LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference

by Adam Haeder, Stephen Schneiter, James Stanger, Bruno Pessanha

Overview

Linux deployment continues to increase, and so does the demand for qualified and certified Linux system administrators. If you're seeking a job-based certification from the Linux Professional Institute (LPI), this updated guide will help you prepare for the technically challenging LPIC Level 1 Exams 101 and 102.

The third edition of this book is a meticulously researched reference to these exams, written by trainers who work closely with LPI. You'll find an overview of each exam, a summary of the core skills you need, review questions and exercises, as well as a study guide, a practice test, and hints to help you focus.

Major topics include:

• Critical GNU and Unix commands
• Linux installation and package management
• Devices and filesystems
• Text editing, processing, and printing
• The X Window System
• Networking and security
• Mail transfer agents
• Email, FTP, and web services

These exams are for junior to mid-level Linux administrators with about two years of practical system administration experience. You should be comfortable with Linux at the command line and capable of performing simple tasks, including system installation and troubleshooting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780596804879
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	06/29/2010
Series:	In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	499
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

As the Vice President of Information Technology for the AIM Institute, Adam Haeder's responsibilities include management of the IT department and all related technology ventures. He has been the lead instructor in AIM's Cisco Regional Networking Academy and is the Vice President of the Omaha Linux Users Group. Adam has written books about the IT job market and Linux certification. He serves on the technology advisory councils of Omaha Public Schools, Millard Public Schools, the University of Nebraska Lincoln and Omaha campuses, and the Linux Professional Institute. Adam has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of South Dakota.

Stephen Schneiter is currently the Certification Specialist with Certification Partners, LLC, having been with the company since 2005. Previously, Stephen was a tenured faculty member at the Tennessee Technology Center in Harriman for nine years. Stephen's wide range of expertise includes web-focused customer service, teaching post-secondary students, working with instructors one-on-one, network management and security issues working with Microsoft Windows and Linux, and web site development. Stephen is an effective and talented instructor internationally, and his attributes have lead to his participation in numerous national conference presentations and the coordination of the 2007 and 2008 Certified Internet Web Professional (CIW) National Conferences. Stephen serves on the Advisory Boards of several academic institutions, and lives with his wife and daughter on a their small farm in east Tennessee.

James Stanger is an accomplished Web technologist, educator, writer,
open source advocate, and security consultant. Active in the IT
certification community for nearly twenty years, he is currently
President and Chief Certification Architect for Certification Partners
LLC, owners of the CIW (Certified Web Professional) and CTP
(Convergence Technologies Professional) certifications.



James currently serves as Chair of the Linux Professional Institute
(LPI) Advisory Council, and also works on the CompTIA Network+ and
Server+ advisory committees. He also serves on advisory councils for
Kaplan University, American Public UniversitySystem (APUS), MidSouth
Community College, Snow College, and others. Over the years, he has helped design certifications and curriculum for IBM, Symantec,
CompTIA, and the Telephony Industry Association (TIA).



An award-winning author and blogger, Dr. Stanger has written titles for O'Reilly, McGraw-Hill, Wiley, and Elsevier Press. His writings have been translated into over a dozen languages. As of April 2010,
Linux Pro Magazine, the premier resource for Linux administrators in the world, has asked Dr. Stanger to be a regular columnist. He has also spent the last two decades writing, lecturing and consulting worldwide about Web design, e-commerce, network security,
convergence/VoIP, open source, and Linux system administration.



An in-demand speaker and consultant, Dr. Stanger has presented in venues across the world, from San Francisco to Edinburgh, Tokyo and
Beijing. He received his PhD in English from the University of
California at Riverside in 1997. He lives and plays near the Puget
Sound in Washington State. For more information about Dr. Stanger, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stanger.

Bruno Gomes Pessanha has been a collaborating translator for the Linux Professional Institute since 2002. He also worked as a consulting analyst for a Brazilian government petroleum enterprise, covering Linux migration and initiatives and administering high-end performance projects, high availability clusters, and mission critical services. He currently lives with his family in Amsterdam.

