Chapter 1

Introduction to Linux

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ay not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Objectives
• After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
• Explain the purpose of an operating system
• Outline the key features of the Linux operating system
• Describe the origins of the Linux operating systems
• Identify the characteristics of various Linux distributions and where to find
them
• Explain the common uses of Linux in industry today

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 Operating Systems (1 of 7)
• Computers have two fundamental components
• Hardware: physical components inside a computer
• Software: set of instructions or programs that allow hardware components
to manipulate data

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 Operating Systems (2 of 7)
• Hardware components
• Processor (CPU)
• Physical memory (RAM)
• Hard disk and solid state drives
• CD and DVD drives
• Flash memory card readers (SD cards)
• Sound cards
• Video cards
• Network adapter cards
• Ports
• Mainboards (motherboards)

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 Operating Systems (3 of 7)
• Two types of programs are executed on a computer
• Applications (apps): programs designed for a specific use and with which
a user interacts
• Operating system (OS) software: software components used to control the
hardware of the computer

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 Operating Systems (4 of 7)
• Device driver: software containing instructions that the OS uses
to control and interact with a specific device
• User interface: application program that accepts user input
indicating what to do, forwards this input to the OS for
completion, and gives results back to the user
• Can be a command line prompt or a graphical user interface (GUI)

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 Operating Systems (5 of 7)

Figure 1-1: The role of operating system software.

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 Operating Systems (6 of 7)
• Graphical user interface (GUI): component of an OS that the user
can interact with using the keyboard or the mouse
• Consists of menus, dialog boxes, and symbols (known as icons)
• System services: applications that handle system-related tasks
• Printing
• Scheduling programs
• Gaining network access

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 Operating Systems (7 of 7)

Figure 1-2: A Linux graphical user interface.

Source: Red Hat, Inc.

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 The Linux Operating System
• Linux: OS used to run a variety of applications on a variety of
different hardware components
• Multiuser and multitasking OS
• Ability to manage thousands of tasks at the same time
• Allows multiple users to access the system simultaneously

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 Versions of the Linux Operating System
• Linux kernel: core component
• Written almost entirely in the C programming language
• Software can be used to modify appearance of Linux, but the kernel is
common to all Linux
• Important to understand Linux kernel version numbers to decide which
version is appropriate
• Good understanding of system hardware is important in deciding which
kernel version to use

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 Identifying Kernel Versions
• Linux kernel versions components
• Major number: indicates major revision to Linux kernel
• Minor number: indicates minor revision and stability of Linux kernel
• Production kernel: kernel that has been thoroughly tested and is declared to be
stable
• Developmental kernel: kernel which is not fully tested and with implied instability
• Revision number: most current changes to the version

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 Licensing Linux (1 of 3)
• Open Source Software (OSS)
• Freely developed and continuously improved by a large community of
software developers
• Source code
• List of instructions that a software developer writes to make up a program
• Format and structure of source code follows rules defined by the
programming language in which it was written

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 Licensing Linux (2 of 3)
• Implications of OSS software development
• Software is developed very rapidly through widespread collaboration
• Software bugs (errors) are noted and promptly fixed
• Software features evolve quickly based on users’ needs
• The perceived value of the software increases because it is based on
usefulness, not on price

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 Licensing Linux (3 of 3)
Table 1-2 Software types

Type Description

Open source Software in which the source code and software can be obtained free
of charge and optionally modified to suit a particular need
Closed source Software in which the source code is not available; although this type
of software might be distributed free of charge, it is usually quite
costly and commonly referred to as commercial software
Freeware Closed source software that is given out free of charge; it is
sometimes referred to as freemium software
Shareware Closed source software that is initially given out free of charge but
that requires payment after a certain period of use

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 Types of Open Source Licenses
• GNU Public License (GPL)
• Developed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
• Stipulates that the source code of any software published under its license
must be freely available
• Users who modify the source code must also redistribute the modified
code freely
• Artistic license: ensures source code is freely available
• Original author has some control over changes

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 Types of Closed Source Licenses
• Most closed source software is sold commercially
• Usually bears label of manufacturer
• Freeware
• Distributed free of charge; source code is not available
• Shareware
• Initially free, but requires payment after a period of time or for use of
certain features

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Linux Advantages (1 of 7)
• Risk reduction
• Changes in the market or customer needs may cause companies to
change software frequently
• Can be costly and time-consuming
• Support for closed source software may end
• Vendor may go out of business
• Software version may be retired
• OSS products offer the opportunity to maintain and change the source
code

