Sorry for getting all dramatic, but for me you're asking a red pill/blue pill question. I applaud your curiosity and can only recommend you follow your gut and take the red pill. The truth is by asking the question you already know what to do next. Just keep going. However I'll give you a few ideas because you got me excited.

1. Get in touch with your osx terminal
   
2. Get linux ASAP
   
3. Learn the command line
   
   

   OSX Terminal
   

   
   Underneath the shiny GUI surface of your mac you have an incredible unix style OS just waiting to be played with and mastered. A few tips to get you going.
   
   
   

   Download iTerm 2. Press cmd-return, cmd-d and command-shift-d.
   

   
   Congrats. you now have a hollywood hacker style computer
   
   

   Copy and paste this line into your terminal and say yes to xcode.
   

   
   ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
   
   Awesome you now have homebrew. A linux style package manager.
   
   

   May as well get cask too.
   

   
   brew install caskroom/cask/brew-cask
   
   Now you can install programs by typing a couple of words.
   
   try
   
   brew cask install virtualbox
   
   

   Get Linux ASAP
   

   
   Linux is relatively easy to get up and running and awesome fun. try any of these options
   
   

• Download virtual box and install a 'virtual machine' to run linux on your mac (see above).
  
• Buy a Raspberry Pi.
  
• Create a bootable usb and install refind on your mac.
  
• Take a friends old laptop and install linux on it from your live usb distro.
  
  If any of the above seems slightly daunting don't sweat it. Be confident and you may just surprise yourself at how much you can learn in such a short amount of time.
  
  

  Learn the command line
  

  
  The command line opens up the wonderfully powerful and creative world of unix. Push on.
  
  

• Get the basics down with codecademy
  
• Play with some books (this or this for eg)
  
• Watch some youtube videos (this guy's good for webdev)
  
• Learn a text editor (Try Vim. You already have it. Type 'vimtutor' in your terminal to get started)
  
  

  Play, Play, Play
  

  
  Do what gets you excited.
  
  I got a big kick out of learning ssh and then pranking my friends with commands like
  
  say hello friend, i am your computer. i think your friend two-gun is very handsome. Is he single?
  
  or
  
  open -a "Google Chrome" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0uYvQ_aXKw
  
  Do what you find fun. Oh and check out Richard Stallman. He's a good egg.
  
  Enjoy.
  
  

  edit-0
  

  forgot iTerm link
  

  edit-1
  

  Wow! Gold! Ha! Thank you. This is so unexpected! I'd like to thank the academy, my agent, my mom...

Sure thing! I completely understand the frustration. Setting up config files seems antiquated...but there are a few very nice things about them.

1. You can reconfigure the files from any computer with ssh or putty available, and don't have to configure VNC or another screen sharing program to do it
   
   
2. Configuration files are simply text files, so if you need to do a reinstall you can simply back up the necessary files, reload the OS, and reload the configuration files. The more convoluted your setup, the more files you'll need to back up, but at least you know when you reload them your configuration is saved. While this is true of the %appdata% folder on Windows as well, it's still a nice perk I feel.
   
   The more time you spend with Linux, the more familiar the language will become. Remember that you didn't always speak English (or whatever your native tongue is), but now you can typically do it without thinking. Linux is very similar in that once you learn the words and flags you want to use, it will seem simple.
   
   If you're looking for a good book to get you started, I can't recommend this one enough: A Practical Guide to Linux: Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming. Here's my description of it from another l4n post:
   
   It's a great book for a beginner who doesn't want to get a Dummies book that is mostly concerned with the GUI and doing all the same things that you would on Windows or Mac OS, but instead wants to learn about what you can do without a GUI. It's a great reference book as well, containing the man pages for many commonly used and built-in commands. If you're not sure what the man(ual) pages are, they're one of your best resources for information about (most) any command on your system. "man man", in addition to being a great band, is a command that you can run to find out more about the man pages. For a good example that shouldn't overwhelm you, run the command "man cp" and see what all the options for the copy command are. A good way I've heard the man pages explained is that it will not tell you how to use a command, but it tells you the things a command can do. How you use it is up to you!
   
