If you’ve ever lived with young kids in December, you know exactly what our house turns into two tiny Tasmanian devils counting down to Christmas Eve. Last year, my wife and I were exhausted constantly reminding them to behave so Santa will still visit . It felt like a losing battle. This year, I had an idea! Screen time has become a huge part of my children’s world (even though we attempt to limit!) They use technology in school and nursery. So why not use that to help us in

Oracle Linux is a enterprise-grade operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). It’s free to download and use, and it’s optimized for Oracle products — but you can use it for any Linux server or lab setup. In this blog, we’ll go through how to install Oracle Linux on your system or virtual machine. By the end, you’ll have a fully installed OS ready for administration. Prerequisites Before starting, make sure you have: A 64-bit system (Intel/AMD or a VM environme

After installing Oracle Linux, one of the first things every system administrator needs to learn is how to manage software packages — installing, updating, and removing applications. Oracle Linux uses the DNF package manager (an improved version of YUM). It handles dependencies automatically and connects to repositories to download and install software easily. In this blog, you’ll learn how to: Understand repositories Install, update, and remove software Search for available

Network configuration is a fundamental part of Linux administration. Whether you’re managing a server or a virtual machine, you’ll often need to assign IP addresses, configure DNS, and manage connections. In Oracle Linux, you can manage networks using: NetworkManager command-line tools (nmcli) Text User Interface (nmtui) Traditional config files (for advanced users) In this blog, you’ll learn how to view, configure, and troubleshoot network settings step by step. Step 1: Chec

User and group management is one of the most important skills for any Linux system administrator.It ’s essential for controlling who can access the system, what permissions they have, and how they interact with files and services. In this blog, we’ll cover how to create, modify, and delete users and groups, set passwords, and manage privileges on Oracle Linux. Step 1: Understanding Users and Groups Linux: A user represents a person or process that can log in and execute task

File permissions and ownership are at the heart of Linux security and system management. Every file and directory in Oracle Linux has a set of permissions and ownership attributes that determine who can read, write, or execute it. In this blog, you’ll learn how to: View and understand file permissions Change permissions using chmod Change ownership using chown and chgrp Work with special permissions like SUID, SGID, and the sticky bit Step 1: Understanding File Ownership Each

Modern Oracle Linux systems use systemd as their default system and service manager. The systemctl command is your main tool to control services - starting, stopping, enabling, and checking their status. In this blog, you’ll learn how to use systemctl effectively to manage services and system states. Step 1: Understanding systemd and systemctl systemd is the system and service manager that replaced older init systems. It’s responsible for: Starting services during boot Managi

Monitoring system performance is one of the key responsibilities of a Linux administrator.It helps you understand how your server is performing, detect bottlenecks, and troubleshoot issues before they become serious problems. In this blog, you’ll learn how to use essential command-line tools to monitor CPU, memory, disk, and process activity on Oracle Linux. Step 1: Check System Uptime and Load To quickly see how long your system has been running and how busy it is: uptime E

Every Linux system administrator must know how to manage disks — from creating partitions to formatting and mounting file systems.In Oracle Linux, these tasks are commonly done using tools like lsblk, fdisk, parted, and mkfs. In this blog, we’ll walk through how to: Identify disks and partitions Create, format, and mount partitions Use /etc/fstab for persistent mounts Step 1: Check Existing Disks and Partitions To list all block devices: lsblk To see detailed information: su

Logical Volume Management (LVM) gives you flexibility and control over disk storage.Instead of being locked into fixed partitions, LVM lets you resize, extend, or combine storage dynamically which is perfect for growing environments or virtualized systems. In this blog, you’ll learn how to: Create physical volumes (PVs) Combine them into volume groups (VGs) Create and extend logical volumes (LVs) Format, mount, and resize LVs Step 1: Check Available Disks Before setting up L

Introduction Automation saves time and reduces human error. In Oracle Linux, you can schedule repetitive tasks like backups, log cleanup, or updates using cron or systemd timers. In this blog, you’ll learn how to: Schedule jobs using cron Use at for one-time tasks Create and manage systemd timers (the modern replacement for cron in many cases) Step 1: Understanding Cron Cron is a built-in daemon that executes scheduled commands at specified times.Each user (including root) ca

Introduction SSH is the most common method to access and manage Linux servers remotely.It allows encrypted communication between your local system and the Oracle Linux server, making it both powerful and secure - if configured correctly. In this blog, you’ll learn how to: Install and enable SSH Configure key-based authentication Restrict and secure SSH access Troubleshoot and verify SSH connections Step 1: Check and Install the SSH Service SSH usually comes preinstalled, but

A firewall protects your Oracle Linux server from unauthorized access. firewalld is a flexible firewall tool built on iptables/nftables. It uses zones and services to define different trust levels. In this blog, you’ll learn to: • Check and start firewalld • Allow or block services and ports • Manage interfaces and rules • Verify your configuration Step 1: Check and Start firewalld Check if active: sudo systemctl status firewalld If not installed: sudo dnf install -y firewall

SELinux is an additional security layer built into Oracle Linux.It enforces access control policies that limit what processes can do, even if an attacker gains access to your system. While firewalld controls network  access, SELinux  controls system-level  access between users, files, and applications. In this blog, you’ll learn how to: Understand SELinux concepts and modes Check SELinux status Change and manage modes Work with contexts and troubleshoot access issues Step 1:

Logs are your system’s black box. they record everything that happens under the hood: service activity, authentication, kernel messages, and more. Oracle Linux uses two main logging systems: systemd-journald – modern binary log manager used with journalctl rsyslog – traditional text-based logging service In this blog, you’ll learn how to: View and filter logs using journalctl Manage persistent systemd logs Understand and configure rsyslog Rotate and clean up log files Step 1:

Keeping your Oracle Linux system up to date is essential for security, stability, and performance. Regular updates fix vulnerabilities, improve compatibility, and ensure your server runs smoothly. In this blog, you’ll learn how to: Check for and install updates using dnf Manage kernel updates Use Ksplice for live patching (no reboot updates) Automate and verify system updates safely Step 1: Check for Available Updates First, always check what updates are available before appl

Objective This post details the end-to-end process of expanding an existing Oracle Exadata environment by integrating two additional X10...

Looking to upgrade your Oracle Linux 7.9 system in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) to 8.10 without having to start from scratch? You...

Overview of OpenVPN CloudConnexa   OpenVPN CloudConnexa is a cloud-based VPN service that enables you to implement scalable and secure network access within your cloud environment.   Some of the key benefits of implementing OpenVPN CloudConnexa are below,   OpenVPN is a managed service, this results in OpenVPN handling the configuration and maintenance of the VPN infrastructure. This makes it easy to use and reduces the need for IT expertise.   OpenVPN CloudConnexa is based o

Author: Jason Beattie Log into console Navigate to Oracle base database service locate the relevant Instance. Select Console Connection...