# Is there EDX/Coursera style courses to learn FreeBSD?



## UTp74moh (Dec 12, 2017)

Linux foundation makes courses on EDX. I wonder is there any FreeBSD courses available..


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## herrbischoff (Dec 12, 2017)

Not that I know of. But working through the FreeBSD Handbook should get you up to speed. I know because it helped/helps me tremendously.

Since FreeBSD is different from Linux in the respect that it is a full operating system plus ports collection as opposed to a kernel with a collection of packages, it is possible to have a comprehensive manual detailing its usage.


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## SirDice (Dec 12, 2017)

Not sure about courses, but you can get certified: http://www.bsdcertification.org/


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## herrbischoff (Dec 12, 2017)

Apparently there's study materials on DVD available: http://www.bsdcertification.org/store


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## spython01 (Dec 13, 2017)

I've been meaning to ask the same thing here as well.  In fact, I actually signed up for a one year subscription to Linux Academy so that I could at least learn those concepts such as as SSH, command line that are common across Linux and BSD but quickly lost patience with going through all of the videos.

I've also tried going through the Handbook as others have suggested but again, it's tough for me to read it "cover to cover" if I'm not putting any of it to practice.

That's when I decided to just take the plunge and just spin up a FreeBSD VPS to see if I could learn to manage it.  I'm not a systems administrator, developer or computer science major but just someone who likes to tinker.  There are a lot of great tutorials on the web that show you how to do some basic administration tasks such as securing your system, installing a web server, configuring a firewall, etc.  When I get stuck, I do refer back to the Handbook.

I've been taking notes as I go along and my plan is to use a simple FreeBSD server to host a simple blog that stores my documentation for future reference.


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## SirDice (Dec 13, 2017)

spython01 said:


> That's when I decided to just take the plunge and just spin up a FreeBSD VPS to see if I could learn to manage it.


The best way to learn things is just doing it. Make mistakes, learn from them, try again, make some more mistakes, learn some more, etc. 


spython01 said:


> There are a lot of great tutorials on the web that show you how to do some basic administration tasks such as securing your system, installing a web server, configuring a firewall, etc.


Set yourself a goal, setting up a web server for example. Then just give it a try. You'll eventually get the hang of things and it will get easier and easier to more you do it.


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## sko (Dec 13, 2017)

I can recommend the Video course Introduction to the FreeBSD Open-Source Operating System by Marshal Kirk McKusick. Its a good jump-start to get the overall concept and key features covered.
Also a very good read for some more in-depth knowledge about FreeBSD is "The Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD Operating System" by Neville-Neil, Watson and McKusick.
Another good book to get started (and also to look up things you haven't touched for a while) is "Absolute FreeBSD" by Michael W. Lucas - an updated 3rd edition is currently in the making!

As for every OS/Technology: nothing can beat real life hands-on experience. Try everything and don't ever fall into the habit of using copy&paste how-tos that are relatively common for Linux nowadays. FreeBSD as a UNIX descendant follows in its tradition of well written manual pages - learn to use them whenever you hit a problem as this is the only resource you will have available when things go south and everyone is yelling at you.
The FreeBSD Handbook or courses/books like the already mentioned ones can initially get you up to speed and grasp the overall layout of the OS or some services, but the nitty-gritty details for the specific tools/services and parts of the OS you'll need in a production environment can never be covered in every aspect by a comprehensive Handbook.


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## herrbischoff (Dec 13, 2017)

spython01 said:


> I've been taking notes as I go along and my plan is to use a simple FreeBSD server to host a simple blog that stores my documentation for future reference.



That sounds like an exceedingly good plan. Doing the stuff you want to do by learning how to do it, applying it in practice and providing resources for yourself later and possibly others along the way.


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## balanga (Dec 14, 2017)

spython01 said:


> Touthere are a lot of great tutorials on the web that show you how to do some basic administration tasks such as securing your system, installing a web server, configuring a firewall, etc.  When I get stuck, I do refer back to the Handbook.



There are lot of FreeBSD tutorials but one thing to be aware of is that FreeBSD has been around along time and keeps evolving so that a tutorial based on FreeBSD v6 may not work with v11. One annoying thing I've found is that there is often no date on a tutorial and no reference to which version of FreeBSD is being used. Many times guides are out of date... for example installing searching for how to install PostgreSQL on FreeBSD might lead you here which in turn will lead you here. A more uptodate guide can be found here.  This last link was out of date when I first tried to use it but luckily has now been updated. Thankfully this forum is usually spot on for resolving any difficulties.


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## SirDice (Dec 14, 2017)

Note that you don't need to look for tutorials specific to FreeBSD. Configuring Apache for example is exactly the same on Linux, Solaris, AIX, FreeBSD and even Windows. The only differences may be the exact location of the configuration files but that's easy enough to "translate". Pretty much everything else is not really depending on the OS it runs on.


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## vgk (Mar 9, 2019)

There is this http://teachbsd.org/ Not exactly a MOOC course, but really good material created by _Robert N. M. Watson_ and _George V. Neville-Neil_


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## Frenchy_SG (Sep 18, 2022)

I liked the following resources (On top of the FreeBSD Handbook):

Absolute FreeBSD, 3rd Edition <https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/absolute-freebsd-3rd/9781492069430/>
Essentials of UNIX Administration with FreeBSD 12.1 <https://learning.oreilly.com/videos/essentials-of-unix/9781801076784/>

Testing and relearning it on a Mac via UTM as a virtualiser.


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