Battle of the Certifications: LPIC-1 or LPIC-2 for Your IT Career?

In the ever-evolving world of Information Technology, certifications have become a crucial metric for showcasing skills and advancing careers. Among the myriad of options available, the Linux Professional Institute Certifications (LPIC) stand out, particularly the LPIC-1 and LPIC-2. This article delves into the nuances of these certifications, providing a comprehensive comparison to help you decide which certification aligns best with your career aspirations.

Understanding LPIC-1 and LPIC-2

What is LPIC-1?

LPIC-1 is the entry-level certification offered by the Linux Professional Institute (LPI). It is designed to verify the candidate's ability to perform maintenance tasks on the command line, install and configure a computer running Linux, and configure basic networking.

Key Objectives of LPIC-1:

• System Architecture
• Linux Installation and Package Management
• GNU and Unix Commands
• Devices, Linux Filesystems, Filesystem Hierarchy Standard

Why Choose LPIC-1?

• Foundation Level: Perfect for beginners or those new to Linux.
• Core Skills: Covers essential Linux skills and commands.
• Market Demand: Recognized by employers globally, boosting entry-level job prospects.

What is LPIC-2?

LPIC-2 is the advanced level certification that targets professionals who are already familiar with the basics of Linux and wish to deepen their knowledge and skills. This certification focuses on the administration of small to medium-sized mixed networks.

Key Objectives of LPIC-2:

• Capacity Planning
• Linux Kernel
• System Startup
• Filesystem and Devices
• Advanced Storage Device Administration
• Network Configuration
• System Maintenance

Why Choose LPIC-2?

• Advanced Skills: Ideal for experienced professionals looking to specialize.
• Leadership Roles: Opens doors to higher-level positions in IT.
• Broad Scope: Covers advanced networking, security, and troubleshooting.

Comparative Analysis: LPIC-1 vs. LPIC-2

Skill Level and Prerequisites

LPIC-1 is designed for beginners. It requires no prior certification and serves as a stepping stone into the world of Linux administration.

LPIC-2, however, demands that candidates first obtain LPIC-1 certification. This ensures that they possess a solid foundational understanding of Linux before tackling more complex concepts.

Curriculum and Content Depth

LPIC-1:

• Focuses on basic system administration.
• Includes topics like file management, scripting, and basic networking.
• Emphasizes understanding and using command-line tools.

LPIC-2:

• Delves deeper into system and network administration.
• Covers advanced topics such as kernel configuration, system recovery, and network troubleshooting.
• Requires a solid grasp of Linux fundamentals, as it builds on the concepts learned in LPIC-1.

Career Impact

LPIC-1:

• Ideal for entry-level positions such as Linux Administrator, Junior System Administrator, or IT Support Specialist.
• Provides a strong foundation for further certifications and specializations.

LPIC-2:

• Suitable for more advanced roles like Linux Engineer, Network Administrator, or Senior System Administrator.
• Enhances prospects for leadership and specialized positions within the IT industry.

Exam Structure

LPIC-1:

• Consists of two exams: 101-500 and 102-500.
• Each exam covers specific topics within the overall curriculum.
• Exam format includes multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions.

LPIC-2:

• Also consists of two exams: 201-450 and 202-450.
• These exams are more challenging and require a deeper understanding of Linux systems.
• Similar format to LPIC-1 but with more complex scenarios.

Deciding Between LPIC-1 and LPIC-2

For Beginners and New IT Professionals

If you are new to Linux or the IT field in general, LPIC-1 is the best starting point. It provides the essential knowledge and skills needed to understand and operate Linux systems. This certification is widely recognized and can significantly enhance your resume, making you a more attractive candidate for entry-level IT positions.

For Experienced IT Professionals

If you already possess a good understanding of Linux and have some hands-on experience, pursuing LPIC-2 can be highly beneficial. This certification not only validates your advanced skills but also prepares you for more complex and demanding roles in system and network administration.

For Career Advancement

Both certifications can serve as valuable milestones in your IT career. However, the choice depends on your current skill level and career goals. LPIC-1 is essential for building a solid foundation, while LPIC-2 is crucial for those aiming to advance to higher positions and take on more responsibilities.

Conclusion

Choosing between LPIC-1 and LPIC-2 depends largely on where you are in your career and what your professional goals are. LPIC-1 offers a strong entry point into the Linux administration field, providing essential skills and knowledge that can open doors to a variety of IT roles. On the other hand, LPIC-2 caters to professionals looking to deepen their expertise and take on more advanced roles in the industry.

Ultimately, both certifications are valuable assets. They not only enhance your technical skills but also increase your marketability and career prospects. By understanding the differences and benefits of each certification, you can make an informed decision that aligns with your career aspirations and professional development goals.

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What is LPIC-1 Certification?

LPIC-1 (Linux Professional Institute Certification Level 1) is a globally recognized entry-level certification for Linux administrators. It validates their knowledge and skills in managing Linux systems, including installation, configuration, and maintenance. This article will provide a comprehensive guide to LPIC-1 certification, including its importance, eligibility requirements, exam details, preparation tips, and career opportunities.

Why is LPIC-1 Certification Important?

LPIC-1 certification demonstrates your proficiency in Linux system administration, making you a highly desirable candidate for various IT job roles. It serves as a benchmark for employers to measure your knowledge and skill level, providing you with a competitive edge in the job market. Furthermore, LPIC-1 certification enhances your credibility as a Linux professional, establishing you as a trusted expert in the field.

Eligibility Requirements for LPIC-1 Certification

There are no prerequisites for LPIC-1 certification. However, it is recommended that you have a basic understanding of Linux operating systems and fundamental command line operations before taking the exam. It is also advisable to have some practical experience working with Linux systems before attempting the certification.

Exam Details for LPIC-1 Certification

The LPIC-1 certification exam consists of two separate exams: Exam 101 and Exam 102. Each exam comprises 60 multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions, and you must score at least 500 out of 800 points to pass each exam. The exams are computer-based and last for 90 minutes each.

Exam 101 covers topics such as system architecture, Linux installation and package management, GNU and Unix commands, and devices, filesystems, and file-related commands. On the other hand, Exam 102 focuses on topics such as shell scripting, user interfaces and desktops, administrative tasks, essential system services, networking fundamentals, and security.

Preparation Tips for LPIC-1 Certification

To prepare for LPIC-1 certification, you need to have a thorough understanding of Linux system administration, including the topics covered in both exams. Here are some tips to help you prepare for the exams:

1. Familiarize yourself with Linux commands, including their syntax and options.

2. Install and practice using different Linux distributions to gain hands-on experience.

3. Join online Linux communities and forums to learn from experts and ask questions.

4. Use study materials, such as books, online courses, and practice exams, to test your knowledge and identify areas where you need improvement.

5. Practice time management skills to ensure you have enough time to answer all the exam questions.

Career Opportunities for LPIC-1 Certified Professionals

LPIC-1 certification opens up numerous career opportunities for Linux professionals. Some of the job roles that require LPIC-1 certification include Linux administrator, systems administrator, network administrator, DevOps engineer, and cloud engineer. Additionally, LPIC-1 certification can lead to higher-paying job roles, promotions, and increased job security.

