u/broken_py

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for guidance and resource recommendations to learn VMware vSphere from scratch to administration level.

Specifically, I want to learn:

• ESXi installation
• vCenter Server setup and configuration
• Networking (vSwitch, distributed switch basics)
• Storage (datastores, iSCSI/NFS basics)
• Cluster features (HA, DRS, vMotion)
• Day-to-day vSphere administration

What I’m looking for:

I would really appreciate if anyone can suggest:

• Good YouTube playlists (beginner → advanced)
• Any structured courses or lab-based learning series
• Any books worth reading (even if slightly older but conceptually strong)
• Hands-on lab setups or home lab guides

I’ve seen a lot of scattered videos online, but I’m looking for something structured and practical, ideally covering a full vSphere environment end-to-end.

https://preview.redd.it/ykr3bxlkio0h1.png?width=711&format=png&auto=webp&s=a8aee155d669b995a0a601b57d03a8861946842f

https://preview.redd.it/qiloxnzoio0h1.png?width=722&format=png&auto=webp&s=8be8c096bd55e1816d10b617920426277f3cbcda

I’m setting up a Linux system user (devuser) with sudo privileges for basic system administration tasks, but I want to restrict them from changing the root password.

Here is my current sudoers configuration in /etc/sudoers.d/devuser:

Cmnd_Alias SYSOPS = /usr/bin/dnf, /usr/bin/systemctl, /usr/bin/journalctl, /usr/bin/ping, /usr/bin/curl, /bin/su

Cmnd_Alias PASSWD = /usr/bin/passwd

devuser ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: SYSOPS, !PASSWD

What I want to achieve:

• Allow devuser to run basic admin commands (dnf, systemctl, logs, networking tools, etc.)
• Prevent devuser from changing the root password using passwd root or similar methods

What I’ve tried:

• Avoiding passwd in allowed commands
• Trying to explicitly block it with !passwd, but it doesn’t seem working
• Various sudoers configurations, but the restriction are not enforced

Any guidance or best practices would be appreciated.

I’ve been working as a Linux sysadmin for a while now .I want to start contributing to open source projects—but not just through application code. I’m especially interested in contributing from a sysadmin/DevOps perspective.

I’d love to hear from others who are already doing this:

• How did you get started contributing as a sysadmin/DevOps engineer?

• Are there specific types of projects that are more open to infra/ops contributions?

• How do you identify repos that actually belong DevOps/sysadmin domain?

Any tips for making meaningful contributions without deep involvement in the core codebase?

Also, if you maintain or contribute to any projects that welcome DevOps/sysadmin contributions, I’d really appreciate recommendations.