   Also, I (shamefully) have not done this completely, but if you want to learn about how the core of most any Linux system works, install Arch using their fabulously laid out Beginners Guide

Systems (Linux) engineer here.

All of your programs are supported on Linux, so no fear :)

You will need to use a cmd.exe like interface called a terminal and it is infinitely more powerful than cmd.exe (not including powershell).

If you want to get better with bash read this book, but more importantly, if you want to do anything in the system, do as much as possible via commandline, instead of the GUI

I would HIGHLY recommend getting a Lenovo laptop. They are one of the few manufacturers that officially support Linux on their machines and they work really nice, if you have the cash, the X1 carbon is nice.

Honestly the learning curve is different for each individual. You will not be an expert in one month, but you should be familiar enough with it to use it. Remember: Google ALL the things. Seriously, linux has a fantastic community. Stack Overflow, Linuxquestions.org, etc. are some great resources to check out.

I love learrning linux! I love the community! You aren't following a trail of breadcrumbs, you are racing down a superhighway of information. Google/duckduckgo is now you best friend, it pays to learn how to work with them.

Books:

The linux command line

The Linux Bible

UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook

​

Where to ask questions and find information:

https://askubuntu.com/

https://www.linuxquestions.org/

https://www.linux.org/

https://www.linux.com/forum

https://stackoverflow.com/

https://unix.stackexchange.com/

https://ubuntuforums.org/

https://wiki.archlinux.org/

​

How to ask questions for maximum help:

https://unix.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-ask

https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html

​

Tutorials:

Linux Journey

This dude called Ryan is pretty cool

This guy Dave has a really nice voice on youtube

Linux Foundation

linuxcommand

linuxsurvival

​

Linux learning games:

Terminus

wargames

​

Subreddits you might want to get into at some stage, or subscribe to, I just made a big multireddit that I use when I want to focus my redditing on positive use of my time:

• -PROGRAMMING
  
• -LINUX
  
• -SYSADMIN
  
• -LEARNPROGRAMMING
  
• -LINUXMASTERRACE
  
• -HOMELAB
  
• -HACKING
  
• -RASPBERRY_PI
  
• -NETSEC
  
• -UNIXPORN
  
• -THINKPAD
  
• -LINUX4NOOBS
  
• -UBUNTU
  
• -AWS
  
• -VIM
  
• -LINUXQUESTIONS
  
• -DEVOPS
  
• -DEBIAN
  
• -LINUXADMIN
  
• -COMMANDLINE
  
• -LINUXHARDWARE
  
• -ANSIBLE
  
• -LINUXPROJECTS
  
• -LINUXFROMSCRATCH
  
• -LXD
  
• -LXC
  
• -TERRAFORM
  
• -LINUXCONTAINERS
  
• -SYSADMINMENTOR
  
  ​
  
  Some distros:
  
  Ubuntu
  
  RHEL
  
  ArchLinux
  
  centos
  
  openSUSE
  
  fedora
  
  Linux Mint
  
  ​
  
  This is a big ass list of stuff to look at and seems really daunting, start off really simple and learn these commands:
  
  
• pwd
  
• touch
  
• cat
  
• mkdir
  
• ls
  
• cd
  
• cp
  
• mv
  
• rm
  
  ​
  
  Tip: for any of those command you can look at the man page by typing:
  
  man <command>
  
  ​
  
  examples:
  
  man touch
  
  man ls
  
  ​
  
  Edit: The only thing I would warn you of is that learning can be quite lonesome, it is a very individual pursuit, the answer to almost every question has been asked and answered before, you just need to google the right stuff, think hard and google hard before asking questions, you will run into some toxicity if you do not, I do believe at times that it is justified but you can insulate yourself from too much negativity by really putting in some of the grind before asking questions online. The reward for asking smart questions is help from people that go out of their way to help you, help them help you.
  