Conclusion

LPIC-1 certification is an essential credential for Linux professionals seeking to advance their careers. It validates your knowledge and skills in Linux system administration, providing you with a competitive edge in the job market. To pass the certification exams, you need to have a thorough understanding of Linux commands, installation, configuration, and maintenance, among other topics. With LPIC-1 certification, you can pursue various job roles and enjoy higher pay and job security.

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Top 10 LPI Level 1 102-500 Dumps Questions

Recently we updated 102-500 dumps questions for your LPIC-1: Linux Administrator certification. We know that getting LPIC-1: Linux Administrator certification requires you to answer both 101-500 and 102-500 exams. Today, we updated 102-500 dumps questions also to ensure that you can complete the LPIC-1 certification.

1. Which command makes the shell variable named VARIABLE visible to subshells?

• export $VARIABLE
• export VARIABLE
• set $VARIABLE
• set VARIABLE
• env VARIABLE

2. Which of the following files, when existing, affect the behavior of the Bash shell? (Choose TWO correct answers.)

• ~/.bashconf
• ~/.bashrc
• ~/.bashdefaults
• ~/.bash_etc
• ~/.bash_profile

3. Which command allows you to make a shell variable visible to subshells?

• export $VARIABLE
• export VARIABLE
• set $VARIABLE
• set VARIABLE
• env VARIABLE

4. What is the purpose of the file /etc/profile?

• It contains the welcome message that is displayed after login.
• It contains security profiles defining which users are allowed to log in.
• It contains environment variables that are set when a user logs in.
• It contains default application profiles for users that run an application for the first time.

5. Which of the following are requirements in order to run a shell script like a regular command from anywhere in the filesystem? (Choose THREE correct answers.)

• The user issuing the command must be in the group script.
• The script file must be found in the $PAT
• The script file must have the executable permission bit set.
• The script must begin with a shebang-line (#!) that points to the correct interpreter.
• The file system on which the script resides must be mounted with the option scripts.

6. Which of the following words is used to restrict the records that are returned from a SELECT query based on a supplied criteria for the values in the records?

• LIMIT
• FROM
• WHERE
• IF

7. Which of the following configuration files should be modified to set default shell variables for all users?

• /etc/bashrc
• /etc/profile
• ~/.bash_profile
• /etc/.bashrc

8. Which of the following commands lists all defined variables and functions within Bash?

• env
• set
• env -a
• echo $ENV

9. When the command echo $$ outputs 12942, what is the meaning of 12942?

• It is the process ID of the echo command.
• It is the process ID of the current shell.
• It is the process ID of the last command executed.
• It is the process ID of the last command which has been placed in the background.

10. How can the existing environment variable FOOBAR be suppressed for the execution of the script./myscript only?

• unset -v FOOBAR;./myscript
• set -a FOOBAR="";./myscript
• env -u FOOBA
• /myscript
• env -i FOOBA
• /myscript

Source: dumpsbase.com

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LPI Level 1 102-500 Dumps Questions

Recently we updated 102-500 dumps questions for your LPIC-1: Linux Administrator certification. We know that getting LPIC-1: Linux Administrator certification requires you answer both 101-500 and 102-500 exams. Today, we updated 102-500 dumps questions also to ensure that you can complete the LPIC-1 certification.

1. Which command makes the shell variable named VARIABLE visible to subshells?

• export $VARIABLE
• export VARIABLE
• set $VARIABLE
• set VARIABLEwrong
• env VARIABLE

2. Which of the following files, when existing, affect the behavior of the Bash shell? (Choose TWO correct answers.)

• ~/.bashconf
• ~/.bashrc
• ~/.bashdefaultswrong
• ~/.bash_etc
• ~/.bash_profile

3. Which command allows you to make a shell variable visible to subshells?

• export $VARIABLE
• export VARIABLE
• set $VARIABLE
• set VARIABLEwrong
• env VARIABLE

4. What is the purpose of the file /etc/profile?

• It contains the welcome message that is displayed after login.
• It contains security profiles defining which users are allowed to log in.
• It contains environment variables that are set when a user logs in.
• It contains default application profiles for users that run an application for the first time.

5. Which of the following are requirements in order to run a shell script like a regular command from anywhere in the filesystem? (Choose THREE correct answers.)

• The user issuing the command must be in the group script.
• The script file must be found in the $PAT
• The script file must have the executable permission bit set.
• The script must begin with a shebang-line (#!) that points to the correct interpreter.wrong
• The file system on which the script resides must be mounted with the option scripts.

6. Which of the following words is used to restrict the records that are returned from a SELECT query based on a supplied criteria for the values in the records?

• LIMIT
• FROM
• WHERE
• IF

7. Which of the following configuration files should be modified to set default shell variables for all users?

• /etc/bashrc
• /etc/profile
• ~/.bash_profile
• /etc/.bashrc

8. Which of the following commands lists all defined variables and functions within Bash?

• env
• set
• env -a
• echo $ENV

9. When the command echo $$ outputs 12942, what is the meaning of 12942?

• It is the process ID of the echo command.
• It is the process ID of the current shell.
• It is the process ID of the last command executed.
• It is the process ID of the last command which has been placed in the background.

10. How can the existing environment variable FOOBAR be suppressed for the execution of the script./myscript only?

• unset -v FOOBAR;./myscript
• set -a FOOBAR="";./myscript
• env -u FOOBA
• /myscript
• env -i FOOBA
• /myscript

11. Which of the following words is used to restrict the records that are returned from a SELECT SQL query based on a supplied criteria for the values in the records?

• CASE
• FROM
• WHERE
• IF

12. Which of the following commands puts the output of the command date into the shell variable mydate?

• mydate="$(date)"
• mydate="exec date"
• mydate="$((date))"
• mydate="date"
• mydate="${date}"

13. You are looking into a new script you received from your senior administrator. In the very first line you notice a #! followed by a file path.

This indicates that:

• The file at that location was used to make the script.
• This script provides identical functionality as the file at that location.
• This script will self-extract into a file at that location.
• The program at that location will be used to process the script.

14. What keyword is missing from this code sample of a shell script?

____ i in *.txt; do

echo $i

done

• for
• loop
• until
• while

15. Which of the following SQL statements will select the fields name and address from the contacts table?

• SELECT (name, address) FROM contacts;
• SELECT (name address) FROM contacts;
• SELECT name, address FROM contacts;
• SELECT name address FROM contacts;

16. What output will the following command sequence produce?

echo '1 2 3 4 5 6' | while read a b c; do

echo result: $c $b $a;

done

• result: 3 4 5 6 2 1
• result: 1 2 3 4 5 6
• result: 6 5 4
• result: 6 5 4 3 2 1
• result: 3 2 1

17. Which of the following SQL queries counts the number of occurrences for each value of the field order_type in the table orders?

• SELECT order_type,COUNT(*) FROM orders WHERE order_type=order_type;
• SELECT order_type,COUNT(*) FROM orders GROUP BY order_type;
• COUNT(SELECT order_type FROM orders);
• SELECT COUNT(*) FROM orders ORDER BY order_type;
• SELECT AUTO_COUNT FROM orders COUNT order_type;

18. What benefit does an alias in bash provide?

• It provides faster lookups for commands in the system directory.
• It creates a local copy of a file from another directory.
• It hides what command you are running from others.
• It allows a string to be substituted for the first word of a simple command.

