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Preparing to by first vps to learn web administration
Hello LET
New user and month long lurker on to this forum.
I would like to by a VPS like this month or next for educational purposes mostly and if I ever get a smart idea I will probably try to see if their is a market for it.
But I am also kind of a newb and I don't think I will ever stop being a newb because their is so much to learn.
So what must I learn or be careful of before I actually get one. Below is a list of things I have gathered so far.
Warning Too Long To read! But what I wrote already might be too long to read.
1. Learn some programming languages, and mark up (did some).
2. Learn a lot of Linux (in progress).
3. Security concerns such as DEdos attacks, cross side scripting (top concerns).
4. Networking.
All I got so far.
Comments
This seems like a good resource from one of the mods here about vps Security.
Also I am sorry about the bad formatting above.
(http://www.vpsadvice.com/vps-security-checklist/)
You forgot porn.
Learn how to read logs, how to harden your system and all the best practice you should follow (have always the system updated, no root access on ssh, only key exchange login on ssh)
But first of all, you have experience with Linux? What's your background?
I am studying Computer Science and Math in University this is bacily my Third year so I know some programming languages, basic data structures, a lot of SQL, and nothing on networking.
Still learning Unix commands, and stuff like that. I think I would be worried if I had to mount things. Can a person actually remember all that stuff? I find myself searching alot about many things like making symbolic links and I always forget.
You eventually memorize it; It becomes second nature. Like falling off a bicycle.
I like that analogy. Got any others?
Nope. I am analogy free.
Yes, because we do not watch so much porn.
Like @WSS implied: it is easy to memorize Unix commands. Forget some of those many porn scenes you have seen in the past, and make room in your brain's cortex for learning commands and protocols in Unix.
Memorization is the least of your worries. Read all you can. Buy a couple cheap LEB VPSs, and try different things.
Don't try to learn how to be a sysadmin, try to learn various skills and tasks. Eventually it will all come together.
Be goal-oriented. Pick a specific topic and learn it. For example, learn to install a proper LAMP setup. Then create some simple HTML pages. Then install something like DokuWiki or WordPress. Then learn how each works. Then learn how to update and upgrade your VPS. Then start learning what components do what, and how they work.
My point is to learn how to do specific tasks, then learn why you are doing them and how they relate to other tasks.
And remember that you can always reinstall your VPS, so if you FUBAR things, you can always start over. (Learning how to do backups is also a great skill!)
This is a great blurb- however..
Without learning the basics of Admin, you won't know why octets, groups, and permissions are important; how to check for issues and, indeed, how to deal with setting up anything after doing the basic LAMP install from CaptainCuttenPaste.tk, or wherever.
Start with some simple UNIX administration tasks. Learn how the filesystem works, how to use PS, and how to at least get your way out of vi and install nano. Then, learn how ports work, how to setup your local firewall, and then move on to hosted services.
Yeah, it's a shame there is no mention in vi's manual that if you want to exit it you need a second terminal to run killall vi.
Feast on the upcoming black friday sales or settle in with Vultr. With Vultr you can do snapshots, easily upgrade, choose from a massive selection of OS and they have a large range of locations.
Take this to heart and go with nano.
Install stuff, break stuff, reinstall, repeat. Then eventually work up to repairing stuff rather than jumping to a reinstall.
some meta-skills to develop:
You can ask the LET staff.
I like watching people using several known combinations to get out of it. Then I demonstrate how to do it with THREE total keypresses.
thanks for the laugh.
i thought you only use one finger and leave.
I save that for the Node.jerkops.
I used to like vim but eventually realized that nano was waaaaay better.
Not saying that I don’t use vim anymore, just less.
Surprised that @bsdguy hasn't popped in to talk about ee.
@Ympker You need to include a hostname before the image file name :P
Yeah haha forgot :P
This is so true. Tho my first cli editor was nano, I like vim more now!
Started with vim. Tried nano, it's waaaaay easier to use IMO.
This is good advice. Udemy will have a Black Friday sale and it's a good opportunity to learn yourself some new skills.
Thanks for all the replies so far. Many peope here seem smart but a tad crazy.
Also over the summer I did a lot of learning at first and then the momentum slowed greatly now I am trying to prove to the world I have some sort of coding skills.
I would stick with nano myself because vim is not accessible with screenreading technology.
On windows I am enjoying Visual Studio Code because it is the first accessible programming text edditor I have ever found that does not come with an IDE
A noob tip: Actually read error messages instead of ignoring them or blindly copy & paste to a forum.