UNIX/Linux Sysadmin Tutorials | Hacker News Reader

UNIX/Linux Sysadmin Tutorials

thegeekstuff.com

101 pointsmacco13 comments

30 - For Linux users, learn how to use ip (and the tools included in iproute2) instead of using ifconfig, which is part of net-tools, they are deprecated.

A good resource for that: http://andys.org.uk/bits/2010/02/24/iproute2-life-after-ifco...

45 - Use LVM always if it's possible.

Interesting - i had no idea that ifconfig and route were considered deprecated - googling did not turn up a lot of information fut I found corroboration with wikipedia and a linux foundation article: http://www.linuxfoundation.org/collaborate/workgroups/networ...

And the developer page shows no activity in a long while: https://developer.berlios.de/projects/net-tools/

I am a bit embarrassed to know nothing about this as I have blithely been using ipconfig and route over the last few years.

One command that I have been using from the newer suite is ethtools - that is really useful. I like the very detailed interface error counts

Minor nitpick: not ipconfig, but ifconfig (from interface config).

aargh - you can tell that I learned Windows before Linux

Does ip also replace dhclient?

Sorry, only now I saw your comment, I believe that's not the case.

The Debian Installer (I belive it uses busybox) includes both dhclient and ip.

#51: Bookmark nixCraft, articles.slicehost.com & the Linode Library.

On a related note, I am planning to start a site dedicated to Linux sysadmin tutorials. They will be in-depth guides on how to achieve a particular result, rather than quick "How to..." guides.

For example, some of the first posts will be:

Building a global, centralised logging system with open-source software and Splunk

Using Splunk as a front-end for munin monitoring data

Dynamic kickstart files (for automated RedHat installs)

Are there any topics you like to see on the site?

Where/When will this be?

For my interest making some of the low level processes more understandable would be great.

Recently I came across a sysadvent article on stracing 'ls' it was exactly the kind of thing that is useful to me. (quite probably an HN or reddit/r/programming link)

Also in the "Land of Lisp" book learning what the bit operator 'ash' does was a real eye-opener.

Both of these things are pretty basic for someone with a CS or EE background. But I think a lot of sysadmins come from other backgrounds. A bit more than a decade ago I was a grad student in a Literature department and found myself inexplicably attracted to Linux, OpenSource and started to try and extricate myself from Windows gui-ness. Eventually landed a sysadmin job about 5 yrs ago after taking some CS courses and some DIY learning.

In short I have real weaknesses in math and low level understanding of what is happening at the kernel level - I really treasure things like the 2 mentioned articles as they shed light on what is going on at a lower level.

Not for a couple of months - I need to get my startup in beta first, but the sysadmin tutorial site is next on my to-do list.

I read the "stracing ls" article (I think it was posted here), which was fascinating reading. I am planning to write higher-level tutorials rather than dissecting low-level commands, although now that I think about it a mix of the two would be better.

Thanks for the feedback - if there are any specific areas you would like to see covered do let me know, and I'll do my best to include them.

Backing up with `dd` is stupid.

Some tools work better than others for an individual's particular situation - but backing up is never stupid.

Good point - the question is 'under what circumstances is dd a better/only choice for this task?'

I think if you are in a rescue mode and are in a limited env (busybox/ ash type of scenario) then it is very good to know how to backup using dd...

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