Log files are crucial in probing and troubleshooting errors. They are the first files that system administrators scrutinize in order to narrow down to the probable cause of an error and by so doing, come up with resolutions to resolve the problem.  In an infrastructure with tens or hundreds of servers, and other devices, managing log files can be a challenge. And this is where rsyslog comes in.

Rsyslog is an opensource logging program that facilitates the forwarding of log files to a centralized log server in an IP network. With centralized logging, administrators can easily keep tabs on log files of multiple systems from a central point. In this post, we will walk you through the installation and configuration of Rsyslog Server on Debian 11.

Lab Setup

To demonstrate how Rsyslog can be used to send log files from a client system to the Rsyslog server, we are going to have a simple Lab setup as shown

• Rsyslog server:     Debian 11               IP: 192.168.1.151
• Rsyslog client:       Ubuntu 20.04      IP: 10.20.0.170

Step 1)  Configure Rsyslog on the server

As mentioned earlier, Rsyslog works in a client-server model and we will start off by configuring Rsyslog on the Debian 11 server. On Debian 11, Rsyslog comes installed by default. If for some reason Rsyslog is not present, you can install it using the command:

$ sudo apt install -y rsyslog

Upon installation you can check its running status as follows:

$ sudo systemctl status rsyslog

Next, we shall configure rsyslog to run in server mode. The configuration file is the /etc/rsyslog.conf file. So, edit it using your preferred text editor.

$ sudo vi /etc/rsyslog.conf

Proceed and uncomment the following lines that allow for UDP and TCP syslog reception from remote clients.

# provides UDP syslog reception
module(load="imudp")
input(type="imudp" port="514")

# provides TCP syslog reception
module(load="imtcp")
input(type="imtcp" port="514")

Thereafter, paste the following lines to define the template that the Rsyslog daemon will use to store incoming logs from client systems.

$template remote-incoming-logs,"/var/log/%HOSTNAME%/%PROGRAMNAME%.log"
*.* ?remote-incoming-logs

The log files will use the following naming convention:

• /%HOSTNAME%/ – This is the hostname of the client system.
• /%PROGRAMNAME%/ – This identifies the client program that created the log file.

To apply the changes, restart the rsyslog daemon.

$ sudo systemctl restart rsyslog

By default, rsyslog listens to port 514. You can confirm that this is the port that the rsyslog daemon is listening to by executing the ss command.

$ sudo ss -tunlp | grep 514

Step 2)  Configure firewall rules for rsyslog

Rsyslog daemon is running on the server as expected. If you are running a UFW firewall, be sure to allow port 514 so as to allow incoming incoming log messages.

$ sudo ufw allow 514/tcp
$ sudo ufw allow 514/udp

Then reload the firewall to apply the firewall rule as follows.

$ sudo ufw reload

The next step will be to configure the client Ubuntu system to send log files to the rsyslog server.

Step 3)  Configure the rsyslog client system

The final step is to configure the client system to send log files to the rsyslog server. Login to the client and once again, ensure that the rsyslog daemon is installed and running.

Next, edit the rsyslog configuration file.

$ sudo vi /etc/rsyslog.conf

Navigate to the very end of the file and add these lines.

#Enable sending system logs over UDP to rsyslog server
*.* @rsyslog-ip-address:514

#Enable sending system logs over TCP to rsyslog server
*.* @@rsyslog-ip-address:514

These lines instruct the client to send the log files over both UDP and TCP protocols to the rsyslog server. Note that the first line has a single @ symbol which signifies UDP and the second line has two  @@ symbols to signify TCP protocol.

Should the remote server experience any downtime and you want to preserve your logs, you can set the disk queue buffer by appending the lines shown.

##Set disk queue when rsyslog server will be down:

$ActionQueueFileName queue
$ActionQueueMaxDiskSpace 1g
$ActionQueueSaveOnShutdown on
$ActionQueueType LinkedList
$ActionResumeRetryCount -1

Below is a summary of all the modifications to the client configuration.

Save and exit the file. Now restart the rsyslog service for the changes to take effect.

$ sudo systemctl restart rsyslog

At this point, the client system should be sending the log files over to the rsyslog server. Let’s head back to the server and find out.

Step 4)  View Client’s log files

All the log files (including the servers) are stored in the /var/log/ directory. To view the client’s logs, run the following command:

$ ls /var/log/

The client’s log files will be saved in a directory that corresponds to the hostname of the client system as demonstrated below.

You can further view the log files contained in the main log directory.

$ sudo ls -l /var/log/ubuntu-20-04/

To view logs in real-time, use the tail command as shown. Here, we are viewing the sudo user’s logs.

$ sudo tail -f /var/log/ubuntu-20-04/sudo.log

We have successfully installed rsyslog and configured it to allow the sending of log files to the rsyslog server from the client system. You can now configure as many client systems as you wish to send logs to rsyslog server in order to achieve a centralized log management structure.

That’s all from this post, I hope you have found it informative. Please do share your queries and feedback in comments section below.

Read Also : How to Rotate and Compress Log Files in Linux with Logrotate

VirtualBox is a free and opensource virtualization tool which allows us to run multiple operating systems at the same time. As the name suggests, VirtualBox creates a virtualized environment for installing and running operating systems. It is available for Windows, Linux, macOS and Solaris. VirtualBox is generally used at desktop level where geeks create test environment in the guest virtual machines.

In this post, we will cover how to install VirtualBox on Elementary OS 6 (odin) step by step.

Step 1) Update Package Index with apt command

Open the terminal and run below ‘apt update’ command to update package index,

$ sudo apt update

Step 2) Install VirtualBox with apt

VirtualBox package and it’s dependencies are available in default Elementary OS 6 package repository. So, to install it, run beneath apt command.

$ sudo apt install -y virtualbox

Step 3) Launch VirtualBox

Once the VirtualBox is installed successfully in step 2 then launch the VirtualBox

From Applications –> Search virtualbox

Click on VirtualBox icon,

Great, above window confirms that VirtualBox 6.1 is installed successfully. Let’s install VirtualBox extension pack.

Step 3) Install VirtualBox Extension Pack

After installing VirtualBox extension pack, virtualbox will start supporting USB 2.0/3.0, disk encryption, RDP Connections and NVMe & PXE boot for Intel cards.

Note : Please make sure VirtualBox and it’s extension pack should be of same version.

Run below wget command to download extension pack file,

$ wget https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/6.1.26/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.1.26.vbox-extpack

Once the extension pack file is downloaded then run following vboxmanage command to install it.

$ sudo VBoxManage extpack install Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.1.26.vbox-extpack

While running above command, it will prompt you to accept the license agreement, Press ‘y’ to accept it and finish the installation.

To verify the extension pack, run

$ vboxmanage list extpacks

Or

Start VirtualBox –> File Tab –> Preferences –> Extension Pack

Perfect, above confirms that extension pack has been installed successfully. That’s all from this post. I hope these steps are informative. Please do share your feedback and queries in below comments section.

Hello Geeks, when we install Debian Linux on our system then during the installation it tries to get DHCP ip address from modem (or dhcp server) if available. But it is always to recommended to have a static IP address on your system. In this post, we will cover how to configure static IPv4 address in Debian 11 (Bullseye). In Debian Linux, there are two ways to set or configure static IP address.

Configure Static IP Address from GUI

Login to your Debian Desktop environment, From Settings –> Choose Network

Click on Wired Settings and then we will get the following window,

Note: To disable IPv6, go to IPv6 tab and choose ‘Disable’ option

Click on IPv4 Tab

Above window shows that Automatic DHCP is configured, so to configure Static IP choose Manual and then specify the IP details like IP address, netmask, gateway and dns server IP.

Note: To Specify the dns server IP first disable the automatic dns IP by toggling it.

Click on Apply to save the changes.

Now, disable and enable the interface by toggling it so that new IP address is assigned to the Interface.

Now again click on wired settings to verify whether the new static ip address is assigned or not.

Perfect, above confirms that new static IP address is configured successfully. Now let’s see the alternate way to configure IP address in Debian Linux.

Configure Static IP Address from Command Line

Open the terminal and identify the interface on which we will configure static IP address. Run below ip command,

$ ip add show

Now run nmcli command to get connection name,

$ nmcli connection

Once we get the connection name, run below nmcli command to assign static ipv4 address,

Syntax:

$ nmcli con mod  ‘connection-name’ ipv4.address  <IP-Address>

$ nmcli con mod 'eth0' ipv4.address 192.168.1.151/24

Set the gateway by running below

$ nmcli con mod 'eth0' ipv4.gateway 192.168.1.1

Change Configuration from DHCP to Manual , so that IP will be static and persistent, run

$ nmcli con mod 'eth0' ipv4.method manual

Set the DNS server IP by running below command,

$ nmcli con mod 'eth0' ipv4.dns '8.8.8.8'

Disable and enable the connection so that above changes come into the effect.

$ nmcli connection down eth0
$ nmcli connection up eth0

Now Run IP Command to check IP address,

$ ip add show eth0

Output of above commands would look like below:

Perfect, above output confirms that static IP address has been configured successfully on eth0 interface. That’s all from this post. Please do share your feedback and queries in below comments section.

Good news for Debian users as Debian 11 was released a few days back. Code name “Bullseye”, Debian 11 comes packed with lots of goodies and exciting new updates. Debian is one of the best Linux distros available, but you need to spend some time to customize Debian according to your requirement.

If you haven’t installed Debian 11 yet, please take a look at our “How to Install Debian 11 Step by Step” in your system. In this article, we’ll look at the top 12 things to do after installing Debian 11 (Bullseye).

1) Disable CD ROM Repository

If you happen to install Debian 11 using a DVD, then you need to complete this step. Or else you can skip this and move onto the next step. The issue is that if you have installed using a DVD, then every time you choose to update anything, it will throw an error message saying ‘the repository cdrom doesn’t have a release file.

To disable the CD repository:

Open the terminal, switch to root user and then comment out or remove cdrom repo from /etc/apt/sources.list file.

Once it is disabled, you can go on update repository index without any issues.

# sudo apt update

2) Configure Sudo User

Next important thing you need to do is install the sudo package in the system to get administrative privileges. You also need to add your user to the sudo group.

To install sudo and add your username to the sudo group, use the following command provided below:

Note: You have to run these commands from root user. I am adding my existing user ‘pkumar’ to sudo user so that now onwards all the tasks can be performed by local user.

