Guide to Linux Self Managed Server Administration

Learn what Linux is as an operating system, how the kernel mediates hardware and software, and explore distributions from CentOS to Ubuntu to tailor a powerful self-managed server.

Explore how linux servers operate and why CentOS, a free, community‑driven distro based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, delivers stability, security, and flexible networking.

Download VirtualBox for Windows from the official site, run the installer with default options, and complete installation. Launch VirtualBox to see the CentOS VM from a previous setup.

Download the CentOS iso from CentOS.org and install CentOS 7 in VirtualBox by creating a new VM, choosing storage, and selecting the GNOME desktop.

Learn to browse the Linux file system in the terminal with pwd and cd, using .. to move up one or two levels toward the home directory.

Learn to run the previous command by typing exclamation twice, view command history with up and down arrows, and clear history from the command line.

Learn to switch between a regular user and the root user to edit the hosts file with elevated permissions, using nano and avoiding permission errors.

Learn how Linux repositories function as a package database and how to search and install software using yum or apt as root.

Use yum to search for the PSP package and identify the PSP 7.0 version. Install the package with yum install, and confirm the installation completed.

Learn how to change file and directory ownership in Linux using chown, setting owner and group, verifying with ls -l, and performing recursive changes with sudo and -R.

Create directories in the current directory with mkdir, using -m 640 for user permissions and -p to avoid errors, then verify with ls and -v.

Delete file or directory using the rm command, including interactive mode and recursive deletion, and verify with ls. Create files with touch and directories with mkdir.

Practice copying files with cp, including single file and recursive copies, comparing source and destination with ls, and handling overwrite prompts when transferring multiple items.

Search by name with the find command, using -type f or -type d and -name or -iname for case-insensitive matching, then verify results with ls in the current directory.

Discover how to search for files by extension in Linux using the find command, filtering by type file, performing case-insensitive matches with -iname, and locating results in the current directory.

Execute the ps command to fetch the inter-process list, creating a non real-time snapshot that shows similar information to the top command.

Learn how to stop a service on a Linux self-managed server and verify its status as inactive, indicating the service is no longer running.

Install Apache using yum, start the service, check its status, and enable it to start on boot with systemctl for a self-managed server.

Configure virtual hosting to run multiple websites on a single server, using name-based, IP-based, and port-based approaches that share or assign distinct IPs and directories.

Register a domain and point its DNS A record to your server IP, then configure Apache with a name-based virtual host and set the document root to /var/www/domain.

Create a subdomain in the dns manager, point it to the parent ip with ttl one hour, then configure a virtual host under /var/www and verify in the browser.

Create an sftp user and set a password using sudo passwd to enable login, with notes on mailbox existence when re-creating a user.

learn how to use the sftp client FileZilla to transfer files between local and remote servers, including setup, connecting, and drag-and-drop transfers.