19. When the command echo $ outputs 1, which of the following statements is true?

• It is the process ID of the echo command.
• It is the process ID of the current shell.
• It is the exit value of the command executed immediately before echo.
• It is the exit value of the echo command.

20. What output will the following command produce?

seq 1 5 20

• 1 6 11 16
• 1 5 10 15
• 1 2 3 4
• 2 3 4 5
• 5 10 15 20

21. What output will the command seq 10 produce?

• A continuous stream of numbers increasing in increments of 10 until stopped.
• The numbers 1 through 10 with one number per line.
• The numbers 0 through 9 with one number per line.
• The number 10 to standard output.

22. What is the difference between the commands test -e path and test -f path?

• They are equivalent options with the same behaviour.
• The -f option tests for a regular file. The -e option tests for an empty file.
• Both options check the existence of the path. The -f option also confirms that it is a regular file.
• The -f option tests for a regular file. The -e option tests for an executable file.

23. After issuing:

function myfunction { echo $1 $2 ; }

in Bash, which output does:

myfunction A B C

Produce?

• A B
• A B C
• A C
• B C
• C B A

24. Which of the following is the best way to list all defined shell variables?

• env
• set
• env -a
• echo $ENV

25. How is a display manager started?

• It is started by a user using the command startx.
• It is started like any other system service by the init system.
• It is started by inetd when a remote hosts connects to the X11 port.
• It is started automatically when a X11 user logs in to the system console.

Source: dumpsbase.com

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LPIC-1 (102-500): Certified Linux Administrator Interview Questions

The LPIC-1 (102-500): Certified Linux Administrator course is designed to match the real world of system administration: with its job task analysis surveys, the Linux Professional Institute determine what real sysadmins do on the job, and what skills they need. Therefore, to pass the interview round, you must showcase your ability to run Linux from a shell prompt, set up a Linux machine from scratch, and configure basic networking. Further, you need to have expertise in performing such tasks as running basic system administration commands on the command line, installing and configuring a Linux operating system, and setting up a network.

You may also go through our LPIC-1 (102-500): Certified Linux Administrator Online tutorial to further strengthen your knowledge base. Our Free Practice Tests will further help attain your desired certification and become competent to your employers in an ever-changing job market.

Everyone gets grilled during interviews. Even if you’re a seasoned expert, the questions you get asked at each new job will invariably be unique. But this doesn’t mean you’ll have to wing it when the time comes for your next interview. To help ease your post-interview nerves here’s a list of some of the more popular LPIC-1 (102-500): Certified Linux Administrator Interview Questions you may get asked. Let’s get started!

1. What is a Linux shell script?

A shell script is a text file containing a sequence of commands for a UNIX-based operating system. The name comes from the fact that it combines a sequence of commands that would otherwise have to be typed into the keyboard one at a time into a single script.

2. Could you differentiate between shell and bash scripting?

Bash stands for “Bourne Again Shell”, and is a better version of the original Bourne shell (sh). A shell script can be used in any shell, but Bash scripts may only be used in a Bash environment.

3. Could you explain the purpose of skeleton directories?

A skeleton directory is a directory used by popular hosting programs such as cPanel or Plesk to store default files and folders. To find this directory, log in to your server via WHM (Web Host Manager) in your browser. Type ‘skell’ into the search box(a), and this will sort the menu options for you.

4. How does the Shebang work in Linux?

The shebang —the first line of the script file— tells the kernel which program to use to run the program in a file. A shebang is any one-line comment that has the characters 

5. How would you define SUID permissions?

The SUID bit is called Set owner User ID. This bit is a special permission that applies to scripts or applications. When the SUID bit is set, when the command is run, its effective UID becomes that of the owner of the file instead of the user running it.

6. How would you define the X11 architecture?

The X Window System (aka X11) is a network protocol for displaying graphics on a variety of different hardware platforms. It has been implemented by a number of different vendors for a wide variety of hardware platforms. In Ubuntu, we ship X11 as implemented by the X.org project on Linux.

7. Is Wayland better than X11?

Wayland is more lightweight than X, as it avoids most of X11’s legacy baggage. One of the primary reasons for X11’s complexity is that its function has changed over the years. As a result, today, X11 widely serves as “a really terrible” communications protocol between the clients and the window managers.

8. How would you explain what Xorg does in Linux?

Xorg is an open-source X11-based desktop infrastructure. It is a piece of software that allows you to interact with your hardware and run graphical programs and applications. Xorg is also fully network-aware, meaning that you can run a program on one computer while actually viewing it on another.

9. What assistive technologies are available in Fedora and Ubuntu versions of Linux?

Ubuntu comes with a number of accessibility tools pre-installed and activated. The screen reader, magnifier, and on-screen keyboard can be activated using the Gnome Assistive Technology Preferences panel, found under System>Preferences in the Applications menu.

10. Could you explain a User Group in the database?

User groups are essentially database items that are used as a representation of a collection of user accounts. They’re designed to make it easier to manage the privileges and permissions of multiple user accounts at once. Typically, you create a user group to represent a collection of user accounts or sometimes even a department within your organization.

11. What is the difference between a job and a cron job?

By creating Kubernetes Jobs, transient pods can be created that perform specific tasks. A CronJob does the same thing, but it runs the tasks according to a defined schedule.

12. What do you mean by localization?

The process of localizing a product, application, or document refers to modifying its content to meet the linguistic, cultural, geographical, and other requirements of a specific market (a locale).

13. What is the difference between localization and Internationalisation?

Internationalization is the design of software so it can be adapted to various languages and regions. Whereas, localization is the actual adaptation of internationalized software for a specific region or language by translating text and adding locale-specific components.

14. How would you define the NTP Chrony?

Chrony is a free software package that allows computers to synchronize their clocks over the network, using the Network Time Protocol (NTP). It’s a replacement for the ntpd, which is a reference implementation of the NTP. Chrony runs on Unix-like operating systems (including Linux and macOS) and is released under version 2 of the GNU General Public License.

15. Can Chrony and NTP run together?

Yes, one can have multiple instances of Chrony on a computer at once. One can operate as an NTP client to synchronize the system clock and another as a server for other computers.

16. Could you highlight the functions of Syslog?

The System Logging Protocol (Syslog) is a standardized way for network devices to send out notifications in a standard message format. Syslog was designed to make it easy to monitor network devices. A Syslog agent, typically installed on the device, can send out notification messages under a wide range of specific conditions, such as when certain types of errors are spotted or when certain events happen.

17. What is meant by the Syslog configuration?

The Syslog daemon (Syslogd) provides a central location for logging messages generated by applications running on your Unix or Linux system. Its configuration file, /etc/Syslog.conf defines logging rules and output destinations for error messages, authorization violation messages, and trace data. Logging rules are defined using a facility name and a priority code.

