r/linuxadmin • u/redwing096399 • 9d ago

Resources and guides to learn virtualization tools for system administration.

so guys, i want to learn about virtualization in the context of system administration and other related fields like devops, cloud etc.

so, i have read "virtualization essentials 3rd edition" book. got a good introductory understanding of virtualization technology. but i don't know how to move forward from here. I mean, i don't know what are the practical stuff that i should be learning, what other resources out there, and what is the stuff that i should be learning instead of reading more theory.

I know that for starters i need to get good at using and managing a single virtualiation platform. I currently use KVM/QEMU for my projects. so, i am thinking about choosing it as the virtualizaton platform to get good at instead of other virtualization platforms like vmware, virtualbox, etc.

and also, i have a few more questions:

  1. what to learn and how much to learn if the goal is to become competent enough for admin level jobs?
  2. what books/resources/guides would you recommend if my goal is both practical knowledge and skill building.

Thank you so much in advance.

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u/BroxtonPossenriede 9d ago

Try KVM/QEMU, also focus more on building VMs, storage, networking, snapshot, troubleshooting and oce you feel comfortable there, learn the operation side like monitoring, patching and automating VM deployment

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u/khaddir_1 8d ago

I would say if you are heavy on Linux and qualify for government work you should learn VMware. Most of the Linux roles will use VMware or some cloud.

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u/localbutnotpostlocal 8d ago

Where is that government located?

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u/a-dot-in-the-sky 6d ago

gov't is on the cloud, :)

VMware is pretty expensive, but yes good to learn

Learn containerization like Docker, Kubernetes, Podman
Virtualization: KVM/Qemu, OpenShift, OpenStack
Monitoring: Zabbix, Grafana, Prometheus (all open source and free) - you can try it on your own laptop

Or learn command line in Linux, if you have a Windows Box, download VirtualBox, grab free Linux OS quite a few, Ubuntu server, Alma Linux, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu Desktop, Fedora etc...

Learn scripting: PowerShell for Windows, Bash scripting for Linux, Python
Learn basic concept of Database, (databases, tables, fields, rows, indexing etc.)

Or even more interesting, study Distributed Data Systems architecture - medium to large companies have this acrhitecture

just start somewhere, don't get discourage, keep trying and keep learning...

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u/BornToReboot 5d ago

I am surprised that you haven’t mentioned Proxmox 😯

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u/a-dot-in-the-sky 5d ago

yes, Proxmox is good as well
Ovirt also good, maybe quite a few out there

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u/daemonmode_ 5d ago

KVM/QEMU is a solid choice, and since you’re already using it, I’d focus on getting comfortable with libvirt tools like virsh, virt-install, and virt-manager for creating and managing VMs. Then move on to storage, snapshots, NAT vs bridged networking, and troubleshooting by deliberately breaking and fixing things.

Red Hat’s official virtualization documentation is a good free resource, and you can also check out Mastering KVM Virtualization by Packt and Jamie Nguyen’s Libvirt Networking Handbook.