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Sheersh Sinha
Sheersh Sinha

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My DevOps Journey: Part 1 โ€” Learning Linux Through Real-World Tasks

๐Ÿง My DevOps Journey: Part 1 โ€” Learning Linux Through Real-World Tasks

When I decided to start my DevOps journey, I had a choice: dive straight into tools like Docker, Jenkins, or Kubernetes, or begin with the fundamentals. I chose the second path โ€” because every modern DevOps tool stands on a strong foundation: Linux.

Almost every IT team relies on Linux servers to run applications, manage deployments, and monitor logs. Thatโ€™s why I wanted my first step to feel like a real IT engineerโ€™s first day on a server.

๐Ÿ’ก Why Linux Matters in DevOps

๐Ÿ–ฅ Servers run Linux: Most AWS EC2s, Azure VMs, or Kubernetes nodes run on Linux.

๐Ÿณ Containers are Linux-based: Docker images usually come from Ubuntu, Alpine, or Debian.

๐Ÿ” Security tools thrive here: Logs, firewalls, and permissions all live in Linux.

โšก Automation loves Linux: Tools like Ansible or Terraform run smoother here.

If youโ€™re aiming for DevOps, Linux isnโ€™t optional โ€” itโ€™s the backbone of everything.

๐Ÿšง The Challenges I Faced (and How I Solved Them)
1๏ธโƒฃ Getting Lost in the Server Jungle

When I first logged into Linux, I felt like an IT trainee dropped into a production server without a map. Every time I typed cd, I hit errors.

`How I solved it:

`pwd   # to see where I am
ls    # to list whatโ€™s here
cd    # to move between folder`
`
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๐Ÿ‘‰ Lesson: In real IT teams, the first thing you do after logging in is figure out where you are before making changes.

2๏ธโƒฃ Creating and Editing Files (Like Configs in Real Servers)

In real-world DevOps, you often edit files like /etc/nginx/nginx.conf or /etc/hosts. My first attempt was clumsy โ€” I made empty files with touch but didnโ€™t know how to edit them.

How I solved it:

`echo "Hello DevOps World" > notes.txt   # create with content
nano notes.txt   # edit interactively
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`

๐Ÿ‘‰ Lesson: Creating and editing files is just like managing config files in production servers.

3๏ธโƒฃ Overwriting Files by Mistake

Once, I accidentally wiped my file by using the wrong operator.

How I solved it:

Learned the difference between:

โ†’ overwrite ( >)

โ†’ append ( >>)

๐Ÿ‘‰ Lesson: Feels like those moments in IT when a single wrong change in a config breaks a service โ€” small mistake, big impact.

4๏ธโƒฃ The Power (and Risk) of Delete

Deleting old logs or temp files is normal in IT โ€” but delete the wrong file, and youโ€™re in trouble. I learned this the hard way.

How I solved it:
Created a sandbox folder just for practice:

๐Ÿ‘‰ Lesson: Always practice in safe environments before touching critical files.

๐Ÿ“ CRUD Operations in Linux

Almost everything IT engineers do with files comes down to CRUD โ€” Create, Read, Update, Delete.

๐Ÿ‘‰ This is literally what DevOps engineers do daily โ€” creating config files, reading logs, updating configs, and cleaning up old files.

๐ŸŒŸ Key Takeaways From Part 1

Linux is the backbone of DevOps.

The terminal may look scary at first, but every command connects to real IT tasks.

CRUD isnโ€™t just a concept โ€” itโ€™s part of daily life for DevOps engineers.

Mistakes (like overwriting or deleting) are great teachers when practiced safely.

๐Ÿš€ Whatโ€™s Next (Part 2)

Next, Iโ€™ll dive into the Linux file system hierarchy โ€” because knowing where logs, configs, and user files live is just as important as knowing the commands.

๐Ÿค Over to You

If youโ€™ve worked with Linux before โ€” whatโ€™s the smallest command that taught you the biggest lesson? Iโ€™d love to hear your stories in the comments ๐Ÿ‘‡

Thanks for reading ๐Ÿ™
This is Part 1 of my DevOps Journey, and Iโ€™m excited to keep learning, sharing, and growing with this amazing community. ๐Ÿš€

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