[ale] How useful is Raspbian for Newbie Learning Linux?

[DJ-Pfulio]

On 1/9/21 1:59 PM, Mark Ogilvie via Ale wrote:
> Someone asked what my specific learning goals were. In a nutshell I
> am open to whatever career opportunities a knowledge of Linux will
> provide. At present I install and service workstations and point of
> sale machines, but sometimes need to help with servers. My lack of
> Linux skills is severely limiting my ability to help customers in
> this arena. I hope that Linux on my Raspberry Pi can help me
> accomplish most of the following:

In the Unix world, most enterprises have moved into virtualization, 
Linux containers, for everything that isn't a desktop. Using VMs to 
learn is extremely common.  Unfortunately, a raspberry pi isn't 
sufficient for this ... er ... yet.  You can use linux containers 
on any Pi or any Linux system with a kernel from the last 10 yrs.

Raspberry pi hardware is great for learning everything except how to 
deal with x86 booting and real hardware issues. 
You'll not learn how to troubleshoot boot issues on a pi. 
You'll not have compatibility issues with stupid things like 
printers, scanners, microphones, webcams.
You won't use enterprise storage tools like LVM or ZFS on a PI. These 
are basic skills for an Admin with 1+ yr of experience.  You can fake 
all these things using a virtual machine or 5.

The lowest end Intel/AMD CPU will blow away performance compared to 
a raspberry-pi. Pis are useful for all sorts of things, including 
beginning CLI learning, but you won't see racks and racks of servers
all with raspberry-pi hardware. $300 in AMD/Intel desktop hardware 
can probably run 10 Linux VMs, so you can practice communicating 
between Linux systems, setting up NFS storage, running an identity 
management server, multiple web servers, media servers and use the 
r-pi as a silent playback system.

The options are nearly infinite.