Path 02 / Learning syllabus
Linux basics
Learn to operate a Linux system by building, running and troubleshooting a small service in a disposable practice environment.
Explore the syllabus
Your course project
A working Linux service
Use one disposable Ubuntu lab throughout the path. Start with a lab record, then build and troubleshoot a small HTTP service. Learn editing, backup and rollback before changing service configuration.
Before you begin
Start where it makes sense.
For technically curious beginners. No prior Linux or command-line experience is required.
Already know the foundations? Jump to any lesson in the syllabus.
Start with the supplied examples. Each exercise explains what you need, what to try and how to check the result; software-based exercises use a disposable practice environment.
The ordered path
What you will learn
Follow the sequence to build the course project, or open the lesson that answers your question.
- 01BeginnerLesson · 6 min read
Set up a safe Linux lab
Use a disposable environment and identify the distribution, shell and current user.
What you will try
Create a small lab record, stop the machine and verify that the record survives a restart.
- 02BeginnerLesson · 7 min read
Read commands and find help
See how the shell turns what you type into a command: follow spaces, quotes, variables and filename patterns, then use the right help to explain the result.
What you will try
Predict the arguments a command will receive, compare its actual output, and use the manual to explain any surprise.
- 03IntermediateLesson · 5 min read
Navigate, edit and manage files
Work with paths, directories, files and links; edit a small file, keep a backup and understand deletion.
What you will try
Edit the project’s sample page, compare it with its backup and restore the original.
- 04IntermediateLesson · 5 min read
Read, search and transform text
Use pipes, redirection, filters and search to answer a concrete question.
What you will try
Extract failed requests from the project’s synthetic request log.
- 05IntermediateLesson · 4 min read
Users, groups and permissions
Explain ownership, access checks, sudo and executable permissions.
What you will try
Diagnose a deliberately unreadable project file without making it world-writable.
- 06IntermediateLesson · 5 min read
Processes, signals and the shell
Find running work, inspect exit codes and environment variables, and stop a process deliberately.
What you will try
Locate the project process, explain its environment and observe a failed command’s exit status.
- 07IntermediateLesson · 4 min read
Install and configure software
Connect packages, versions, configuration files and supported update methods.
What you will try
Record the installed package version and preserve a configuration before changing it.
- 08IntermediateLesson · 4 min read
Services and logs
Start a service, inspect its configuration and explain a startup failure.
What you will try
Repair a sample service configuration, roll it back and verify its behavior from logs and a request.
- 09IntermediateLesson · 5 min read
Storage and filesystems
Distinguish filesystem layout, mounts, capacity, inodes and open deleted files.
What you will try
Explain a space problem using filesystem and process evidence.
- 10IntermediateLesson · 4 min read
Networking and DNS
Follow a request through name resolution, routing, listening ports and connectivity.
What you will try
Separate a failed name lookup from a service that is not listening.
- 11IntermediateLesson · 5 min read
Connect securely with SSH
Understand keys, host verification, remote commands and common connection failures when the project moves to a remote lab.
What you will try
Verify the lab’s host identity and establish a connection using a dedicated practice key.
- 12IntermediateLesson · 4 min read
Diagnose resource pressure
Identify CPU, memory, disk I/O and capacity constraints using evidence.
What you will try
Use a bounded lab workload to explain which resource is constrained.
- 13IntermediateLesson · 4 min read
Investigate a broken service
Diagnose and repair a failure, then verify recovery and preserve a useful investigation record.
What you will try
Recover the project service, demonstrate a successful request and explain the evidence behind the fix.
