Name: The Foundation of Iron — Week 8 — Linux Fundamentals
Author: Amine RAITI

RATIO

THE FOUNDATION OF IRON · COURSE MATERIAL · WEEK 8

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LINUX FUNDAMENTALS
INSTALLATION AND SHELL
Week 8 of 26 · Block 5 — Bare Metal OS
10h theory · 25h practice

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◆ WEEKLY LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Understand Linux's general architecture and the role of distributions
2. Install a Linux distribution on bare metal
3. Navigate the filesystem hierarchy from the shell
4. Manipulate files, folders and permissions from the command line
5. Understand the basic structure of shell commands and how they chain together

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⚠ WARNING — SHELF LIFE OF VERSIONS REFERENCED HERE

This course material presents distributions, versions and tools available at the time of writing (2026). The Linux landscape changes constantly: new distribution releases, tool deprecation, changes in package managers or init systems. The instructor is responsible for checking and updating these references against current versions at the time of teaching. The pedagogical principles and method remain valid; specific version names and commands must be refreshed.

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Amine RAITI · Infrastructure Architect & SRE
Public document · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · AI Powered by Amine
Opération Dindon

RATIO

COURSE OUTLINE · 10H

THEORY GUIDING THREAD

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8.1 · Linux architecture and distributions3h

— Linux kernel vs distribution (the kernel is shared, a distribution adds tools and package management)
— Main distribution families (Debian/Ubuntu, RHEL/Fedora/Rocky, Arch) — pick a reference distribution for the course, to update based on current relevance
— Concept of lifecycle and support (LTS vs current release)

8.2 · Bare-metal installation method3h

— Preparing installation media (ISO image, bootable USB drive)
— Generic installation steps: partitioning, choosing the filesystem (direct link with Week 7), basic network configuration, creating the administrator account
— First post-installation settings

8.3 · The Linux filesystem hierarchy2h

— Standard structure (/, /home, /etc, /var, /usr, /bin) and the role of each main directory
— Absolute vs relative paths, concept of the current directory

8.4 · Shell basics2h

— The shell as a command interpreter, the concept of a prompt
— General structure of a command: name, options, arguments
— Chaining commands (pipe |, redirection >, >>) — conceptual introduction

EXAMPLE TO DEVELOP ON THE BOARD

The command ls -la /home lists all files (including hidden ones, -a option) with their details (-l option) in the /home directory (absolute path). Break down each part of the command in front of the trainees.

RATIO

EXERCISE 1 · BARE-METAL INSTALLATION · 12H

Equipment: a physical test machine or the server assembled in Week 6, an ISO image of the Linux distribution chosen by the instructor (selected among the stable releases available at the time of the course), bootable USB drive, screen and keyboard for local installation.

(2h) Preparing the bootable USB drive from the ISO image, verifying the downloaded file's integrity (checksum) — link with the integrity verification concept from Week 7.

(2h) Booting from the USB drive, accessing the boot menu via the BIOS/UEFI (direct link with Week 6).

(3h) Full installation: manual disk partitioning (at least one root partition and one swap partition), choosing the filesystem (ext4 recommended for this course).

(2h) Basic network configuration during installation (static IP or DHCP depending on the classroom environment), creating the administrator account.

(2h) First post-installation boot, basic checks (working network, correctly partitioned disk space).

(1h) Updating the system using the chosen distribution's package manager.

SOLUTION — EXERCISE 1

Partitioning check points: the root partition (/) must have enough space for the system and applications (typically a minimum of 20 GB for training use), a swap partition is recommended even with a comfortable amount of RAM, for handling hibernation and load spikes.

Expected network check: after installation, the distribution's appropriate network diagnostic command should show an active interface with an IP address consistent with the classroom's network.

Methodological note: the exact names of package management commands (apt, dnf, pacman depending on the distribution) must be adapted by the instructor to the distribution actually used in class.

RATIO

EXERCISE 2 · NAVIGATING AND MANIPULATING THE SHELL · 13H

Equipment: the system installed in Exercise 1, terminal access.

(2h) Navigating the hierarchy: commands for moving around and displaying the current directory, exploring the main directories (/etc, /var, /home, /usr) and identifying their typical contents.

(3h) Manipulating files and folders: creating, copying, moving, deleting, with systematic verification before any destructive deletion.

(3h) Managing permissions: reading the permission format (rwx for owner/group/others — direct link with the octal system from Week 2), changing permissions and ownership.

(3h) Chaining commands: using pipes to combine several commands, redirecting output to a file, searching for text within files.

(2h) Synthesis exercise: from a provided scenario (organising a set of files according to given rules), carry out the full set of operations as a documented sequence of commands.

SOLUTION — EXERCISE 2

Example permission to decode: rwxr-xr-- reads as owner=read/write/execute (rwx=7 in octal), group=read/execute (r-x=5), others=read only (r--=4), giving chmod 754 — a direct and explicit link with the octal conversion covered in Week 2.

Expected example of chained commands: a command combining file search, content filtering and redirection to a results file, explaining the role of each successive pipe.

◆ SUMMARY SHEET — WEEK 8 SELF-ASSESSMENT

1. I can explain the difference between the Linux kernel and a distribution.

2. I can install a Linux distribution on bare metal end to end.

3. I can navigate the standard Linux filesystem hierarchy.

4. I can create, copy, move and delete files and folders from the command line.

5. I can read and change file permissions.

6. I can relate the rwx permission format to the octal system.

7. I can chain commands together using pipes.

8. I can redirect a command's output to a file.