18. What do you know about the CUPS command?

CUPS, a utility suite for managing printers, provides several commands to set up printers and make those printers accessible to systems on the network. In addition, CUPS supports several printer-specific options that enable you to control printer configuration.

19. What are the differences between IPv6 and IPv4 security?

Although IPv6 is designed with built-in encryption capabilities and packet integrity checking, IPv4 can be configured to offer similar security features, so there is essentially no difference between the two when it comes to Internet Protocol security (IPsec).

20. What are the basic TCP IP parameters?

◉ Hostname.

◉ DHCP client.

◉ Domain name.

◉ IP address.

◉ Netmask.

◉ Broadcast address.

◉ Default router.

21. Could you tell me what do Net-Tools include?

The net-tools package contains a collection of programs that form the base set of the NET- 3 network distribution for Linux. These tools control the network subsystem of the Linux kernel, including arp, hostname, ifconfig, netstat, rarp, and route.

22. What is the importance of the DNS servers?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a server that is devoted to matching site names, such as example.com, to their corresponding Internet Protocol or IP addresses. The DNS server contains a database including the public IP addresses along with their corresponding domain names.

23. Could you tell me some of the safest DNS servers?

◉ Google Public DNS. IP Addresses: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

◉ OpenDNS. IP Addresses: 208.67.220.220 and 208.67.222.222

◉ DNSWatch. IP Addresses: 84.200.69.80 and 84.200.70.40

◉ OpenNIC. IP Addresses: 206.125.173.29 and 45.32.230.225

◉ UncensoredDNS.

24. What are the advantages of shadow passwords over traditional password systems?

Shadow passwords store encrypted passwords in a location that is not readily accessible. Shadow passwords provide a number of benefits, including the ability to store encrypted passwords in /etc/shadow, instead of the unencrypted passwords used in most systems. 

25. What is the difference between shadow and Passwd?

The /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow files have different pieces of data. Passwd contains the users’ public information (UID, full name, home directory), while shadow contains the hashed password along with the password expiry date.

26. Could you define TCP wrappers and how they work?

TCP Wrapper allows users to control who may access their computers. The program monitors incoming packets and checks to see if any external entity is attempting to connect. If a connection attempt is detected, TCP Wrapper examines whether the external entity is authorized. If it is authorized for connection, access is permitted; if not, access is denied. The program can be customized to suit the individual user or network needs.

27. How would you define GPG configuration?

GPG.conf is the configuration file that GPGreads on startup. This file may contain any valid long option, but the leading two dashes must not be entered and the option may not be abbreviated. This default name may be changed on the command line (GPG-option –options). You should backup this file.

28. How do GPG encryption and decryption work?

To send someone a secret message, you encrypt it using their public key. They then decrypt the message using their private key. The encrypted message and the short key are sent to the recipient who decrypts them using their own private key.

29. Is GPG encryption secure?

GPG is very secure, as long as you choose a strong enough passphrase. In practice, your passphrase will almost always be the weakest link. This instructs GPG to use a password hashing method that is slow enough to make brute-force guessing impractical, but only if you enter your passphrase on every operation.

30. Could you elaborate on the SSH port tunneling?

SSH tunneling makes it possible to transport arbitrary data over an encrypted SSH connection. It can be used to forward connections made to a port on your own desktop to a remote machine via a secure channel.

Source: testpreptraining.com

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New Learning Materials in Italian, Spanish, and Polish

Linux Professional Institute (LPI) recently released Italian and Spanish language versions of Learning Materials for LPIC-1, as well as the Learning Materials for the Linux Essentials exam in Polish.

Andrea Polidori finalized the translation into Italian of the LPIC-1 102 Lessons, edited by Max Roveri. Andrea says, “Often the students in my courses ask me for material in Italian to improve their preparation for the LPIC-1 certification exams. After months of working with my colleague and friend Max Roveri, I can finally tell them that everything they need is on the LPI Learning portal.”

José Alvarez is the Spanish translator of the LPIC-1 102 Learning Materials, honed by the editors Yoel Torres and Juan Ibarra. José says, “When I first started working with the Learning Materials, I realized what excellent support they are for my colleagues and everyone who works with Linux. Translating them into Spanish, therefore, became a major goal for me and a great experience with the LPI team,”

A profitable and busy summer also saw the release of the Polish translation of the Learning Portal, along with the translation of the Linux Essentials Materials in the same language. Krzysztof Lorenz, the translator, commented. “The translation of the Learning Materials into Polish is a good signal for the free and open source software (FOSS) movement in Poland and I am very pleased to be able to contribute to this achievement. I really enjoyed working with the LPI team.”

Source: lpi.org

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102-500: Linux Administrator - 102 (LPIC-1 102)

The world’s largest and most recognized Linux certification

LPIC-1 is the first certification in the multi-level Linux professional certification program of the Linux Professional Institute (LPI). The LPIC-1 will validate the candidate's ability to perform maintenance tasks on the command line, install and configure a computer running Linux and configure basic networking.

The LPIC-1 is designed to reflect current research and validate a candidate's proficiency in real world system administration. The objectives are tied to real-world job skills, which we determine through job task analysis surveying during exam development.

Current version: 5.0 (Exam codes 102-500)

Objectives: 102-500

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this certification.

Requirements: Passing the 102 exams. Each 90-minute exam is 60 multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions.

Validity period: 5 years unless retaken or higher level is achieved.

Languages for exam available in VUE test centers: English, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Spanish (Modern)

Languages for exam available online via OnVUE: English, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish

To become LPIC-1 certified the candidate must be able to:

◉ understand the architecture of a Linux system;

◉ install and maintain a Linux workstation, including X11 and setup it up as a network client;

◉ work at the Linux command line, including common GNU and Unix commands;

◉ handle files and access permissions as well as system security; and

◉ perform easy maintenance tasks: help users, add users to a larger system, backup and restore, shutdown and reboot.

Read More: 102-500: Linux Administrator - 102 (LPIC-1 102)

Linux Professional Institute LPIC-1 tests ability to perform maintenance tasks with the command line, install and configure a computer running Linux and be able to configure basic networking.

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LPIC-1 exams available online in Spanish

In 2020, Linux Professional Institute (LPI) started offering its certification exams online. Since then, the exam development team has been working hard to offer these online exams in different languages as well. In addition to English and Japanese, the LPIC-1 exams are now available online in Spanish.

For some time, candidates for Linux certification have been able to take the first-level exams, LPIC-1, in Spanish. But to do so, candidates needed to travel to test centers or other places where exams are held. This is difficult for people outside major urban centers, and dangerous in many regions following the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Today LPI announces the availability of LPIC-1 exams in Spanish online from a home, workplace, or college, through the Pearson VUE OnVUE testing system.

The mission of LPI is to promote the use of open source by supporting the people who work with it. As part of this mission, it has expanded test-taking in two important ways: by translating exams and Learning Materials into more and more languages, and by offering them online to give more and more people around the world the chance to take them.

