Overview
Welcome to our comprehensive CentOS tutorial, where we guide you through the process of mastering the CentOS operating system. CentOS is a popular Linux distribution known for its stability, security, and reliability. It is based on the source code of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and provides a free and open-source alternative with long-term support.
What You’ll Learn
In this tutorial, we cover the following key aspects of CentOS:
Introduction to CentOS: Gain a solid understanding of CentOS, its origins, and its relationship with RHEL. Learn about the CentOS community and the principles that guide the development and maintenance of the distribution. Understand the advantages of using CentOS and its suitability for server deployments.
Installing CentOS: Follow step-by-step instructions to install CentOS on your system or virtual machine. Learn about the different installation options, including graphical and text-based installers. Understand the partitioning scheme, package selection, and post-installation configuration options.
Getting Started with CentOS: Familiarize yourself with the CentOS environment and basic system administration tasks. Learn how to navigate the file system, manage users and groups, and configure network settings. Understand essential command-line tools and utilities for everyday tasks.
Package Management: Explore package management in CentOS using the yum package manager. Learn how to search for, install, update, and remove software packages. Understand how to configure package repositories, resolve dependencies, and handle package management tasks effectively.
Configuring Services: Learn how to configure and manage various services in CentOS. Explore common server applications such as web servers (Apache, Nginx), database servers (MySQL, PostgreSQL), and mail servers (Postfix, Sendmail). Understand how to set up and secure these services to host websites, databases, and email systems.
System Security: Delve into the world of system security in CentOS. Learn how to secure your CentOS server by implementing best practices for user management, file permissions, and firewall configuration. Understand how to install and configure security tools such as SELinux and fail2ban for enhanced protection.
Networking and Firewall: Explore networking concepts and configuration in CentOS. Learn how to configure network interfaces, set up IP addressing, and manage network services. Understand how to use the firewall (iptables or firewalld) to control network traffic and secure your system.
System Monitoring and Troubleshooting: Discover techniques for monitoring and troubleshooting CentOS systems. Learn how to monitor system performance using tools like top, htop, and sar. Understand how to analyze log files, diagnose common system issues, and perform system tuning for optimal performance.
Virtualization and Containerization: Explore virtualization and containerization technologies in CentOS. Learn how to set up virtual machines using KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and manage them with tools like virt-manager. Understand the basics of containerization with Docker and how to run and manage containers in CentOS.
High Availability and Clustering: Delve into the world of high availability and clustering in CentOS. Learn how to configure a high availability cluster using tools like Pacemaker and Corosync. Understand concepts such as resource groups, failover, and load balancing for ensuring high availability of critical services.
Throughout this tutorial, we provide practical examples, command-line snippets, and configuration files to help you gain hands-on experience with CentOS. We aim to empower you with the knowledge and skills to become a proficient CentOS user and system administrator, capable of deploying and managing CentOS servers effectively.
Chapters
Chapter 1 : CentOS Introduction and Installation
In this section you will learn how to install and configure CentOS. You will get CentOS installation instructions in detailed.
Chapter 2 : Managing Users and Permissions
In this section you will learn about user management and permissions. You will also learn how to create new users and groups. You will understand the “/etc/group”, “/etc/passwd” and “/etc/shadow” configuration files.
Chapter 3 : Managing Software Packages
In this section you’ll learn how to manage software packages using yum package manager. You will also learn about installing RPMs from the web.
Chapter 4 : Basic and Advance Commands for Linux User
In this section you will learn some basic commands that are used to interact with your computer. You will also learn more advanced commands like vi editor, grep command, etc.
Chapter 5 : Managing Processes and System resources
In this section you will learn what processes are and how they can be managed. You will also learn what resource limits are and how they can help improve performance.
Chapter 6 : CentOS File Management and Storage
In this section you will learn all about file systems and storage devices. You will also learn the difference between ext2, ext3, and ext4 file systems. You will also learn different ways to mount filesystems.
Chapter 7 : CentOS Networking & Firewall
In this section you will learn everything about networking and firewalls. You will also learn why it’s important to have a firewall. You will also learn a few tips and tricks to make your network secure.
Chapter 8 : CentOS Security and Patch Management
In this section you will learn the basics of security and patch management. You will also learn some useful tools to keep your system up to date.
Chapter 9 : Web Servers, Databases, and Mail Servers
In this section you will learn various types of web servers, databases, and mail servers. You will also learn which one would suit your needs best.
Chapter 10 : Linux Virtualization (KVM)
In this section you will learn KVM or Kernel-based Virtual Machine. This is a virtual machine technology that allows multiple operating systems to run simultaneously on a single physical server. In this section you will learn how to set up a KVM environment and then install a VM.
