune to encounter HP-UX
3) Solaris is probably the most common version of Unix
4) Yes, but again I'd recommend Linux for self training.
5) the same general principles apply across the board
6) Curiosity and access to a Solaris box
7) Yup, role dependant.

One final note, which may be entirely subjective. I have noticed that Solaris use is reducing and Linux on the increase among our customers globally, with North America and N. Europe being the Solaris hold outs for now. HP-UX has almost completely disappeared. I haven't seen an enterprise SCO box for 3 years and BSD shops do their own thing and don't need our help

I have to agree that things are slowly moving from Solaris to RHEL, although we still do a lot on Solaris, all new systems in development in my workplace are being developed for RHEL.

I started in Linux and then got to using Solaris when I joined my current company. Now my Linux background is coming more and more into focus again.

Certain skills are transferable, coming from a Linux background meant that I was able to slot in a lot more quickly than if I'd come from a Windows background.

I'd say logical thinking, a desire to learn and a solid understanding of networking along with some *nix should stand you in good stead.

I'd also echo that for learning, VirtualBox and CentOS give you a good learning platform which allows you to break and restore things easily. Practicing scripting, whether Bash or Perl, is also important.

Most of all, have fun.