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 Linux Advantages (2 of 7)
• Meeting business needs
• Common software available for Linux
• Scientific and engineering software
• Software emulators
• Web servers, Web browsers, and e-commerce suites
• Desktop productivity software
• Graphics manipulation software
• Database software
• Security software

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Linux Advantages (3 of 7)
• Stability and security
• Customers using a closed source OS must rely on the vendor to fix any
bugs
• Waiting for a hot fix may take weeks or months
• The collaborative open source approach to testing and fixing bugs
increases the stability of Linux
• Bugs and security loopholes in OSS programs can be identified and fixed
quickly
• Code is freely available and scrutinized by many developers

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 Linux Advantages (4 of 7)
• Flexibility for different hardware platforms
• Partial list of hardware platforms on which Linux can run
• Intel x86/x64 and Itanium
• PA-RISC and Mainframe (S/390, z/Architecture)
• ARM and MIPS
• SPARC/Ultra-SPARC
• PowerPC/POWER
• Ease of customization
• Ability to control the inner workings of the OS
• Can choose to install only software packages needed
• Linux supports several programming languages, such as shell and PERL
scripts to customize or automate tasks
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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Linux Advantages (5 of 7)
• Ease of obtaining support
• Linux documentation found on the Internet
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
• HOWTO documents: maintained by authors but centrally collected by the Linux
Documentation Project (LDP)
• Internet newsgroups
• Linux User Groups (LUGs): open forum of Linux users who discuss Linux-related
issues and problems

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Linux Advantages (6 of 7)
• Cost reduction
• Linux is less expensive than other OSs
• No cost associated with acquiring the software
• A wealth of OSS can run on a variety of different hardware platforms running Linux
• Largest costs associated with Linux are costs associated with hiring people to
maintain the system
• Total cost of ownership (TCO): overall cost of using a particular OS

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 Linux Advantages (7 of 7)
Table 1-3: Calculating
the total cost of
ownership
Costs Linux Closed source operating system
Operating system cost $0 Greater than $0
Cost of administration Low: Stability is high and bugs Moderate/high: Bug fixes are created by the
are fixed quickly by open vendor of the operating system, which could
source developers. result in costly downtime.

Cost of additional software Low/none: Most software Moderate/high: Most software available for closed
available for Linux is also open source operating systems is also closed source.
source.
Cost of software upgrades Low/none Moderate/high: Closed source software is
eventually retired, and companies must buy
upgrades or new products to gain functionality
and stay competitive.

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 The History of Linux

Figure 1-4: Timeline of UNIX and Linux development.

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 UNIX (1 of 2)
• Evolved from Multiplexed Information and Computing Service
(MULTICS)
• Project was abandoned
• Rewritten in the C programming language
• Able to run on different hardware platforms
• AT&T sold UNIX source code to several companies
• Each developed its own variety, or flavor, of UNIX yet adhered to
standards agreed upon by all

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 UNIX (2 of 2)
• Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD)
• Version of the original UNIX source code
• Common flavors of UNIX today
• BSD
• Hewlett-Packard’s HP-UX
• IBM’s AIX
• Apple’s macOS and iOS operating systems

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Hacker Culture (1 of 2)
• Hacker: a person who attempts to expand knowledge of
computing through experimentation
• Cracker: someone who illegally uses computers for personal
benefit or to cause damage
• Richard Stallman: famous hacker who worked at MIT
• Formed the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
• Encouraged free software development

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Hacker Culture (2 of 2)
• GNU project by Richard Stallman
• Promoted free development for a free OS that was not UNIX
• GNU project led to publication of GNU Public License (GPL)
• Legalized free distribution of source code and encouraged collaborative
development
• This hacker culture of collaborative development set the stage for
Linux

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Linux (1 of 2)
• First developed by Linus Torvalds in 1991
• Published under the GNU license
• Linux kernel was developed collaboratively and centrally
managed
• Hackers developed Linux add-on packages and distributions
• Distribution: collection of software containing Linux kernel and
libraries, combined with add-on software
• Red Hat and OpenSUSE
• Debian and Ubuntu
• Gentoo, Linux Mint, and Arch

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 Linux (2 of 2)
• Linux is a by-product of OSS development
• Changed over time
• Since 2000, there has been interest in embedded Linux
• Linux OSs that run on smaller hardware devices such as mobile devices
• Linux is currently very well developed
• More application development can be expected from the OSS community
in the next decade

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Linux Distributions (1 of 5)
• Varied distributions of Linux are essentially the same under the
surface
• Do have important differences
• Some distributions include a large number of server-related tools
• Web servers
• Database servers
• Most distributions include a GUI that can be further customized to
suit the needs of the user
• Core component of this GUI is X Windows