$ su - root
# apt install sudo -y
# usermod -aG sudo pkumar
# su – pkumar
$ sudo apt update

3) Install all Updates of Debian 11

Open the terminal and run beneath commands,

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt upgrade -y

Once all the updates are installed then reboot the system once using following command,

$ sudo reboot

4) Install Synaptic Package Manager

While apt command helps you to install packages from command line, Synaptic is a GUI interface that allows you to install applications easily. It comes loaded with many features and gives you access to more than 7000 packages

To install synaptic package manager, use the following command:

$ sudo apt install -y synaptic

Note : When you do a minimal Debian 11 installation then you have to install synaptic using above command and In case you have install Debian 11 desktop then synaptic would have been installed automatically during the installation.

To Access the synaptic, search synaptic from activities,

Click on Synaptic Package icon, it will prompt you to enter your local user credentials and after authentication, will get the following window.

5) Customize Desktop Settings with Tweak Tool

As the name suggests, tweak tool is used to tweak the desktop settings in Debian 11. Tweak is a part of default OS installation.

From Activities –> Search tweak and change your desktop look and feel by changing settings.

6) Enable Firewall

Even though Linux more secure than Windows, you still need to enable firewall for additional safety and security. In Debian, UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) is readily available as the best firewall manager.

To install UFW, please use the following command:

$ sudo apt install -y ufw

Once you installed UFW, you need enable it and configure the rules to allow few incoming connections like ssh,

$ sudo ufw enable
$ sudo ufw default deny incoming
$ sudo ufw default allow outgoing
$ sudo ufw ssh

Similarly, you can allow other incoming connections which meets your requirements.

7) Install Required Software (Skype, VLC etc)

Debian 11 doesn’t come packed with all the applications, but only the apps and tools required to run the OS along with some other basic applications. Hence, you need to install all the required software by yourself.

Install Skype:

Download and install the latest skype package using the commands given below:

$ wget https://go.skype.com/skypeforlinux-64.deb
$ sudo apt install ./skypeforlinux-64.deb -y

Once installed, access skype

Install VLC Media Player:

To Install the VLC media player, run following apt command,

$ sudo apt install -y vlc

Once vlc player is installed, access it.

8) Install FileZilla and Email Client

To Install filezilla on Debian 11 run following apt command,

$ sudo apt install -y filezilla

Once filezilla is installed successfully, yon can access it by searching filezilla in activities.

Note: One of the important tool for desktop environment is screenshot tool. In Debian 11, pre-installed screenshot tool is available.

Another important tool for desktop is the email client. Run following command to install Mozilla thunderbird email client.

$ sudo apt install -y thunderbird

Once it is installed successfully, try accessing it by searching ‘thunderbird’ from activities.

9) Speed up boot time

In case you have only Debian 11 installed on your system then you can speed up boot time by changing the grub timeout value to 0 in grub file.

$ sudo vi /etc/default/grub

Save and exit the file.

Note : In case of dual boot, one should not set this parameter as 0.

10) Xkill for Unresponsive Application

When you find any unresponsive applications, you need an utility to kill it immediately. In Debian 11 we use Xkill utility for the same. To enable XKill in your system:

Open Settings –>  Keyboard Shortcuts –> Click on + symbol and create a new shortcut for XKill. Set Ctrl+Alt+k to add a shortcut to access XKill using this shortcut.

When we type ‘Ctrl+Alt+k’ then cursor will turn into a cross and when we click that cross symbol on any application then it will kill that application.

11) Enable GNOME Extensions

GNOME is a beautiful desktop environment and the GNOME extensions provided added functionality to your system. To install the GNOME extensions, run

$ sudo apt install -y gnome-shell chrome-gnome-shell

To enable Gnome extension, type ‘https://extensions.gnome.org/’ in the web browser,

Install browser extension and follow screen instructions.

Once gnome shell browser extensions are added then you can search and install the extensions. Here I am installing my favorite  ‘Dash to panel’ gnome extension

After Installing ‘Dash to Panel’ extension Desktop environment will look like below,

12) Install Timeshift Backup Tool

Surprisingly, Debian 11 doesn’t have any backup tools or programs. You can see a lot of backup programs in the software center. Search for Timeshift and install in your system.

Click on ‘Install’ to install in your system.

Once it is installed then you can access it by searching ‘timeshift’

Click on ‘Timeshift’ icon, it will prompt you to enter your user credentials and then we will  get following screen.

That’s all from article. I hope you have found it informative. Please do share your feedback and queries in below comments section.

System monitoring is a critical role that any sysadmin should undertake to ensure that systems and applications are running as expected. We have covered a few monitoring tools in the past including glances real-time monitoring tool and top command which provides detailed information about running process and other metrics such as uptime, CPU and memory usage.

Iftop is yet another monitoring tool that monitors network bandwidth in real-time. It captures total inbound and outbound data packets flowing through a network interface and displays the total bandwidth usage. In this guide, we walk you through the installation and the usage of the iftop command-line tool.

How to install iftop on Linux

Before we go any further, we need to install the bandwidth monitoring tool. And here’s how you can do it on various Linux distributions.

Install iftop on Ubuntu / Debian distributions

For Ubuntu and Debian-based distributions, run the command:

$ sudo apt-get install -y iftop

Install iftop on CentOS/RHEL/Rocky Linux

For RHEL-based distributions such as Rocky Linux, CentOS and Red Hat, you, first of all, need to enable the EPEL repository.

$ sudo yum install -y epel-release

Then execute the command:

$ sudo yum install iftop
Or
$ sudo dnf install -y iftop

Install iftop on Fedora 

For Fedora, run the command:

$ sudo dnf install -y iftop

Install iftop on Arch Linux / Manjaro 

For Arch-based distributions such as Manjaro, Endeavor OS, and Arch Linux to mention a few, run the following pacman command:

$ sudo pacman -S iftop

Let’s now have an overview of some of the common iftop command usages.

1)  Display overall bandwidth usage metrics

Without any arguments, the iftop command displays bandwidth usage of all the network interfaces attached to your system. simply invoke the command:

$ sudo iftop

2) Display bandwidth statistics of a specific network interface 

To narrow down and display the statistics of a specific network interface, use the -i flag followed by the interface name. For example, If you want to display the bandwidth activity associated with an interface, say, enp0s8 , run the command:

$ sudo iftop -i enp0s8

3) Disable or hide the top bar graph

To hide or disable the bandwidth scale or bar located at the top of the terminal, use the -b option.

$ sudo iftop -b

4) Disable hostname lookup

To disable hostname lookup, use the -n option. For instance, the example below ignores the hostname lookup of the sites being accessed using the enp0s8 network interface

$ sudo iftop -n -i enp0s8

5) Display intuitive text output

To display the output in a more intuitive manner, instead of a tabular format as we have witnessed in previous examples, use the -t option shown.

$ sudo iftop -t

6) Display traffic flowing in and out of a subnet

If you are in a subnet, say, 192.168.2.0/24, and you want to analyze inbound and outbound network traffic, run the command:

$ sudo iftop -F 192.168.2.0/24

7)  Sort the displayed output by source address

If you wish to sort the traffic analysis data based on the source addresses run the command:

$ sudo iftop -o source

8) Sort displayed output by destination address

Conversely, to sort the traffic by destination address, run:

$ sudo iftop -o destination

9) Display bandwidth usage in bytes

To display the bandwidth usage of lan card, use -B option followed by interface, example is shown below

$ sudo iftop -B -i enp0s8

Sample output

10) Display man pages

For getting more help on iftop command then refer its man page.

$ man iftop

That’s all from this, please do share your feedback and queries in below comments section.

Debian 11, codenamed ‘bullseye’ was released on August 10th after nearly two years of development. This is a stable release and will receive support for the next 5 years just like any other Debian stable version. Debian 11 comes with major software improvements and other enhancements which include:

• Linux Kernel  5.10 LTS. This is an improvement from Kernel 4.19 that was used by Debian 10 Buster.
• New versions of Desktop environments including GNOME 3.38, MATE 1.24, KDE Plasma 5.20, LXDE 11, LXQt 0.16, and Xfce 4.16.
• A new theme known as the Homeworld theme that was inspired by an art style born in Germany called Bauhaus movement.
• In Debian 11, over 40,000 software packages have newer versions. With Debian 11, you will get LibreOffice 7.0, Apache 2.4.48, MariaDB 10.5, Python 3.9.1, and PostgreSQL 13 to mention a few. You can have a glance at the entire list by heading over to the release notes.
• CUPS and driverless printing.
• Support for exFAT filesystem.
• Support for numerous architectures:  64-bit & 32-bit PC, 64-bit ARM (Arch 64. IBM System Z, POWER Processors, EABI ARM, 64-bit MIPS among others.

That was just an overview of what Debian 11 provides. Let’s now focus on how you can upgrade from Debian 10 Buster to Debian 11.

Step 1)  Perform a backup of all your files

Before upgrading to a new OS release, it’s always recommended to have a backup of all your files. This ensures that your files are safe in case something goes wrong during the upgrade that can lead to file corruption. Here is a list of backup & recovery software tools that you can use to safely backup all your data before proceeding.

Step 2) Update package lists & Upgrade packages

We will start by verifying that we are currently using Debian Buster as shown

$ cat /etc/os-release

Alternatively, you can run the command:

$ cat /etc/debian_version

Next, proceed and update the package index and upgrade the software packages by running:

$ sudo apt update -y && sudo apt upgrade -y

Next, run the dist-upgrade command shown. In addition to upgrading the packages, it also handles changing of dependencies with new versions of packages installed.

$ sudo apt dist-upgrade

Step 3) Update Package Repository

Debian repositories are defined in the /etc/apt/sources.list file and the /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ directory.  We need to replace Debian 10 repositories with Debian 11 repositories.

To achieve this, in the  /etc/apt/sources.list file , we need to replace the buster keyword with bullseye using the sed command as provided.

$ sudo sed -i 's/buster/bullseye/g' /etc/apt/sources.list

Thereafter, locate the following debian-security  lines in the  sources.list file:

deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye/updates main
deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye/updates main

And replace them with following lines:

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib
deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib

The  sources.list file should finally look as follows:

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main
deb https://deb.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib
deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-backports main
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-backports main

After modifying the sources.list file, update the package lists to let your system aware of the new repositories.

$ sudo apt update

Step 4)  Perform minimal system upgrade

Performing a full system upgrade will remove numerous packages that you might want to keep – and this is not recommended. As a workaround, the developers have recommended a two-stage upgrade process that will gracefully upgrade Debian Buster to Debian Bullseye. We have the minimal upgrade process which is soon followed by the full-upgrade.

