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Linux Introduction

UNIX is the first Operating system in the world, developed by Ken

Thompson and Dennis Ritchie in 1969 at Bell Lab by AT&T Company

IBM : AIX

SGI : IRIX

Sun : Solaris

Free software foundation organization, they start a project by name

GNU. The main aim of this project is to develop such an operating system
that can run on any platform.

In 1991, a student Linuz Torvalds developed a kernel named Linuxs

kernel plus GNU application called Linux operating system.

Linux is an open source technology.

Different companies that provide Linux in Market are Redhat, SuSe,

Scientific, Centos, and Knoppix etc.

Features:

Linux is the fastest Operating system in the world. It runs 2 to 3 times

fast than windows OS.
Linux is the much secured OS because there is no any problem of
virus.
Linux file format is text format and windows file format is binary
format.
 Linux is very reliable OS because kernel of Linux is very stable as
compare to windows kernel not crashed easily.
Kernel of Linux is very small in size it can be stored in floppy.
Linux uses the x-Window system which is advanced network
windowing system. Using this system we can display output of any
workstation monitor attached in the network.

Advantages:

Virus Proof
Crash Proof
Economical
Multiuser, Multi-Tasking and Multi processing capacity

Login Modes:

Two modes:

1. Text mode (CLI) - All the commands can be executed

2. Graphical Mode (GUI)

Login to Text mode we have use (Ctrl+Alt+F1..F6, F8.F12) (Ctrl+Alt+F7)
for Graphical Mode

Linux Architecture

Kernel: It is a program. Kernel is a Core component of operating system,

interacts directly with hardware and provides low level services to upper
layer components.

Shell: An interface to kernel, hiding complexity of kernels functions from

users. Takes commands from user and executes kernels functions.
User Interface: In information technology, the user interface (UI) is
everything designed into an information device with which a human being
may interact. Two types CLI (Command line interface) and GUI (Graphical
User Interface).

System Library - System libraries are special functions or programs using

which application programs or system utilities accesses Kernel's features.
These libraries implements most of the functionality of the operating system
and do not requires kernel module's code access rights.

System Utility - System Utility programs are responsible to do specialized,

individual level tasks.

Kernel Mode vs User Mode

Kernel component code executes in a special privileged mode called

kernel mode with full access to all resources of the computer. This code
represents a single process, executes in single address space and do not
require any context switch and hence is very efficient and fast. Kernel runs
each processes and provides system services to processes, provides
protected access to hardwares to processes.
Support code which is not required to run in kernel mode is in System
Library. User programs and other system programs works in User Mode
which has no access to system hardwares and kernel code. User programs/
utilities use System libraries to access Kernel functions to get system's low
level tasks.
Basic Features

Following are some of the important features of Linux Operating

System.

Portable - Portability means softwares can works on different types of

hardwares in same way. Linux kernel and application programs supports
their installation on any kind of hardware platform.

Open Source - Linux source code is freely available and it is community

based development project. Multiple teams works in collaboration to enhance
the capability of Linux operating system and it is continuously evolving.

Multi-User - Linux is a multiuser system means multiple users can

access system resources like memory/ ram/ application programs at same
time.

Multiprogramming - Linux is a multiprogramming system means

multiple applications can run at same time.

Hierarchical File System - Linux provides a standard file structure in

which system files/ user files are arranged.

Shell - Linux provides a special interpreter program which can be used to

execute commands of the operating system. It can be used to do various
types of operations, call application programs etc.

Security - Linux provides user security using authentication features like

password protection/ controlled access to specific files/ encryption of data.

Linux System Architecture is consists of following layers

Hardware layer - Hardware consists of all peripheral devices (RAM/

HDD/ CPU etc).

Kernel - Core component of Operating System, interacts directly with

hardware, provides low level services to upper layer components.

Shell - An interface to kernel, hiding complexity of kernel's functions from

users. Takes commands from user and executes kernel's functions.

Utilities - Utility programs giving user most of the functionalities of an

operating systems.
Windows Vs Linux

Windows Linux

It is a proprietary software It is an open source

everything need to buy software everything is free
Less Secure More Secure

More costly Less Cost compare to

Chance to get a carpal
tunnel syndrome
Developed by Microsoft
corporation
Options need to select
Kernel is not editable
windows
There is no chance to get
carpal tunnel syndrome
Developed by Linus Torvalds
You can develop anything as
per your requirement
Kernel is editable

BASH Features

BASH: Bourne again shell

when you login to the Server using any CLI based tool OR login to the CLI
mode you can see as like below screen.

