UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Just spent the last hour cruising the FAQ and doing some searches. I learn best by getting one or two books and just starting from scratch and building up a system. Looks like that's the way most of you recommend getting going anyway. I'm armed with several book titles now, and I'll head off to Borders in a minute to start my book search there.

What I could use some help on is a recommendation on which version / flavor of Unix to point myself towards, and, it needs to be one that I can download for free. It looks like I can get my hands on Linux for free, but I find myself wondering if this is the best direction for me.

Here's my deal; I used to program business applications in Visual Foxpro years ago. Then I moved on to Windows networks. I'm only 6/10ths knowledgable in those area tho. I'm primarily an IT manager for a small agency (branch of the fed gov). Half my time is spent doing business systems analysis and project management. The other half Win Server 2003 and XP network management. I've been cut to half time. Our agency is colapsing (due to fed money being diverted to the war). Lay offs all around. I'm looking for other IT manager positions but the competition is feirce. All the positions are demanding very high technical expertise. The area I fall the shortest on is Unix and Mac. I'm buying an iMac shortly. For Unix experience.. like I said.. I need to get some books, get it installed, and start learning.

One potential employer will use Solaris, another will just say "Unix". It's impossible to know which version to study as I'm trying every employer I can. Would you guys be able to recommend a version that would be considered the most widely accepted as "general Unix knowledge" for any of the versions?

If it helps to narrow things down some, I'm primarily interested in building up a Unix based server and then having a chance to, one by one, fumble my way through all the networking areas; DHCP, DNS, etc.. Programming would not be a priority.

Ooo wait, I almost forgot. I'm sure I've got an old workstation laying around here that I can use, but its likely to be REALLY old. Like a 500mhz PC and only 256 ram. Is this enough to load Unix? Ideally, I'd like to run it on my work PC from the CD drive without actually installing it. Doesn't seem likely though.

THis is gonna be sooo hard. I need to gain / cram 3 years of real life Unix experience into two months. Right.. impossible. I am so hosed.

Thanks for any help guys.

well let me try it from two sides:

1. what to learn.
I would definitely recommend "UNIX Essentials and UNIX Core" DVD. It is widely available, you can get on from Amazon and it provides with certification that is very useful as you will be looking for a job, as you say. It also addresses MANY versions of UNIX. After it the "UNIX Administrator" by Nemet is a bible.
2. what to install?
if you're going to buy iMac, then do not bother to install anything else. You can exercise as much as you wish. In a case you'll find some specific job for solaris, let say. Go to eBay and get for $100 some model 5 or 10. it is perfectly enought to get expirience.
hope it helps.

Thanks. I ran into someone at the bookstore with an iMac. He talked about OS X Tiger having a Unix shell. So, this is what you are saying as well, right? That since Tiger is based on Unix, and there's an interface to Unix / Linux built in, that I can use that machine as my platform for studying. Sounds good.