The minimal upgrade upgrades all the existing packages without installing new ones or purging the existing ones. To perform the minimal upgrade, run the command:

$ sudo apt upgrade --without-new-pkgs

During the upgrade process, a pop-up prompt will appear requesting you to restart system services when certain libraries such as libpam and libc are upgraded. Select ‘Yes’ and press ENTER.

Step 5) Perform full upgrade to Debian 11

This is the last step and the most crucial part of the upgrade. The full upgrade upgrades the entire Debain 10 system to Debian 11. It installs the latest packages that come with Debian 11 and resolves dependency issues. This might take a while depending on your bandwidth.

$ sudo apt full-upgrade

Once again, some additional prompts will appear. For example, you will be asked what you want to do about the chrony.conf file. Here, I chose to keep the local version installed.

For the Openssh-server file, again, I chose to keep the local version installed as well.

Once the upgrade is completed then reboot the system with beneath command,

$ sudo reboot

When you log in, verify the version of Debian you are running

$ cat /etc/os-release
$ cat /etc/debian_version

Your system will now be running Debian 11 Bullseye.

$ lsb_release -a

Conclusion

There you go. We have performed a successful upgrade from Debian 10 Buster to Debian 11 Bullseye. You can now enjoy the latest packages and hardware support that is provided by the latest Debian release. If you encountered any errors along the way, Debian has outlined possible fixes to help you resolved them

Hello Geeks, Debian has finally released its stable OS version 11 and It’s code name is ‘bullseye’. Debian 11 is a LTS version which means we will get updates and support till 2025. It has come up with brand new theme ‘Homeworld’ and new Linux kernel 5.10. Apart from this, it also supports 32-bit systems and exFat file system. Other noticeable feature of Debian 11 is that it has updated version of desktop environments like GNOME 3.38, KDE plasma 5.20,  Xfce 4.16 and other OS package updates.

In this post, we will demonstrate how to install Debian 11 step by step with screenshots.  Before jump into the installations steps, let’s check the minimum system requirements for Debian 11

• 2 GB RAM or more
• Dual Core Processor (or higher)
• 15 GB hard disk space
• Bootable Media (USB / DVD)
• Stable Internet Connection (optional)

Let’s deep dive into Debian 11 installation steps

1) Download Debian 11 ISO File

Use following Debian official web site to download iso file,

Download Debian 11 ISO File

Once the file is downloaded then burn it into USB flash drive or DVD to make it bootable and we call it Installation media.

Also Read : How to Create Bootable USB Drive on Ubuntu / Linux Mint

2) Boot System with Installation Media  

Reboot the target system on which you want to install Debian 11 and go to its bios settings and change boot medium from Hard disk to bootable media (like USB / DVD).

Once the system boots up with bootable medium, we will get the following screen.

Choose ‘Graphical Install’ option and hit enter.

3)  Choose Language for Debian 11 Installation

Choose your preferred language and click on continue,

4) Select Preferred Location

Choose your preferred location which will be used to set time zone for your system.

Click on Continue

5) Select Keyboard Layout

In this step, choose the keyboard layout and then click on continue to proceed

6) Setup Hostname and domain

In this step, installer will prompt you to set hostname, so specify the hostname that you want to configure and then click on continue.

In the next following screen specify the domain name.

7) Set Root User Password

Specify the password of root user and hit continue to proceed further

8) Create local user and configure its password

Specify the Full Name of your local user,

Specify the username, in my case I am using ‘pkumar’ as username.

Click on continue and then in  the following screen, specify the password of local user.

9) Choose Partitioning Method

In this step, Installer will prompt to choose partitioning method.

•  Guided – use entire disk (It will create partition automatically on entire disk)
• Guided – use entire disk and setup LVM (It will create LVM based partition automatically on entire disk)
• Guided – use entire disk and set up encrypted LVM (It will create LVM based partitions and will encrypt the disk)
• Manual – It will allow to create own custom partitions.

Choose the option that suits to your installation, in this post I am going with 2nd option. It will create the LVM based partitions on the entire disk.

Click on Continue to proceed further,

In following screen, choose the disk on which partitions will be created for Debian 11.

In the next following screen, we must choose partition scheme. Based of disk size and requirement choose parttions scheme accordingly.

For the demonstration purpose, I am going with last option ‘Separate /home, /var, and /tmp partition’.

Choose ‘Continue’ to proceed further.

Choose ‘Yes’ to write changes to disk and then click on Continue

In the following screen specify the disk size that want to use for Debian 11 partitions, by defaults it takes whole disk size. In my case I am going with default disk size.

In the next screen, we will get the partitions summary, verify it and choose ‘Yes’ to write changes to the disk.

Click on Continue to initiate the installation.

10) Installation Started

In this step, actual installation of Debian 11 is started,

After couple of minutes, It will prompt to scan installation media, Choose ‘No’ and the click on continue to proceed with installation.

In the Next screen, choose ‘Yes’ to configure network mirror.

Choose ‘Debian archive mirror country’ and click on continue

In the following screen, click on Continue if your system is not using any proxy server. In case you are using it then specify details and then proceed further.

Click on Continue to proceed further with installation.

In the following screen you will be asked to participate in package survey, choose ‘No’ and then click on continue.

Now choose the software that you want to install like Desktop environment and servers etc. So make the selection which suits to your installation.

Click on the Continue to proceed further with installation.

In the next screen, choose ‘Yes’ to install Grub bootloader on primary hard drive.

Click on Continue.

In the next window choose the disk on which grub loader will installed,

Choose Continue and hit enter to finish the installation.

Once the installation is completed then installer will prompt to reboot the system once.

Click on ‘Continue’ to restart the system and don’t forget to change boot medium from installation media to hard disk.

11) Login and Desktop screen after installation

Once the system is rebooted after Debian 11 successful installation then we will following grub screen , choose first option and hit enter.

When the system boots up, we will get the following login screen, use same local user and its credentials that we have created during the installation.

Perfect, above confirms that Debian 11 has been installed successfully. That’s all from this post, I hope you have found it informative. Please do share your queries and feedback in below comments section.

Elementary OS is one of the most beautiful Linux distros out there and user-friendly as well. One of the main highlights of this linux distro is that it provides added support for user security and privacy. Now that you have successfully completed the installation of Elementary OS 6.0 “Odin” using our step-by-step installation guide, it is time to check what to do after installation.

If you have noted, Elementary OS setup is not complete without a few tweaks including installing some apps, drivers and codecs etc. Let’s look at the top 14 things to do after installing Elementary OS 6.0.

1) Update and Upgrade

The Elementary OS 6.0 ISO that you have installed in your system would have installed only the basic packages and releases. Hence, it is important to install the latest packages to keep your system up to date with all the latest software etc.

Moreover, when you log in for the first time in Elementary OS, it will automatically notify with the latest updates available. You can select “Update All” to install all the updates.

If you want to update all libraries and packages manually, open the terminal and run following commands to update

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt upgrade
$ sudo apt dist-upgrade

2) Install Pantheon Tweaks

Elementary Tweaks is a tool used for customizing your system appearance, fonts, themes etc. In Odin, Elementary Tweaks has been renamed to Pantheon Tweaks. Without installing Tweaks, you’ll find it really difficult to customize elementary OS.

To install tweaks, Run following beneath commands one after the another:

$ sudo apt install -y software-properties-common
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:philip.scott/pantheon-tweaks
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install -y pantheon-tweaks

Under ‘System Settings’ click on ‘Tweak’ to customize your desktop look and feel.

Note : Pantheon Tweak does not support to disable ‘single click’ feature.

3) Install Synaptic Package Manager

Even though you have a package manager in elementary OS called AppStore, it is quite advanced and feature rich like some others. Install Synaptic if you need a package manager that comes loaded with a lot of features. While AppStore give you around 100 apps, Synaptic offers around 7000 packages.

To install synaptic, use the following command:

$ sudo apt install synaptic -y

After the Installation, try to access Synaptic Package Manager

5) Install GDebi

If you want to install .deb files graphically without any issues, install the GDebi software utility. A .deb file nothing but a debian software package. In other words, it is like a .exe file that we use to install any software in Windows. GDebi is GUI based software utility that allows to install .deb packages quickly.

To install GDebi, use the command shown below:

$ sudo apt install -y gdebi

5) Install Multimedia Codecs

Elementary OS doesn’t comes packed with all the multimedia codecs. Hence, if you need to play various media files, then you need to install the required codecs. To install all the required multimedia codecs, please use the following command:

$ sudo apt install -y ubuntu-restricted-extras libavcodec-extra libdvd-pkg

6) Install Required Drivers

Like multimedia codecs, all drivers are also not installed when you install elementary OS 6.0 in your system. Hence, it is important install the required proprietary drivers like Nvidia GPU to get the maximum performance from your system.

To install the drivers, use the command below:

$ sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall

7) Add Minimize Button

Generally, you minimize any windows using the minimize button. But in elementary OS, there is no minimize button available and only close and maximize button is available.

With Elementary Tweaks, you can add the minimize button quickly. Go to Tweaks –> Appearance –> Minimize Left. If you need the minimize button to the right, you can choose Minimize Right.

8) Disable Grub Delay

Whenever you boot into elementary OS, you will notice a GRUB menu showing which OS you want to enter. This will be helpful if you are running a dual OS in your system. But if you have only elementary OS, then every time when you boot into the system, this GRUB menu will be a disturbance.

But you can disable the GRUB menu using the GRUB config file. Edit the config file using the following command:

$ sudo vi /etc/default/grub

Change the value of GRUB_TIMEOUT to 0. Once it’s done, you won’t see the GRUB menu every time you boot into your machine.

9) Install Required Software

When you install Elementary OS, you only get a minimal number of software and packages installed. Only the most basic and required packages are installed and even office suite is not available.

With Synaptic and GDebi installed in your system, you can easily install all the required software in your system including Firefox, VLC Media Player, Libre Office, Skype, Telegram, GIMP, Spotify etc.

10) Enable Firewall

Even though Linux is far more safe and secure than Windows, you are never safe from cyber threats. Cybercriminals are finding new ways to hack into your system and hence it is important to keep your system safe. Hence, if you don’t have the firewall enabled, it is right time you do it now.

Open your application menu, navigate to Firewall settings, and enable the firewall option to safeguard your system.

11) Extend Your Laptop Battery Life

Everyone having a laptop look to optimize the battery life of their budget. Well, it is quite easy as you need to just install a package and your battery life will be extended.

