01 · FoundationsLab 2 / 59
Challengelinux
Linux Processes, Services & Logs — Challenge
Find the process, read what it actually said, and restore a service that will not start.
- Time
- 22 min
- Level
- Beginner
- Objectives
- 4 objectives
- Cost
- Free
Where this fits in the platform
Already built
This lab adds
- The ability to find why a service died
Which lets you
Before you start
You will need
- Linux with systemd
- sudo access
You do not need these already — the lab environment below provides them.
You will be able to
- Locate a process by port, name or open file
- Read a service's own logs rather than guessing from its status
- Tell a crash apart from a configuration error
Cost — Free
— any Linux machine, VM or container.
The goal#
Achieve the same outcome as Linux Processes, Services & Logs, from an empty starting point, without the steps.
A service is down. systemctl status says failed, which tells you that it failed and nothing about why.
This lab builds the sequence that gets from that word to the cause.
Hands-on environment
Run this lab in a real terminal, free and in your browser. The environment is temporary and yours alone — break it as much as you like.
Start the challengeOpens in Killercoda, in a new tab — keep this page open for the steps.
This is the guided lab's environment — the same machine, with its walkthrough on the left. Work from the task above and leave those steps alone until you are done, or you are reading the answers.
Run it on your own machine
Run this lab on your own machine. One command starts the environment, with everything the lab needs already installed:
You will need:
- bash
git clone https://github.com/EgyKode/EgyKode-lab.git
cd EgyKode-lab
./egykode start
./egykode shell
ssh node1You need Docker and Git installed. Everything else runs inside the environment. The first start downloads it and takes a few minutes; later starts are seconds.
Not sure what you already have? Run: npm run doctor — it checks and changes nothing.
Anything you tick here is your own record. EgyKode cannot see inside that terminal, so the success criteria stay self-assessed even when the environment checks your work for you.
What must be true when you are done
Step 1 of 3
What must be true when you are done#
- You can name the PID holding a given port, and the command that told you.
- You can show the last 50 log lines for one service without reading the whole journal.
- A deliberately broken service is diagnosed from its logs and restored.
- You can explain the difference between
failed,inactiveandactivating.
Rules#
- Do not open the guided lab until you are finished, or until the same problem has held you up for 20 minutes.
- Documentation is allowed and encouraged.
- Verify every criterion with a command whose output you can read.
If you get stuck#
- What did you expect, exactly?
- What happened instead — the error text, not a paraphrase?
- Which layer is that error from?
- What is the smallest command that proves the layer below is fine?
You are done when
0 of 4
The concept behind it
Next up
Lab 2 of 59 on the project path