  ​
  
  Enjoy the rabbit hole!

the easiest way is to strictly identify which part is really the variable:

foo=test

cp $foofile testdir/. # cp: missing destination file operand after 'testdir/.' ($foofile doesn't exist and expanded to null, not enough required params for cp)

cp "$foofile" testdir/. # cp: cannot stat '': No such file or directory ($foofile still doesn't exist, but expanded to '' due to double quotes usage - good practice)

cp ${foo}file testdir/. # will compy 'testfile' if exists

Also it is usefull to access command line params from inside the script if there are more than 9 params, to access 10th param use ${10}

and here is some list i noticed for myself of how to use this braces, while reading this book - would recommend:

Sorry for formating issues, reddit treats spaces and new lines in special way..


variable substitution:
substitution:

Bash supports various variables substitutions:

$a - will be substituted with 'a' value

${a} - same as $a but could be concatenated w/ string w/o spaces:

${a}.txt - will be expanded in a_value.txt

${11} - 11th positional parameter given to script from shell

${var:-word} - if 'variable' is set, the result will be its value

if 'variable' is unset - the result will be 'word'

$(var:=word} - if variable is set results in its value substituted

if variable is unset, it will be assigned to 'word'

such assignment will not work for positinal params(see 'shift')

and other special variables

${var:?word} - if variable is unset error with reason 'word' will be

generated, exit code of such construct will be 1

${var:+word} - if 'variable' is set, the result will be 'word',

(but variable's value will not be changed)

otherwise result will be EMPTY string

Example:

$ echo ${variable:-ls} - variable unset - ls used

> ls

$ export variable=1

$ echo ${variable:-ls} - variable is set- its value used

> 1

$ echo ${variable:+ls} - variable is set - ls used

> ls

$ echo ${variable1:+ls} - variable unset - empty line used

>

${!prefix} or ${!prefix@} - returns NAMES of existing variables

that starts from 'prefix.

Example:

$ echo ${!BASH}

> BASH BASHOPTS BASHPID BASH_ALIASES BASH_ARGC BASH_ARGV BASH_CMDS

string variables substitution:

${#var} - returns length of string in variable's value

Example:

$ var=123456789 #this could be interpreted as a string too now

> 9 #string length is 9

${#} or $# or ${#@} or ${#} - returns number of positional parameters

of the script being executed

${var:number} - return string from number to the end, spaces trimmed

variable is unchanged.

Example:

$ var="This string is to long."

$ echo ${var:5} #returns string from 5th symbol

> string is to long.

Example: spaces are trimmed:

$ echo ${var:5} | wc -c #count chars

$ 19

$ echo ${var:4} | wc -c #return starts from space

$ 19 #space is trimmed so same number of chars

${var: -number} - return string from end to number, spaces trimmed

NOTE - space between ':' and '-' signs

Example:

$ echo ${var: -5}

> long.

${var:number:length} - return string from number till end of lenth

Example:

$ echo ${var:5:6}

> string


${var: -number: -length} - return string number between number(from the

end) and length (also from the end)

NOTE: number must be > than length

Example:

$ echo ${var: -18: -2} #var is This string is to long.

> string is to lon

${@} - return all values of positional params

leaving spaces inside strings (like "$@" ) - bcs it know how

many arguments script has

${} is the same form, it seems

${@:num} - displays values of positional params but from num

$(@:1) - works same as ${@}

${@: -2} works , but starts from the end

${@:num:length} - same as with strings but with positional params

${@: -num: -length} - same as with strings but with positional params

${param#pattern} - finds shortest match and deletes it (lazy match)

Example:

foo="file.txt.gz"

${foo#.}

>txt.gz

${param##pattern} - finds longest match and deletes it (greedy match)

Example

${foo##.}

>.gz

${param%pattern} - same as # but deletes from the end of the file

Example:

foo=file.txt.gz

${foo%.} - note . instead of . in # example

>file.txt

${param%%pattern} - same as ##

${foo%%.}

>file

Search and replace:

${param/pattern/string} - replaces first occurance of pattern with string

${param//pattern/string} - replaces all occurances of pattern with string

${param/#pattern/string} - replaces only if at the beginning of the line

${param/%pattern/string} - replacesonly if at the end of the line

Not exactly what you want to hear, but the best way to learn the shell is by doing. Reading can give you a good base knowledge, but application is key.

