Linux Distros
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Understanding /proc and /sys: Reading Kernel Information Directly
Earlier guides in this series have referenced files like /proc/cpuinfo, /proc/sys/vm/swappiness, and /sys/module/kvm_intel/parameters/nested without fully explaining what these paths actually are. The /proc and /sys filesystems aren’t regular files on disk at all — they’re a live, kernel-generated window into system state, and understanding them directly reduces reliance on separate tools for information that’s genuinely…
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systemd vs OpenRC vs runit: Understanding Linux Init System Alternatives
The earlier systemd guide in this series mentioned that criticism of systemd exists without fully exploring what the actual alternatives look like in pr…
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Using awk and sed for Log Parsing and Text Processing
awk and sed text processing are exactly the tools built for this, letting you filter, transform, and extract data from logs and configuration files dire…
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Using strace to Diagnose Application Problems on Linux
ps, top, and htop () tell you a process is running and how much resource it’s consuming, but not what it’s actually doing at a system call level when…
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Linux Process Management: ps, top, htop, and kill Explained
Every guide throughout this series involving troubleshooting eventually comes down to the same basic question: what’s actually running on this server ri…
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Understanding Linux Swap: When and How Much You Actually Need
Every fresh Linux install asks, directly or indirectly, how much swap space to configure — and the honest answer has changed considerably as RAM has g…
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Btrfs vs ZFS vs ext4: Choosing a Filesystem for Your Server
Understanding Btrfs vs ZFS vs ext4 before you commit to one helps avoid discovering these limitations the hard way, often years into using a server.
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Understanding /etc/fstab: How Linux Mounts Drives Automatically
Adding a second drive to a homelab server and having it silently fail to mount after the next reboot is a common, frustrating surprise for anyone newer …
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Understanding Linux File Permissions: chmod and chown Explained
Mastering Linux file permissions with chmod and chown resolves most of these issues immediately, once the underlying logic actually clicks.
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Linux Package Managers Compared: APT vs DNF vs Pacman vs Zypper
Switching between Linux distributions often means relearning basic commands for something as fundamental as installing software.