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'''Linux server administration''' encompasses the essential skills needed to manage, maintain, and troubleshoot Linux-based servers. Whether you are running a [[Setting Up Your First VPS: A Beginner's Tutorial|VPS]] or a [[Choosing the Right Dedicated Server|dedicated server]], mastering these fundamentals is critical.

== Essential Commands ==

=== File System Navigation ===

ls -la # list files with details and hidden files
cd /var/www # change directory
pwd # print working directory
du -sh /var/* # disk usage summary
df -h # filesystem disk space

=== File Operations ===

cp -r source/ dest/ # copy recursively
mv oldname newname # move or rename
rm -rf directory/ # remove directory (use with caution)
chmod 755 script.sh # set permissions
chown user:group file # change ownership

=== Text Processing ===

cat /var/log/syslog # view file contents
tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log # follow log in real time
grep "error" /var/log/syslog # search for patterns
nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf # edit files

== User Management ==

=== Creating Users ===

sudo adduser newuser # create user interactively
sudo usermod -aG sudo newuser # add to sudo group
sudo passwd newuser # set or change password

=== Managing Permissions ===

Linux permissions follow the '''owner-group-others''' model:

* '''r (4)''' — read
* '''w (2)''' — write
* '''x (1)''' — execute

Example: <code>chmod 750 file</code> gives owner full access, group read+execute, others nothing.

== Service Management with systemd ==

Modern Linux distributions use '''systemd''' to manage services:

sudo systemctl start nginx # start a service
sudo systemctl stop nginx # stop a service
sudo systemctl restart nginx # restart a service
sudo systemctl enable nginx # start on boot
sudo systemctl disable nginx # don't start on boot
sudo systemctl status nginx # check service status
journalctl -u nginx -f # view service logs

=== Creating a Custom Service ===

Create <code>/etc/systemd/system/myapp.service</code>:

[Unit]
Description=My Application
After=network.target

[Service]
User=appuser
WorkingDirectory=/opt/myapp
ExecStart=/opt/myapp/start.sh
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now myapp

== Package Management ==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Task !! Debian/Ubuntu !! CentOS/RHEL
|-
| Update package list || apt update || dnf check-update
|-
| Upgrade packages || apt upgrade || dnf upgrade
|-
| Install package || apt install nginx || dnf install nginx
|-
| Remove package || apt remove nginx || dnf remove nginx
|-
| Search packages || apt search keyword || dnf search keyword
|}

== Process Management ==

ps aux # list all processes
top / htop # interactive process viewer
kill PID # terminate a process
kill -9 PID # force kill
nice -n 10 command # run with lower priority

== Networking ==

ip addr show # show network interfaces
ss -tulnp # show listening ports
curl -I https://example.com # check HTTP headers
ping -c 4 8.8.8.8 # test connectivity
traceroute example.com # trace network path

== See Also ==

* [[Server Security Best Practices]]
* [[Basic Server Administration Skills for Beginners]]
* [[First Steps with Your New Dedicated Server]]

[[Category:Server Management]]

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