Linux Study Guide

A comprehensive study guide to master Linux fundamentals, administration, and advanced

topics. Use this guide to prepare for certifications (LPIC, CompTIA Linux+, RHCSA),
interviews, or improve day-to-day Linux proficiency.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Linux History & Distributions

3. Installation & Setup

4. Filesystem Hierarchy

5. Basic Shell Commands

6. File Permissions & Ownership

7. Text Editors

8. Package Management

9. Users & Groups

10. Process Management

11. Networking

12. Services & Systemd

13. Disk & Storage Management

14. Bash Scripting

15. Logging & Monitoring

16. Security Fundamentals

17. Troubleshooting & Best Practices

18. Practice Exercises

19. Further Reading & Resources

Introduction
Linux is a Unix-like open-source operating system kernel widely used for servers, desktops,
embedded systems, and more. This guide covers core concepts, commands, administration
tasks, and best practices.

Linux History & Distributions

• Created by Linus Torvalds (1991)

• Open-source GPL license

Popular Distributions

Distribution Package Manager Target Audience

Ubuntu APT (.deb) Desktop, Server

Debian APT Stability

CentOS/RHEL YUM/DNF (.rpm) Enterprise

Fedora DNF Cutting-edge

Arch Linux Pacman DIY enthusiasts

SUSE Zypper Enterprise

Installation & Setup

Minimum Requirements

• CPU: 1 GHz

• RAM: 512 MB

• Disk: 10 GB

Installation Steps (Ubuntu Example)

1. Download ISO

2. Create bootable USB (dd or Rufus)

3. Boot and follow installer prompts

4. Partition scheme: / (20GB+), swap, /home

Filesystem Hierarchy
Directory Purpose

/ Root filesystem

/bin Essential binaries

/sbin System binaries

/etc Configuration files

/home User directories

/var Variable data (logs)

/usr User programs and data

/tmp Temporary files

/dev Device files

/proc Kernel & process info

Basic Shell Commands

Command Description Example

ls List files ls -lah

cd Change directory cd /var/log

pwd Print working dir pwd

cp Copy files cp src dst

mv Move/rename mv old new

rm Remove files rm -rf dir

mkdir Make directory mkdir -p /opt/project

cat Concatenate/read cat [Link]

grep Search text grep -R "error" /var/log

find Search files find / -type f -name '*.conf'

chmod Change permissions chmod 644 file

Command Description Example

chown Change ownership chown user:group file

tar Archive utility tar czvf [Link] dir/

df Disk usage df -h

du Directory size du -sh *

top Process monitor top

ps Process status ps aux

kill Terminate process kill -9 PID

File Permissions & Ownership

Permissions: r (read), w (write), x (execute) for user/group/others.

Example: -rwxr-xr-- 1 alice devops 1024 Jan 1 12:00 [Link]

Change with chmod (symbolic: chmod u+x file, numeric: chmod 755 file).

Ownership: chown user:group file.

Text Editors

Nano

• Easy-to-use CLI editor

• Basic commands: Ctrl+O (save), Ctrl+X (exit)

Vim

• Modes: Normal, Insert, Command

• Basics:

o Insert: i, Save & quit: :wq, Quit: :q!

o Navigation: h/j/k/l

Package Management

Debian/Ubuntu (APT)
sudo apt update

sudo apt install <package>

sudo apt remove <package>

RHEL/CentOS (DNF/YUM)

sudo yum update

yum install <package>

Arch (Pacman)

sudo pacman -Syu

sudo pacman -S <package>

Users & Groups

Command Purpose

useradd Create user

passwd Set password

usermod Modify user

userdel Delete user

groupadd Create group

gpasswd Admin group

Example: sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash bob

Process Management

Command Description

ps aux List processes

top Interactive monitor

htop Enhanced monitor

kill, pkill, killall Terminate process

Command Description

nice, renice Priority management

Networking

Command Purpose

ip addr Show interfaces

ping Connectivity check

netstat/ss Socket info

traceroute Route path

curl, wget HTTP requests

ssh Remote login

Services & Systemd

sudo systemctl start|stop|restart <service>

sudo systemctl enable <service>

systemctl status <service>

Units: services (.service), mounts (.mount), timers (.timer).

Disk & Storage Management

Partitioning

• fdisk, gdisk, parted

Filesystems

• mkfs.ext4, [Link]

• Mount: mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt

LVM

• Create PV, VG, LV

Bash Scripting

Basics:

#!/bin/bash

# Comments

for file in *.txt; do

echo "$file"

done

Variables, conditionals (if, case), loops (for, while), functions.

Logging & Monitoring

Logs: /var/log/ (syslog, [Link], [Link]) Tools: journalctl, dmesg, logrotate.

Performance: vmstat, iostat, free, sar.

Security Fundamentals

• SSH key authentication

• Firewall: ufw, iptables

• SELinux/AppArmor basics

• Regular updates

• Least privilege principle

Troubleshooting & Best Practices

• Check logs first

• Use verbose/debug flags

• Backup configuration files before changes

• Document procedures
Practice Exercises

1. Create a user with no home directory.

2. Write a script to backup /etc daily.

3. Configure a static IP on Ubuntu.

4. Set up SSH key auth and disable password login.

5. Monitor disk usage and alert at 80%.

Further Reading & Resources

• The Linux Documentation Project

• TLDP Guides

• man pages (man <command>)

• Online tutorials: Linux Foundation, DigitalOcean

Happy Learning!