Skip to end of banner
Go to start of banner

Introduction to the Linux Operating System

Skip to end of metadata
Go to start of metadata

You are viewing an old version of this page. View the current version.

Compare with Current View Page History

Version 1 Next »

What is Linux?

Just like Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Mac OS X, Linux is an operating system. An operating system is software that manages all of the hardware resources associated with your desktop or laptop. To put it simply – the operating system manages the communication between your software and your hardware. Without the operating system (often referred to as the “OS”), the software wouldn’t function. For more information, visit Linux.com

Working with Linux

While some versions of Linux include a graphical desktop, similar to Windows, server implementations of Linux however do not generally include a graphical interface. Instead, all work is done by entering commands at a text prompt called the Command Line.

Navigating Around the Command Line

The Linux Command Line, or Prompt provides direct access, through commands, that

 

Connecting to a Server

 

Logging into Linux

To log into a Linux server you will need a user account name and password. If you are connecting to the server remotely you would have provided these as part of the SSH command, or Putty configuration. If you are using the Opmantek VM you can find the default passwords HERE: Default Credentials (Passwords) for NMIS8 VM

Understanding the Linux Prompt

The Linux Prompt provides several valuable pieces of information. The command prompt below provides the current user (root), the host name of the server or IP address if the hostname isn't set (demo.opmantek.com) , the current directory (~) and the level of permissions you are using (# is for root access, )

Linux Prompt
Last login: Wed May 23 14:26:20 2018 from 192.168.10.10
[root@demo.opmantek.com ~]# 

Navigating Around / Changing Directories

Linux organizes programs into files and folder, which are stored on drives or shares. Folders provide the concept of an organizational hierarchy in each share.

How to Determine Where You Are NOW

[root@demo.opmantek.com nmis8]# pwd
/usr/local/nmis8

 

Showing a Listing of Files and Folders in the Current Directory

As we showed above, the Linux Prompt will show you the name of the current folder, or directory, you are in. However,

[root@demo.opmantek.com nmis8]# ls -l
total 16576
drwxrwx--- 5 nmis nmis     4096 May 12 01:56 admin
drwxrwx--- 2 nmis nmis     4096 Apr 28 02:45 bin
drwxrwx--- 2 nmis nmis     4096 Dec  1 03:22 cgi-bin
drwxrwx--- 5 nmis nmis     4096 May 23 15:03 conf
lrwxrwxrwx 1 nmis nmis       21 Apr 15  2014 database -> /data/nmis8/database/
-rw-rw---- 1 nmis nmis    10626 Feb 10  2016 find.patch
drwxrwx--- 5 nmis nmis     4096 Dec  1 03:22 htdocs
-rw-rw---- 1 nmis nmis    11197 Dec 29  2015 index.html
drwxrwxr-x 6 nmis nmis     4096 Dec  1 03:22 install
-rw-rw---- 1 nmis nmis 12335212 Dec  1 03:25 install.log
-rwxrwx--- 1 nmis nmis    62527 Nov 15  2017 install.pl
drwxrwx--- 4 nmis nmis     4096 Dec  1 03:22 lib
-rw-rw---- 1 nmis nmis    35801 Nov 15  2017 LICENSE
lrwxrwxrwx 1 nmis nmis       13 Apr 15  2014 logs -> /var/log/nmis
drwxrwx--- 5 nmis nmis     4096 Apr 15  2014 menu
drwxrwx--- 3 nmis nmis     4096 Dec  1 03:22 mibs
drwxrwx--- 2 nmis nmis    20480 Dec  1 17:53 models
drwxrwxr-x 2 nmis nmis    20480 Dec  1 03:22 models-install
-rw-rw---- 1 nmis nmis     1582 Nov 15  2017 README
lrwxrwxrwx 1 nmis nmis       25 Apr  6 02:06 var -> /media/ramdisk/nmis8/var/

 

 

Recent updates

  • No labels