this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2023
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Thanks a lot! The issue is that linux is very complex with many aspects and I am not pro lol. Like niceness, I've heard of it and seen it in htop, but idk if the settings are correct. There's so many programs, daemons, software, and actual hardware, idk where to start exploring and tuning the system myself. Its very overwhelming, so I figured maybe some of the tools I listed may help. For instance, I'll spend hours And hours trying to understand logs or reading tutorials to help check for and fix errors or problems or broken things or misconfigured things but I just get lost and none of it makes sense. Like I'll read an error line in a log, but I have no clue what it means. I'll google it and sometimes try solutions, but even then, a lot of that is confusing and leads me down other rabbit holes too lol. Its vicious really... So needless to say, I have no idea where or how to start properly fixing or tuning things myself yet alone pinpoint actual issues. Its tricky but I've gotten better over the years, usually trial and error
Usually tools that people make to help people get stuff working properly when they are new is all about constraining the system to be set up right in the first place, rather than tuning or fixing it later. Rather than starting with a distro that needs a lot of fiddling and getting a tool to fiddle with it for you, you want to look for a distro that is designed to set itself up in a sensible configuration when you install it.
See thats one thing I've been weary about as well. I mean every computer is different so I figure just a fresh, default install won't necessarily mean the system is configured and running properly simply due to the nature of all the different hardware and bits and bobs for each setup. How am I supposed to know if things are configured and working properly even after a fresh install? Linux really is a beast with so many aspects
Usually the parts that would need some optimization, like, say, using the CPU features properly, are things that are shared with a bunch of other people, and so good support for them makes it into the mainline kernel and from there to everybody.
If you think you have an unusual or super new system, you can look for a way to run newer or specially-optimized-for-your-hardware kernel builds. Or you can always get into compiling the kernel or other system components with the right optimizations or go-faster stripes for exactly your machine: Gentoo people like to do that.