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LPI Certifications

101-500: Linux Administrator - 101 (LPIC-1 101)

102-500: Linux Administrator - 102 (LPIC-1 102)

Source: lpi.org

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LPIC-1 101 Learning Materials released in Spanish and Portuguese

The LPIC-1 Learning Materials for the 101 exam are now available in Spanish and Portuguese. This comprehensive guide is part of a series of Learning Materials developed by Linux Professional Institute (LPI) volunteers around the world to alert candidates to the topics they will encounter on the LPI exams. The Learning Materials are not meant to be a substitute for the other sources of information: training programs, books that are available through many publishers, and--of course--intensive, hands-on experience with the computer systems themselves.

Also Read: 101-500: Linux Administrator - 101 (LPIC-1 101)

LPI is committed to providing access to knowledge about free and open source software to as wide a range of users and administrators as possible. As part of that goal, LPI has been translating both its tests and its training materials into a number of languages.

A growing number of the exams is available online in Spanish and Portuguese, using the Pearson OnVUE service. Where pandemic conditions allow people to gather in person, the LPIC-1 exams are also available in these languages.

"With the translation of the Learning Materials for the first LPIC-1 exam into Spanish and Portuguese, we have reached another important milestone," says Dr. Markus Wirtz, Manager Education Programs LPI. "My special thanks go to the translators and reviewers for their great work."

Further translation efforts are underway, and will be reported on lpi.org

Source: lpi.org

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Learning Materials Now Cover the Entire LPIC-1 Exams

Thanks to the efforts of more than 12 professionals from 7 countries, free Learning Materials are now available for the 102 exam for LPIC-1 certification.

Linux Professional Institute (LPI), which certifies professionals in GNU/Linux and related free software tools, is committed to providing Learning Materials in multiple languages for people who want to prepare for LPI exams. Learning Materials are tied closely to the tests, with a one- to two-hour lesson for each objective on the test. These materials are meant to complement other books and educational sources.

Read More: 101-500: Linux Administrator - 101 (LPIC-1 101)

The project started with materials for Linux Essentials, an introduction to the more advanced certification track. The next higher level, LPIC-1 certification, requires passing two exams: 101 and 102. Learning Materials for exam 101 have been available since February 2020.

Dr. Markus Wirtz, Manager of Education Programs at LPI, said, "We are happy to announce that, thanks to enormous cooperation with Linux experts from all over the world, we have now completed the learning materials for LPIC-1 with exam 102."

Although the materials are currently only in English, translations into several other languages are underway. As these materials become available, they will be reported on this site.

Source: lpi.org

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LPIC 1 – Linux Administrator

This certification enables a candidate to perform command-line maintenance tasks, install and configure a Linux system, and its basic networking. It validates a candidate’s ability to manage a real-world system administration. This certification does not require any prerequisites. The validity of this certification is 5 years. A candidate is required to pass both 101 and 102 exams to qualify for the certification. The main topics covered by this certification are:

1. System Architecture
2. Linux Installation
3. Package Management
4. GNU and Unix Commands
5. Linux Filesystems, Filesystem Hierarchy Standard and Devices
6. Shell & Shell Scripting
7. Desktops and Interfaces.
8. Administration
9. System Services
10. Fundamentals of Networking
11. Security

To become LPIC-1 certified the candidate must be able to:

◉ understand the architecture of a Linux system;

◉ install and maintain a Linux workstation, including X11 and setup it up as a network client;

◉ work at the Linux command line, including common GNU and Unix commands;

◉ handle files and access permissions as well as system security; and

◉ perform easy maintenance tasks: help users, add users to a larger system, backup and restore, shutdown and reboot.

Read More:

101-500: Linux Administrator - 101 (LPIC-1 101)

102-500: Linux Administrator - 102 (LPIC-1 102)

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LPIC-1 Exam 102: Objectives

Exam Objectives Version: Version 5.0

Exam Code: 102-500

Also Read: 102-500: LPI Linux Administrator - 102

About Objective Weights: Each objective is assigned a weighting value. The weights indicate the relative importance of each objective on the exam. Objectives with higher weights will be covered in the exam with more questions.

