Christine Bresnahan is an Adjunct Professor at Ivy Tech Community College. She teaches Linux certification, and Python programming classes.

Richard Blum has served as both systems and network administrator roles for UNIX, Linux, Novell, and Microsoft servers. Rich is widely published on Linux, and is a popular online Linux instructor.

Introduction xxi

Assessment Test xxxix

Part I Exam 101-500 1

Chapter 1 Exploring Linux Command-Line Tools 3

Understanding Command-Line Basics 4

Discussing Distributions 4

Reaching a Shell 5

Exploring Your Linux Shell Options 5

Using a Shell 7

Using Environment Variables 11

Getting Help 17

Editing Text Files 20

Looking at Text Editors 20

Understanding vim Modes 24

Exploring Basic Text-Editing Procedures 24

Saving Changes 27

Processing Text Using Filters 28

File-Combining Commands 28

File-Transforming Commands 31

File-Formatting Commands 33

File-Viewing Commands 36

File-Summarizing Commands 40

Using Regular Expressions 45

Using grep 45

Understanding Basic Regular Expressions 47

Understanding Extended Regular Expressions 50

Using Streams, Redirection, and Pipes 50

Redirecting Input and Output 51

Piping Data between Programs 55

Using sed 56

Generating Command Lines 60

Summary 61

Exam Essentials 61

Review Questions 62

Chapter 2 Managing Software and Processes 67

Looking at Package Concepts 68

Using RPM 69

RPM Distributions and Conventions 69

The rpm Command Set 71

Extracting Data from RPMs 77

Using YUM 78

Using ZYpp 83

Using Debian Packages 86

Debian Package File Conventions 87

The dpkg Command Set 87

Looking at the APT Suite 92

Using apt-cache 93

Using apt-get 94

Reconfiguring Packages 97

Managing Shared Libraries 98

Library Principles 98

Locating Library Files 99

Loading Dynamically 100

Library Management Commands 100

Managing Processes 102

Examining Process Lists 102

Employing Multiple Screens 109

Understanding Foreground and Background Processes 116

Managing Process Priorities 120

Sending Signals to Processes 121

Summary 126

Exam Essentials 127

Review Questions 129

Chapter 3 Configuring Hardware 133

Configuring the Firmware and Core Hardware 134

Understanding the Role of Firmware 134

Device Interfaces 136

The /dev Directory 138

The /proc Directory 139

The /sys Directory 143

Working with Devices 144

Hardware Modules 148

Storage Basics 154

Types of Drives 154

Drive Partitions 155

Automatic Drive Detection 155

Storage Alternatives 156

Multipath 156

Logical Volume Manager 157

Using RAID Technology 158

Partitioning Tools 158

Working with fdisk 158

Working with gdisk 161

The GNU parted Command 162

Graphical Tools 163

Understanding Filesystems 164

The Virtual Directory 164

Maneuvering Around the Filesystem 166

Formatting Filesystems 167

Common Filesystem Types 167

Creating Filesystems 169

Mounting Filesystems 170

Manually Mounting Devices 170

Automatically Mounting Devices 172

Managing Filesystems 173

Retrieving Filesystem Stats 173

Filesystem Tools 173

Summary 174

Exam Essentials 175

Review Questions 177

Chapter 4 Managing Files 181

Using File Management Commands 182

Naming and Listing Files 182

Exploring Wildcard Expansion Rules 186

Understanding the File Commands 189

Compressing File Commands 199

Archiving File Commands 202

Managing Links 213

Managing File Ownership 218

Assessing File Ownership 219

Changing a File's Owner 219

Changing a File's Group 220

Controlling Access to Files 221

Understanding Permissions 221

Changing a File's Mode 223

Setting the Default Mode 226

Changing Special Access Modes 228

Locating Files 229

Getting to Know the FHS 229

Employing Tools to Locate Files 231

Summary 239

Exam Essentials 239

Review Questions 241

Chapter 5 Booting, Initializing, and Virtualizing Linux 245

Understanding the Boot Process 246

The Boot Process 246

Extracting Information about the Boot Process 247

Looking at Firmware 249

The BIOS Startup 249

The UEFI Startup 250

Looking at Boot Loaders 251

Boot Loader Principles 251

Using GRUB Legacy as the Boot Loader 251

Using GRUB 2 as the Boot Loader 255

Adding Kernel Boot Parameters 259

Using Alternative Boot Loaders 260

The Initialization Process 261