This is by far the best way I've found to learn Linux quickly. Install Linux onto a extra computer, dual boot, or pick up a raspberry pi. Try things out, when you can't figure something out look it up. If you still can't find the answer head over to #linux on freenode. (Or Distro specific channels like #fedora #ubuntu etc.)

HOWEVER! I DO have a phenomenal book suggestion for you.
https://www.amazon.com/UNIX-Linux-System-Administration-Handbook/dp/0134277554

Linux From Scratch is a little head first, trial by fire, but if you are willing to spend a lot of time getting your system to work, it could be cool. Another distribution to think about is Arch Linux and Gentoo. No matter which distribution you chose to learn on, read through all of the installation instructions, as these will explain why the defaults are as such. Don't just keep hitting enter, you have to read.

In addition, pick up a good Bash reference, like this one or this one (O'Rielly makes good books for this kind of stuff) and learn some Bash as the Bash shell is one of the most powerful aspects of linux.

Another thing that you may want to try is setting up a LAMP stack without following a step by step guide. LAMP meaning Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP. This is a common configuration for a Linux webserver.

Finally, once you have gotten comfortable with Arch or Gentoo, mix it up. Try debian, or fedora. See and learn how every distribution does things in a slightly different way. Keep trying new things, you will never be done learning.

Try out some of these:

Books:

The linux command line

The Linux Bible

UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook

​

Where to ask questions and find information:

https://askubuntu.com/

https://www.linuxquestions.org/

https://www.linux.org/

https://www.linux.com/forum

https://stackoverflow.com/

https://unix.stackexchange.com/

https://ubuntuforums.org/

https://wiki.archlinux.org/

​

How to ask questions for maximum help:

https://unix.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-ask

https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html

​

Tutorials:

Linux Journey

This dude called Ryan is pretty cool

This guy Dave has a really nice voice on youtube

Linux Foundation

linuxcommand

linuxsurvival

Engineer Man. thank you to u/dk1998 for the reminder

Bash Guide by Greg Wooledge

​

Linux learning games:

Terminus

wargames

​

Subreddits you might want to get into at some stage, or subscribe to, I just made a big multireddit that I use when I want to focus my redditing on positive use of my time:

• -PROGRAMMING
  
• -LINUX
  
• -SYSADMIN
  
• -LEARNPROGRAMMING
  
• -LINUXMASTERRACE
  
• -HOMELAB
  
• -HACKING
  
• -RASPBERRY_PI
  
• -NETSEC
  
• -UNIXPORN
  
• -THINKPAD
  
• -LINUX4NOOBS
  
• -UBUNTU
  
• -AWS
  
• -VIM
  
• -LINUXQUESTIONS
  
• -DEVOPS
  
• -DEBIAN
  
• -LINUXADMIN
  
• -COMMANDLINE
  
• -LINUXHARDWARE
  
• -ANSIBLE
  
• -LINUXPROJECTS
  
• -LINUXFROMSCRATCH
  
• -LXD
  
• -LXC
  
• -TERRAFORM
  
• -LINUXCONTAINERS
  
• -SYSADMINMENTOR
  
  ​
  
  Some distros:
  
  Ubuntu
  
  RHEL
  
  ArchLinux
  
  centos
  
  openSUSE
  
  fedora
  
  Linux Mint
  
  Manjaro
  
  A couple of cool resources that you might want to look at:
  
  sysadmin.it-landscape.info
  
  Awesome Sysadmin links, a popular set of curated links

Nomachine is brilliant for this and "just works" in my experience and it's free. There are mac packages too. https://www.nomachine.com/ Although updates, configuration, rebooting, etc can all be done with ssh too.

Have you ever considered a pfSense router/firewall? I had an old celeron based pc sitting around unused so I installed pfsense on it, along with a $5 dual port gigabit NIC. It's served as a hardy, highly secure and configurable router for my house for the last 5 years with no issues. Then I bought a separate switch and also a separate Wifi access point. The huge advantage is I can swap out any single part and don't have to upgrade it all. For instance if I want wifi6 I can just swap out my current AP without having to touch anything else. Currently using the EAP245 5ghz AP from TPlink

$Free Pfsense BSD security router installed on any old pc https://www.pfsense.org/

$5 or $10 dual gigabyte NIC from eBay (usually pulled from server farm equipment so they're business class)

$27 Nice unmanaged switch https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Unmanaged-Shielded-Replacement-TL-SG108E/dp/B00K4DS5KU

$99 Business class Wifi AP https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Supports-Technology-EAP245/dp/B01N0XZ1TU or

$? Business class wifi6 Access point (might want to wait till 2020) https://www.linksys.com/us/c/business-wireless-access-points/ or https://www.engeniustech.com/engenius-products/802-11ax-4x4-managed-indoor-wireless-access-point/

Maybe add some wifi extenders to work with the AP if you need more coverage.