$ sign = local user/non-privilege user

# sign = Administrator/Privileged user

bash Command prompt explanation

Shells can be changed based the user compatibility and requirements, most
of default shell is 'BASH'

shells List

Command Line Completion:

Single Tab it will provide the best option

Double Tab it will provide all the possible options (Autocompletes)

Command Line Editing:

Ctrl+a - It moves cursor to the Home line position

Ctrl+b - Moves the cursor back one character
Ctrl+c - Sends the signal SIGINT to the current task, which aborts
and close it.
Ctrl+d - Close current shell prompt
Ctrl+e - It will move a cursor to end of the bash
Ctrl+f - Moves cursor forward one character
Ctrl+g - Abort the research and restore the original file
Ctrl+h - Deletes the previous character (Same as backspace)
Ctrl+k - It is used to delete the command from the courser to line
home position
Ctrl+l - Clear the screen
Ctrl+u - Clears the line content before the cursor and copies it into
the clipboard
Ctrl+y - Yank the content from the cursor position
Ctrl+z - Sends the signal SIGTSTP to the current task, which
suspend it
Ctrl+Shift+c - Copy selected text
Ctrl+Shift+v - Paste the copied content
Ctrl+Shift+t - Tab
Ctrl+Shift+n - New Terminal
Ctrl+Shift+w - Close Tab
Ctrl+Shfift+q - Close a Terminal
Alt+b - Moves the cursor backward one word
Alt+c - Capitalizes the character under the cursor and moves to
the end of word
Alt+d - Cut the word after the cursor
Alt+f - Moves the cursor forward one word
Alt+l - Lowers the case of every character from the cursors
position to the end
Alt+. - Insert the last argument to the previous command

Command Line History: Command line history will be saved, when you
execute any command in terminal.
$ history - this command will display all the previous executed
commands

$ history c- Clear the command history

$ !<number> - it executes mentioned number command

Note: Default history size is 1000 commands

history Command Output

$ !<charectar> - it will display/execute matching character command

$ !! - it will execute last executed command

Sophisticated prompt control:

? - It will replace a single character

Example: rm rf a? - it will delete the files with two characters

Rm rf a?? - it will delete the three characters files after a

* - replace multiple number of characters

Example: rm f a* - it will remove all the files which are starting with
a

Piping and Redirecting:

Redirecting input and output from standard stream to user defined place

1. Input RD -0 <

2. Output RD -1 Values > Symbols

3. Error RD -2 >

Example: $ sort < <file name>

$ wc < <file name>

$ history > f2

$mkdir d1 2> e1
sort Command Output

Piping sending output or one command as a input to the another command

| pipe

pipe Symbol

Page related command:

Less: is used to see the command output page by page in up and

down way

More: we cant go upward downward, just see the output fit to the
screen

less and more Command Output

Linux Directory Structure

Overview
Everything in Linux can be reduced to a file. Partitions are associated with
files such as /dev/hda1. Hardware components are associated with files such as
/dev/modem. The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) is the official way to
organize files in Unix and Linux directories.
Linux file system and directory structure
Several major directories are associated with all modern Unix/Linux operating
systems. These directories organize user files, drivers, kernels, logs, programs,
utilities, and more into different categories. The standardization of the FHS makes it
easier for users of other Unix-based operating systems to understand the basics of
Linux. All of the other directories shown in Table are subdirectories of the root
directory, unless they are mounted separately.

Direct
ory Description
The root directory, the top-level directory in the FHS. All other directories
are subdirectories of root, which is always mounted on some partition. All
/
directories that are not mounted on a separate partition are included in the
root directorys partition.
Essential command line utilities. Should not be mounted separately;
/bin otherwise, it could be difficult to get to these utilities when using a rescue
disk.
Includes Linux startup files, including the Linux kernel. Can be small; 16MB
is usually adequate for a typical modular kernel. If you use multiple
/boot
kernels, such as for testing a kernel upgrade, increase the size of this
partition accordingly.
/etc Most basic configuration files.
Hardware and software device drivers for everything from floppy drives to
/dev
terminals. Do not mount this directory on a separate partition.
/home Home directories for almost every user.
Program libraries for the kernel and various command line utilities. Do not
/lib
mount this directory on a separate partition.
The mount point for removable media, including floppy drives, CD-ROMs,
/mnt
and Zip disks.
/opt Applications such as WordPerfect or Star Office.
Currently running kernel-related processes, including device assignments
/proc
such as IRQ ports, I/O addresses, and DMA channels.
/root The home directory of the root user.
/sbin System administration commands. Don't mount this directory separately.
Temporary files. By default, Red Hat Linux deletes all files in this directory
/tmp
periodically.
Small programs accessible to all users. Includes many system
/usr
administration commands and utilities.
/var Variable data, including log files and printer spools.
Linux Booting procedure
The stages involved in Linux Booting Process are:
1. BIOS
2. Boot Loader
- MBR
- GRUB
3. Kernel
4. Init
5. Runlevel scripts
6. User Interface