Using the systemd Initialization Process 262

Exploring Unit Files 263

Focusing on Service Unit Files 265

Focusing on Target Unit Files 268

Looking at systemctl 270

Examining Special systemd Commands 273

Using the SysV Initialization Process 276

Understanding Runlevels 277

Investigating SysVinit Commands 280

Stopping the System 283

Notifying the Users 284

Virtualizing Linux 286

Looking at Virtual Machines 287

Understanding Containers 291

Looking at Infrastructure as a Service 293

Summary 295

Exam Essentials 295

Review Questions 298

Part II Exam 102-500 303

Chapter 6 Configuring the GUI, Localization, and Printing 305

Understanding the GUI 306

Understanding the X11 Architecture 307

Examining [...] 308

Figuring Out Wayland 309

Managing the GUI 311

Standard GUI Features 311

The X GUI Login System 313

Common Linux Desktop Environments 314

Providing Accessibility 323

Using X11 for Remote Access 325

Remote X11 Connections 326

Tunneling your X11 Connection 326

Using Remote Desktop Software 328

Viewing VNC 328

Grasping Xrdp 330

Exploring NX 332

Studying SPICE 332

Understanding Localization 333

Character Sets 333

Environment Variables 334

Setting Your Locale 335

Installation Locale Decisions 335

Changing Your Locale 336

Looking at Time 338

Working with Time Zones 338

Setting the Time and Date 339

Configuring Printing 343

Summary 345

Exam Essentials 346

Review Questions 348

Chapter 7 Administering the System 353

Managing Users and Groups 354

Understanding Users and Groups 354

Configuring User Accounts 355

Configuring Groups 371

Managing Email 375

Understanding Email 375

Choosing Email Software 376

Working with Email 377

Using Log and Journal Files 384

Examining the syslog Protocol 385

Viewing the History of Linux Logging 387

Logging Basics Using rsyslogd 387

Journaling with systemd-journaldd 394

Maintaining the System Time 403

Understanding Linux Time Concepts 403

Viewing and Setting Time 404

Understanding the Network Time Protocol 408

Using the NTP Daemon 411

Using the chrony Daemon 413

Summary 416

Exam Essentials 416

Review Questions 419

Chapter 8 Configuring Basic Networking 423

Networking Basics 424

The Physical Layer 424

The Network Layer 426

The Transport Layer 430

The Application Layer 431

Configuring Network Features 433

Network Configuration Files 433

Graphical Tools 436

Command-Line Tools 438

Getting Network Settings Automatically 445

Bonding Network Cards 445

Basic Network Troubleshooting 447

Sending Test Packets 447

Tracing Routes 448

Finding Host Information 449

Advanced Network Troubleshooting 452

The netstat Command 452

Examining Sockets 455

The netcat Utility 456

Summary 457

Exam Essentials 458

Review Questions 460

Chapter 9 Writing Scripts 465

Shell Variables 466

Global Environment Variables 466

Local Environment Variables 468

Setting Local Environment Variables 470

Setting Global Environment Variables 472

Locating System Environment Variables 472

Using Command Aliases 474

The Basics of Shell Scripting 475

Running Multiple Commands 475

Redirecting Output 476

Piping Data 477

The Shell Script Format 478

Running the Shell Script 479

Advanced Shell Scripting 481

Displaying Messages 481

Using Variables in Scripts 482

Command-Line Arguments 484

Getting User Input 484

The Exit Status 488

Writing Script Programs 489

Command Substitution 489

Performing Math 490

Logic Statements 492

Loops 496

Functions 498

Running Scripts in Background Mode 500

Running in the Background 501

Running Multiple Background Jobs 502

Running Scripts Without a Console 503

Sending Signals 504

Interrupting a Process 504

Pausing a Process 504

Job Control 506

Viewing Jobs 506

Restarting Stopped Jobs 508

Running Like Clockwork 509

Scheduling a Job Using the at Command 509

Scheduling Regular Scripts 513

Summary 515

Exam Essentials 516

Review Questions 518

Chapter 10 Securing Your System 523

Administering Network Security 524

Disabling Unused Services 524

Using Super Server Restrictions 534

Restricting via TCP Wrappers 538

Administering Local Security 539

Securing Passwords 539

Limiting root Access 543

Auditing User Access...