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Jason Adams - Tue, 2011/12/06 - 18:08
First, I'm embarassingly noviced with Linux, so please accept the ignorant question.
I'm running LAMP on Proxmox VE. I saw a new version of Turnkey came out today and thought, "Huh, what version do I currently have?" I understand it's supposed to update automatically, but I was curious how to check.
I logged into the shell, but can't find a list of Turnkey specific commands anywhere, and "help" just gives me Linux commands. How do I check the version? And, so I can stop asking such mind-numbing questions, is there a place I can go to wisen myself to the ways of Linux and Turnkey commands?
Thanks for your time and patience!
Forum:
cat /etc/turnkey_version As
cat /etc/turnkey_version
As for TurnKey-specific commands I think 'man tklbam' pretty much covers it. And there is turnkey-sysinfo that is displayed when you ssh in. Eveything else pretty much requires a recent book on Linux.
Google is your friend!
I don't mean to say that you should've googled your questions, more that google will provide heaps of information about Linux. Personally i find google to be the most valuable resource for Linux info.
Although if you want more specific info in regards to TKL then the Ubuntu forums and docs are very useful (TKL v11.x is based on Ubuntu 10.04). There is obviously some limited TKL specific docs here in the 'docs' section as well as heaps of gems here in the forums (but you have to dig). The Ubuntu Server Guide (google it) is chock full of useful genericly relevant info (although quite a bit of it is not relevant to TKL as a lot of the config is already done in TKL - but it is still useful if you want to understand some of the stuff under the hood). Info regarding Debian is often relevant too (Ubuntu is in turn loosely based on Debian). And there is plenty of other generic Linux info that you will find is common to all Linux distros.
If you want to find out how to use a specific command then most packages have manual info available straight from the commandline using the man command (like Dan suggested you do with tklbam). These days there are tons of newb friendly 'intro' type sites and lots of info on Wikipedia. Although a good book like Dan suggested is probably not a bad idea if you want to get a coherant overview.
And if all that fails and you are still struggling with something, post here in the forums and we'll do our best to help out.
Google Is My Friend!
The sad truth is: I did Google first, but quickly found I wasn't even sure what I was searching for. The terminology I was using seemed to be leading me in all the wrong directions. I know enough about Linux to get along on the very surface, but getting deeper requires at least enough knowledge to know where to start digging.
Anyway, thanks for the resources and directions. I will definitely look into the Ubuntu docs. I'm not sure where Ubuntu ends and Turnkey begins, but I suspect I'll figure that out later down the road. As far as books go, any recommendations? I'd be happy to buy one, but I trust your recommendations over my "Huh, that's a nice cover" sensibility.
But I'll just have to start looking for "beginner's guides to Linux" and other such things. Would you recommend I take Linux in general strokes or focus on guides to Ubuntu?
This novice thanks you. :)
You do raise a good point...
If you don't even know what you are searching for then google is next to useless.
As for a Linux book, unfortunately I can't recommend anything. I've never read one. Everything I know about Linux has been learned first hand or via google (and/or Ubuntu docs and/or Ubuntu forums and/or TKL forums and/or trying to help other people around here on the TKL forums).
I started 3 years ago with no Linux experience at all, I have signifcant experience as a Win Admin though (the worst kind of Linux newb so I've been told!) I dived in the deep end by ditching Win at home and going for a Linux (Ubuntu 8.04, then 9.04, then 10.04) desktop plus a Proxmox server with lots of TKL VMs. Nothing like having to try to be productive to hone your skills! :) It took at lot of patience and it was quite a steep learning curve but it's paid off. I still wouldn't consider myself a "Linux expert" but I know a few things... And I am definitely a convert. I still use Windows, but only because I have to. And I understand that it still has it's place, but I don't really get why more people don't use it - for example Education and/or Government. Anyway I won't harp on...
As for where Ubuntu ends and TKL starts, that's a bit of a tricky one. Under the hood, TKL is Ubuntu (v11.x is based on 10.04). But it is a highly customised system with a lot of software pre-installed. It also has some TKL only features such as TKLBAM. Beyond TKLBAM though it still essentially remains mostly Ubuntu.
Don't be scared to ask questions here. Obviously do a bit of a hunt around first, but if you're having trouble finding the answers then you can guarantee others have had (or will have) the same or similar issues. I am always happy to share what knowledge I have, especially if you're trying to help yourself (which you obviously are). The other side of it is, if you do find an answer to something that you think is worth sharing, then by all means post it here and/or edit the TKL docs.
books
Yeah, I do not have a book recommendation either since I started using Linux about 14 years ago and just kept poking around. If you like webmin as a gentler introduction, there are some webmin-specific book
here:
http://www.webmin.com/books.html
I think that approach could help you understand more about all of the components, how they fit together, and their features. From there, you can really learn a lot more from the web sites of the components you are using most heavily.
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