If you are willing to spend a little money, I'd suggest the Linux Command Line and Shell Scripting Bible. It will first teach you about the commands you can use on the CLI. Then it will delve into shell scripting. After finishing that book up you should have a very decent understanding of bash.

Another good tutorial that I can Recommend is The Linux Command Line. There are free lessons on the website that cover the same material as his book does. The book is just a lot more in depth.

Also, after you gain some familiarity you can try reading through the bash man page. It's a heavy read, but you can definitely learn a lot from it.

Good luck!

I can recommend Jang's RHCE study guide as a good comprehensive introduction to RHEL, and it does a good job of going through the details of the installation process so you can be sure you didn't miss anything. Also check your support contract! You may be paying RH to help with this kind of thing.

You should start by picking one open source filesystem. EXT3 would be a good one. take a look at the source for it. Read the wikipedia entry and kernal documenation on it. make sure to google and understand the terminology in the documentation, because they are written with a level of jargon that assumes you know intimately what a 'journaling block device' layer is.. and other fundamental concepts.

EXT3 is relatively modern, and all the code is available to you, so you A) read through it, B) change it to see what happens to a VM drive filesystem or a physical practice hard drive file system, and C) benefit from community knowledge on it.

After you learn about EXT3, read up on other open source filesystems. All the code is there, making life easy. With the knowledge you get from that, you can more easily understand pros and cons of other filesystems, including proprietary ones.

There might be better ways, but that is how i would start. instead of EXT3, you could look at older EXT file systems for simpler examples.

Additionally, you may pick up a fundamentals of operating systems book, and make sure it has a chapter, or 10, on filesystems. 'Operating system concepts' is a book i like that has a chapter on distributed file systems that is good but assumes a lot of prior knowledge.

The book that I first read when trying to understand Linux is Linux in Easy Steps. It gives a good overview into everything, from how the kernel works to basic CLI commands.

The next book I read was How Linux Works, which goes into more advanced detail. Also very good.

From there, I guess it depends what specifics you want to get into because there's so many areas of interest in Linux. But for an overview, I'd recommend the two books above.

I'm not sure what you're having trouble with. You talk about networks and firewalls, LAMP setup, disk encryption, backups, etc.

I get the feeling this is an emotional outburst type post, and that's fine, but I'm not good at emotional support. You'll need to ask a specific question to receive a helpful answer.

You can literally google for any problem these days and have a high rate of success. However, if you're looking for a ground up explanation of *nix along with some history for perspective, I recommend the UNIX and Linux System Administrator's handbook: https://www.amazon.com/UNIX-Linux-System-Administration-Handbook/dp/0134277554

It was the one book that helped me understand where all of this stuff came from when I got started.

However, for specific issues (bacula, for example), you'll do better asking specific questions.

Get the Unix and Linux Administration Handbook, 4th Edition, by Evi Nemeth, Garth Snyder, Trent Hein and Ben Whaley.

This book covers both Ubuntu and other Linux flavors, along with traditional Unix. It is my defacto go-to when I need to look up a topic, and goes into incredible detail about not only how to do things, but also some of the theory behind them. A good example is that it explains how to set up a DNS server, but also details how DNS actually works.

For something cheaper - just google the Rute Manual. This also details a wide array of OS concepts and how they are embodied in Linux.

And while your learning - i'd like to throw this tidbit that I absolutely love from the Rute guide:

>Any system reference will require you to read it at least three times before you get a reasonable picture of what to do. If you need to read it more than three times, then there is probably some other information that you really should be reading first. If you are reading a document only once, then you are being too impatient with yourself.

