Why I'm Learning Linux Before Going Deeper into AWS
A beginner's take on why Linux matters for Cloud and DevOps, and what I learned from my first Linux basics course.
Introduction:
I'm a Beginner/Student working toward the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification. While going through my course, I kept seeing Linux and the command line come up, so I paused my AWS learning for a bit to understand Linux basics first.
Why Linux matters for cloud:
Most cloud servers, including AWS EC2 instances, run on Linux rather than Windows. If you want to manage a server, deploy an application, or work in DevOps, you'll be using a Linux terminal, not a mouse and folders. So even before going deep into AWS services, having basic Linux comfort makes everything else easier.
What I learned:
A few commands and concepts that stood out to me:-
ls, cd, pwd for navigating the file system
mkdir, touch, rm, mv, cp for creating, deleting, moving, and copying files and folders
cat and nano for viewing and editing file contents directly from the terminal
chmod for changing file permissions, and understanding read/write/execute access
sudo for running commands with admin privileges
Basic navigation using absolute vs relative paths
How this connects to AWS:
Once you launch an EC2 instance, you typically connect to it over SSH and work entirely from the terminal. Knowing basic Linux commands means you're not lost the first time you see a blank command line on a real server.
What's next:
I just finished the full Linux basics video, and I'm going back to my AWS Solutions Architect course next with this foundation in place.
Why Linux matters for cloud:
Most cloud servers, including AWS EC2 instances, run on Linux rather than Windows. If you want to manage a server, deploy an application, or work in DevOps, you'll be using a Linux terminal, not a mouse and folders. So even before going deep into AWS services, having basic Linux comfort makes everything else easier.
What I learned:
A few commands and concepts that stood out to me:-
ls, cd, pwd for navigating the file system
mkdir, touch, rm, mv, cp for creating, deleting, moving, and copying files and folders
cat and nano for viewing and editing file contents directly from the terminal
chmod for changing file permissions, and understanding read/write/execute access
sudo for running commands with admin privileges
Basic navigation using absolute vs relative paths
How this connects to AWS:
Once you launch an EC2 instance, you typically connect to it over SSH and work entirely from the terminal. Knowing basic Linux commands means you're not lost the first time you see a blank command line on a real server.
What's next:
I just finished the full Linux basics video, and I'm going back to my AWS Solutions Architect course next with this foundation in place.
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