ASTRA LEARNING PATH · BEGINNER

Linux Fundamentals

Linux, terminal commands and the services behind a hosting server.

What you will master

Begin with Linux itself, practise essential commands, permissions, processes, networking and logs, then assemble the web, database, DNS and mail services used by hosting providers.

30 lectures·14 guided hours·Astra text and voice

Course curriculum

What is Linux?Understand Linux as a kernel and an ecosystem used across hosting infrastructure.
18 min
Linux history, licences and open sourceConnect Unix ideas, GNU tools and the Linux kernel to modern server platforms.
16 min
Choose a server distributionCompare Ubuntu, Debian, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux by lifecycle and ecosystem.
22 min
Kernel, shell and terminalSeparate the operating-system kernel, command shell and terminal interface.
20 min
Linux filesystem hierarchyTour root, etc, var, home, usr, tmp, boot and proc.
24 min

Command syntax, help and manualsRead command options and discover help without guessing.
20 min
Navigate with pwd, ls and cdMove safely through absolute and relative paths.
22 min
Create, copy, move and removeOperate touch, mkdir, cp, mv, rm and rmdir with verification.
25 min
Read and search textUse cat, less, head, tail, grep, sort, uniq and wc on real logs.
28 min
Pipes, redirection and quotingCombine commands and control stdin, stdout and stderr.
30 min

Users, groups and sudoCreate accountable access without sharing root credentials.
26 min
Ownership and permissionsInterpret rwx bits and change access with chmod and chown.
30 min
Links, archives and compressionUse hard links, symbolic links, tar, gzip and zip appropriately.
24 min
Packages and repositoriesInstall, update, inspect and remove software using trusted repositories.
28 min

Processes and signalsInspect running work and stop only the correct process.
28 min
systemd servicesStart, stop, enable and diagnose server daemons.
30 min
Linux logs and journalctlFind evidence in the system journal and files under /var/log.
32 min
Scheduling with cronAutomate repeatable work and capture output from failed jobs.
24 min

IP addresses, routes and DNS clientsInspect interfaces, routes and resolver answers from Linux.
34 min
SSH and secure remote accessConnect with keys, validate host identity and reduce password exposure.
30 min
Ports, sockets and firewallsRelate listening sockets to services and firewall decisions.
32 min
Disk, memory and resource checksMeasure capacity before a full disk or memory shortage becomes downtime.
28 min

Web servers: Apache and NginxUnderstand virtual hosts, document roots, proxies and static delivery.
32 min
PHP-FPM and application runtimesConnect a web server to PHP safely and understand pools and limits.
26 min
Database servers: MySQL and MariaDBUnderstand databases, users, privileges, sockets and application connections.
30 min
DNS servers: BIND and PowerDNSUnderstand authoritative zones, recursion and DNS service roles.
28 min
Mail transport and mailbox servicesMap SMTP transport, mail queues, IMAP/POP access and authentication.
30 min
FTP, SFTP and secure file transferChoose a transfer protocol without exposing passwords.
22 min
Assemble the hosting request pathConnect DNS, firewall, TLS, web server, runtime and database into one model.
35 min
Linux hosting foundation projectBuild and document a small Linux web service with monitoring checks.
60 min