Exam 102 Objectives

Topic	Details
Topic 105: Shells and Shell Scripting
105.1 Customize and use the shell environment	Weight: 4 Description: Candidates should be able to customize shell environments to meet users' needs. Candidates should be able to modify global and user profiles. Key Knowledge Areas: - Set environment variables (e.g. PATH) at login or when spawning a new shell. - Write Bash functions for frequently used sequences of commands. - Maintain skeleton directories for new user accounts. - Set command search path with the proper directory. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - . - source - /etc/bash.bashrc - /etc/profile - env - export - set - unset - ~/.bash_profile - ~/.bash_login - ~/.profile - ~/.bashrc - ~/.bash_logout - function - alias
105.2 Customize or write simple scripts	Weight: 4 Description: Candidates should be able to customize existing scripts, or write simple new Bash scripts. Key Knowledge Areas: - Use standard sh syntax (loops, tests). - Use command substitution. - Test return values for success or failure or other information provided by a command. - Execute chained commands. - Perform conditional mailing to the superuser. - Correctly select the script interpreter through the shebang (#!) line. - Manage the location, ownership, execution and suid-rights of scripts. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - for - while - test - if - read - seq - exec - || - &&
Topic 106: User Interfaces and Desktops
106.1 Install and configure X11	Weight: 2 Description: Candidates should be able to install and configure X11. Key Knowledge Areas: - Understanding of the X11 architecture. - Basic understanding and knowledge of the X Window configuration file. - Overwrite specific aspects of Xorg configuration, such as keyboard layout. - Understand the components of desktop environments, such as display managers and window managers. - Manage access to the X server and display applications on remote X servers. - Awareness of Wayland. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - /etc/X11/xorg.conf - /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ - ~/.xsession-errors - xhost - xauth - DISPLAY - X
106.2 Graphical Desktops	Weight: 1 Description: Candidates should be aware of major Linux desktops. Furthermore, candidates should be aware of protocols used to access remote desktop sessions. Key Knowledge Areas: - Awareness of major desktop environments - Awareness of protocols to access remote desktop sessions The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - KDE - Gnome - Xfce - X11 - XDMCP - VNC - Spice - RDP
106.3 Accessibility	Weight: 1 Description: Demonstrate knowledge and awareness of accessibility technologies. Key Knowledge Areas: - Basic knowledge of visual settings and themes. - Basic knowledge of assistive technology. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - High Contrast/Large Print Desktop Themes. - Screen Reader. - Braille Display. - Screen Magnifier. - On-Screen Keyboard. - Sticky/Repeat keys. - Slow/Bounce/Toggle keys. - Mouse keys. - Gestures. - Voice recognition.
Topic 107: Administrative Tasks
107.1 Manage user and group accounts and related system files	Weight: 5 Description: Candidates should be able to add, remove, suspend and change user accounts. Key Knowledge Areas: - Add, modify and remove users and groups. - Manage user/group info in password/group databases. - Create and manage special purpose and limited accounts. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - /etc/passwd - /etc/shadow - /etc/group - /etc/skel/ - chage - getent - groupadd - groupdel - groupmod - passwd - useradd - userdel - usermod
107.2 Automate system administration tasks by scheduling jobs	Weight: 4 Description: Candidates should be able to use cron and systemd timers to run jobs at regular intervals and to use at to run jobs at a specific time. Key Knowledge Areas: - Manage cron and at jobs. - Configure user access to cron and at services. - Understand systemd timer units. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - /etc/cron.{d,daily,hourly,monthly,weekly}/ - /etc/at.deny - /etc/at.allow - /etc/crontab - /etc/cron.allow - /etc/cron.deny - /var/spool/cron/ - crontab - at - atq - atrm - systemctl - systemd-run
107.3 Localisation and internationalisation	Weight: 3 Description: Candidates should be able to localize a system in a different language than English. As well, an understanding of why LANG=C is useful when scripting. Key Knowledge Areas: - Configure locale settings and environment variables. - Configure timezone settings and environment variables. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - /etc/timezone - /etc/localtime - /usr/share/zoneinfo/ - LC_* - LC_ALL - LANG - TZ - /usr/bin/locale - tzselect - timedatectl - date - iconv - UTF-8 - ISO-8859 - ASCII - Unicode
Topic 108: Essential System Services
108.1 Maintain system time	Weight: 3 Description: Candidates should be able to properly maintain the system time and synchronize the clock via NTP. Key Knowledge Areas: - Set the system date and time. - Set the hardware clock to the correct time in UTC. - Configure the correct timezone. - Basic NTP configuration using ntpd and chrony. - Knowledge of using the pool.ntp.org service. - Awareness of the ntpq command. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - /usr/share/zoneinfo/ - /etc/timezone - /etc/localtime - /etc/ntp.conf - /etc/chrony.conf - date - hwclock - timedatectl - ntpd - ntpdate - chronyc - pool.ntp.org
108.2 System logging	Weight: 4 Description: Candidates should be able to configure rsyslog. This objective also includes configuring the logging daemon to send log output to a central log server or accept log output as a central log server. Use of the systemd journal subsystem is covered. Also, awareness of syslog and syslog-ng as alternative logging systems is included. Key Knowledge Areas: - Basic configuration of rsyslog. - Understanding of standard facilities, priorities and actions. - Query the systemd journal. - Filter systemd journal data by criteria such as date, service or priority. - Configure persistent systemd journal storage and journal size. - Delete old systemd journal data. - Retrieve systemd journal data from a rescue system or file system copy. - Understand interaction of rsyslog with systemd-journald. - Configuration of logrotate. - Awareness of syslog and syslog-ng. Terms and Utilities: - /etc/rsyslog.conf - /var/log/ - logger - logrotate - /etc/logrotate.conf - /etc/logrotate.d/ - journalctl - systemd-cat - /etc/systemd/journald.conf - /var/log/journal/
108.3 Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) basics	Weight: 3 Description: Candidates should be aware of the commonly available MTA programs and be able to perform basic forward and alias configuration on a client host. Other configuration files are not covered. Key Knowledge Areas: - Create e-mail aliases. - Configure e-mail forwarding. - Knowledge of commonly available MTA programs (postfix, sendmail, exim) (no configuration). Terms and Utilities: - ~/.forward - sendmail emulation layer commands - newaliases - mail - mailq - postfix - sendmail - exim
108.4 Manage printers and printing	Weight: 2 Description: Candidates should be able to manage print queues and user print jobs using CUPS and the LPD compatibility interface. Key Knowledge Areas: - Basic CUPS configuration (for local and remote printers). - Manage user print queues. - Troubleshoot general printing problems. - Add and remove jobs from configured printer queues. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - CUPS configuration files, tools and utilities - /etc/cups/ - lpd legacy interface (lpr, lprm, lpq)
Topic 109: Networking Fundamentals
109.1 Fundamentals of internet protocols	Weight: 4 Description: Candidates should demonstrate a proper understanding of TCP/IP network fundamentals. Key Knowledge Areas: - Demonstrate an understanding of network masks and CIDR notation. - Knowledge of the differences between private and public "dotted quad" IP addresses. - Knowledge about common TCP and UDP ports and services (20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 53, 80, 110, 123, 139, 143, 161, 162, 389, 443, 465, 514, 636, 993, 995). - Knowledge about the differences and major features of UDP, TCP and ICMP. - Knowledge of the major differences between IPv4 and IPv6. - Knowledge of the basic features of IPv6. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - /etc/services - IPv4, IPv6 - Subnetting - TCP, UDP, ICMP
109.2 Persistent network configuration	Weight: 4 Description: Candidates should be able to manage the persistent network configuration of a Linux host. Key Knowledge Areas: - Understand basic TCP/IP host configuration. - Configure ethernet and wi-fi network configuration using NetworkManager. - Awareness of systemd-networkd. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - /etc/hostname - /etc/hosts - /etc/nsswitch.conf - /etc/resolv.conf - nmcli - hostnamectl - ifup - ifdown
109.3 Basic network troubleshooting	Weight: 4 Description: Candidates should be able to troubleshoot networking issues on client hosts. Key Knowledge Areas: - Manually configure network interfaces, including viewing and changing the configuration of network interfaces using iproute2. - Manually configure routing, including viewing and changing routing tables and setting the default route using iproute2. - Debug problems associated with the network configuration. - Awareness of legacy net-tools commands. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - ip - hostname - ss - ping - ping6 - traceroute - traceroute6 - tracepath - tracepath6 - netcat - ifconfig - netstat - route
109.4 Configure client side DNS	Weight: 2 Description: Candidates should be able to configure DNS on a client host. Key Knowledge Areas: - Query remote DNS servers. - Configure local name resolution and use remote DNS servers. - Modify the order in which name resolution is done. - Debug errors related to name resolution. - Awareness of systemd-resolved. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - /etc/hosts - /etc/resolv.conf - /etc/nsswitch.conf - host - dig - getent
Topic 110: Security
110.1 Perform security administration tasks	Weight: 3 Description: Candidates should know how to review system configuration to ensure host security in accordance with local security policies. Key Knowledge Areas: - Audit a system to find files with the suid/sgid bit set. - Set or change user passwords and password aging information. - Being able to use nmap and netstat to discover open ports on a system. - Set up limits on user logins, processes and memory usage. - Determine which users have logged in to the system or are currently logged in. - Basic sudo configuration and usage. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - find - passwd - fuser - lsof - nmap - chage - netstat - sudo -/etc/sudoers - su - usermod - ulimit - who, w, last
110.2 Setup host security	Weight: 3 Description: Candidates should know how to set up a basic level of host security. Key Knowledge Areas: - Awareness of shadow passwords and how they work. - Turn off network services not in use. - Understand the role of TCP wrappers. The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - /etc/nologin - /etc/passwd - /etc/shadow - /etc/xinetd.d/ - /etc/xinetd.conf - systemd.socket - /etc/inittab - /etc/init.d/ - /etc/hosts.allow - /etc/hosts.deny
110.3 Securing data with encryption	Weight: 4 Description: The candidate should be able to use public key techniques to secure data and communication. Key Knowledge Areas: - Perform basic OpenSSH 2 client configuration and usage. - Understand the role of OpenSSH 2 server host keys. - Perform basic GnuPG configuration, usage and revocation. - Use GPG to encrypt, decrypt, sign and verify files. - Understand SSH port tunnels (including X11 tunnels). The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities: - ssh - ssh-keygen - ssh-agent - ssh-add - ~/.ssh/id_rsa and id_rsa.pub - ~/.ssh/id_dsa and id_dsa.pub - ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa and id_ecdsa.pub - ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 and id_ed25519.pub - /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key and ssh_host_rsa_key.pub - /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key and ssh_host_dsa_key.pub - /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key and ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub - /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key and ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub - ~/.ssh/authorized_keys - ssh_known_hosts - gpg - gpg-agent - ~/.gnupg/

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102-500: Linux Administrator - 102 (LPIC-1 102)

The world’s largest and most recognized Linux Certification

LPIC-1 is the first certification in LPI’s multi-level Linux professional certification program. The LPIC-1 will validate the candidate's ability to perform maintenance tasks on the command line, install and configure a computer running Linux and configure basic networking.

