Well, I am a rails developer. I was deploying one of my apps into slice host vps. I found it damn hard to understand and configure my server. It was time consuming.
So I want to spend time on web server and other linux based server management things to speed up my work. You can tell that I am moderate unix user (mac user btw) and I am totally a beginner in apache and other server related tools.
Please point me very good concept oriented books/resources :) thanks
Slicehost, which you are using, has a bunch of great articles written as HOWTOs for novice to intermediate users. Run through some of those guides, play around, and ask questions on sites like this one. The more you play, the more you learn.
Did you have a specific reason for choosing a full-on VPS? I am not a professional Rails developer, but I have friends/colleagues who do Rails projects for a living, and they have been deploying clients' sites on Heroku for quite a while now.
Heroku is designed specifically for Rails projects, so they provide and maintain exactly the foundation you need, without forcing you to get involved in the details of systems administration. You get to focus your energy on nurturing your first love (Rails development) instead of getting distracted by a half-hearted affair with sysadmin work.
I understand that Heroku also tends to be quite a bit less expensive than a comparably powerful VPS. Their entry-level "Blossom" account, which is adequate for most development/test purposes (and even works fine for long-term hosting of very lightly visited Rails sites), is entirely free.