>It is important to identify the exact terms that you fail to understand in a document. Always try to backtrack to the precise word before you continue.

>Its also probably not a good idea to learn new things according to deadlines. Your UNIX knowledge should evolve by grace and fascination, rather than pressure

I haven't used it myself, but maybe this would be a better option for you: https://smile.amazon.com/Panda-Wireless-PAU09-Adapter-Antennas/dp/B01LY35HGO

External antennas improve the range, and it appears to be well supported under Linux.

Some info on distro differences:

• List of Linux Distributions (the chart is particularly useful)
  
• Comparison of Linux Distributions
  
  A few book recommendations: (books are generally the way to go)
  
  
• The Linux Command Line
  
• How Linux Work
  
• Linux Bible
  
  A few online resources:
  
  
• Introduction to Linux
  
• Tecmint's Beginner's Guide For Linux
  
• Linux Insides (advanced, but free)
  
  Videos/courses:
  
  
• Learn Linux In 5 Days (wait until Udemy has a $10 sale, they always do)
  
• Introduction to Linux
  
• Linux Tutorial for Beginners
  
  Some great past reddit threads I've saved for reference:
  
  
• Troubleshooting Commands
  
• Commands To Run On Unfamiliar System
  
• How Did You Get Your Start
  
• The Dark Corners Of Vim Your Mom Never Told You About

First thing first, there is nothing you can do with Linux that you couldn't do with Windows or a Mac. And similarly they can be made to do everything that Linux can. It's just a matter of how you go about getting those things done.

Learning sysadmin stuff will help with dev work (in my opinion as a former Linux sysadmin and current Java/Linux dev), but I'd bet you probably won't end up caring about setting up sendmail, bind, nfs, etc. which is a good chunk of the content of that book. I'd leaf through it and see if any of it seems interesting, but it'd probably make sense to return it.

If you're just looking to try to understand what linux is all about, it's tough to go wrong with http://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php

It's free, but if you prefer dead tree versions like I do, you can buy it in a variety of places. Here it is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Command-Line-Complete-Introduction/dp/1593273894

A lot of the command line stuff builds on itself, so don't feel bad if it doesn't make sense at first. Once you get comfortable with the shell, you can start dabbling in whatever else tickles your fancy.

At least initially, just stay with BASH (the shell that comes with Debian). It's incredibly powerful and will treat you well.

If you want a desktop like those pictured you can do it without changing shells. You can do it by experiment with different Desktop Environments or Window Managers. For now stick with a DE like Gnome or XFCE. (I think Debian still comes with Gnome 2 - which is very nice) Desktop Environments are more full-featured and uniform. Window Managers only manage the window placement and desktop. Other applications like the taskbar and (start)menu are up to you to install separately. If you are new - it'll be too confusing at first. No need to make things tougher than they need to be until you get your balance.

If you find yourself really enjoying the linux experience, I highly recommend the Ubuntu Linux Toolbox It's a nice, comprehensive introduction/reference to the shell and day-to-day commands. (I have the book - but I've seen some PDFs floating around - Google is your friend)

Not sure if it's for Linux or OS in general. The other links here are a nice look at Linux in general. These are the two textbooks used in most modern OS classes:

• The Circus Book - Modern Operating Systems
  
• The Dinosaur Book - Operating System Concepts
  
  Honestly, I find the first much easier to read. The second discusses things at a verbose and somewhat rambling fashion. They're both good for learning the real ideas behind modern operating systems, though.

I found the book The Linux Command Line to be very useful. Good luck on your CEH!

This one. I got one and they are truly great for the money. Perfecto.

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Thinkpad-T440-Ultrabook-Professional/dp/B073WVRDJT/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3U1ZKQOWU9LL5&keywords=thinkpad+t440p&qid=1555026958&s=gateway&sprefix=t440p%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-5

Asus usb n13

Worked out of the box. I almost fell out of my seat when I saw it start, see and connect to my and other wifi access points without having to install drivers.