Table of Contents

Preface; The Linux Professional Institute; Audience for This Book; Organization; Conventions Used in This Book; Using Code Examples; How to Contact Us; Safari® Books Online; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1: LPI Exams; Chapter 2: Exam 101 Study Guide; 2.1 Exam Preparation; Chapter 3: System Architecture (Topic 101.1); 3.1 Objective 1: Determine and Configure Hardware Settings; Chapter 4: Change Runlevels and Shut Down or Reboot System (Topics 101.2 and 101.3); 4.1 Objective 2: Boot the System; 4.2 Objective 3: Change Runlevels and Shut Down or Reboot System; Chapter 5: Linux Installation and Package Management (Topic 102); 5.1 Objective 1: Design a Hard Disk Layout; 5.2 Objective 2: Install a Boot Manager; 5.3 Objective 3: Manage Shared Libraries; 5.4 Objective 4: Use Debian Package Management; 5.5 Objective 5: Use Red Hat Package Manager (RPM); Chapter 6: GNU and Unix Commands (Topic 103); 6.1 Objective 1: Work on the Command Line; 6.2 Objective 2: Process Text Streams Using Filters; 6.3 Objective 3: Perform Basic File Management; 6.4 Objective 4: Use Streams, Pipes, and Redirects; 6.5 Objective 5: Create, Monitor, and Kill Processes; 6.6 Objective 6: Modify Process Execution Priorities; 6.7 Objective 7: Search Text Files Using Regular Expressions; 6.8 Objective 8: Perform Basic File Editing Operations Using vi; Chapter 7: Devices, Linux Filesystems, and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (Topic 104); 7.1 Objective 1: Create Partitions and Filesystems; 7.2 Objective 2: Maintain the Integrity of Filesystems; 7.3 Objective 3: Control Filesystem Mounting and Unmounting; 7.4 Objective 4: Set and View Disk Quotas; 7.5 Objective 5: Manage File Permissions and Ownership; 7.6 Objective 6: Create and Change Hard and Symbolic Links; 7.7 Objective 7: Find System Files and Place Files in the Correct Location; Chapter 8: Exam 101 Review Questions and Exercises; 8.1 System Architecture (Topic 101); 8.2 Linux Installation and Package Management (Topic 102); 8.3 GNU and Unix Commands (Topic 103); 8.4 Devices, Linux Filesystems, and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (Topic 104); Chapter 9: Exam 101 Practice Test; 9.1 Questions; 9.2 Answers; Chapter 10: Exam 101 Highlighter’s Index; 10.1 System Architecture; 10.2 Linux Installation and Package Management; 10.3 GNU and Unix Commands; 10.4 Devices, Linux Filesystems, and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard; Chapter 11: Exam 102 Overview; Chapter 12: Exam 102 Study Guide; 12.1 Exam Preparation; Chapter 13: Shells, Scripting, and Data Management (Topic 105); 13.1 Objective 1: Customize and Use the Shell Environment; 13.2 Objective 2: Customize or Write Simple Scripts; 13.3 Objective 3: SQL Data Management; Chapter 14: The X Window System (Topic 106); 14.1 An Overview of X; 14.2 Objective 1: Install and Configure X11; 14.3 Objective 2: Set Up a Display Manager; 14.4 Objective 3: Accessibility; Chapter 15: Administrative Tasks (Topic 107); 15.1 Objective 1: Manage User and Group Accounts and Related System Files; 15.2 Objective 2: Automate System Administration Tasks by Scheduling Jobs; 15.3 Objective 3: Localization and Internationalization; Chapter 16: Essential System Services (Topics 108.1 and 108.2); 16.1 Objective 1: Maintain System Time; 16.2 Objective 2: System Logging; Chapter 17: Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) Basics (Topic 108.3); 17.1 Objective 3: Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) Basics; Chapter 18: Manage Printers and Printing (Topic 108.4); 18.1 Objective 4: Manage Printers and Printing; 18.2 An Overview of Printing; 18.3 Troubleshooting General Printing Problems; Chapter 19: Networking Fundamentals (Topic 109.1); 19.1 Objective 1: Fundamentals of Internet Protocols; Chapter 20: Basic Network Configuration (Topics 109.2 and 109.4); 20.1 Objective 2: Basic Network Configuration and Objective 4: Configuring Client Side DNS; Chapter 21: Basic Network Troubleshooting (Topic 109.3); 21.1 Objective 3: Basic Network Troubleshooting; 21.2 ; Chapter 22: Security (Topic 110.1); 22.1 Objective 1: Perform Security Administration Tasks; Chapter 23: Set Up Host Security (Topic 110.2); 23.1 Objective 2: Set Up Host Security; Chapter 24: Securing Data with Encryption (Topic 110.3); 24.1 Objective 3: Securing Data With Encryption; 24.2 Using Secure Shell (SSH); 24.3 DSA and RSA Overview; 24.4 Configuring OpenSSH; 24.5 Configuring and Using GNU Privacy Guard (GPG); Chapter 25: Exam 102 Review Questions and Exercises; 25.1 Shells, Scripting, and Data Management (Topic 105); 25.2 The X Window System (Topic 106); 25.3 Administrative Tasks (Topic 107); 25.4 Essential System Services (Topic 108); 25.5 Networking Fundamentals (Topic 109); 25.6 Security (Topic 110); Chapter 26: Exam 102 Practice Test; 26.1 Questions; 26.2 Answers; Chapter 27: Exam 102 Highlighter’s Index; 27.1 Shells, Scripting, and Data Management; 27.2 The X Window System; 27.3 Administrative Tasks; 27.4 Essential System Services; 27.5 Networking Fundamentals; 27.6 Security; Colophon;