Learning Path

Not sure where to start? Answer a few questions to find your path.

Quick Finder

Your situation	Recommended path	What it covers
Never used Linux	Path 1: Complete Linux Beginner	Install → command line → service management
Used Ubuntu/Debian etc.	Path 2: Linux Experience, New to EL	DNF → SELinux → firewalld
Running CentOS 7/8 and need to migrate	Path 3: CentOS Migration	Backup → migrate → verify
Responsible for daily server operations	Path 4: Server Operations	Security → monitoring → high availability
Need to deploy AI/ML on EL	Path 5: AI on EL	GPU → inference service → WebUI
Using Alibaba Cloud / Tencent Cloud	Path 6: China Cloud Platforms	Cloud images → Anolis / OpenCloudOS

Path 1: Complete Linux Beginner

For: Complete beginners with no Linux experience Prerequisites: A computer (physical or virtual) Goal: Install, configure, and manage an EL server independently

Distribution Overview — Understand the EL distribution family
Download — Get an installation image
Installation Guide — Install the system
Initial Setup — Basic system configuration
SSH Remote Access — Remote management
DNF Package Management — Software installation
User and Group Management — User management
systemctl Basics — Service management
NetworkManager Basics — Network configuration
Firewall — Basic firewall rules

Checkpoint: You can connect over SSH, install packages, start and stop services, and configure networking and firewalls.

Path 2: Linux Experience, New to EL

For: Users with experience on Ubuntu/Debian/Arch or another Linux distribution Prerequisites: Basic Linux commands and concepts Goal: Quickly learn the key differences between EL and other distributions

Distribution Overview — How EL differs from what you already know
DNF Package Management — Compared with apt/pacman
EPEL & Third-Party Repositories — The EL repository ecosystem
SELinux Basics — The single most important EL difference
Firewalld — Zone-based firewall
Filesystems (XFS/EXT4) — EL uses XFS by default

Common pitfall: “Strange” permission problems caused by SELinux. Do not disable SELinux — learn to troubleshoot it.

Path 3: CentOS Migration

For: Administrators running CentOS 7/8 servers Prerequisites: Root access, a complete backup, and a maintenance window Goal: Migrate safely to a supported distribution

Migration Overview — Background and options
Migrate to AlmaLinux or Migrate to Rocky Linux
Post-Migration Checklist — Verify item by item
SELinux Basics — Check security configuration after migration

Key reminder: Always complete the full process in a test environment and confirm application compatibility before migrating production.

Path 4: Server Operations

For: Operations engineers responsible for production EL servers Prerequisites: Familiarity with basic EL operations Goal: Build a complete operations skill set

Security Hardening — SELinux + SSH hardening + auditing
System Monitoring — Cockpit + Prometheus + Grafana
Backup Strategy — rsync / BorgBackup / automation
Log Management — rsyslog + logrotate + centralized logging
Performance Tuning — sysctl / tuned / I/O scheduling
High Availability Basics — Keepalived + HAProxy
SSL Certificate Management — Let’s Encrypt + auto-renewal
Troubleshooting Methodology — A systematic troubleshooting framework

Path 5: AI on EL

For: Users who need to deploy AI/ML inference services on EL servers Prerequisites: A server with an NVIDIA GPU Goal: Deploy a working AI inference service

NVIDIA Drivers & CUDA — Install GPU drivers
Ollama — The simplest local LLM solution
vLLM — High-performance inference service
Open WebUI — Web chat interface
Nginx Reverse Proxy — Put a reverse proxy in front of your AI service

Deployment chain: GPU driver → model runtime → API service → web interface → reverse proxy

Path 6: China Cloud Platforms

For: Users on Alibaba Cloud / Tencent Cloud or in domestic IT environments Prerequisites: A cloud platform account Goal: Work effectively with EL on Chinese cloud platforms