STEP 1. BIOS

This is the first thing which loads once you power on your machine.

When you press the power button of the machine, CPU looks out into ROM
for further instruction.

The ROM contains JUMP function in the form of instruction which tells the
CPU to bring up the BIOS

BIOS determine all the list of bootable devices available in the system.

Prompts to select bootable device which can be Hard Disk, CD/DVD-ROM,

Floppy Drive, USB Flash Memory Stick Etc..

Operating System tries to boot from Hard Disk where the MBR contains
primary boot loader.

STEP 2. Boot Loader

To be very brief this phase includes loading of the boot loader (MBR and
GRUB/LILO) into memory to bring up the kernel.

MBR (Master Boot Record)

It is the first sector of the Hard Disk with a size of 512 bytes.

The first 434 - 446 bytes are the primary boot loader, 64 bytes for partition
table and 6 bytes for MBR validation timestamp.

NOTE: Now MBR directly cannot load the kernel as it is unaware of the file system
concept and requires a boot loader with file system driver for each supported file
systems, so that they can be understood and accessed by the boot loader itself.

To overcome this situation GRUB is used with the details of the file system in
/boot/grub.conf and file system drivers
GRUB (Grand Unified Boot loader)

this loads the kernel in 3 stages

GRUB stage 1:

The primary boot loader takes up less than 512 bytes of disk space in the
MBR - too small a space to contain the instructions necessary to load a
complex operating system.

Instead the primary boot loader performs the function of loading either the
stage 1.5 or stage 2 boot loader.

GRUB Stage 1.5:

Stage 1 can load the stage 2 directly, but it is normally set up to load the
stage 1.5.

This can happen when the /boot partition is situated beyond the 1024
cylinder head of the hard drive.

GRUB Stage 1.5 is located in the first 30 KB of Hard Disk immediately after
MBR and before the first partition.

This space is utilized to store file system drivers and modules.

This enabled stage 1.5 to load stage 2 to load from any known location on
the file system i.e. /boot/grub

GRUB Stage 2:

This is responsible for loading kernel from /boot/grub/grub.conf and any

other modules needed

Loads a GUI interface i.e. splash image located at /grub/splash.xpm.gz with

list of available kernels where you can manually select the kernel or else
after the default timeout value the selected kernel will boot

The original file is /etc/grub.conf of which you can observe a symlink file at
/boot/grub/grub.conf
STEP 3. Kernel
This can be considered the heart of operating system responsible for handling all
system processes.
Kernel is loaded in the following stages:

1. Kernel as soon as it is loaded configures hardware and memory allocated to

the system.

2. Next it uncompresses the initrd image (compressed using zlib into zImage
or bzImage formats) and mounts it and loads all the necessary drivers.

3. Loading and unloading of kernel modules is done with the help of programs
like insmod, and rmmod present in the initrd image.

4. Looks out for hard disk types be it a LVM or RAID.

5. Unmounts initrd image and frees up all the memory occupied by the disk
image.

6. Then kernel mounts the root partition as specified in grub.conf as read-

only.

7. Next it runs the init process

STEP 4. Init Process

Executes the system to boot into the run level as specified in /etc/inittab

You can check current runlevel details of your system using below command on the
terminal

# who -r

run-level 3 Jan 28 23:29 last=S

Next as per the fstab entry file system's integrity is checked and root
partition is re-mounted as read-write (earlier it was mounted as read-
only).

STEP 5. Runlevel scripts

A no. of runlevel scripts are defined inside /etc/rc.d/rcx.d
 Based on the selected runlevel, the init process then executes startup scripts
located in subdirectories of the /etc/rc.d directory.

Scripts used for runlevels 0 to 6 are located in subdirectories /etc/rc.d/rc0.d

through /etc/rc.d/rc6.d, respectively.

