You need to learn how to use Linux. And the best way to get Linux training is to work with it and get real, practical Linux experience. There are lots of different ways to get Linux, and lots of different versions of Linux to choose from!

You can get a version of Linux, also known as a Linux distribution (or distro for short), on CD or DVD. You can also download a Linux ISO file and burn it to CD or DVD yourself. Linux Tips: If you decide to download Linux as a Linux ISO file, keep in mind that these files are very large. Linux CD ISO files are about 700 MB and Linux DVD ISO files are about 4 GB (almost six times the size of a CD!). Therefore, only download Linux if you have high-speed Internet access.

Linux Tips: You can do an Internet search for “list of linux cds” or “list of linux dvds” and buy the Linux OS and have it delivered to you by mail very cheaply.

Some Linux distros are available as “installation” versions and some are available as “live” versions - and some are available as both!

An installation version of Linux may be on just a one CD / DVD or it may require more than one. However, a Linux live CD or a Linux live DVD version consists of just a single CD or DVD.

Linux Installation Versions

You boot a computer system with a Linux installation CD / DVD to run the Linux installation routine and install Linux on a system. This could be a system that doesn’t have an operating system on it - or it could be one that does have an operating system on it, such as the Windows operating system.

If you install Linux on Windows, you create a “dual boot” (Linux and Windows) system. Then after the Linux installation, you can either boot the system into Windows or boot it into Linux, but not both at the same time.

When you install Linux from CD or DVD onto a computer system, you run the Linux installation routine and do several steps to put the Linux OS and Linux software programs on the hard disk in a system permanently, although you can remove Linux later if you need to.

After you install Linux, you boot to Linux from the hard disk in the system. At this point, the Linux desktop appears and you can do a few simple steps to open a terminal emulation window. This allows you to go to the Linux command line so you can run Linux commands - the best way to learn how to use Linux.

Linux Live Versions

Linux live CDs or DVDs are used to run Linux “live”, for as long as the power is turned on.

To run a Linux live version, you set your system up to boot from the live CD or DVD. Then you start your system with the Linux live CD / DVD in your drive. No installation is required!

After you boot with a Linux live CD / DVD, the entire Linux OS (operating system) boots and runs automatically. At this point, you see a Linux desktop on the screen and you can run Linux software programs.

At the Linux desktop, you can also do the steps to open a terminal emulation window. This allows you to work at the Linux command line as the root user and run Linux commands. And learning to run Linux commands is the best way to learn how to use Linux and do Linux system administration.

Written by Clyde Boom.

When you are a new Linux user needing to get Linux training, it is often confusing to decide what to focus on.

Should you learn how to use Linux for just one Linux distribution (a.k.a. version, distro)? Should you focus on learning Linux GUI utilities - or should you learn Linux commands for doing Linux system administration?

3 Methods of Linux System Administration and Why Using Linux Commands is the Best Method

1. Using Linux GUI utilities for Linux System Administration

Many Linux distributions have “point-and-click” GUI (graphical user interface) utilities that allow you to do common and popular Linux tasks, like manage the Linux file system, create Linux users, and manage Linux user and group permissions.

However, these Linux GUI utilities are usually specific to a single Linux distribution.

So, learning how to use a Linux GUI in one Linux distro is basically useless if you have to use a different distro later, or if you’re working in an environment with multiple Linux distributions.

Linux Tips: To run a Linux GUI utility, you need to have a Linux desktop installed and sometimes a desktop isn’t installed on a Linux server because it isn’t needed. In addition to this, the Linux system administration pros only use Linux commands because Linux GUI utilities are too slow to run and time-consuming to use.

2. Doing Linux System Administration Tasks with Linux Commands that are Specific to a Linux Distribution

The major (popular) Linux distributions all have several commands that are specific to that single distribution. In other words, for each popular Linux distribution, there are several Linux commands that are specific that just that distribution.

For example, a Linux distribution will likely have a command that is used to manage Linux partitions (disk space) and this command is specific to that distribution.

Learning how to use Linux commands that are only available on a single Linux distribution is a huge waste of time - if there is an equivalent GNU / Linux command - and there almost always is.

For example, the Linux fdisk command is a GNU / Linux command that is used to manage the partitions on a Linux system and this command exists on all Linux distributions.

So, rather than learn a command that is specific to a single Linux distribution, learn the GNU / Linux commands because these commands are common to all Linux distributions.

3. Using Linux Commands that are Common to All Linux Distributions - The GNU/Linux Commands

The GNU / Linux commands are the most popular Linux commands - and they are common to all Linux distributions.

Linux Tips: Linux distributions (a.k.a. versions, distros) are rising and falling in popularity all the time. If you just learn how to use Linux by running the GUI utilities in one distro, and then you stop using that distro, then you have to learn all the GUI utilities of the next distro. If you learn how to use Linux commands, then you learn how to use Linux for all distros!

Written by Clyde Boom