My journey into Linux system administration

My journey with Linux started in my first year of college when I encountered tools like Git, GitHub, Maven, Jenkins, and others. I first worked with Windows. With Linux, I had a completely different kind of environment to work with. I began my Linux journey with virtual machines.

After spending two years with Linux in virtual machines, I decided to use Linux on my primary computer. I learned about Linux system architecture, filesystems, and created a script that adds users to Linux-based operating systems. You may find links to that article and all of my published articles on my Enable Sysadmin profile (Kshitiz Saini).

[ You might also enjoy: Introduction to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 ]

Continuing my journey further

During the pandemic, I tried to self-educate, so I started learning Ansible, which is a configuration management software provided by Red Hat. I also explored my way into containers, CI/CD, deployment, management, and other DevOps tools where I got to know and work with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8. 

Unfortunately, I configured and updated my systems with yum because I had no subscription for RHEL8. Although working with yum was difficult, it was necessary to add basic repositories to my system. 

I continued looking and found the Red Hat Developer subscription, which is available free of cost for developers, and I thought I'd give it a try. I downloaded Red Hat Enterprise Linux as a self-supported version. Since then, I have been working and learning with RHEL. 

Accessing the subscription

1. I went to the Red Hat Developer portal to get started. The various tools I wanted to learn are available here.

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2. Create a Red Hat account if you don't have one  and log in.

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All of the Red Hat services work on this site with the same login name and password.

3. After logging in, I downloaded Red Hat Enteprise Linux 8 from the Linux section of the site.

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The self-supported version of RHEL8 is available free of cost to use with the Red Hat Developer Subscription.

Why did I decide to use RHEL?

It has widespread use among businesses and enterprises of every size and description. Red Hat offers technical support and bridges the gap between the developers by offering them help from the Red Hat support team. Red Hat maintains an online portal, which contains documentation for Red Hat's complement of software, its whiteboards, references, and includes video tutorials.

Most importantly, it provided me with immediate access to the latest features and the latest updates as soon as they are released. Also, it is compatible with many hardware devices as Red Hat works closely with hardware vendors to support enterprise-level applications.

Wrap up

Thank you for following along in my Linux journey. If there is anything that I want you to take away from this, it's that the Red Hat Developer Subscription combined with a desire to continue learning can be very powerful for a junior sysadmin trying to grow their skillset. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, I am confident that you will find something to help boost your career as a Linux sysadmin. 

[ Download now: A sysadmin's guide to Bash scripting. ]