For more details on scripts inside /etc/rc.d follow the below link
What are the s and k scripts in the etc rcx.d directories

Lastly, init runs whatever it finds in /etc/rc.d/rc.local (regardless of run

level). rc.local is rather special in that it is executed every time that you
change run levels.

NOTE: rc.local is not used in all the distros as for example Debian .

Basic and Common commands:

Before you turn over to the next chapter where you are going to meet a
plethora of commands, remember a few things that apply to all UNIX
commands.

All UNIX commands must always be entered in small case letters

Between the command name and the options that may be available with
the command there must always be a space or a tab, for example, ls l.
Here is the command whereas l is the option and the two have been
separated by space. The option is usually preceded by a minus (-) sign.
The option available with a command are often known as switches

Two or more options available with command can usually be combined, for
example, the command ls l a is same as ls la

If you make a typing mistake, press backspace to erase characters Dont

try back using arrow keys and then attempt deleting using the del key

To cancel the entire command before you press Enter, press ctrl+c Or del
key
Basic Commands :
~]$ date #To see the date of the system.
~]$ date +%d-%Y-%H-%M #To see particular date format you always
use date options

Date Command Output

~]$ cal #To see the current month calendar.

~]$ cal 11 2014 #To display the calendar, Month November (11) and year
2014

Cal Command Output

~]$ clear #To clear the screen

~]$ ls l #List files, directories with their properties
~]$ ls #To list files and directories
~]$ ls a #To list all hidden files and directories
~]$ ls d #To list only directories

ls -l Command output
~]$ pwd #Print working directory

pwd Command output

~]$ who am I #To see from which user you have logged in
 who am i command output

~]$ who #To see all who is logged in yet this point of time from
which IP
~]$ w #More details about user related info

who command output

~]$ uptime #To see the server up time, boot time, users and load

uptime Command Output

~]$ uname a #Verify Operating system version, kernel version and
architecture

uname -a Command Output

~]$ touch <File Name> #Create an empty file / Multiple empty files
yet a time

Options:
~]$ touch am #it will change a file time to current time
~]$ touch r file1 B 30 file2 #it will create two files with 30 seconds time
difference
~]$ cat /dev/null > file #To empty the data file
~]$ cat > <File Name> #Create an single file with text

touch Command Output

In above example two files 'kumar' and 'ravi' where created because
we have provided the space in between 'kumar' and 'ravi' file names.

~]$ rm rf <File / Directory Name> #Delete files and directories

forcefully
~]$rmdir <directory> #Delete directories only
 rm -rf Command Output
~]$ mkdir <Directory Name> #Create an empty directory / directories
~]$ mkdir p <directory/directory/directory> #to create parent
directories

mkdir Command Output

~]$ cd <Path of the directory> #Change directory

cd Command Output and Usage

~]$ cat <File Name> #View content of file

cat Command to read the file content

~]$ time #Calculate response time of the activity / command

time Command Output

~]$ hwclock #to see detailed date and time with time zone

hwclock Command Output

~]$ cp <Source path> <Destination path> #Copy the files from one
path to another path
~]$cp Rv <source> <destination> #copy directories from source to
destination

Options:
-R, -r, #copy directories recursively
-v #verbose to see progress of copy job
-p #preserve
-f #forcefully
-I #interactive: Ask before overwriting file

cp -v Command Output
Copying directory must use R to copy directories

cp -Rv Command Output

~]$ mv <source> <destination> #Move files/directories
~]$ mv <old name> <new name> #Rename the file and directory

mv Command Output
~]$ last #Check who logged in and when logged in duration

last Command Output

~]$ arch #to know architecture
 arch Command Output
~]$ reboot / init 6 #Restart server
~]$poweroff / init 0 #To shut down the server
~]$ dmesg #Check boot process logs

dmesg Command Output

~]$ nsloookup <Server Address>#check dns resolution
~]$ dig <server address> #check dns resolution to debug
~]$ tree <directory> #it will show the tree of parent directory
~]$ stat <file name> #detailed information about file

stat Command Output

~]$ wc #word count, character count and line count
Options:
-l #Check line count
-c #Character Count
-w #Word Count
 wc Command Output
Help relate commands:
~]$ whatis <Command Name> #It will display single line description
about command

whatis Command Usage

~]$ whereis <Command Name> #It will provide you path of the
command

whereis Command Output

~]$ man <command> #manual page of the command
~]$ info <command> #information about the command
~]$ <command> --help #it will gives a command options and there
usage
~]$ apropos <keyword> #to know about the command use

