[0] RHCSA & RHCE Training and Exam Preparation Guide by Asghar Ghori. This book will help insure you know your stuff as your system engineer/administrator wise.
[1] A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editor and Shell Programming Third Edition. This book will cover the majority of what you would need and want to know when connecting to a remote linux system over ssh.
If you want to get under the hood and become an expert, the following books should help get you started:
[2] Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment
[3] The Linux Programming Interface: A Linux and UNIX System Programming Handbook
[4] Linux Kernel Development 3rd Edition
To get a nice general overview and get up and going quickly:
[5] How Linux works: What every superuser should know
[6] The Linux Command Line
[7] Python Crash Course
[8] Automate the boring stuff with Python. This is a great book to help you think about how to automate most of the repetitive things you will end up doing on a regular basis.
[0] https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-RHCE-Red-Enterprise-Linux/dp/14...
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Commands-Editors-Prog...
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Programming-UNIX-Environment...
[3] https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Programming-Interface-System-Ha...
[4] https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Kernel-Development-Robert-Love/...
[5] https://www.amazon.com/How-Linux-Works-Superuser-Should/dp/1...
[6] https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Command-Line-Complete-Introduct...
[7] https://www.amazon.com/Python-Crash-Course-Hands-Project-Bas...
[8] https://www.amazon.com/Automate-Boring-Stuff-Python-Programm...
It's awesome. I have a library stacked full of software and CS books. Maybe try to get your bachelors at night? I got my master's at night while working.
This is a craft. If you want to be an expert, train like an expert. Realize 3 months of a bootcamp isn't going to cut it, not at least until you've been working for 4, 6, 8 years.
If you can't tell me what inter process communication is, what it's used for, pipes, signals, etc. then I think you have some pretty big gaps in knowledge that preclude you from being an expert at this point.
http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Kernel-Development-3rd-Edition/d...
I personally wouldn't mess with the VM settings the way the author suggests. I don't remember doing that eight years ago anyway even with less RAM on a desktop. On a server you want the working set to fit in RAM anyway and the page cache is already pretty smart.
The best resource is a general kernel book: http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Kernel-Development-3rd-Edition/d...
in terms of the interaction between memory, the cpu, and virtual memory What every Programmer should know about memory should be required reading: http://www.akkadia.org/drepper/cpumemory.pdf
--Computer Organization--:
Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Systems-Programmers-Randal-Br...
I liked this much better than Computer Organization and Design by Patterson and Hennessy which everyone has encountered at some point. The developer-centric view was very cool.
--Computer Security--:
Kernel Exploitation: Attacking the Core http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Kernel-Exploitation-Attacking-Co...
Most 'hacking' books are goofy. This one is very good and doubles nicely as a hackers operating systems text.
Web Application Hackers Handbook http://www.amazon.com/Web-Application-Hackers-Handbook-Disco...
Very nice overview for web concerns.
--Operating Systems-:
Operating System Design and Implementation http://www.amazon.com/Operating-Systems-Design-Implementatio...
I don't agree with Tanenbaum's views on micro vs. monolithic kernels but this book is a great mix of theory and implementation.
Linux Kernel Devleopment http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Kernel-Development-Robert-Love/d...
I used this to get a feel for the monolithic implementations of topics covered by Tanenbaum.
--Networking--:
TCP/IP Illustrated Series. More than you would ever want to know.