Using it on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Worked on a friends 17.04 without installing drivers.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UVNW5W/

Yes, it is usb 2. There might be a usb 3 version available. I haven't looked.

sure

I would say if you just want to learn the basics of Linux the best way of doing it is using the free resources. When you find an area that interests you, thats when you dish out for the specific textbooks.

There is no shame in googling something while you're on-site or at the office. I fucking encourage it.

If you just want to learn how to use Ubuntu. A few publications should do you.

http://fullcirclemagazine.org/

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/

https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/tech-and-gadgets-guides-and-specials/ubuntu-the-complete-guide-2017/

As books to learn Linux. I really like this book. It help me understand Linux File System.

Linux in easy steps by Mike McGrath

https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Easy-Steps-Mike-McGrath/dp/1840783966

I am a beginner too and just finished this book TLCL.Another one i would recommend is shell scripting bible.For most part use google to learn about commands and man page is your friend. I am more of a book kind of guy so never used video resources. Most important you should know where to look for help when stuck.

If it isn't a notebook or possibly even if it is.

Spend a whopping $15.00 on Amazon and get this adapter. Ubuntu picks it up plug and play. Same company also has faster ones but this one is fine for me. Also has an antenna for better reception at distances.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JDVRCI0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

Or you can spend many hours trying to get incompatible hardware to recognize.

​

Pretty good, goes from basics to full system administration pretty quickly, and explains it simply... if you want more in depth detail it provides reference sources and suggested reading. I've been using Linux as my primary OS for a couple years now and still am picking up new little bits and pieces of knowledge that I'd either forgotten or just didn't know about. It also covers some simple stuff that you can read up on on the net, but you have to know to look for it, this at least introduces you to those ideas/terms/etc.

TL;DR I like this book.

http://www.amazon.com/UNIX-Linux-System-Administration-Handbook/dp/0131480057

2nd this.

The Linux Command Line. Author offers free PDF for download or you can support and buy from amazon.

http://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php

 

https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Command-Line-Complete-Introduction/dp/1593273894/r

For that purpose I can highly recommend the book How Linux Works. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it'll give you plenty of info.

Just to stack hands and echo what was said before, reading about will keep it in your brain for a day. Doing it keeps it there forever though.

”How Linux Works” is one of the better in depth explanations of Linux I've read.

It's written in a way that anyone can read and understand it, but it gets pretty deep into Linux under the hood.

That is probably some of the craziest shit I've read in a while, and that's impressive, this being the internet and all.

EDIT: OP, to make a suggestion, the Linux Bible is a great resource for someone just starting out, and helps get you in the mindset of how Linux works when coming from other operating systems.

http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Bible-Christopher-Negus/dp/111821854X

Go get Mike Jang's book on RHCSA/RHCE - If you can do everything listed in the first 9 chapters of that book without much thought, you will pass most entry level interviews.

Once you have basics, script everything you can in bash. Once you've done that, go learn ansible or puppet or chef. Turn all your scripts into runbooks. Once you've done that, recode it all to Python.

More advanced stuff: Learn AWS and an infrastructure as code tool like Terraform or K-Ops. Docker/K8s are also highly desired once you've got the above mastered.

https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Guide/dp/0071765654

Source: I screen candidates for my current department and will hire you for T1 if you have the basics listed above. T2 and T3 people need to know more code. My SREs need to know pure CI/CD and infra as code with containers.

The Linux Documentation Project is a really good resource.
http://www.tldp.org/
http://www.tldp.org/guides.html

Another good way, start learning shell scripting:

http://www.tldp.org/LDP/Bash-Beginners-Guide/html/index.html

http://www.tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/index.html

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1118004426

How Linux Works was suggested on another thread. I picked it up, and while I am only on chapter 2, it seems like a good primer.

http://www.allitebooks.in/linux-bible-9th-edition/

Or

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Linux-Bible-Christopher-Negus/dp/1118999878

I bought it as a means of looking things up for those brain fart moments, it’s a good resource, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to read the whole thing in one hit as it’s a lot of information to take in.

This is the best book. Sets a firm foundation that you get nowhere else.

How Linux Works, 2nd Edition: What Every Superuser Should Know

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1593275676/

OP Linux Command Line book, is an excellent place to start.