apropos Command Output

Command Description
adduser Add a new user
arch Print machine architecture
awk Find and Replace text within file(s)
bc An arbitrary precision calculator language
cal Display a calendar
cat Concatenate files and print on the standard output
chdir Change working directory
chgrp Change the group ownership of files
chkconfig Tool for maintaining the /etc/rc[0-6].d directory hierarchy
chmod Change the access permissions of files and directories
chown Change the user and group ownership of files
chroot Change root directory
cksum Print CRC checksum and byte counts
clear Clear terminal screen
cmp Compare two files
comm Compare two sorted files line by line
cp Copy one or more files to another location
cron Daemon to execute scheduled commands
crontab Schedule a command to run at a later time
csplit Split a file into context-determined pieces
cut Divide a file into several parts
date Display or change the date & time
dc Desk Calculator
dd Data Dump - Convert and copy a file
df Display free disk space
diff Display the differences between two files
diff3 Show differences among three files
dir Briefly list directory contents
dircolors Colour setup for `ls'
dirname Convert a full pathname to just a path
du Estimate file space usage
echo Display message on screen
ed A line-oriented text editor (edlin)
egrep Search file(s) for lines that match an extended expression
eject Eject CD-ROM
env Display, set, or remove environment variables
expand Convert tabs to spaces
expr Evaluate expressions
factor Print prime factors
false Do nothing, unsuccessfully
fdformat Low-level format a floppy disk
fdisk Partition table manipulator for Linux
fgrep Search file(s) for lines that match a fixed string
find Search for files that meet a desired criteria
fmt Reformat paragraph text
fold Wrap text to fit a specified width
format Format disks or tapes
free Display memory usage
fsck Filesystem consistency check and repair
gawk Find and Replace text within file(s)
grep Search file(s) for lines that match a given pattern
groups Print group names a user is in
gzip Compress or decompress named file(s)
head Output the first part of file(s)
hostname Print or set system name
id Print user and group id's
info Help info
install Copy files and set attributes
join Join lines on a common field
kill Stop a process from running
less Display output one screen at a time
ln Make links between files
locate Find files
logname Print current login name
lpc Line printer control program
lpr Off line print
lprm Remove jobs from the print queue
ls List information about file(s)
man Help manual
mkdir Create new folder(s)
mkfifo Make FIFOs (named pipes)
mknod Make block or character special files
more Display output one screen at a time
mount Mount a file system
mv Move or rename files or directories
nice Set the priority of a command or job
nl Number lines and write files
nohup Run a command immune to hangups
passwd Modify a user password
paste Merge lines of files
pathchk Check file name portability
pr Convert text files for printing
printcap Printer capability database
printenv Print environment variables
printf Format and print data
ps Process status
pwd Print Working Directory
quota Display disk usage and limits
quotacheck Scan a file system for disk usage
quotactl Set disk quotas
ram ram disk device
rcp Copy files between two machines
rm Remove files
rmdir Remove folder(s)
rpm Remote Package Manager
rsync Remote file copy (Synchronize file trees)
screen Terminal window manager
sdiff Merge two files interactively
sed Stream Editor
select Accept keyboard input
seq Print numeric sequences
shutdown Shutdown or restart linux
sleep Delay for a specified time
sort Sort text files
split Split a file into fixed-size pieces
su Substitute user identity
sum Print a checksum for a file
symlink Make a new name for a file
sync Synchronize data on disk with memory
tac Concatenate and write files in reverse
tail Output the last part of files
tar Tape Archiver
tee Redirect output to multiple files
test Evaluate a conditional expression
time Measure Program Resource Use
touch Change file timestamps
top List processes running on the system
traceroute Trace Route to Host
tr Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters
true Do nothing, successfully
tsort Topological sort
tty Print filename of terminal on stdin
umount Unmount a device
uname Print system information
unexpand Convert spaces to tabs
uniq Uniquify files
units Convert units from one scale to another
unshar Unpack shell archive scripts
useradd Create new user account
usermod Modify user account
users List users currently logged in
uuencode Encode a binary file
uudecode Decode a file created by uuencode
vdir Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b')
watch Execute/display a program periodically
wc Print byte, word, and line counts
whereis Report all known instances of a command
which Locate a program file in the user's path
who Print all usernames currently logged in
whoami Print the current user id and name (`id -un')
xargs Execute utility, passing constructed argument list(s)
yes Print a string until interrupted