To install tlp and tlp-rdw packages, use the following commands:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linrunner/tlp
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install tlp tlp-rdw
$ sudo tlp start

12) Install Backup Software

Having a backup of your data is always beneficial as it will prove to be a lot of help during any system crash or any other problems. To install a backup software run,

$ sudo apt install -y timeshift

13) Install Microsoft Fonts

With elementary OS 6.0, you don’t have access to Microsoft fonts. Hence, if some sends you any word document in Arial or Times New Roman font, then you can’t read the document. But with the Synaptic package manager, you can easily install MS fonts in your system.

Open Synaptic package manager and find mscorefont and click “Apply“ button to install Microsoft fonts in your system.

14) Clean up the system

At this point of time, we have installed packages and tweak system settings. It is always recommended to remove unused dependencies. So to remove them run following apt command,

$ sudo apt-get autoremove

To clean the apt cache , run

$ sudo apt clean

To clean up partially installed packages, use below command

$ sudo apt  autoclean

One should regularly cleanup the system using above commands.

That’s all from this guide. I hope it helps you to use Elementary OS 6 in efficient way. Please do share your feedback and queries in below comments section.

Finally, the wait is over! The much-awaited Elementary OS 6.0 “Odin” is now available for download. Elementary OS enthusiasts have been waiting patiently for more than a year now after the release “Hera”, Elementary OS 5.1 in December 2019.

Elementary OS 6.0  is based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and comes packed with a lot of new and exciting features, UI improvements, performance updates along with some new apps too.Without any further wait, let’s look at all the new features along with detailed installation guide with screenshots.

Elementary OS 6.0 (Odin) – New Features

• Dark Mode – One of the flagship features to be released in Odin is the dark style or the dark mode feature. When you enable dark mode, all apps and features will automatically change to the dark theme.Options are also provided to enable dark mode automatically based on your sunrise and sunset at your city. With Odin, you can totally change the look of your desktop and apps by changing the accent colors, wallpapers and themes etc.
• Sandboxing Technology – the all-new Odin OS employs the latest sandboxing technology to provide additional security and protection. With this, you can see all apps are provided as flatpak apps as every app runs from their own sandbox. Hence, you can control every single app using its settings
• Multi-Touch Support – For people using touch-screen desktops, elementary OS 6.0 brings with it some exciting gesture interaction features. A simple 3-finger swipe allows you to switch between work spaces easily. Gestures can be used throughout the OS as you can swipe to go back to the previous screen in the browser, dismiss notifications appear on the screen etc.
• Notification Enhancements – Odin brings with it an updated ad enhanced notification feature as the notification bubbles allows you to take action instantly.
• All-New Tasks App – The new Tasks app allows you to manage your to-do lists with ease.
• Other features and enhancements include firmware updates, redesigned native apps, enhanced camera app UI etc.

Minimum system requirements for Elementary OS 6.0

The minimum requirements to install Elementary 6.0 OS in your system is as follows:

• 1 GB RAM
• 10-15 GB space in your hard disk
• Intel i3 (or) Dual Core 64-bit processor
• Access to internet

Installation Steps with Screenshots

Step 1) Download Elementary OS 6.0

You can download Elementary 6.0 ISO from its official website. Please click the link below to download:

Download Elementary 6.0 “Odin”

Step 2) Create a Boot Disk

Once you have successfully downloaded the elementary OS 6.0 ISO, you need to start creating a bootable disk to proceed with the installation. Change your system setting to boot using the USB disk and restart your system.

Recommended Read: How to Create Bootable USB Drive on Ubuntu / Linux Mint

Step 3) Start Install Elementary OS 6.0

Once you restart your system, the elementary OS installer will automatically get started. You can see the following screen and the booting process starts,

Step 4) Choose Your Language

Next step is to select the language of your preference. By default, English is highlighted, click select to continue or choose a different language of your choice and proceed

Step 5) Choose Keyboard Layout

Next you need to select your preferred keyboard layout. English (US) is highlighted by default, please hit Enter to proceed with the installation

Step 6) Choose Installation Type

Elementary OS 6.0 installer offers three different types of installation options including:

• Try Demo Mode
• Erase Disk and Install
• Custom Install (Advanced)

If you want to try the OS before installing it into your system, click “Try Demo Mode” and play with all the features of elementary 6.0 OS.

If you are installing it in a new system or want to erase everything and install a fresh copy of the OS into your system, select “Erase Disk and Install” option

If you prefer custom installation and want to create your own partitions, then choose “Custom Install (Advanced)” option.

Since am doing the installation in a new system, I will choose erase disk and install option.

Step 7) Select Drive for OS Installation

Next step is to choose a drive in which you need the installation to be done

Step 8) Enable Drive Encryption

If you need to enable drive encryption, then click choose password to create a password. This is required if you want additional protection for this drive. Every time the drive is turned on, you need to provide the password you just created to access the drive. Click “Don’t Encrypt” if you don’t want drive encryption and continue.

Step 9) Installation Starts

The installation process starts, and it will take a minimum 5-10 minutes to complete installation.

Step 10) Restart Your System

Once the installation is done, click on “Restart Device” to complete the installation process.

Step 11) Create Local Account

Once the system restarts, Follow Screen instructions to configure Language and Keyboard layout and then installer will ask you to create an account to access Elementary OS 6.0. Provide your name, username, and password to create your own account.

Once you’ve provided all the details, click “Finish Setup” to complete the setup process. It will ask for your password, enter the password you just created and explore all the features in Elementary 6.0.

Step 12) Welcome Screen

The Elementary OS 6.0 welcome screen appears and allows you to customize the look and feel of the OS.

You can start playing with new exciting Linux distribution and have fun!!!

Ansible is free and open-source automation tool sponsored by Red Hat. Using ansible we can manage and configure Linux and Windows system without any agent installation on them. It basically works on ssh protocol and can configure hundred plus servers at a time.  In ansible terminology, system on which Ansible is installed is called control host /node  and the systems which are managed by ansible are called managed hosts.

In this post, we will discuss how to install latest version of Ansible on Rocky Linux 8.  Following is my Ansible lab setup details:

• Control Node – 192.168.1.170 – Minimal Rocky Linux 8
• Managed Host 1 – 192.168.1.121 – Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
• Managed Host 2 – 192.168.1.122 – Rocky Linux 8
• sysops user with admin rights

Install Ansible via dnf command

1) Update the system

To update rocky linux 8, run beneath dnf command.

$ sudo dnf update -y

Once all the updates are installed reboot your system once.

$ sudo reboot

2) Configure EPEL repository

Ansible package and its dependencies are not available in the default Rocky Linux 8 package repositories. So, to install ansible via dnf , we must configure EPEL repository first.

Run following commands,

$ sudo dnf install -y epel-release

3) Install Ansible with dnf command

Now we are all set to install ansible with dnf command, run

$ sudo dnf install ansible -y

Once ansible and its dependencies are installed successfully. Verify its version by running following command,

$ ansible --version

Ansible Installation with pip

If you are looking for the latest version of Ansible then install ansible with pip. Refer the following steps.

Note: At the time of writing this post, ansible 4.3.0 is available

1) Install all updates

Install all the available updates using the beneath command,

$ sudo dnf update -y

Reboot the system once after installing the updates,

$ reboot

2) Install python 3.8 and other dependencies

Run following commands to install python 3.8 and other dependencies

$ sudo  dnf module -y install python38
$ sudo alternatives --config python

Type 3 and hit enter

3) Install latest version of Ansible with pip

Run the following commands one after the another to install ansible,

$ sudo pip3 install setuptools-rust wheel
$ sudo pip3 install --upgrade pip
$ sudo python -m pip install ansible

Output of above python command would like below:

Above output confirms that Ansible has been installed successfully. Let’s verify Ansible version using following ansible command,

$ ansible --version

Verify Ansible Installation

Whenever Ansible is installed with dnf or yum command then it’s default configuration file ‘ansible.cfg’ is created automatically under ‘/etc/ansible’ folder. But when we install it with pip then we have to create its configuration file manually.

It is recommended to create ansible.cfg for each project. For the demonstration purpose, I am creating an automation project. Run following mkdir command,

$ mkdir automation
$ cd automation

Create the ansible.cfg file with the following content,

$ vi ansible.cfg
[defaults]
inventory      = /home/sysops/auotmation/inventory
remote_user = sysops
host_key_checking = False

[privilege_escalation]
become=True
become_method=sudo
become_user=root
become_ask_pass=False

Save and quit the file.

Now create a inventory file under automation project (folder) with the following content.

$ vi inventory
[prod]
192.168.1.121

[test]
192.168.1.122

Save & close the file.

If you noticed carefully ansible.cfg file, I have used remote_user as ‘sysops’. So let’s create ssh keys for sysops user and share it among the managed hosts.

$ ssh-keygen

Share the SSH keys using ssh-copy-id command,

$ ssh-copy-id sysops@192.168.1.121
$ ssh-copy-id sysops@192.168.1.122

Note: Run following command on each managed host to run all the command without prompting password,

# echo "sysops ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL" > /etc/sudoers.d/sysops

Verify the connectivity from control node to managed hosts using ping module,

$ cd automation/
$ ansible -i inventory all -m ping

Let’s create a sample playbook (web.yaml) to install nginx and php on managed hosts,

$ vi web.yaml
---
- name: Play to Packages
  hosts:
    - test
    - prod
  tasks:
  - name: Install php and nginx
    package:
      name:
        - php
        - nginx
      state: present

Save and close the file.

Run the playbook using beneath ansible-playbook command,

$ ansible-playbook -i inventory web.yaml

Output of above command would like below

Great, above output confirms that playbook has been executed successfully and it also confirms that Ansible is installed correctly.

That’s all from this post. I believe this post helps you install and use Ansible on Rocky Linux 8. Please do share your feedback and queries in below comments section.

Recommended Read:  How to Use Handlers in Ansible Playbook

Hello Linux Geeks, if you are looking for free command line backup tools on Linux systems then tar command is the solution for you. Tar command can create backup of your application, configurations files and folders of the system.

Tar stands for ‘tape archive’ and can archive multiple files and directories into a tar file. This tar can also be compressed using gzip and bzip2 compression utility. Once we have a tar backup ready then we can easily transfer it to remote backup server using scp or rsync commands.

In this post, we will demonstrate how to create backups with tar command in Linux.

How to create tar backup file?