I am following a similar path to you at the moment. Here was my general plan after doing some reading on Linux:

1. Download latest Ubuntu release and boot up a live CD. Ensure I can connect to the internet.
   
2. Backup data. Install Ubuntu with default settings and migrate my data. (adaptation period)
   
3. Complete the code-academy "Learn the command line" course here.
   
4. Purchase the Linux Bible 9th Edition and work through the entire book.
   
5. Replace Ubuntu with Arch Linux.
   
6. Touch up on specifics of RHCSA and register for the course.
   
7. Ace the RHCSA and start applying to entry level Linux admin jobs.
   
   I am currently on step 4 and am up to Chapter 7 of the Bible. The reason for my change is because I have just moved to a city where Linux admin is in high demand and pays well.

Read Books: I recommend this, this and this.

These are my favorite resources: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/views/linux/libraryview.jsp?site_id=1&contentarea_by=Linux&sort_by=&sort_order=2&start=1&end=100&topic_by=-1&product_by=&type_by=All%20Types&show_abstract=false&search_by=&industry_by=-1&series_title_by=

http://www.opsschool.org/en/latest/sysadmin_101.html

If you have money: http://www.amazon.com/Linux-System-Administration-Handbook-Edition/dp/0131480057/

Thanks for your comments. For now, I will go with this: UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook, 4th Edition.

this book can be a good start

TL;dr sorry. +1 chillysurfer: "How Linux Works" 2nd ed. (yes, ok for a HiIQ_n00b)

http://amazon.com/How-Linux-Works-Superuser-Should/dp/1593275676

Please @JAU, let me know what you think of it (via Amazon 'Look Inside' or AllITeBooks etc)

Just get these 2 books(all you'll need, peep the reviews for proof) and thank me later

Linux Command Line

How Linux Works

Yeah:

http://www.amazon.com/Linux-System-Administration-Handbook-Edition/dp/0131480057

http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Unix-Internet-Security-3rd/dp/0596003234/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422046190&sr=8-1&keywords=unix+security+concepts

that'll get you started

http://www.amazon.com/Linux-System-Administration-Handbook-Edition/dp/0131480057/ref=wl_it_dp_o_piT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=12MNX8P4AJLZY&coliid=I3AKRESKO8PAOP

http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Commands-Editors-Programming-Edition/dp/013308504X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=12MNX8P4AJLZY&coliid=I2HFBSVXDY6AFF

http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654/ref=wl_it_dp_o_piT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=12MNX8P4AJLZY&coliid=I2P3ILHN0013L1

http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=12MNX8P4AJLZY&coliid=I3H6KNRFYQI1QC

Two books

• The Practice of System and Network Administration, 2nd ed.
  
• UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook, 4th ed.

Career path:

https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux
and
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z

I hear this is great UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook

Although I can't personally vouch for it.

I uses https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Command-Line-Complete-Introduction/dp/1593273894 when i first started learning Linux

UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook (5th Edition)

Go to https://linuxjourney.com/

or read this book

r/linuxadmin/

Slackware Linux Essentials

or for free

Linux Bible

CompTIA Linux+

A few suggestions:


https://nostarch.com/howlinuxworks2

https://refspecs.linuxfoundation.org/FHS_3.0/fhs/index.html

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Linux-Bible-Christopher-Negus/dp/1118999878

> Browsing the surface web i can't find any truly "beginner guides"

https://www.amazon.com/Learning-bash-Shell-Programming-Nutshell/dp/0596009658

Unix and Linux System Administration Handbook is always on my desk

Link

I would go through LinuxAcademy’s course on How to Get a Linux Job.

The down side is you’re probably not going to be a sysadmin out of the gate unless you already hold an IT job. SysAdmins usually warrant 3+ years of experience in the field in various other positions.

I started as a repair tech and have worked my way up to sysadmin status.

My day to day consists of email management to dns and everything in between. I work for a web host so my daily tasks may differ from an environment you may potentially work in.

It boils down to,

What is your skill set ?
How much experience do you have?
Can you handle yourself with minimal to no handholding depending on the environment? I say minimal here because some environments I’ve seen are heavily customized and you have to reverse engineer things to figure out how it all works together.