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# What is Linux?
- URL: https://blog.kloudops.pro/linux-101/
- Published: 2025-10-03T11:51:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-25T02:10:47.000Z
- Author: Kloudops Pro
- Tags: DevOps, #Import 2026-10-20 16:39

If you’re starting your [DevOps](https://blog.kloudops.pro/what-is-devops/) journey, the very first skill you need is **Linux**. Linux is the base for everything in the DevOps. From running a simple monolith app to deploying multi-cluster Kubernetes environment and managing servers on AWS, almost everything relates to Linux.

In this guide, we’ll cover the **Linux fundamentals that every beginner should know**. By the end, you’ll be able to navigate the terminal, work with files, manage processes, and understand how Linux systems are structured.

---

## Why Linux Matters for DevOps

- **Dominates the industry** – Most services on the internet run on Linux.
- **Power behind the containers & orchestration** – Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines are built around Linux.
- **Open-source and customizable** – You can tweak it for performance and automation. And it's free!
- **Essential for troubleshooting** – Knowing Linux saves hours when diagnosing most of the issues.

💡 *Think of Linux as the foundation layer of all DevOps work.*

---

## Getting Started with Linux

If you’re new, here are a few ways to try Linux:

- **Install on your machine** – Ubuntu, Fedora or CentOS(beginner-friendly).
- **Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)** – Run Linux inside Windows easily.
- **Cloud instances** – Launch an Ubuntu EC2 instance on AWS (free-tier works) or any other cloud provider.

---

## Basic Linux Concepts

- **Linux File System** \- Linux is based on files. Almost everything you see in Linux is a file. So you need to have a better understanding on Linux file system. It start from the root directory (/). Root is the topmost level of file hierarchy.

**/**  
├── bin -> usr/bin  
├── boot  
├── cdrom  
├── dev  
├── etc  
├── home  
├── lib -> usr/lib  
├── lib64 -> usr/lib64  
├── lost+found  
├── media  
├── mnt  
├── opt  
├── proc  
├── root  
├── run  
├── sbin -> usr/sbin  
├── snap  
├── srv  
├── sys  
├── tmp  
├── usr  
└── var

- **Users & permissions** – You MUST have deep knowledge on managing users and permissions in Linux. Root (admin) vs non-root users, groups, `chmod` for permissions.
- **Storage management**: How you mount volumes, create VG, LVM etc
- **Processes** – Running programs managed by the kernel.
- **Packages** – Software installed via `apt` (Ubuntu/Debian) or `yum/dnf` (RHEL/Fedora).
- **CLI** – Command-line interpreter (Bash, Zsh).

---

## Essential Linux Commands

These are the basic command that most of the users use in day-to-day activities.

### Navigation

`pwd # show current directory  
ls -l # list files with details  
cd /etc # move to /etc directory`

### File operations

`touch file.txt # create file  
cp file.txt backup/ # copy file  
mv file.txt docs/ # move file  
rm file.txt # delete file`

### Viewing files

`cat file.txt # print file content  
less file.txt # scroll inside file  
head -n 5 file.txt # first 5 lines  
tail -f /var/log/syslog # live log view`

### Search & filters

`grep "error" app.log # search for 'error'  
find /var -name "*.log" # find all .log files`

### Networking

  
`ping google.com # check connectivity to endpoint  
curl https://example.com # check whether URL accessible`

### System monitoring

`top # running processes  
df -h # disk usage  
free -m # memory usage`  

---

## Working with the CLI

- **History**

`history # show command history  
!! # run last command  
!25 # rerun command #25`  

- **Pipes & redirection**

`ls -l | grep ".txt" # list only .txt files  
echo "hello" > file.txt # overwrite  
echo "world" >> file.txt # append`  

- **Environment variables**

`echo $HOME #Print env variable  
export MYVAR=devops #add new variable` 

- **Aliases**

`alias ll='ls -al' #create an alias`  

### 💡 Tip

Use **man** infront of your command to view the manual page.

Example: *man ls*

---

## Homework 😉

Try these to build muscle memory:

1. Navigate to `/home`, create a new folder, and a file inside it.
2. Change the file’s permissions so only you can read/write it.
3. Use `grep` to search for “root” in `/etc/passwd`.
4. Monitor your CPU usage with `top`.
5. Compress your folder into a `.tar.gz` archive and extract it back.

---

## Best Practices & Tips

- Avoid running as **root** unless absolutely necessary (`sudo` instead).
- Keep your system updated. `sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y`
- Learn at least one editor (`nano` → later move to `vim`).
- Save useful aliases in `~/.bashrc`.

---

## Common Mistakes Beginners Make

- Accidentally deleting files with:`rm -rf /`  
(*Don’t ever try this!*)
- Forgetting file permissions when debugging.
- Running services without checking logs in `/var/log/`.
- Ignoring the difference between root and user commands.

---

## Conclusion & Next Steps

Congrats 🎉 — you now know the **fundamentals of Linux**! This is the first step in your DevOps journey.

👉 From here, you can dive into:

- **Advanced Linux** – Bash scripting, cron jobs, managing services, package management, storage management.
- **Networking basics** – ports, firewalls, SSH.
- **Practical DevOps** – Docker & Kubernetes (both run on Linux).

for more information you can refer this tutorial from freecodecamp.org

freecodecamp.org

Stay tuned for our next chapter on Linux. We will discuss users and permissions.