Here's a short checklist sorta thing in no particular order. 1. Go get Nemeth's Linux Sysadmin Handbook. Read it and learn the tricks of the trade. 2. I canno

Here's a short checklist sorta thing in no particular order. 1. Go get Nemeth's Linux Sysadmin Handbook. Read it and learn the tricks of the trade. 2. I cannot stress this enough, get a desktop with the exact Linux distro you put up. You never know what you'll learn just working in it day by day. 3. Pick up Sobell's book on the Linux shells. Running a VPS means learning the in's and out's of the shell. 4. Learn about the Apache server if you are using it (or another web server), everything you can get your hands on. Get to know how and at what access level is it running. What its config files are, what tweak goes in it. If you're an avid reader, go get the Apache Cookbook. 5. Make, make, make backups along checkpoints. 6. Don't fear the IRC. Sometimes even just listening in on some channels like where Slicehost is discussed, you'll pick up a lot. 7. Use 'info' where available. And read up on bugtraq if you have the time. 8. Tweak/tune one thing at a time. Starting with the things you know best. Take a backup at each step.