To create a tar backup file, first identify the files and folders that would be part of your backup. Let’s assume we want to take backup of /home/linuxtechi, /etc and /opt folder. Run following tar command,

$ tar <options>  {tar-backup-filename}  {files-folders-to-be-backup}

$ sudo tar -cvpf  system-back.tar  /home/linuxtechi /etc /opt

This will create a tar ball in the present working directory. In above tar command, we have used following options

• c – Create new archive
• v – display verbose while create tar file
• f – archive file name
• p – preserve permissions

As we have seen that we have not used any compression options to compress tar file. So, to compress the tar backup file during the archive use -z ( gzip compression) or -j (bzip2 compression)

Creating tar backup along with gzip compression

Use ‘z’ in tar command to use gzip compression. This time tar backup file will have extension either .tgz or .tar.gz

$ sudo tar -zcvpf system-back.tgz /home/linuxtechi /etc /opt

Creating tar backup along with bzip compression

Use ‘j’ option in tar command to use bzip2 compression, this time tar backup file will have extension either .tbz2 or .tar.bz2

$ sudo tar -jcvpf system-back.tbz2 /home/linuxtechi /etc /opt

How to append a file to tar backup?

To append a file to the existing tar backup file, use ‘-r’ option, complete command would like below:

Syntax: $ tar -rvf  {tar-backup}  {new-file-to-be-appended}

Let’s assume we want to append /root/app.yaml file to system-backup.tar, run

$ sudo tar -rvf system-back.tar /root/app.yaml

Note: We can not append files or folders to compressed tar backup as it is not supported.

How to exclude file while creating tar backup?

To exclude a file while creating tar backup, use ‘-X’ option followed by the exclude file. To use exclude feature we must create a exclude file which will have file name to be exclude.

$ cat exclude.txt
/etc/debconf.conf
/etc/hosts
$

Run following command to exclude files mentioned in exclude.txt while creating tar backup of /etc

$ sudo tar -X exclude.txt -zcpvf etc-backup.tgz /etc

How to view the contents of tar backup?

To view the contents of tar backup, use ‘-t’ option, complete options would be ‘-tvf’. Example is shown below:

$ sudo tar -tvf system-back.tgz | grep -i etc/fstab
-rw-rw-r-- root/root    665 2021-07-07 04:57 etc/fstab
$

How to Extract tar backup?

Use ‘-x’ option in tar command to extract tar backup, complete option would be ‘-xpvf’. Example is shown below

$ sudo tar -xpvf system-back.tgz

This command will extract system-back.tgz in the current working directory. In case you want extract it in a particular folder then use ‘-C’ option followed by the folder path. In the following example we are extracting system-back.tgz in /var/tmp folder.

$ sudo tar -xpvf system-back.tgz -C /var/tmp/
$ ls -l /var/tmp/

How to verify tar backup integrity?

For tar ball, use ‘-tf’ option and redirect the output to /dev/null file,

$ tar -tf system-back.tar > /dev/null

If above command does not generate any output on the screen then we can say that there is not corruption.

In case of corruption, we will get the output something like below,

To verify the integrity of compressed tar backup, use following

For .tgz / .tar.gz

$ gunzip -c system-back.tgz | tar -t > /dev/null

For .tbz2 / .tar/bzip2

$ tar -tvf system-back.tbz2 > /dev/null

Above commands should not produce any output on the screen. In case, there is an output then we can say that there might be some corruption in compressed tar backup.

That’s all from this post, I hope you have found it informative. Please do share share your feedback and queries in below comments section.

Originally created by Silicon Graphics, the XFS file system is a robust and high-performance journaling filesystem that was first included in the Linux kernel in 2001. Since then, the popularity of the filesystem has grown exponentially, and by 2014, the XFS filesystem found its way into major Linux distributions. As a matter of fact, XFS is the default filesystem in Red Hat- based distributions such as RHEL, CentOS, and Rocky Linux. The filesystem works incredibly well with huge files and is popularly known for its speed and robustness.

As robust as the XFS filesystem is, it is not immune to suffering filesystem corruption. Common causes of filesystem errors or corruption include un-procedural or ungraceful shutdowns, NFS write errors, sudden power outages and hardware failure such as  bad blocks on the drive. Corruption of the filesystem can cause grave problems such as corruption of regular files and can even render your system unable to boot when boot files are affected.

A few tools are useful in checking filesystem errors. One of them is the fsck command (Filesystem Check). The fsck system utility tool verifies the overall health of a filesystem. It checks the filesystem for potential and existing errors and repairs them alongside generating a report. The fsck command comes pre-installled in most Linux distributions and no installation is required.  Another useful system utility used for rectifying errors in a filesystem is the xfs_repair utility. The utility is highly scalable and is tailored to scan and repair huge filesystems with several inodes with the highest possible efficiency.

In this guide, we walk you through how to repair corrupted XFS filesystem using the xfs_repair utility.

Step 1) Simulate File corruption

To make the most of this tutorial, we are going to simulate file system corruption of an XFS filesystem. Here we are going to use an 8GB external USB drive as our block volume. This is indicated as /dev/sdb1 as shown in the command below.

$ lsblk | grep sd

The first step is to format it to xfs filesystem using the mkfs command.

$ sudo mkfs.xfs -f /dev/sdb1

This displays the output shown

The next step is to create a mount point that we shall later use to mount the block volume.

$ sudo mkdir /mnt/data

Next, mount the partition using the  mount command.

$ sudo mount /dev/sdb1  /mnt/data

You can verify if the partition was correctly mounted as shown.

$ sudo mount | grep /dev/sdb1

Our partition is now successfully mounted as an xfs partition. Next, we are going to simulate filesystem corruption by trashing random filesystem metadata blocks using the xfs_db command.

But before that, we need to unmount the partition.

$ sudo umount /dev/sdb1

Next, corrupt the filesystem by running the command below to trash random filesystem metadata blocks.

$ sudo xfs_db -x -c blockget -c "blocktrash -s 512109 -n 1000" /dev/sdb1

Step 2) Repair the XFS filesystem using xfs_repair

To repair the file system using the command, use the syntax:

$ sudo xfs_repair /dev/device

But before we embark on repairing the filesystem, we can perform a dry run using the -n flag as shown. A dry run provides a peek into the actions that will be performed by the command when is it executed.

$ sudo xfs_repair -n /dev/device

For our case, this translates to:

$ sudo xfs_repair -n /dev/sdb1

From the output, we can see some metadata errors and inode inconsistencies. The command terminates with a brief summary of the steps the actual command would have carried out. The corrective measures that would have been applied in steps 6 and 7 have been skipped.

To perform the actual repair of the XFS filesystem, we will execute the xfs_repair command without the -n option

$ sudo xfs_repair /dev/sdb1

The command detects the errors and inconsistencies in the filesystem.

And performs remediation measures to the inodes and rectifies any other errors. The output provided shows that the command completes its tasks successfully.

For more xfs_repair options visit the man page.

$ man xfs_repair

Conclusion

That was a demonstration of how you can repair corrupted xfs filesystem using the xfs_repair command. We hope that you are now confident in fixing the corrupted xfs filesystem in Linux.

Read Also : How to Monitor Linux System with Glances Command

As we all know that Docker Container is the highly demanded technology in IT world.  With help of Docker containers, developers and infra admins can package their application and its dependencies and can run it in one computing setup to another.

In this guide, we will cover how to install Docker and Docker Compose on Rocky Linux 8 step by step.

Minimum requirements for Docker

• 2 GB RAM or higher
• 2 vCPU / CPU (64-bit Processor)
• Minimal Rocky Linux 8
• Sudo User with privileges
• 20 GB Free Space on /var
• 1 Nic Card
• Stable Internet Connection

Let’s dive on Docker Installation steps,

Step 1) Install updates and reboot

Login to Rocky Linux and install all the available updates and then reboot the system once.

$ sudo dnf update -y
$ reboot

Step 2) Configure Docker Package Repository & Install Docker

To install latest and stable version of docker, configure its official package repository using the following command,

$ sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo=https://download.docker.com/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo

Now run following dnf command to install docker,

$ sudo dnf install -y docker-ce

Output of commands would like below:

Note: In case you are getting container.io error while installing docker-ce package then run following command,

$ sudo dnf install docker-ce --allowerassing -y

Step 3) Start and enable docker Service

Once docker is installed then start and enable its service using following systemctl commands,

$ sudo systemctl start docker
$ sudo systemctl enable docker

To verify the status of docker run,

$ sudo systemctl status docker

Perfect, above output confirms that docker service is up and running.

If you wish local user to mange and run docker commands, then add the user to docker group using beneath command.

$ sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

After executing the above command, log out and log in once so that docker group is associated to user and user can run docker commands without sudo.

[sysadm@rocky-linux ~]$ docker --version
Docker version 20.10.7, build f0df350
[sysadm@rocky-linux ~]$

Let’s verify the docker installation in the next step.

Step 4) Test docker Installation

To test docker installation, run hello-world container using following docker command,

$ docker run hello-world

Output,

Above output confirms that container ‘hello-world’ has been launched successfully and it also confirms that docker is installed successfully.

Step 5) Install Docker-Compose

Docker Compose command allows to spin up multiple containers in one go. So, to install it run the following commands one after the another.

$ dnf install -y curl
$ sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/1.29.2/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
$ sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
$ docker-compose --version
docker-compose version 1.29.2, build 5becea4c
$

Above output shows that docker-compose of version 1.29.2 is installed successfully. That’s all from guide. I hope you have found it informative. Please do share your feedback and queries in below comments section.

There are some situations where / or root partition is running out of disk space in Linux. Even compressing and deleting old log files did not help, so in such cases we are left with no option but to extend / filesystem. In this article, we will demonstrate how to extend xfs based root partition without lvm in a Linux system.

If we talk about the logical steps, first we have to add additional space to OS disk and then use growpart and xfs_growfs commands to extend the root partition (or filesystem).

I am assuming we have a Linux based Virtual Machine running either on KVM hypervisor or VMware or VirtualBox. In this machine, we have 10 GB XFS based / root partition and want to extend it till 20 GB.

Let’s dive into the actual steps,

Step 1) Verify the root partition size

Login to the Linux machine and run below df command to view current size of root partition,

$ df -Th /
Filesystem     Type  Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda2      xfs    10G  9.1G  991M  91% /
$

Verify the size of OS disk using lsblk and fdisk commands

$ lsblk /dev/sda
$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/sda

Above output shows that size of OS disk is 12 GB. We have two partitions as /boot & /.

Step 2) Increase the size of OS disk  

Increase the size of OS disk, in my case I will change OS disk size from 12 GB to 22 GB as I want to extend / partition by 10 GB.

Depending on the environment, one must perform this action. In my case I have a VM running inside a VirtualBox, so first stop it and extend the disk size as shown,

Change the size and set it as 22 GB

Click on apply and then start the virtual machine.

Step 3) Extend root partition based on xfs filesystem

To extend root partition we need growpart and xfs_growfs commands or utilities. But these are not available in the default installation, so let’s first install these using the following command,

$ sudo apt install cloud-guest-utils gdisk -y         // For Ubuntu & Debian
$ sudo dnf install cloud-utils-growpart gdisk -y     // For RHEL 8 / CentOS 8
$ sudo yum install cloud-utils-growpart gdisk -y    // For RHEL 7 / CentOS 7

Once above packages are installed, view OS disk size with lsblk and fdisk commands,

Above output confirms that OS disk size is now 22 GB, now let’s extend root partition using following commands,

Run growpart command on 2nd partition of /dev/sda disk (we have used 2 as partition number because our root partition is 2nd on the disk).

$ sudo growpart /dev/sda 2

Note: growpart command will rewrite the partition table so that partition takes all the space.

Verify the lsblk output for / partition,

$ lsblk

Now run xfs_growfs command to extend the root filesystem,

$ sudo xfs_growfs /

Verify the size of / file system using df -Th command,

[sysops@linuxtechi ~]$ df -Th /
Filesystem     Type  Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda2      xfs    20G  9.2G   11G  46% /
[sysops@linuxtechi ~]$

Perfect above output shows that / partition has been extended to 20 GB. That’s all from this article. I hope you have found it informative. Please do share your feedback and comments in the below comments section.

PDF is an acronym for Portable Document Format. It’s the defacto format that is used for sharing documents electronically and is usually the preferred format when attaching documents on a website for download.

Once in a while, you might need to make changes to your PDF documents. This is not as straightforward as it sounds and one needs a PDF editor to make changes to the text and even images without having to convert them to another format. Join us as we explore some of the best PDF editors for Ubuntu Linux.

1) LibreOffice PDF editor

This may come as a shock to many as LibreOffice is generally known as a desktop publishing tool for basic used cases such as Word Processing, spreadsheets, and presentation, to mention a few. Thankfully, the free and opensource suite which is used by millions of users around the globe provides you the ability to modify PDF documents using LibreOffice Draw.

LibreOffice Draw is a built-in and handy PDF editor that allows you to make edits to your PDF documents. You do not need to purchase a proprietary PDF editor that will bleed your pockets dry. There’s a catch though. You can only make simple modifications such as adding text, images, and text boxes to your pre-existing PDF documents. Nonetheless, it is still a powerful tool if all you are looking into is making simple modifications to your PDf files.

2) Okular

Developed and maintained by KDE, Okular is a multi platform document viewer based on Qt and KDE framework libraries. It is therefore native to the KDE environment and distributed as part of the KDE bundle.

Being a multi platform viewer, it supports a wide range of document formats including PDF, JPG, TIFF, XPS, markdown, ODF and so many more.

Okular provides users with the ability to add textboxes, comment on PDF documents, draw lines and shapes, trim page borders, and read-aloud text using the Qt speed functionality.

To install Okular on Ubuntu 20.04, run:

$ sudo apt install okular

You can also use snap packages as shown.

$ sudo snap install okular

3) Scribus

Written in C++ and based on Qt, Scribus is a free and opensource cross-platform Desktop publishing tool. With Scribus, you can create a wide variety of publications including magazines, newsletters, posters, brochures, and other pieces of artwork.

Aside from desktop publishing, Scribus also allows you to make minor changes to your PDF documents. You can add text boxes, lists, and also design interactive PDF documents.  However, like LibreOffice Draw, the main focus of Scribus is not editing PDF documents, and therefore you are limited only to basic editing techniques.

Scribus is available in the Standard Ubuntu repository and to install it, run the command.

$ sudo apt install scribus

4) Foxit Reader

Foxit reader is yet another formidable PDF editor and reader tool. It’s a free and cross-platform PDF reader which can be used on either Mac, Windows,  Linux, and even Android. Foxit Reader comes with a neat and intuitive UI that provides a delightful user experience.

At a glance, Foxit PDF reader provides the following features:

• Opening multiple PDF documents in different tabs
• Printing PDf documents
• Signing documents using eSignature
• View PDF files in various orientations
• Annotations
• Text search and page rotation
• Microsoft RMS Support

To install Foxit Reader, first head over to the Foxit reader page and download the Linux installer.

To make things much easier, you can download it on the command line as shown

$ wget http://cdn01.foxitsoftware.com/pub/foxit/reader/desktop/linux/2.x/2.4/en_us/FoxitReader.enu.setup.2.4.4.0911.x64.run.tar.gz

Once downloaded, extract the Foxit Archive installer with tar command

$ tar -xvf FoxitReader.enu.setup.2.4.4.0911.x64.run.tar.gz

This extracts the tarball file and yields the installer shown

Next, run the installer as a sudo user as shown

$ sudo ./FoxitReader.enu.setup.2.4.4.0911\(r057d814\).x64.run

Accept the default directory path and click ‘Next’.

Accept the license agreement and click ‘Next’

The installation of Foxit Reader will get underway.

After a few seconds, the installation will be complete. Click ‘Finish’ to exit.

5) GIMP

GIMP , short for GNU Image Manipulation Program, is a popular cross-platform image editing tool that performs a wide range of image editing operations. It provides high-quality image manipulation tools for performing image modification tasks such as retouching and restoring. In addition, you can design mockup art, UI components such as buttons and icons aided by high-quality color management features which ensure high-color image fidelity. It’s also used in workflows involving other applications such as Inkspace and Scribus as discussed earlier.

Sadly, the huge emphasis on image manipulation eclipses the functionality of editing PDF documents. You are limited to just importing PDF documents and converting them into layers whereupon you can extract and slightly modify the contents. Thereafter, you can export the PDF into multiple file formats for additional editing by other applications.

To install GIMP, use the snap package manager to install from Snap package as shown.

$ sudo snap install gimp

6) Inkscape

Inkscape is a completely free and opensource editor with a primary focus on vector graphics. It’s a cross-platform application that runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac. It’s quite lightweight and provides a rich set of features and controls to manipulate and edit raster graphics and images.

Besides raster graphics, Inkscape can be used for editing PDF documents. You easily import PDF documents and perform basic editing techniques such as inserting and removing text and images. However, it is plagued with performance issues and sometimes can lag and be a little slow in making the changes to your PDF documents.

Inkscape is available on Ubuntu repositories and can be installed using the APT package manager as shown

$ sudo apt install inkscape

7) Master PDF Editor

So far, we have discussed PDF editing tools whose main focus is not editing PDF documents, and are therefore lacking in rich PDF editing features. If you are looking for an advanced and feature-rich PDF editing tool, then Master PDF editor will come to your rescue.  It’s a cross-platform tool that is available for download and use on Windows, Linux, and Mac.

Master PDF Editor is a proprietary tool, unlike the tools discussed earlier. Thankfully, it provides a free version that allows you to try out the basic PDF editing features. To unlock all the PDF editing features, you need to upgrade to the premium version.

Master PDF Editor supports full editing of PDf documents including

• Modifying text, images, animations.
• Adding a wide range of controls such as lists, check-boxes, radio buttons,
• Importing/exporting PDF pages into various file formats.
• Changing font color and size.
• Adding or creating bookmarks.
• Encrypting PDF files with 128-bit encryption.
• Splitting and merging PDF documents.
• Signing PDF documents using digital signatures.

Upgrading to the full master version, you have to part with $79.

To install Master PDF Editor, head over to the Offical download site and grab the Debian package as shown

On the command line, run the wget command to download the Debian package.

$ wget https://code-industry.net/public/master-pdf-editor-5.7.60-qt5_included.x86_64.deb

Once downloaded, run the Debian file as shown to install Master PDF Editor.

$ sudo apt install ./master-pdf-editor-5.7.60-qt5_included.x86_64.deb

Conclusion

That was a roundup of some of the Top PDF editors that you can leverage to modify or make changes to your PDF documents and even export them to other file formats. With these options, you are surely have the choice. However, if you seek advanced PDF editing features, we strongly vouch for the Master PDF editor full version.

Screenshots come in handy especially when you want to illustrate or demonstrate something to a colleague or a friend or student. A screenshot directs the attention of the recipient to the object(s) being illustrated. Most Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, come with their default screenshot tools. However, they only provide basic functionality and nothing more to write home about.

In this guide, we highlight some of the feature-rich screenshot tools available for Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Debian that you can leverage to capture and perform additional editing on your screenshots. These are all free and opensource.

1. GNOME Screenshot Capture 

By default, the GNOME desktop environment provides a screenshot capture tool known as GNOME screenshot capture. This is a simple application that allows you to capture the whole screen, a window or a rectangular section of your workspace.

To launch the screenshot tool, simply search for it using the application manager as shown.

Click on the Icon and this pops up the screenshot capture tool.

2. Flameshot

Written in C++ and Qt, Flameshot is an easy-to-use, feature-rich, and powerful screenshot tool that allows you to capture and edit your screenshots using an array of editing tools. It’s opensource and completely free to download and install. Once installed on your Linux system, you can capture your screenshots using the GUI application which is minimized in the top bar, or even using predefined commands straight from the terminal.

Key features include:

• Rectangle selection
• Drawing ( Rectangle / Circle drawing )
• Adding arrows to the image captured
• Adding text to the image
• Blur effect to blur part of the image
• Undo / Redo changes
• Saving the screenshot image
• Uploading the image to Imgur

To install Flameshot on Ubuntu / Debian / Linux Mint run:

$ sudo apt install flameshot

3. Kazam

Kazam is yet another free screen-recording tool that also includes the functionality of taking screenshots. It provides a simple and intuitive GUI that provides options for screen casting and taking screenshots. Additionally, it enables you to capture the entire full screen, window or a rectangular section of the screen/window. You can also set the capture delay time in seconds before the screen casting begins as well as adjust audio levels.

Kazam, just like Flameshot, is available in the official Ubuntu / Debian repository and can be installed using the APT package manager as follows:

$ sudo apt install kazam

4. GIMP

GIMP, short for GNU Image manipulation program, is fully-fledged image manipulation and editing tool that makes use of raster graphics. It’s completely free and opensource and provides extensibility with integration with a myriad of programming languages such as Python, Ruby, and Perl.

Apart from its high-quality photo manipulation techniques, it provides a screenshot capture feature that provides a variety of options. Just like Kazam, it provides users with the flexibility to choose whether to take the entire or part of the screen as well as the screenshot delay time in seconds.

