Linux is a clone of the UNIX OS and is very popular in the academia and many business environments. The course covers the material you will need to learn the Linux operating system from the beginning until you reach the required proficiency level sufficient to pass the Linux+ exam.

• Identify all system hardware required (e.g., CPU, memory, drive space, scalability) and check compatibility with Linux Distribution
• Determine appropriate method of installation based on environment (e.g., boot disk, CD-ROM, network (HTTP, FTP, NFS, SMB))
• Install multimedia options (e.g., video, sound, codecs)
• Identify purpose of Linux machine based on predetermined customer requirements (e.g., appliance, desktop system, database, mail server, Web server, etc.)
• Determine what software and services should be installed (e.g., client applications for workstation, server services for desired task)
• Partition according to pre-installation plan using fdisk
• Configure file systems (e.g., (ext2) or (ext3) or REISER)
• Configure a boot manager (e.g., LILO, ELILO, GRUB, multiple boot options)
• Select appropriate parameters for Linux installation (e.g., language, time zones, keyboard, mouse)
• Configure the X Window System
• Create files and directories and modify files using CLI commands
• Execute content and directory searches using find and grep
• Create linked files using CLI commands
• Modify file and directory permissions and ownership (e.g., chmod, chown, sticky bit, octal permissions, chgrp using CLI commands)
• Identify and modify default permissions for files and directories (e.g., umask) using CLI commands
• Perform text manipulation (e.g., sed, awk, vi)
• Create, modify, and use basic shell scripts
• Redirect output (e.g., piping, redirection)
• Set up environment variables (e.g., $PATH, $DISPLAY, $TERM, $PROMPT, $PS1)
• Assign users, groups, passwords, and permissions based on company’s security policy
• Create, modify, and delete user and group accounts (e.g., useradd, groupadd, /etc/passwd Chgrp, quota, chown, chmod, grpmod) using CLI utilities
• Configure security environment files (e.g., hosts., allow, sudoers, ftpusers, sshd_config)
• Delete accounts while maintaining data stored in that user’s home directory
• Given security requirements, implement appropriate encryption configuration (e.g., blowfish 3DES, MD5)
• Use appropriate access level for login (e.g., root level vs user level activities, su, sudo)
• Given a set of security requirements, set password policies to match (complexity / aging / shadowed passwords) e.g., convert to and from shadow passwords)
• Manage local storage devices and file systems (e.g. fsck, fdisk, mkfs ) using CLI commands
• Mount and unmount varied file systems (e.g., Samba, NFS) using CLI commands
• Perform and verify backups and restores (tar, cpio)
• Access and write data to recordable media (e.g., CDRW, hard drive, NVRAM)
• Configure files that are used to mount drives or partitions (e.g., fstab, mtab, Samba, nfs, syntax)
• Identify and configure mass storage devices and RAID (e.g., SCSI, ATAPI, tape, optical recordable)
• Manage packages after installing the operating systems (e.g., install, uninstall, update) (e.g., RPM, tar, gzip)
• Manage run levels and system initialization from the CLI and configuration files (e.g., /etc/inittab and init command, /etc/rc.d, rc.local)
• Identify, execute, manage and kill processes (e.g., ps, kill, killall, bg, fg, jobs, nice, renice, rc)
• Differentiate core processes from non-critical services (e.g., PID, PPID, init, timer)
• Repair packages and scripts (e.g., resolving dependencies, file repair)
• Schedule jobs to execute in the future using “at” and “cron” daemons
• Configure the system and perform basic makefile changes to support compiling applications and drivers
• Set process and special permissions (e.g., SUID, GUID)
• Select appropriate networking configuration and protocols (e.g., inetd, xinetd, modems, Ethernet)
• Monitor and troubleshoot network activity (e.g., ping, netstat, traceroute)
• Perform remote management (e.g., rmon, ssh)
• Perform NIS-related domain management (e.g., yppasswd, ypinit, etc.)
• Manage mail queues (e.g., sendmail, postfix, mail, mutt) using CLI utilities
• Configure client network services and settings (e.g., settings for TCP/IP)
• Configure basic server network services (e.g., DNS, DHCP, SAMBA, Apache)
• Implement basic routing and subnetting (e.g., /sbin/route, ip forward statement)
• Implement DNS and describe how it works (e.g., edit /etc/hosts, edit/etc/host.conf, edit /etc/resolv.conf, nslookup, dig, host, named)
• Configure a Network Interface Card (NIC) from a command line
• Detect symptoms that indicate a machine’s security has been compromised (e.g., review logfiles for irregularities or intrusion attempts)
• Identify different Linux Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) (e.g., Snort, PortSentry)
• Given security requirements, implement basic IP tables/chains (note: requires knowledge of common ports)
• Implement security auditing for files and authentication
• Identify whether a package or file has been corrupted/altered (e.g., checksum, Tripwire)
• Identify security vulnerabilities within Linux services
• Set up user-level security (i.e., limits on logins, memory usage and processes)
• Configure log files (e.g., syslog, remote log file storage)
• Establish system performance baseline
• Create written procedures for installation, configuration, security and management
• Document installed configuration (e.g., installed packages, package options, TCP/IP assignment list, changes—configuration and maintenance)
• Troubleshoot errors using system logs (e.g., tail, head, grep)
• Troubleshoot application errors using application logs (e.g., tail, head, grep)
• Access system documentation and help files (e.g., man, info, readme, Web)
• Configure peripherals as necessary (e.g., printer, scanner, modem)
• Manage print jobs and print queues (e.g., lpd, lprm, lpq)
• Configure Linux printing (e.g., cups, BSD LPD, SAMBA)
• Apply basic printer permissions
• Describe common hardware components and resources (e.g., connectors, IRQs, DMA, SCSI, memory addresses)
• Diagnose hardware issues using Linux tools (e.g., /proc, disk utilities, ifconfig, /dev, knoppix, BBC, dmesg)
• Identify and configure removable system hardware (e.g., PCMCIA, USB, IEEE1394)
• Configure advanced power management and Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)

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