Why this section matters
Almost every server you will touch in the cloud runs Linux, and almost none of them has a screen or mouse. You connect over the network and type commands. When a bank's payment API stops responding at night, the engineer on call opens a terminal, reads logs and checks network settings. Adverts for cloud and infrastructure roles in Ghana list Linux, scripting and networking because this is the daily work.
How this section builds on what you know
You may have met Linux and networks already in the IT support track or the command line in the backend track. This section takes those basics and turns them into server skills:
- Working in the Linux terminal. Managing files, users, permissions, packages, services and logs on a machine you cannot see.
- Scripting and automation. Writing small Bash scripts so a task you do once by hand can run on ten servers, or every night, without you.
- Networking for the cloud. IP ranges, subnets, ports, firewalls, DNS and load balancers, and how a request from a phone in Tamale reaches a server in another country and comes back.
The device you need from here
This is the point where reading is not enough. You need a Linux terminal to practise. Use one of these: