bootloader, the initramfs, the boot procedure, systemd, PID 1, you can check the logs, you have all those little things that make the system work […] it’s all dandy… if I have a problem with a program I can usually debug it, check its logs, and get it to run.

I find it very safe to say: forget it. You can never acquire such a completeness of understanding with a windows. It is too much, the parts are too different, and too obfuscated.

Look at it from the other side:
The fact that this level of knowlege is possible in Linux (which is decades old, too) is a result of the openness in “open source” and of the “keep it simple” principle there.

Windows is build deliberately in such a way that several different “windows” professionals are needed to keep all the threads together, and they all need to have paid for their “windows” education with their “windows” certificates etc. But none of them can go to such a depth in every part of it.

And if somebody objects here, and says, hey, even idiots can get these certificates, then I say, ok, what did you think for whom it is made.

I always enjoyed Mark Russinovich’s the case of the unexplained series:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/resources/webcasts

and yeah, everything is an object, and I see how that can be a nice idea, but man, does that force you to select properties of those objects like crazy. Is this really a good thing, once you have it figured out

This is like the only thing I actually like about PowerShell.

Work with Windows professionally for a few years.

Powershell supposedly is really great once you’ve understood how it’s structured.
I keep hearing it’s more logical and discoverable than Bash.
Maybe that’s true, I keep bouncing off it and getting frustrated. And when I try to read up on it, the explanations throw low level programming terms at me, which I’m too stupid to understand.

But modern Windows has one thing going for it, which makes it similar to Linux in concept:
Literally everything can be done with Powershell, and literally every config can be manipulated manually when you know where to look.

Configs are a bit strewn around the system, though. They can be in your user folder in AppData, or globally in C:\ProgramData or only in the Registry.
And some software says “Fuck all this” and puts them in C:\Program Files, C:\Program Files (x86) or even in an own directory on C:\ But that’s no different on Linux, really.

Then you can look at group policies, which are like an extended settings menu for thousands of things that aren’t in the GUI.
And since you can write your own group policies that set arbitrary Registry values, you can make Windows your bitch.

The main issue really is documentation. It either doesn’t exist, or it’s wrong, or only available to Microsoft employees.
So even if you have 10 years of experience in administering Windows systems, you’re still hunting through forums for answers.

The most important resource an experienced Windows admin can have is a list of bookmarks to trustworthy sysadmin blogs.

So, to recap: Windows is the Registry. If it reads a config file from somewhere, the path to that program file will be in the Registry. If you change a setting in the GUI, via Powershell, or a group policy, the setting will be saved in a Registry key. Unfortunately, many Registry keys are not legible by humans. And Regedit as a tool absolutely sucks.

please let me be the first facetious reply to your post. i’d say you should probably find God and start to pray.

if it serves the community, let’s please put all the jokes under here. it’s gonna be a long night

I am an IT technician, mainly focused on Windows, but I have also several years as a Linux sysadmin on my CV.

Now, you need to remember that Linux and Wondows have vastly different stratergies for how they work.

Linux, as you say, will allow you to view and service every part of it, as long as you know how, Windows on the other hand is more like a black box, you need to use special tools to get through the cover and access the information you may need.

Powershell is your friend, I have only written batchfiles, bash scripts and Powershell scripts for managing systems, and out of these I find Poweshell the easiest.

365… Microsoft loves to hide settings in the web UI, there are plenty of settings you can only set through Powershell.

VSCode is the best editor for Powershell as far as I am concerned, I highly recommend that you use it.

It’s \ instead of /

Most stuff you can find answers on YouTube.

Windows key + R to run a command easily. (cmd for example is a bit like terminal.)

Eventvwr.msc is like your syslog I think. Most problems will show up there, even if they’re not problems at all. (common place to send scam targets as it looks scary.)

Services.msc to see what’s running in the background. (like systemctl I think, not sure.)

Task manager - Startup tab to turn off rubbish.

Msconfig as an easy way to see services, hiding Microsoft services, or to select safe mode etc.

Rstrui to bring up system restore - works sometimes if a machine is kaput.

Regedit in rare cases - a chonky place where most app and system settings live.

File sharing - need to share the files through the usual file sharing option, but also need to change folder permissions. If only one is changed, it won’t let you. Also ‘control panel’ network and sharing centre, advanced sharing settings, you can turn off password protected sharing for ease, but Microsoft periodically turns it back on.

Hope that helps a bit. Source: residential IT support for 20 years on Windows / Mac. Debian dabbler.

If the OS is a space shuttle then a Linux sysadmin is an engineer while a windows sysadmin is a pilot.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/browse/

This might help you but I doubt you’ll ever achieve the understanding you seek from windows. Windows is closed source and the inner workings will be guarded by microsoft. Microsoft seems to be all in on security through obscurity.

So short of getting a job a microsoft and gaining access to the source code I doubt there is anywhere that truly will satisfy this curiosity, unfortunately.

listen to the legends! Some knowledge isn’t documented well and is only passed down from father to son verbally.

I think it’s the same as with Linux, solving problems slowly gives you familiarity with the system and you start knowing where to look for things. Generally speaking, Windows is way more centralized than Linux.

Half of the things you listed for Linux are optional (selinux, networkmanager, systemd,…) and different distros (or different programs) use different solutions. I still remember moving from sysV init to systemd or from /var/log to journal, to give a few examples. To this day I can’t stand storing coredumps in the journal, although I understand the rationale behind it. You get the idea.

Same as with Linux, I started Windows admin with NT 4.0 so over time you learn things (and re-learn as needed) as you solve problems. There are sysadmin trainings that go a bit deeper. I like Mark Russinovich and his tools and books, you can look into them but it’s subjective.

I get you on everything being either disconnected or surface level, unfortunately it just comes with experience mostly (same way as on linux). There are some deeper courses and books into specific windows services like exchange and AD that willgive you deeper understanding of everything.

That’s a tough question and I don’t really have am answer.

But if it’s work related I’d look into finding a Windows SysAdmin course somewhere and ask my employer to pay for it, since it helps with your work.

A cheaper alternative would be online courses. I found Udemy quite helpful in that regard.

Another possibility is Microsoft Learn, which offers basic to professional “Learning paths” you can do on your own time. There’s also a SysAdmin certification available if I recall correctly.

Edit, since I just reread your post: Microsoft Learn is almost completely about Azure. So you should really take a look at it.