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Linux Distributions (2 of 5)
• GUI environment
• X Windows in combination with a window manager and desktop
environment
• Two competing GUI environments in Linux
• GNU Object Model Environment (GNOME)
• K Desktop Environment (KDE)

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 Linux Distributions (3 of 5)

Figure 1-5: The GNOME Desktop

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 Linux Distributions (4 of 5)

Figure 1-6: The KDE Desktop

Source: Red hat, Inc
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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Linux Distributions (5 of 5)
• Package manager: software system that installs and maintains
software
• Red Hat Package Manager: most widely supported package manager
• Tarball: compressed archive of files containing scripts that install
software to the correct location on the system
• Difficult to manage, upgrade, or remove from system

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Common Uses of Linux (1 of 2)
• Linux may be customized to provide services for a variety of
companies in a variety of situations
• Workstation services: services used on a local computer
• Server services: services made available for other computers across a
network

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Common Uses of Linux (2 of 2)
• Linux configurations commonly used today
• Internet servers
• File and print servers
• Application servers
• Cloud systems
• Supercomputers
• Scientific workstations
• Office/personal workstations
• Mobile devices

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Internet Servers
• Most common Internet services
• Web services
• DNS and DHCP services
• Time services
• Mail services
• FTP services
• Authentication services
• Certificate services
• Routing services
• Firewall and proxy services
• Advanced security services

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 File and Print Servers
• Linux is well-suited for centrally sharing resources
• More economical to share files and printers over a network
• Inherently fast and light OS
• A distribution specific to a certain task can be installed on the central
server
• Can share resources with a computer running another OS
• Most common service used to allow clients to connect to shared
information and printers on a Linux server is Samba

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Application Servers
• Application server: intermediary between a client computer and
information, normally stored in a database
• Database: organized collection of data that is arranged into tables of
related information
• Database Management Systems (DBMSs): programs designed to allow
for creation, modification, manipulation, maintenance, and access of
information from databases
• Application servers can provide management functionality

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Cloud Systems
• Cloud is just another term for the Internet
• Organizations are moving their data to servers that are hosted within data
centers accessible across the Internet
• Cloud servers offer the advantage of accessing their data from anywhere
• Private cloud
• Cloud provider
• Main approaches to hosting data and services within the cloud
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

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 Supercomputers
• Clustering: combining several smaller computers to act as one
large supercomputer
• Beowulf clustering: most common Linux method of clustering
• Message Passing Interface (MPI): used on Beowulf clusters to pass
information to separate computers
• Scalability: ability for a computer to increase workload as the
number of processors increases
• Clustering computers often results in better scalability

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Scientific/Engineering Workstation
• Scientific and engineering community often needs customized
programs
• OSS programs can be used or modified to create specific scientific and
engineering fields
• Many OSS programs are available

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Office/Personal Workstation
• Workstation software designed for end users in office and home
environments
• Allow the user to create, organize, and manipulate office documents and
graphic art
• Several OSS packages available
• Graphics editing software (Gimp)
• Desktop publishing software (Scribus)
• Media software (VLC)
• Financial software (Gnucash)
• Office productivity suites (Apache OpenOffice)
• Bittorrent clients (qBitTorrent)
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 Cybersecurity Workstations
• Technologies and processes used to analyze existing security
and provide data protections
• Vulnerability assessments
• Penetration tests
• Security monitoring
• Most tools for performing a vulnerability assessment and
penetration test, as well as the tools for detecting and
investigating security breaches are exclusively for Linux systems

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Mobile Devices
• Following Apple iPhone introduction in 2007 several Linux-based
smartphone and tablets appeared
• Google Android in 2008 is most notable
• By 2017, Android was installed on over 85 percent of
smartphones in the world
• Google Play Store hosted more than 3.5 million apps and over 85 billion
downloads
• Other Linux distributions on mobile devices
• AsteroidOS, postmarketOS, and Sailfish OS
• SHR and Tizen
• Ubuntu Touch
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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Summary (1 of 2)
• Linux is an OS whose kernel and additional software are freely
developed and improved upon by a large community of software
developers
• Linux is published under the GNU Public License. It is referred to
as Open Source Software (OSS)
• Companies find Linux a stable, low-risk, and flexible alternative
operating system

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Summary (2 of 2)
• Linux is available in different distributions, all having a common
kernel, but packaged with different OSS applications
• A wide variety of documentation and resources exist: Internet
Web sites, HOWTOs, FAQs, newsgroups, and LUGs
• Linux is an extremely versatile OS that provides a wide range of
workstation and server services

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