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There are many network-related tasks that you may find yourself needing to perform over the course of time.
From configuring your network settings so that you can access the network, to pinging a server to see if it’s up — or maybe it’s you that’s down! — it’s all possible from the Linux command line.
To that end, this series is all about network-related Linux commands.
If backing up data is not already a part of your (daily/weekly/hourly) routine, it should be.
Previously, I have talked about creating a backup process, and how double/triple/off-site backups can be lifesavers.
What I’m going to talk about today is how you can make backups, specifically from the Linux command line.
If you’re still backing up by copying and pasting files around in the GUI, or even by using tar, cp, dump or restore from the command line, you’re missing out.
When a new file system (ie. removable media device) is introduced in Windows, it is automatically mounted and assigned a drive letter, from which it is accessible until it is removed. Microsoft has us spoiled.
On Linux, file systems (devices) need to be mounted before they can be accessed. It is an extra step, any way you look at it, so just consider the fact that, this way, you have a great deal of control over the entire process.
It is true that most devices can be mounted from the GUI, so let’s briefly cover that option before jumping into the command line.
There are three ways to find out about your computer hardware.
The first way would be to examine it, a method which I personally consider to be a bit too hands-on and messy for everyday application.
The second way would be to read the manual that came with it, but let’s be realistic… who actually reads those things, much less saves them? *Raises hand then slinks away guiltily.*
So that leaves us with the third option, which is to ask the software. Because what knows more about the hardware, than the software interacting with it?
One common problem that I have – and so of course I automatically assume that everyone else has the same problem – is the inability to remember various commands and options when I need them.
To that end, today’s post is very short, but it comes bearing gifts.
As a follow-up to last week’s topic, I created a cheat sheet, or quick-reference guide, for the Linux command line archive and compression utilities.
Subscribe to my mailing list to download your copy today!
I must admit that when I first determined to learn how to create and un-package archive files from the command line, it was a daunting prospect.
It was not so much that I didn’t understand archival and compression, but I more about the fact that I didn’t understand the difference between the utilities available in the command line.
Once I figured out the difference, actually using each one turned out to be a piece of cake (and it was good, too!)
So to make a long story short, I’ve settled on the 5 utilities that can do pretty much anything you would ever want to do on the subject.
In the first part of this series on file permissions, I didn’t exactly get to the part about permissions.
Instead, I presented some details about users, groups, and file details that laid the groundwork for part two, which is today’s lesson.
This is when we actually get to explore the various aspects of file permissions that, when combined, allow the owner of a file (or root!) to be able to control access to it.
File permissions determine who has access to what, as well as how much access they have to it.
Such details are very important on a multi-user operating system such as Linux, for the sake of both security and management.
The possibilities are endless — and exciting to contemplate. Permissions can be widened so that files are able to be viewed and even edited by all users on a system (Warning: security nightmare!), or tightened so that not even the owner of a file can view it.
Linux is a multi-user operating system.
This means not only that multiple user ids can be created (common across all mainstream OS’s today), but that they can all access the same Linux machine simultaneously.
You are, of course, limited to roughly 4,294,967,296 user names, but as long as you’re only creating a single user name for 59.65% of the world’s 7.2 billion population, you shouldn’t run into any problems.
User names are unique on each computer and/or service. This explains why you can use whatever user name you want on your own machine, but why you might have trouble even finding an available user name at your chosen email service provider — chances are somebody else already got the one you wanted.
You had to know it was coming. What’s a shortcut without a cheat sheet full of them?
This cheat sheet is a compilation of the Linux command line shortcuts (keyboard and otherwise) mentioned in the past few articles.
It’s printer-friendly, for convenience!
The cheat sheet is available exclusively to my mailing list subscribers; you can subscribe at any time to receive the download.