To install GIMP, run the command:

$ sudo apt install gimp

Once installed, you can launch the screenshot tool by navigating to:

File > Create > Screenshot

The screenshot GUI tool looks as shown. From here, you can decide the type of capture you want and even set the capture delay time in seconds.

Once you have captured your desired area, the screen capture is opened in the default GIMP editor, and from here, you can perform multiple editing techniques such as cropping, adjusting the color, adding annotations, and numerous other effects.

5. Ksnip

Ksnip is a simple and reliable screenshot capture tool. It is a cross-platform, and feature-rich tool based on Qt and provides numerous features for editing your screen captures.

Key features include:

• Support for a wide variety of Desktop environments such as GNOME Wayland, Plasma Wayland and macOS, and Windows.
• Captures screenshots of the full-screen, a window, or part of the screen.
• Captures screenshots with or without a mouse pointer.
• Capture delay for all screen capture options i.e full-screen, window capture of section capture.
• Adds watermarks to screenshots.
• Adds blur and pixelate effect to obfuscate images.
• Adds effects to screen captures such as drop shadow, grayscale etc.
• Annotates screenshots with arrow pointers, rectangular boxes, stickers, pen markers, and text.
• Command-line support for capturing screenshots.
• Global Hotkeys for capturing screenshots.

To install Ksnip, install the snap package as follows:

$ sudo snap install ksnip

6. Spectacle

Spectacle is an easy-to-use screen capture application that is native to KDE Plasma 5. Like previously mentioned screen capture tools, it allows you to capture an entire desktop, current active window, or part of the window.  Once captured, the screenshots can be printed, exported to other applications for further editing, or simply saved as-is.

Key features include:

• Ability to capture the entire desktop, current active window, or a rectangular section of the screen.
• Supports a wide variety of image formats including JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP,  EPS , PCX , PIC and so many more.
• Exports screen captures to platforms such as Imgur and NextCloud. You can also send to a device via Bluetooth or email the screenshots.
• Keyboard shortcuts for capturing the screenshots.

To install Spectacle, run the command:

$ sudo snap install spectacle

There are plenty of other screenshot capture tools out there, but these are arguably some of the easy-to-use and feature-rich tools that would give you a phenomenal experience in capturing and editing your screenshots. Any of these will provide you with multiple options to edit your captures and save them in multiple image formats.

Also Read : Top 8 Linux Distributions for Developers in 2021

Hello Geeks, I hope you are aware about Ansible AWX, if not then Ansible AWX is a Web based GUI tool for managing ansible playbooks. There are lot of other features of AWX apart from execution of Ansible playbooks like source management integration, logging RBAC and more.

In other words, we can say Ansible AWX is considered as an upstream project of Red HAT Ansible Tower. From AWX version 18.x and onwards, installation focus is moved from docker to Kubernetes. So, in this article, we will cover the step by step Ansible AWX Installation on Kubernetes Minikube.

I am assuming Minikube is already installed on your Linux system. If not, then use below URL:

• How to Install Minikube on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS / 21.04

Note: Make sure you start your minikube cluster with enough resources (at least 4 vCPU and 8 GB RAM) , in my case I have started minikube with following resources and options.

$ minikube start --addons=ingress --cpus=4 --cni=flannel --install-addons=true --kubernetes-version=stable --memory=8g

Verify the Minikube Cluster Installation

Run following commands to verify the minikube installation and cluster status,

$ minikube status
$ kubectl cluster-info
$ kubectl get nodes

Output of above commands should look like below:

Perfect, above confirms that minikube has been installed and started successfully. Let’s move to AWX installation steps.

Step 1) Install AWX Operator

To install AWX operator, execute the following kubectl command,

$ kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ansible/awx-operator/0.12.0/deploy/awx-operator.yaml

Output

Run below command to confirm whether AWX operator’s pod is started or not. If not started then wait for couple of minutes as it takes time,

devops@linuxtechi:~$ kubectl get pods
NAME                           READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
awx-operator-79bc95f78-pb7tz   1/1     Running   0          5m23s
devops@linuxtechi:~$

Step 2) Create AWX Instance yaml file

Create ansible-awx.yml file with the following contents

$ vi ansible-awx.yml
---
apiVersion: awx.ansible.com/v1beta1
kind: AWX
metadata:
  name: ansible-awx
spec:
  service_type: nodeport
  ingress_type: none
  hostname: ansible-awx.example.com

save and quit the file.

Step 3) Deploy Ansible AWX Instance

Now, let’s deploy AWX instance in our cluster by executing below command,

devops@linuxtechi:~$ kubectl apply -f ansible-awx.yml
awx.awx.ansible.com/ansible-awx created
devops@linuxtechi:~$

Above will create a deployment with a name ’ansible-awx’ and this deployment will have two pods and services.

After couple of minutes, Ansible AWX will be deployed and in case you wish to monitor installation logs then use below command,

$ kubectl logs -f deployment/awx-operator

Run below command to verify the status of AWX Pods,

devops@linuxtechi:~$ kubectl get pods -l "app.kubernetes.io/managed-by=awx-operator"
NAME                           READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
ansible-awx-5ddfccf664-vrdq2   4/4     Running   0          7m40s
ansible-awx-postgres-0         1/1     Running   0          8m24s
devops@linuxtechi:~$

Run following command to view the service status,

devops@linuxtechi:~$ kubectl get svc -l "app.kubernetes.io/managed-by=awx-operator"
NAME                   TYPE        CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)        AGE
ansible-awx-postgres   ClusterIP   None           <none>        5432/TCP       8m31s
ansible-awx-service    NodePort    10.97.206.89   <none>        80:32483/TCP   7m55s
devops@linuxtechi:~$

Please make a note of node port of ‘ansible-awx-service’, we will be using it later for port forwarding.

Step 4) Access AWX Portal via tunneling

To access AWX portal outside of minikube cluster, we must configure the tunneling, run

devops@linuxtechi:~$ nohup minikube tunnel &
[3] 35709
devops@linuxtechi:~$
devops@linuxtechi:~$ kubectl get svc ansible-awx-service
NAME                  TYPE       CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)        AGE
ansible-awx-service   NodePort   10.97.206.89   <none>        80:32483/TCP   90m
devops@linuxtechi:~$

Set the port forwarding in such a way that, if the request is coming on minikube IP on node port ‘32483’ then it should be redirected to port 80 of awx pod.

devops@linuxtechi:~$ kubectl port-forward svc/ansible-awx-service --address 0.0.0.0 32483:80 &> /dev/null &
[4] 46686
devops@linuxtechi:~$

Now try to access AWX portal from the web browser by using minikube ip address and node port 32483

http://<minikube-ip>:<node-port>

To get the credentials, go back to terminal and run beneath command.

devops@linuxtechi:~$ kubectl get secret ansible-awx-admin-password -o jsonpath="{.data.password}" | base64 --decode
PWrwGWBFCmpd1b47DJffCtK5SqYGzxXF
devops@linuxtechi:~$

Use the username as ‘admin’ and the password as the output of above command, after entering the credentials we will get following dashboard

Great, above confirms that Ansible AWX is installed successfully on Kubernetes minikube. That’s all from this article. I hope you have found it informative and in case you have any queries, feel free to write us in below comments section.

Read Also : How to Run and Schedule Ansible Playbook Using AWX GUI

Linux OS is far more superior compared to Windows in terms security, customization, software updates and so on. Linux provides support for all major programming languages like C, C++, Java, Perl, Ruby and Python etc. Moreover, it provides access to a vast set of tools and utilities for programming purposes.

Hence. When it comes to development, programmers prefer Linux OS than Windows as they can get the job done quickly. But the important question comes in mind that “Which Linux Distro is best for programming and development? ”

While there are many distros or distributions available for Linux OS, not all OS provide great support for development. But still there are many available for development and choosing among them can be a bit tricky. Hence, we’ve compiled this list to provide the best linux distros for developers in 2021.

1) Manjaro

When it comes to choosing the best Linux distro for developers, Manjaro tops the list. It is a free and open-source arch-based linux distro that mainly focuses on usability, ease of use and accessibility. Unlike proprietary OS, Manjaro provides users with complete control over the hardware without any restrictions. Hence, Manjaro is one of the best linux distro for developers.

Manjaro also provides support to run various windows applications like Wine, PlayonLinux or Proton etc. It comes loaded with an excellent package manager with all the tools and utilities to get you started with your development right away.

Highlights:

• Available in multiple editions (KDE, Xfce and GNOME)
• Supports Optimus Manager
• AUR Enabled
• BBSwitch compatible
• Ease of use
• Based on Arch

Download:  You can download Manjaro Linux here.

2) Debian GNU/Linux

Debian GNU/Linux is another popular Linux distro that is largely useful for developers mainly because of its stable branch. Another main reason that developers favor Debian is because it offers an excellent set of tools and packages required for development.

Debian is one of the oldest distros out there, but still it is considered to be one of the stable distros in the market. According to Debian policy, any program that needs to get included in the Debian family, needs to fulfill all the standards set by the “Debian Free Software Guidelines“.

Highlights:

• Community-driven distro
• Highly stable build
• Extensive library of manuals
• Ideal for programmers and system administrators
• Large repositories of open-source tools and software

Download: You can download Debian GNU/Linux here.

3) Ubuntu

Next in our list of the top 8 Linux distros for developers is Ubuntu, another widely used and most popular Linux distro. It is perfectly suitable for all kinds of users including newbies and professionals.

Ubuntu LTS provides a stable and trusted development environment for developers, since they don’t to worry about upgrading the distro every 6-12 months.
Ubuntu comes loaded with a host of tutorials, manuals, how-to guides and other resources aimed at helping the programming community.

Highlights:

• User-friendly
• Compatible with Android Open-Source Project
• Excellent community support
• Stable development environment
• Vast set of tutorials and guides

Download: You can download Ubuntu here.

4) Fedora Workstation

Fedora is another popular community-driven distro that comes in various editions to satisfy different kinds of users. If you are looking for a distro that supports developers, then Fedora Workstation is an excellent choice.

It comes packed with a lot of tools to provide an excellent development environment. Fedora workstation provides support for smart auto-configs and updated packages conducive for programming.

Highlights:

• Community-driven
• Owned by Red Hat
• Cutting-edge Linux distro
• Open-source components

Download: You can download Fedora Workstation here.

5)  openSUSE

Next in our list of the top 8 linux distros for developers is openSUSE, a LTS release that guarantees stability. Another highlight of openSUSE is that it is a YAST package management which makes it easy for developers to automate tasks easily.

