How Linux Works
Unlike some operating systems, Linux doesn’t try to hide the important bits from you—it gives you full control of your computer. But to truly master Linux, you need to understand its internals, like how the system boots, how networking works, and what the kernel actually does. In this completely revised second edition of the perennial best seller How Linux Works, author Brian Ward makes the concepts behind Linux internals accessible to anyone curious about the inner workings of the operating system. Inside, you’ll find the kind of knowledge that normally comes from years of experience doing things the hard way. You’ll learn: –How Linux boots, from boot loaders to init implementations (systemd, Upstart, and System V) –How the kernel manages devices, device drivers, and processes –How networking, interfaces, firewalls, and servers work –How development tools work and relate to shared libraries –How to write effective shell scripts You’ll also explore the kernel and examine key system tasks inside user space, including system calls, input and output, and filesystems. With its combination of background, theory, real-world examples, and patient explanations, How Linux Works will teach you what you need to know to solve pesky problems and take control of your operating system.
Stats for nerds
20recommend
29mentions
28people
2010–2024years
72% recommend28% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- A better way is to get a book about linux administration (if you want an in-depth manual) or "How Linux Works" by Brian Ward. Then learn bash.
Windows is pretty much all GUI (I've left before getting used to Powershell) and that works great until you want to do rules-based changes or do profiles (without using MDM) with changes snapshot.
Most software have good manuals so once you've got a bit used to the linux's way, it's quite easy to adjust anything you need. And after a while, you find you're mostly using a few handful packages and you'd have their configuration saved in your dotfiles. As for packages suggestions, that's what distros are there for.
Linux is all about reading.
- I've been running self-hosted servers for the last 25+ years without an incident and its less complicated than it might seem if you learn a bit about securing unix-based systems (ok, I already had 10+ years of server admin knowhow for various systems, but anyway, it's not rocket science ;-). Yes, an hour or so after you connect any machine to the Internet, you'll see attempts to "talk" to your server. So don't wait to set up basic security. But it actually has never been so easy to "just give it a try" (see below), with all the virtual offerings today. So here's a short/raw sketch of basic things you'd need to do:
1. 25+ years ago I used http://easyfwgen.morizot.net/ to generate an iptables based local firewall. Still works fine (then and now tweaking some things) and allows only certain ports too be accessed at all. I just open email, ssh and a web server.
The generator is well documented and still works, although it would be nice to see an updated version to newer firewall software like pf.
2. server configs:
edit /etc/hosts.deny --> restrict all by default
edit /etc/hosts.allow --> allow your service providers networks, e.g.ALL: ALL
So you can connect to your machine for further setup, but not the whole world.sshd: .t-dialin.net sshd: .dip0.t-ipconnect.de3. set up sshd:
edit /etc/ssh/sshd.config
Maybe change sshd's port (reduces log file entries) but don't forget to allow this port in your iptables setup and your /etc/hosts.allow# allow key-based access only PasswordAuthentication noPeople have opinions an key-based access, I know. But my private and public key is stored in various secure locations, including my phone (password safe) and I can access my server even from my Android phone or tables via Termux.
4. set up email (I suggest postfix as an MTA):
configure restrictions in /etc/postfix/main.cf, e.g.
This heavily reduces the amount of spam you'll see. I add greylisting too, as this even nowadays reduces even more unwanted traffic. Combine that with spamassassin if you like. This setup gives me maybe one spam per day reaching my inbox (actually the spam subfolder).# restrictions in the context of the RCPT TO command smtpd_recipient_restrictions = reject_invalid_hostname, reject_non_fqdn_hostname, reject_non_fqdn_sender, reject_non_fqdn_recipient, check_sender_access hash:/etc/postfix/sender_access, reject_unknown_sender_domain, reject_unknown_recipient_domain, permit_mynetworks, reject_unauth_destination, [...] # restrictions for clients connecting smtpd_client_restrictions = reject_unauth_destination, check_client_access hash:/etc/postfix/access_client, reject_unknown_client, reject_unauth_pipelining5. Learn by doing (not just reading stuff on the Internets ;-), that is, set up a machine, e.g.
If you'd like to experiment a bit, take a look at Hetzner's unexpensive cloud servers, these are easy to set up (incl. a virtual firewall in front of it) and take down after some experiments of a failure. You can do this in Hetzner's web interface, even if you misconfigure your server to be unaccessible. Cf.
https://docs.hetzner.com/cloud/servers/overview/
Tip: Hetzner's web interface allows you to pre-define an ssh key which they'll install automatically on your new machine (but they leave password login enabled, so change that asap).
Disclaimer: I'm just a happy customer, no other relation. And it might be as easy to do this with Digital Ocean, which have some nice tutorials too, for example on the set up of a web server:
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-inst...
Last but not least No Starch Press overs some nice books like "How Linux Works" or "The Linux Command Line" (if you're not sure about that) or even "Linux Firewalls: Attack Detection and Response" ...
You learn most by trying.
I'm now heading for the beach to enjoy some offline adventures and will answer questions later if needed.
- I have found that How Linux Works, 3rd Edition from No Starch Press is a pretty good book talking about linux for beginners.
- I second this. A lot of books are either directed to complete beginners, stuff like how to update packages and use common applications, or directed toward kernel developers. How Linux Works covers useful items that will serve more hands on users well.
- How Linux Works is a good one. If someone is looking for a bit of Linux but with connection to deploying web application, I made a book like that[0].
- How Linux Works is pretty decent book. https://nostarch.com/howlinuxworks3
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