Learning path

Work through the modules in order. Start with the two complete beginner courses below. The later modules are a roadmap for further study, with available guides linked.

Start with the command-line or desktop course below, then keep progressing through the learning path.

On this page

1. Start a complete course
2. Module 1 – Linux desktop and the shell
3. Module 2 – Users, permissions and processes
4. Module 3 – Networking and remote access
5. Module 4 – Packages, storage and backups
6. Module 5 – Server roles
7. Module 6 – Monitoring, security and automation
8. Module 7 – Virtualisation and containers

Start a complete course

Module 1 – Linux desktop and the shell

• Choosing a distribution to learn on (Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian) and installing it in a virtual machine
• Bash essentials
• The filesystem
• Editing files with nano and vim; reading documentation with man and --help

Module 2 – Users, permissions and processes

• Users, groups and permissions
• sudo and the principle of least privilege
• Processes, signals, systemctl and journald

Module 3 – Networking and remote access

• IP addressing, DNS and ip, ss, dig
• SSH from zero
• Firewalls with nftables and ufw

Module 4 – Packages, storage and backups

• apt and dnf, repositories and pinning
• Disks, partitions, LVM and filesystems
• Backups with rsync and restic, and testing restores

Module 5 – Server roles

• Web server (nginx, Apache) and TLS with Let's Encrypt
• DNS server basics
• Mail: Postfix and Dovecot, SPF/DKIM/DMARC
• File sharing with Samba; proxies and reverse proxies

Module 6 – Monitoring, security and automation

• Monitoring with Nagios-style checks and modern alternatives
• Hardening checklists and fail2ban
• Bash scripting for automation; an introduction to Ansible

Module 7 – Virtualisation and containers

• KVM and virt-manager
• Docker and Podman basics