Docker simplifies application deployment by packaging software into containers. Here is a practical guide to get started with Docker on Linux.

## Installation

Install Docker on Ubuntu with the official script: curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh. After installation add your user to the docker group with usermod -aG docker $USER to run commands without sudo.

## Basic Commands

Use docker ps to list running containers and docker ps -a to see all containers including stopped ones. Remove unused containers with docker rm followed by the container ID.

Nginx is one of the most popular web servers in the world. Proper tuning can significantly improve performance and reliability.

## Worker Processes

Set worker\_processes to auto in /etc/nginx/nginx.conf. This automatically matches the number of CPU cores available on your server.

Increase worker\_connections to 1024 or higher under the events block. This defines how many simultaneous connections each worker can handle.

## Caching

Enable gzip compression to reduce bandwidth. Add gzip on; and gzip\_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript; to your config.

Managing a Linux server efficiently requires knowing the right tools and commands. Here are some essential tips for server administrators.

## System Monitoring

Use htop instead of top for a better overview of running processes. Install it with apt install htop. The tool shows CPU, memory usage and allows killing processes interactively.

Check disk usage regularly with df -h to see human-readable sizes. For directory-level usage, du -sh /var/\* gives a quick breakdown.