Introduction

Linux has become one of the fastest-growing operating systems used in server environments. Most companies utilize some type of Linux system within their infrastructure, and Linux is one of the major players in the cloud computing world. The ability to build and manage Linux systems is a skill that many companies are now looking for. The more you know about Linux, the more marketable you’ll become in today’s computer industry.

The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) has developed a series of certifications to help guide you through a career in the Linux world. Its LPIC-1 certification is an introductory certification for people who want to enter careers involving Linux. The exam is meant to certify that you have the skills necessary to install, operate, and troubleshoot a Linux system and are familiar with Linux-specific concepts and basic hardware.

The purpose of this book is to help you pass the LPIC-1 exams (101 and 102), updated in 2019 to version 5 (commonly called 101-500 and 102-500). Because these exams cover basic Linux installation, configuration, maintenance, applications, networking, and security, those are the topics that are emphasized in this book. You’ll learn enough to get a Linux system up and running and to configure it for many common tasks. Even after you’ve taken and passed the LPIC-1 exams, this book should remain a useful reference.

Why Become Linux Certified?

With the growing popularity of Linux (and the increase in Linux-related jobs) comes hype. With all the hype that surrounds Linux, it’s become hard for employers to distinguish employees who are competent Linux administrators from those who just know the buzzwords. This is where the LPIC-1 certification comes in.

With an LPIC-1 certification, you will establish yourself as a Linux administrator who is familiar with the Linux platform and can install, maintain, and troubleshoot any type of Linux system. LPI has created the LPIC-1 exams as a way for employers to have confidence in knowing their employees who pass the exam will have the skills necessary to get the job done.

How to Become Certified

The certification is available to anyone who passes the two required exams: 101 and 102. The current versions of the exams are version 5 and are denoted as 101-500 and 102-500.

The exam is administered by Pearson VUE. The exam can be taken at any Pearson VUE testing center. If you pass, you will get a certificate in the mail saying that you have passed. Contact (877) 619-2096 for Pearson VUE contact information.

 To register for the exam with Pearson VUE, call (877) 619-2096 or register online at www.vue.com. However you do it, you’ll be asked for your name, mailing address, phone number, employer, when and where you want to take the test (i.e., which testing center), and your credit card number (arrangement for payment must be made at the time of registration).

Who Should Buy This Book

Anyone who wants to pass the LPIC-1 certification exams would benefit from this book, but that’s not the only reason for purchasing the book. This book covers all of the material someone new to the Linux world would need to know to start out in Linux. After you’ve become familiar with the basics of Linux, the book will serve as an excellent reference book for quickly finding answers to your everyday Linux questions.

The book is written with the assumption that you have a familiarity with basic computer and networking principles. Although no experience with Linux is required in order to benefit from this book, it will help if you know your way around a computer in either the Windows or macOS world, such as how to use a keyboard, use optical disks, and work with USB thumb drives.

It will also help to have a Linux system available to follow along with. Each chapter contains a simple exercise that will walk you through the basic concepts presented in the chapter. This provides the crucial hands-on experience that you’ll need, both to pass the exam and to do well in the Linux world.

 While the LPI LPIC-1 exams are Linux distribution neutral, it’s impossible to write exercises that work in all Linux distributions. That said, the exercises in this book assume you have either Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or CentOS 7 available. You can install either or both of these Linux distributions in a virtual environment using the Oracle VirtualBox software, available at https://virtualbox.org.

How This Book Is Organized

This book consists of 10 chapters plus supplementary information: an online glossary, this introduction, and the assessment test after the introduction. The chapters are organized as follows:

• Chapter 1, “Exploring Linux Command-Line Tools,” covers the basic tools you need to interact with Linux. These include shells, redirection, pipes, text filters, and regular expressions.
• Chapter 2, “Managing Software and Processes,” describes the programs you’ll use to manage software. Much of this task is centered around the RPM and Debian package management systems. The chapter also covers handling shared libraries and managing processes (that is, running programs).
• Chapter 3, “Configuring Hardware,” focuses on Linux’s interactions with the hardware on which it runs. Specific hardware and procedures for using it include the BIOS, expansion cards, USB devices, hard disks, and partitions and filesystems used on hard disks.
• Chapter 4, “Managing Files,” covers the tools used to manage files. This includes commands to manage files, ownership, and permissions, as well as Linux’s standard directory tree and tools for archiving files.
• Chapter 5, “Booting, Initializing, and Virtualizing Linux,” explains how Linux boots up and how you can edit files in Linux. Specific topics include the GRUB Legacy and GRUB 2 boot loaders, boot diagnostics, and runlevels. It also takes a look at how to run Linux in a virtual machine environment.
• Chapter 6, “Configuring the GUI, Localization, and Printing,” describes the Linux GUI and printing subsystems. Topics include X configuration, managing GUI logins, configuring location-specific features, enabling accessibility features, and setting up Linux to use a printer.
• Chapter 7, “Administering the System,” describes miscellaneous administrative tasks. These include user and group management, tuning user environments, managing log files, and setting the clock.
• Chapter 8, “Configuring Basic Networking,” focuses on basic network configuration. Topics include TCP/IP basics, setting up Linux on a TCP/IP network, and network diagnostics.
• Chapter 9, “Writing Scripts,” covers how to automate simple tasks in Linux. Scripts are small programs that administrators often use to help automate common tasks. Being able to build simple scripts and have them run automatically at specified times can greatly simplify your administrator job.
• Chapter 10, “Securing Your System,” covers security. Specific subjects include network security, local security, and the use of encryption to improve security.

Chapters 1 through 5 cover the 101-500 exam, and Chapters 6 through 10 cover the 102-500 exam. These make up Part I and Part II of the book, respectively.

Each chapter begins with a list of the exam objectives that are covered in that chapter. The book doesn’t cover the objectives in order. Thus, you shouldn’t be alarmed at some of the odd ordering of the objectives within the book. At the end of each chapter, you’ll find a couple of elements you can use to prepare for the exam:

Exam Essentials This section summarizes important information that was covered in the chapter. You should be able to perform each of the tasks or convey the information requested.

Review Questions Each chapter concludes with 20 review questions. You should answer these questions and check your answers against the ones provided after the questions. If you can’t answer at least 80 percent of these questions correctly, go back and review the chapter or at least those sections that seem to be giving you difficulty.

 The review questions, assessment test, and other testing elements included in this book are not derived from the actual exam questions, so don’t memorize the answers to these questions and assume that doing so will enable you to pass the exam. You should learn the underlying topic, as described in the text of the book. This will let you answer the questions provided with this book and pass the exam. Learning the underlying topic is also the approach that will serve you best in the workplace—the ultimate goal of a certification.

To get the most out of this book, you should read each chapter from start to finish and then check your memory and understanding with the chapter-end elements. Even if you’re already familiar with a topic, you should skim the chapter; Linux is complex enough that there are often multiple ways to accomplish a task, so you may learn something even if you’re already competent in an area.

Additional Study Tools

Readers of this book can access a website that contains several additional study tools, including the following:

 Readers...