From Clicks to Kernels: Why I Started My DevOps Journey with Linux

An operating system is the silent engine behind everything you do on a computer — whether you're watching Netflix, coding an app, or spinning up servers in the cloud. It acts as a bridge between the user and the hardware, managing memory, processes, input/output, and file systems.

Think of it as the conductor of an orchestra, making sure every instrument (hardware) plays its part in harmony.

Different users need different tools. Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common OSes in the wild:

Operating System	Typical Users	Use Case Highlights
Windows	General consumers, gamers	Easy UI, broad hardware compatibility
macOS	Creatives, designers, Apple fans	Premium UI/UX, great for design and multimedia
Linux	Developers, sysadmins, DevOps	Customizable, powerful, open-source, terminal-centric
Android	Mobile users, OEMs	Built on Linux, used on 70%+ mobile devices
iOS	Mobile Apple users	Tight Apple ecosystem integration

Meet Linux: The Powerhouse Underneath

Linux isn’t a single OS — it’s a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, created by Linus Torvalds in 1991. It began as a hobby project, born out of curiosity and frustration with expensive Unix systems, and ended up changing the world.

"Just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like GNU..." – Linus (famously underestimated himself)

What started as a side project now powers:

• 96% of the world’s top 1 million web servers

• 100% of the top 500 supercomputers

• Most Android devices

• Nearly every cloud environment you can think of

Why Developers & DevOps Pros Love Linux

Here's why Linux is the darling of tech professionals:

• Open Source: You can view, modify, and share the code freely.

• Customizable: Minimal installs or full desktop environments — your choice.

• Stable & Secure: Used for critical systems worldwide.

• Command Line First: Automate and control everything.

• Community Driven: Massive global support and documentation.

• Cloud Native: Almost every cloud-native tool runs best on Linux.

Linux isn’t just an option; for backend systems, DevOps pipelines, and production servers — it’s the option.

Why Learning Linux Matters Today

If you're pursuing a career in:

• Cloud Computing

• DevOps or SRE

• Cybersecurity

• Backend Development

• Data Engineering

Then Linux is your foundational skill. Mastering Linux means you can:

• Navigate any server

• Debug infrastructure issues

• Automate processes with shell scripts

• Deploy production-ready systems

It’s the bedrock for nearly every tool you'll encounter in your DevOps journey — from Docker to Kubernetes to Terraform.

My Why: The Journey Begins

I started this blog — Code, Cloud & Coffee — not just to learn, but to build in public. I believe learning is best when it’s shared, and every line of code or bash command I master is a step toward the DevOps engineer I aspire to become.

Linux isn’t just a skill for me — it’s a mindset. A way to understand how things work under the hood. And this article is just the chapter one.

So, if you're a student, a self-learner, or even an industry leader curious about my progress — welcome aboard. Let’s brew some code and build the cloud, one shell command at a time.

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