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Best Linux distro for dummy to learn the hard way

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ColKurtz

Senior member
Like many here (I guess), I work in IT. We're mainly a Wintel shop, and I've been procrastinating learning Linux for some time but projects are coming that now make in unavoidable. I got an entry server recently and put Red Hat 9 and SUSE on it, but I realized after I had it configured them that --because the install is so user-friendly-- I had learned nothing.

I'm looking for a better way to learn. Is there a particular distro that's not so easy? Is there a way to install RedHat or SUSE the "hard" way (no gui)? Or should I just go buy a book (many I've seen are good as resources, but not a good learning tool, IMO).

I've been reading about Gentoo, but is "bootstrap-ing" applicable to other distros - I'm not really looking to learn a complicated process that is only relevant to a single OS.

I really just need to learn basic troubleshooting skills - adding and updating drivers manually, disk maintenance, user admin, core configuration files, etc. A command-line based tutorial for configuring RedHat and/or SUSE would be preferable since that's mainly what's used in our environment, but I'm open to anything.

Any advice is appreciated.
 
Use Debian or Slackware.

Slackware will teach you everything you need to know about how to use the software. It stays out of your way.

Debian has a monolythic style package management that is a bit hard to live with at first. But once you get in the flow it will help you to maintain your system for years with no degragation of performance or reliability.

Debian is probably the best distro out there right now.

Both are superior to most other things... If your willing to learn to do things the right way, then you rock. Check out my sig the hands on linux guide seems very usefull to me for a person new to Unix operating systems.

I suggest doing a net install of Debian Testing. You can get a net install cdrom from
http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/

Debian documentation.
http://www.debian.org/doc/

 
Debian uses a process called debconf to create an interactvie configuration for all its packages on install. This helps a lot for complex packages like sendmail and samba by prompting you for a lot of the common options. It gives you a good idea of where to start when you want to start changing your config files by hand.

Also of all the distros I've tried Debian is the best at documentation. Almost every package in the official repository has a corresponding *-doc package containing html, text, and info formatted docs all installed to /usr/share/doc.
 
www.gentoo.org has some great setup notes (not click and watch like windows). I'm now using on a file server and soon on a web server at home. The forums over there are helpful as well.
 
Even if you install something like Debian to learn Linux better, you should spend time on RHEL and possibly SuSe because that's what most companies will be using, at least those companies that want to pay for support. And the differences between Debian and RH can be pretty big in some areas. After you get comfortable with Debian the hardest part will be using RH, it can be really annoying when compared to the convenience that Debian provides.
 
Thanks for the replies. Comments on other forums seem to support those who say Slackware and/or Debian require digging a little deeper to get everything running, so I guess I'll try those. And thanks for the advice Nothinman, as my whole intent on learning Linux is to be proficient at RHAS and SLES.

If anyone has any recommendations/links for a tutorial or site that are written for "experienced IT propellerheads ignorant of Linux wanting to install distro without the GUI", I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, thanks again for the replies.
 
Check out my sig.

2 usefull guides from the linux documentation project are "Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide" and "The Linux System Administrators' Guide"

Also automation and scripting is very important. The sh shell is pretty much the universal scripting language for Unix. Bash is a extended and bloated 😉 version of this and is the standard shell for Linux. It is used heavily so the ability to make simple scripts, and read and edit complex ones are a good skill to have. So check out the beginner's bash guide and eventually the advanced scripting guide.

Also a scripting language is usefull such as Perl or Python to handle more complex tasks. Scripting is the key to automation and automation is the key to being a successfull and lazy administrator.

Most of the other guides there are usefull, and there are lots of howtos there for dealing with specific tasks. Also there are a lot of other online resources that you can use.
 
I'll definately check out your sig links, Drag, and will look into LFS Randabis.

I'm guessing I'll be quite the pest on this board the next few months as I get progressively un-stupider on Linux.

Many thanks again.

Cheers.
 
And another thing i used to get so frustrated at my self , at my learning pace . Linux is COMPLETELY different that the Wintel world you grew up in , so be patient , READ A LOT !!! , ask around after you have read , and troubleshoot a lot : )

Gr33ts
 
Slackware. I don't think Debian really makes you learn much in terms of what you are after. After you get a good feel for Slackware, try Gentoo and see what that is like. Then you can try Linux From Scratch:

http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/

edit: doh, Randabis beat me to it! So I 2nd the recommendation.
 
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