Which Distro for me?
jem7sk
MemberMember Posts: 77 ■■□□□□□□□□
I am a System Admin who has worked in a Windows/Cisco environment for the past 16 years and am looking to make the jump to Linux. I have used Ubuntu (didn't like it) and Mint (wasn't bad) in the past but didn't get to know it well and just used it like a typical, non-technical person would use windows. I really don't have any hardcore experience with Linux and want to eventually become a Linux Admin. I am studying for Cisco certs now but when finished I want to get some Linux certs. From all I have read here Red Hat is the way to go. It seems there are three flavors of Red Hat that are free: Fedora, openSuse and CentOS. I just bought a new laptop and want to put a Linux Distro on my old laptop and get to know Linux very well. Should I use one of these three distros or another? Which one of these three should I use if they are the ones to use?
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Work stuff
- Renew DHCP lease
- Manually configure your ethernet adapter
- Modify the hosts file
- Modify the firewall
- Update your routing table
- Ping, traceroute, etc
- Create a new user
- Make/move/delete directories and files
- Make a scheduled task (aka cron table)
Of course you'll have to learn all the commands and getting used to working exclusively on the CLI, but honestly it's highly efficient once you start getting the hang of it.what should be the first Linux cert I should focus on? I might use that training guide as a way to learn. I have also learned a little by googling the first things to do after a CentOS 7 installation.
I put CentOS 7 on but after getting it running there doesn't seem to be much info on it. I might have to try Fedora for now as there seems to be a lot of info on it. I like CentOS though and maybe the Version 6 information will work for 7?
I should just concentrate on the Red Hat certs correct? I shouldn't worry about any other Linux certs if I want to be a Linux admin? I'll research and get a book on the first Red Hat certification to help me learn.
Also, while RHCSA is a great cert to have if you want to be a linux admin, I would recommend checking out Linux+ as a primer. It's vendor-neutral and a good introduction to all things linux, including the CLI, FHS, etc. RHCSA is performance-based but it won't do you much good to do the tasks if you don't understand linux from a holistic perspective.
My advice: crawl before you walk
I would definitely also recommend to start with Linux+ before you move onto Red Hat unless you have lots of knowledge and experience to compensate.
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I usually do a search of what are the top things to do after installing such and such linux distro and it comes back with a lot of info that leads to more. With CentOS 7 I didn't really get anything.
Thanks for the advice on the Linux +. That sounds exactly like where I need to start. I'll see if I can find a good study guide and start there!
I don't have lots of knowledge and experience but I want it.. I'll definitely start with Linux+ Thanks!
If you fill out the form on this page you can get the exam objectives, which are a great place to start:
Exam Objectives
Also fun fact: Linux+ is the only CompTIA exam that doesn't expire
Let me introduce you to something we call documentation: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/7/html/System_Administrators_Guide/
But seriously, RedHat has some amazing free guides available on their website, if CentOS is the way you're going, all of the documentation you're going to need is on that site.
Definitely heed Lsud00d's advice. I'm in my first Linux sys admin position and having studied for/completed the Linux + certification, I have easily transitioned into the role, coming from a strictly Windows Server background.
That's exactly what I did! It's been about 3 years now since I completed the L+ and I worked in a pure linux role for about 2 years total. I worked in a SUSE (SLES)/Novell shop so unlike most people I can back up the bonus certs you get with the L+...even though they are pretty much worthless
In the end working with Linux made me a much stronger Windows admin. It was also very easy to pick up PowerShell (as an Object Oriented language) although I still miss Bash's text-driven focus. Yay linux!!
I still play Windows and VMware admin, but in a smaller capacity than with my Linux/Unix role. I'm decent with Powershell (which I do enjoy), but I still have a lot to learn when it comes to Bash scripting.
That is actually some good documentation! I'll be checking out the redhat site for more. I'm going to do a search here and see which Linux + study guide is the best and pick one of those up too.
http://www.techexams.net/forums/linux/104402-linux-study-resources.html
BTW.. posting now from CentOS 7
Happy to help...now if only we could get that post stickied.
However, at work, I use Redhat.
I second that. Though it is for advanced users, I'd advise starting off with it for no reason other than just getting it installed will give you a good crash course in the basics of Linux - creating partitions, creating file systems, swap space, the concept of root & other mount points... even as a RHCE with many years of experience, I find my knowledge of the inner workings of Linux has increased exponentially since I started playing with Arch.
Based on what OP mentioned, I don't think he'd really be considered a power user. Someone with little to no experience can become frustrated very easily with Arch.