The LPIC-1 is designed to reflect current research and validate a candidate's proficiency in real world system administration. The objectives are tied to real-world job skills, which we determine through job task analysis surveying during exam development.

Current Version: 5.0 (Exam codes 102-500)

Objectives: 102-500

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this certification

Requirements: Passing exams 102

Validity Period: 5 years

Languages: English, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified) and Chinese (Traditional). Exams in following languages will be released in 2019: Italian, Spanish, French.

102-500: Linux Administrator - 102

102-500 LPIC-1 Exam Syllabus

To become LPIC-1 certified the candidate must be able to:

◈ understand the architecture of a Linux system;
◈ install and maintain a Linux workstation, including X11 and setup it up as a network client;
◈ work at the Linux command line, including common GNU and Unix commands;
◈ handle files and access permissions as well as system security; and
◈ perform easy maintenance tasks: help users, add users to a larger system, backup and restore, shutdown and reboot.

LPIC-1 Exam 102

Exam Objectives Version: Version 5.0

Exam Codes: 102-500

About Objective Weights: Each objective is assigned a weighting value. The weights indicate the relative importance of each objective on the exam. Objectives with higher weights will be covered in the exam with more questions.

Topic 105: Shells and Shell Scripting

105.1 Customize and use the shell environment

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to customize shell environments to meet users' needs. Candidates should be able to modify global and user profiles.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Set environment variables (e.g. PATH) at login or when spawning a new shell.
◈ Write Bash functions for frequently used sequences of commands.
◈ Maintain skeleton directories for new user accounts.
◈ Set command search path with the proper directory.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ .
◈ source
◈ /etc/bash.bashrc
◈ /etc/profile
◈ env
◈ export
◈ set
◈ unset
◈ ~/.bash_profile
◈ ~/.bash_login
◈ ~/.profile
◈ ~/.bashrc
◈ ~/.bash_logout
◈ function
◈ alias

105.2 Customize or write simple scripts

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to customize existing scripts, or write simple new Bash scripts.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Use standard sh syntax (loops, tests).
◈ Use command substitution.
◈ Test return values for success or failure or other information provided by a command.
◈ Execute chained commands.
◈ Perform conditional mailing to the superuser.
◈ Correctly select the script interpreter through the shebang (#!) line.
◈ Manage the location, ownership, execution and suid-rights of scripts.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ for
◈ while
◈ test
◈ if
◈ read
◈ seq
◈ exec
◈ ||
◈ &&

Topic 106: User Interfaces and Desktops

106.1 Install and configure X11

Weight: 2

Description: Candidates should be able to install and configure X11.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Understanding of the X11 architecture.
◈ Basic understanding and knowledge of the X Window configuration file.
◈ Overwrite specific aspects of Xorg configuration, such as keyboard layout.
◈ Understand the components of desktop environments, such as display managers and window managers.
◈ Manage access to the X server and display applications on remote X servers.
◈ Awareness of Wayland.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ /etc/X11/xorg.conf
◈ /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/
◈ ~/.xsession-errors
◈ xhost
◈ xauth
◈ DISPLAY
◈ X

106.2 Graphical Desktops

Weight: 1

Description: Candidates should be aware of major Linux desktops. Furthermore, candidates should be aware of protocols used to access remote desktop sessions.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Awareness of major desktop environments
◈ Awareness of protocols to access remote desktop sessions

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ KDE
◈ Gnome
◈ Xfce
◈ X11
◈ XDMCP
◈ VNC
◈ Spice
◈ RDP

106.3 Accessibility

Weight: 1

Description: Demonstrate knowledge and awareness of accessibility technologies.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Basic knowledge of visual settings and themes.
◈ Basic knowledge of assistive technology.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ High Contrast/Large Print Desktop Themes.
◈ Screen Reader.
◈ Braille Display.
◈ Screen Magnifier.
◈ On-Screen Keyboard.
◈ Sticky/Repeat keys.
◈ Slow/Bounce/Toggle keys.
◈ Mouse keys.
◈ Gestures.
◈ Voice recognition.

Topic 107: Administrative Tasks

107.1 Manage user and group accounts and related system files

Weight: 5

Description: Candidates should be able to add, remove, suspend and change user accounts.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Add, modify and remove users and groups.
◈ Manage user/group info in password/group databases.
◈ Create and manage special purpose and limited accounts.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ /etc/passwd
◈ /etc/shadow
◈ /etc/group
◈ /etc/skel/
◈ chage
◈ getent
◈ groupadd
◈ groupdel
◈ groupmod
◈ passwd
◈ useradd
◈ userdel
◈ usermod

107.2 Automate system administration tasks by scheduling jobs

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to use cron and systemd timers to run jobs at regular intervals and to use at to run jobs at a specific time.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Manage cron and at jobs.
◈ Configure user access to cron and at services.
◈ Understand systemd timer units.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ /etc/cron.{d,daily,hourly,monthly,weekly}/
◈ /etc/at.deny
◈ /etc/at.allow
◈ /etc/crontab
◈ /etc/cron.allow
◈ /etc/cron.deny
◈ /var/spool/cron/
◈ crontab
◈ at
◈ atq
◈ atrm
◈ systemctl
◈ systemd-run

107.3 Localisation and internationalisation

Weight: 3

Description: Candidates should be able to localize a system in a different language than English. As well, an understanding of why LANG=C is useful when scripting.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Copy, move and remove files and directories individually
◈ Copy multiple files and directories recursively
◈ Remove files and directories recursively
◈ Use simple and advanced wildcard specifications in commands
◈ Using find to locate and act on files based on type, size, or time
◈ Usage of tar, cpio and dd

Terms and Utilities:

◈ /etc/timezone
◈ /etc/localtime
◈ /usr/share/zoneinfo/
◈ LC_*
◈ LC_ALL
◈ LANG
◈ TZ
◈ /usr/bin/locale
◈ tzselect
◈ timedatectl
◈ date
◈ iconv
◈ UTF-8
◈ ISO-8859
◈ ASCII
◈ Unicode