Even though openSUSE is not a popular distro like Ubuntu and Fedora, it provides an excellent development environment for developers. It is available in two versions namely, openSUSE Leap and Tumbleweed. While Leap is a stable release version, Tumbleweed is rolling release distro.

Highlights:

• Ideal for programmers
• Available in stable and rolling release version
• Powerful configuration tool

Download: You can download openSUSE here.

6) CentOS Stream

CentOS Stream is a rolling release distro that enables developers to stay a step ahead as they will have clear view of next version of RHEL. CentOS Stream is mainly aimed at providing a helping hand to ecosystem developers to allow them write code for hardware drivers quite easily.

Application developers will also be happy as they will get a test bed to test their applications and make it ready for future RHEL versions. Hence, the developers will be able to keep pace with the latest developments and trends in the open-source ecosystem. The CentOS Stream repositories are packed with all the apps and tools to quicken the development process.

Highlights:

• Stable rolling release
• Development-friendly distro
• Ideal for ecosystem developers

Download: You can download CentOS Stream here

7) Elementary OS

Elementary OS is a distro that is based on Ubuntu and one of the best-looking distros available. It is also one of the best distros that helps developers in a big way as it is lightweight and fast.

The workspace allow you to easily switch between application making it easy for developers. Elementary OS provides complete access to their source allowing developers to play with it as per their requirements.

Elementary OS is not available for free to download, but you can pay whatever you want and download the distro easily.

Highlights:

• User-friendly
• Lightweight and quick
• Productive distro

Download:  You can download Elementary OS here.

8) Raspberry Pi OS

Raspberry Pi OS, formerly known as Raspbian is another developer-friendly Linux distro that is packed with a rich set of features. Raspberry Pi comes loaded with a large set of programming tools like Python, Geany, BlueJ, Scratch and Mathematica etc.

Raspberry Pi is ideally suited for new coders as it allows learning programming easily. It also comes with a huge library consisting of excellent documentation and how-to articles to allow programmers to make the development process much easier.

Highlights:

• Ideal for new programmers
• Packed with a lot documentation and how-to guides
• Easy to use

Download: You can download Raspberry Pi OS here.

Conclusion

While there are many Linux distros available, we’ve chosen only the best of the lot in our list of the top 8 Linux distros for developers. Linux distros are very useful for developers because you don’t need a software license as you can download and start using it right away.

If you need, you can make changes in the source-code and customize it according to your requirements. Moreover, Linux expertise is in great demand and if you are new, you need to get started now with Linux development as it surely will help grow your career.

Please provide your thoughts and comments in the feedback section below. Thank You!!!

As we all know that CentOS 8 updates and support will not be available after the end of Dec 2021. There are huge number CentOS 8 servers which are used in development and production environment in different organizations. In case you are looking for CentOS 8 alternative then Rocky Linux is the best candidate. Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF) provides a migration script that will smoothly migrate existing CentOS 8 system into Rocky Linux 8.

In this guide, we will cover how to migrate from CentOS 8 to Rocky Linux 8 step by step. For the demonstration purpose, I have one CentOS 8 system installed with Server GUI option. Apart from this, Docker engine is running on this system.

Note: Before Upgrade, please make sure you take the backup of applications and if possible, take the snapshot of complete CentOS 8 system. There could be scenarios that after upgrade application stop working.  So, in such scenarios your application can be restored from backup.

Below is the snapshot of my CentOS 8 system before migration.

Let’s dive into migration steps.

Step 1) Upgrade CentOS 8 system to latest version

Login to CentOS 8 system, install all the updates of existing packages and upgrade it to latest CentOS 8 version.

$ sudo dnf update -y
$ sudo dnf upgrade -y

Once the system is upgraded to the latest version, reboot it once

$ sudo reboot

Step 2) Download the migration script

For smooth migration, rocky linux developers have created a migrated script called ‘migrate2rocky.sh’. Use below wget command to download it.

$  wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rocky-linux/rocky-tools/main/migrate2rocky/migrate2rocky.sh

Set the executable permissions on the script using chmod command,

$ chmod +x migrate2rocky.sh

Step 3) Start migration by running the script

Now we are ready to start the migration from CentOS 8 to Rocky Linux 8, Run the migration script.

$ sudo ./migrate2rocky.sh -r
Or
$ sudo  bash migrate2rocky.sh -r

In above script ‘-r’ options specify that we want to convert the system into Rocky Linux.

First task of this script is to change CentOS 8 package repositories to Rocky Linux 8.

Further, this script will identify which packages needs to be download for Rocky Linux 8.4 and then will install, reinstall or update based on the requirement.

Once all the packages are installed / updated then script will prompt to reboot the system. Whole migration process can take hours or minutes depending upon the system configuration, resources, and internet speed.

Perfect, above output confirms that migration script has been executed successfully. If you want to have a look on logs of migration script then refer ‘/var/log/migrate2rocky.log’ file.

Now reboot the system using below command,

$ sudo reboot

Step 4) Verify the migration

When the system is rebooted  after the migration then we can see the change at Grub screen, a new Rocky Linux kernel is added there, so choose Rocky Linux and hit enter

It will boot up and will get the following Rocky Linux login screen,

Enter credentials and then click on ‘Sign In’

Great, above screenshot clearly confirms that the system is now running on Rocky Linux 8.4. That’s all from this guide. I hope you have found this step by step migration guide informative. Please do share your feedback and queries in the comments section below.

Ansible is a free and opensource IT Automation and configuration tool. It is available for almost all the Linux distributions and can be used to manage Linux and Windows systems. Now a days Ansible is also used to manage EC2 instances in AWS, Virtual machines, and Containers etc. It does not require any agent on managed hosts, but it only requires ssh connection.

In this article, we will cover how to install latest version of Ansible on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS / 21.04

System requirements for Ansible

• Minimal Installed Ubuntu 20.04 LTS / 21.04
• sudo user with root privileges
• 2 CPU / vCPU
• 2 GB RAM or more
• 20 GB Hard drive
• Internet Connection (In case you don’t have local configured apt repository server)

Following is my lab setup details for ansible demonstration.

• Ansible Control Node – control.example.com (192.168.1.112)
• Ansible Managed Nodes – node1.example.com & node2.example.com
• sysops sudo user on control and managed nodes with privileges.

Note: Here node1 is a Ubuntu System and node2 is a CentOS system and control node is the system where we will install ansible. I am assuming sysops is already created on each host.

To configure sudo user (sysops) to run all the commands without prompting for the password then run the following command on each managed host

echo "sysops ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL" > /etc/sudoers.d/sysops

Let’s jump into the Installation steps of Ansible

Step 1) Apply Updates on Control Node

Login to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS / 21.04 system and run below apt commands to apply updates.

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt updgrade -y

Once all the updates are installed then reboot the system once.

$ sudo reboot

Step 2) Install dependencies and configure Ansible Repository

Install ansible dependencies by running the following apt command,

$ sudo apt install -y software-properties-common

Once the dependencies are installed then configure PPA repository for ansible, run

$ sudo add-apt-repository --yes --update ppa:ansible/ansible

Now update repository by running beneath apt command.

$ sudo apt update

Step 3) Install latest version of ansible

Now we are ready to install latest version of Ansible on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS / 21.04, run following command.

$ sudo apt install -y ansible

After the successful installation of Ansible, verify its version by executing the command

$ ansible --version

Great, above output confirms that Ansible version 2.9.6 is installed.

Step 4) Setup SSH keys and share it among managed nodes

Now let’s generate the SSH keys for sysops user from the control node and share it among managed hosts. Run  ssh-keygen command

$ ssh-keygen

Hit enter when prompting for the input, output is shown below

Note : Add managed host entries in /etc/hosts file on control node. This is only required when you don’t have local DNS server configured.

192.168.1.115   node1.example.com
192.168.1.120   node2.example.com

To share the ssh keys between control to managed hosts, run ssh-copy-id command example is shown below

$ ssh-copy-id node1.example.com
$ ssh-copy-id node2.example.com

Output of above commands would look like below

Step 5) Create ansible cfg and inventory file

It is always recommended to have separate ansible.cfg and inventory file for each project. For the demonstration purpose I am using demo as the project name. So, create the project folder first by running mkdir command.

$ mkdir demo

Copy the default ansble.cfg file to ~/demo folder,

$ cp /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg ~/demo/

Edit the ~/demo/ansible.cfg file, set the following parameters,

$ vi ~/demo/ansible.cfg

Under the default sections

inventory      = /home/sysops/demo/inventory
remote_user = sysops
host_key_checking = False

Under the privilege_escalation section

become=True
become_method=sudo
become_user=root
become_ask_pass=False

Save and Close the file. Now, let’s create the inventory file that we have defined in ~/demo/ansible.cfg file.

$ vi ~/demo/inventory
[dev]
node1.example.com

[prod]
node2.example.com

save and quit the file

Now finally instruct ansible to use demo project’s ansible.cfg file by declaring ANSIBLE_CONFIG variable, run the following commands,

$ export ANSIBLE_CONFIG=/home/sysops/demo/ansible.cfg
$ echo "export ANSIBLE_CONFIG=/home/sysops/demo/ansible.cfg" >> ~/.profile

Run ansible –version command from demo folder to verify ansible configuration

$ cd demo/
$ ansible --version

Great, Ansible is now reading our project’s ansible configuration file. Let’s verify the managed nodes connectivity using ansible ad-hoc command,

$ ansible all -m ping

Note : Make sure run ansible command from demo folder.

Output of command would look like below:

This output confirms that connectivity is in place from control node to managed hosts.

Step 6) Create Ansible playbook to Install packages on managed hosts

To verify the ansible installation and configuration, let’s create a sample playbook named as packages.yaml under demo folder.

$ vi packages.yaml
---
- name: Playbook to Install Packages
  hosts:
    - dev
    - prod
  tasks:
  - name: Install php and mariadb
    package:
      name:
        - php
        - mariadb-server
      state: present

save and Close the file

Now run the playbook using ansible-playbook command,

$ ansible-playbook packages.yaml

Output:

Above output confirms that playbook has been executed successfully. To verify result, run following ad-hoc commands,

$ ansible dev -m shell -a 'dpkg -l | grep -E "php|mariadb"'
$ ansible prod -m shell -a 'rpm -qa | grep -E "php|mariadb"'

That’s conclude the article. In case you have found this article informative then please do not hesitate to share it. In case, you have any query please drop it in comments sections below.

Read Also : How to Use Handlers in Ansible Playbook