Unlock Your Linux Potential: A Free Networking Course, I/O Monitoring Tips, and More
For system administrators, developers, and Linux enthusiasts, the learning journey never stops. The open-source landscape is constantly evolving, offering powerful new tools and invaluable educational resources. Staying current is key to building efficient, secure, and scalable systems.
In this guide, we’ll explore three powerful resources to elevate your skills. We will cover a comprehensive, university-level networking course available for free, a critical command-line utility for performance troubleshooting, and a compelling open-source platform for managing subscriptions and billing.
Master Linux Networking with This Free 13-Hour Course
A deep understanding of networking is non-negotiable for anyone serious about system administration or backend development. While many courses come with a hefty price tag, a complete, in-depth Linux networking course is now available on YouTube, completely free of charge.
This 13-hour course is a goldmine of information, covering the essential topics you need to build a rock-solid foundation in network management. It is ideal for both newcomers looking to learn the ropes and experienced professionals seeking a comprehensive refresher.
Key topics covered in the course include:
- Core Concepts: The OSI model, TCP/IP stack, and fundamental protocols.
- IP Addressing: Subnetting, routing, and address configuration.
- Essential Services: In-depth tutorials on DNS, DHCP, and NTP.
- Network Security: Practical guidance on firewalls, iptables, and network hardening.
- Troubleshooting: Using essential commands like
ping,traceroute,ss, andip.
Investing time in this course will provide you with the foundational knowledge required to design, secure, and troubleshoot complex network environments effectively.
Pinpoint Performance Bottlenecks with iotop
Have you ever noticed your server slowing to a crawl, with the disk activity light blinking furiously, but you can’t figure out which process is responsible? While the top command is excellent for monitoring CPU and memory usage, it doesn’t provide a clear picture of disk input/output (I/O).
This is where iotop comes in. It is a simple yet powerful command-line utility that monitors I/O usage on a per-process basis, much like top does for CPU. It allows you to see exactly which applications are reading from or writing to the disk in real-time.
Why is iotop essential?
- Identify Bottlenecks: Quickly find rogue processes or database queries that are causing excessive disk activity and slowing down your entire system.
- Optimize Performance: By understanding I/O patterns, you can optimize application configurations and improve overall server responsiveness.
- Resource Management: Ensure critical services have the I/O bandwidth they need by identifying and managing less important, disk-heavy processes.
To get started, you can typically install it with your system’s package manager:
- On Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install iotop - On CentOS/RHEL/Fedora:
sudo dnf install iotop
Once installed, simply run sudo iotop in your terminal. For a cleaner view, use the -o or --only flag to see only the processes currently performing I/O operations. This is an indispensable tool for any sysadmin’s diagnostic toolkit.
Discover Lago: An Open-Source Alternative to Chargebee
For businesses that rely on subscription or usage-based revenue, commercial billing platforms like Chargebee are often the default choice. However, they can be costly, restrictive, and may not offer the flexibility needed for complex billing models.
A powerful new player in this space is Lago, an open-source and self-hostable billing platform. It is designed to give developers and businesses complete control over their billing infrastructure. Lago is particularly well-suited for companies that need to implement sophisticated pricing strategies.
Key features of Lago include:
- Metered Billing Engine: Its core strength is its ability to handle complex, usage-based billing models with ease. You can track any event and bill your customers accordingly.
- Self-Hosting and Control: Because you can host it on your own infrastructure, you retain full ownership of your customer and billing data, a critical advantage for privacy and compliance.
- Developer-Friendly API: Lago is built with a modern, API-first approach, making it easy to integrate into your existing applications and workflows.
- Payment Provider Integration: It seamlessly integrates with major payment providers like Stripe, Adyen, and GoCardless, so you don’t have to build payment processing logic from scratch.
By offering an open-source alternative to expensive SaaS billing solutions, Lago empowers businesses to build flexible, scalable, and cost-effective subscription management systems tailored precisely to their needs.
Source: https://linuxhandbook.com/newsletter/25-32/