Topic 108: Essential System Services

108.1 Maintain system time

Weight: 3

Description: Candidates should be able to properly maintain the system time and synchronize the clock via NTP.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Set the system date and time.
◈ Set the hardware clock to the correct time in UTC.
◈ Configure the correct timezone.
◈ Basic NTP configuration using ntpd and chrony.
◈ Knowledge of using the pool.ntp.org service.
◈ Awareness of the ntpq command.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ /usr/share/zoneinfo/
◈ /etc/timezone
◈ /etc/localtime
◈ /etc/ntp.conf
◈ /etc/chrony.conf
◈ date
◈ hwclock
◈ timedatectl
◈ ntpd
◈ ntpdate
◈ chronyc
◈ pool.ntp.org

108.2 System logging

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to configure rsyslog. This objective also includes configuring the logging daemon to send log output to a central log server or accept log output as a central log server. Use of the systemd journal subsystem is covered. Also, awareness of syslog and syslog-ng as alternative logging systems is included.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Basic configuration of rsyslog.
◈ Understanding of standard facilities, priorities and actions.
◈ Query the systemd journal.
◈ Filter systemd journal data by criteria such as date, service or priority.
◈ Configure persistent systemd journal storage and journal size.
◈ Delete old systemd journal data.
◈ Retrieve systemd journal data from a rescue system or file system copy.
◈ Understand interaction of rsyslog with systemd-journald.
◈ Configuration of logrotate.
◈ Awareness of syslog and syslog-ng.

Terms and Utilities:

◈ /etc/rsyslog.conf
◈ /var/log/
◈ logger
◈ logrotate
◈ /etc/logrotate.conf
◈ /etc/logrotate.d/
◈ journalctl
◈ systemd-cat
◈ /etc/systemd/journald.conf
◈ /var/log/journal/

108.3 Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) basics

Weight: 3

Description: Candidates should be aware of the commonly available MTA programs and be able to perform basic forward and alias configuration on a client host. Other configuration files are not covered.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Create e-mail aliases.
◈ Configure e-mail forwarding.
◈ Knowledge of commonly available MTA programs (postfix, sendmail, exim) (no configuration).

Terms and Utilities:

◈ ~/.forward
◈ sendmail emulation layer commands
◈ newaliases
◈ mail
◈ mailq
◈ postfix
◈ sendmail
◈ exim

108.4 Manage printers and printing

Weight: 2

Description: Candidates should be able to manage print queues and user print jobs using CUPS and the LPD compatibility interface.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Basic CUPS configuration (for local and remote printers).
◈ Manage user print queues.
◈ Troubleshoot general printing problems.
◈ Add and remove jobs from configured printer queues.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ CUPS configuration files, tools and utilities
◈ /etc/cups/
◈ lpd legacy interface (lpr, lprm, lpq)

Topic 109: Networking Fundamentals

109.1 Fundamentals of internet protocols

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should demonstrate a proper understanding of TCP/IP network fundamentals.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Demonstrate an understanding of network masks and CIDR notation.
◈ Knowledge of the differences between private and public "dotted quad" IP addresses.
◈ Knowledge about common TCP and UDP ports and services (20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 53, 80, 110, 123, 139, 143, 161, 162, 389, 443, 465, 514, 636, 993, 995).
◈ Knowledge about the differences and major features of UDP, TCP and ICMP.
◈ Knowledge of the major differences between IPv4 and IPv6.
◈ Knowledge of the basic features of IPv6.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ /etc/services
◈ IPv4, IPv6
◈ Subnetting
◈ TCP, UDP, ICMP

109.2 Persistent network configuration

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to manage the persistent network configuration of a Linux host.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Understand basic TCP/IP host configuration.
◈ Configure ethernet and wi-fi network configuration using NetworkManager.
◈ Awareness of systemd-networkd.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ /etc/hostname
◈ /etc/hosts
◈ /etc/nsswitch.conf
◈ /etc/resolv.conf
◈ nmcli
◈ hostnamectl
◈ ifup
◈ ifdown

109.3 Basic network troubleshooting

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to troubleshoot networking issues on client hosts.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Manually configure network interfaces, including viewing and changing the configuration of network interfaces using iproute2.
◈ Manually configure routing, including viewing and changing routing tables and setting the default route using iproute2.
◈ Debug problems associated with the network configuration.
◈ Awareness of legacy net-tools commands.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ ip
◈ hostname
◈ ss
◈ ping
◈ ping6
◈ traceroute
◈ traceroute6
◈ tracepath
◈ tracepath6
◈ netcat
◈ ifconfig
◈ netstat
◈ route

109.4 Configure client side DNS

Weight: 2

Description: Candidates should be able to configure DNS on a client host.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Query remote DNS servers.
◈ Configure local name resolution and use remote DNS servers.
◈ Modify the order in which name resolution is done.
◈ Debug errors related to name resolution.
◈ Awareness of systemd-resolved.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ /etc/hosts
◈ /etc/resolv.conf
◈ /etc/nsswitch.conf
◈ host
◈ dig
◈ getent

Topic 110: Security

110.1 Perform security administration tasks

Weight: 3

Description: Candidates should know how to review system configuration to ensure host security in accordance with local security policies.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Audit a system to find files with the suid/sgid bit set.
◈ Set or change user passwords and password aging information.
◈ Being able to use nmap and netstat to discover open ports on a system.
◈ Set up limits on user logins, processes and memory usage.
◈ Determine which users have logged in to the system or are currently logged in.
◈ Basic sudo configuration and usage.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ find
◈ passwd
◈ fuser
◈ lsof
◈ nmap
◈ chage
◈ netstat
◈ sudo
◈ /etc/sudoers
◈ su
◈ usermod
◈ ulimit
◈ who, w, last

110.2 Setup host security

Weight: 3

Description: Candidates should know how to set up a basic level of host security.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Awareness of shadow passwords and how they work.
◈ Turn off network services not in use.
◈ Understand the role of TCP wrappers.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ /etc/nologin
◈ /etc/passwd
◈ /etc/shadow
◈ /etc/xinetd.d/
◈ /etc/xinetd.conf
◈ systemd.socket
◈ /etc/inittab
◈ /etc/init.d/
◈ /etc/hosts.allow
◈ /etc/hosts.deny

110.3 Securing data with encryption

Weight: 4

Description: The candidate should be able to use public key techniques to secure data and communication.

Key Knowledge Areas:

◈ Perform basic OpenSSH 2 client configuration and usage.
◈ Understand the role of OpenSSH 2 server host keys.
◈ Perform basic GnuPG configuration, usage and revocation.
◈ Use GPG to encrypt, decrypt, sign and verify files.
◈ Understand SSH port tunnels (including X11 tunnels).
◈ The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

◈ ssh
◈ ssh-keygen
◈ ssh-agent
◈ ssh-add
◈ ~/.ssh/id_rsa and id_rsa.pub
◈ ~/.ssh/id_dsa and id_dsa.pub
◈ ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa and id_ecdsa.pub
◈ ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 and id_ed25519.pub
◈ /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key and ssh_host_rsa_key.pub
◈ /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key and ssh_host_dsa_key.pub
◈ /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key and ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub
◈ /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key and ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub
◈ ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
◈ ssh_known_hosts
◈ gpg
◈ gpg-agent
◈ ~/.gnupg/

Future Change Considerations

Future changes to the objective will/may include:

◈ Remove ifup/ifdown and legacy net-tools command
◈ Remove TCP wrappers

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