The systemd Playbook: Learn by Doing
Master systemd the practical way—one lab at a time.
Are you tired of theory-heavy tutorials that leave you confused when it’s time to actually manage services on a Linux system?
Welcome to "systemd Playbook: Learn by Doing", a hands-on, text-based course designed to turn you into a confident systemd user through real-world scenarios and sample labs. You are not reading here, you are doing it and learning it.
Whether you're a Linux beginner trying to grasp system services or a sysadmin looking to level up your systemd knowledge—this course will meet you where you are and take you deeper.
⏳ Time to complete: Approx. 8-12 hours (if you are doing it)
📋 Prerequisite: Understanding of Linux command line and system
🗒️ Type: Primarily text-based course
📚 What will you learn?
Module 1: Understanding systemd Core: Grasp the concepts of units, states, targets, and dependencies.
Module 2: Crafting Robust Unit Files: Write, modify, and debug unit files for services, sockets, timers, and paths.
Module 3: Mastering journalctl: Dig into advanced log filtering, persistent logs, and runtime analysis.
Module 4: Automating with Timers: Replace cron jobs with systemd timers for smarter, event-driven automation.
Module 5: Resource Management with cgroups: Use systemd to manage CPU, memory, and I/O limits via cgroup integration. Isolate and control services with ease.
Module 6: Networking with systemd-networkd: Learn how to configure static IPs, bridges, VLANs, and DHCP with systemd-networkd.
Module 7: Debugging & Troubleshooting systemd: Use built-in tools and boot options to diagnose startup failures. Practice troubleshooting with broken units, dependency issues, and journal logs.
Who is your instructor?
Bhuwan Mishra is a Fullstack developer, with Python and Go as his tools of choice. He takes pride in building and securing web applications, APIs, and CI/CD pipelines, as well as tuning servers for optimal performance. He also has a passion for working with Kubernetes.
How to use this course?
This course is available only for Pro members of Linux Handbook. If you are not a Pro member yet, sign up here and you'll access all our premium courses as long as your subscription is active.
Throughout this course, you will gain practical skills through hands-on exercises, and real-world scenarios.
The best approach here would be to follow the instructions and commands on your Linux system installed in a virtual machine or a dedicated test machine.
By the end, you'll have the knowledge and confidence to manage your Linux system more effectively using systemdl.
Team LHB indicates the effort of a single or multiple members of the core Linux Handbook team.