www.it-ebooks.info www.it-ebooks.info LPI LINUX CERTIFICATION IN A NUTSHELL www.it-ebooks.info www.it-ebooks.info LPI LINUX CERTIFICATION IN A NUTSHELL Third Edition Adam Haeder, Stephen Addison Schneiter, Bruno Gomes Pessanha, and James Stanger Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Sebastopol • Taipei • Tokyo www.it-ebooks.info LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell, Third Edition by Adam Haeder, Stephen Addison Schneiter, Bruno Gomes Pessanha, and James Stanger Copyright © 2010 Adam Haeder, Stephen Addison Schneiter, Bruno Gomes Pessanha, and James Stanger. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472. O’Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online editions are also available for most titles (http://my.safaribooksonline.com). For more infor- mation, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: 800-998-9938 or corporate@oreilly.com. Editor: Andy Oram Production Editor: Adam Zaremba Copyeditor: Genevieve d’Entremont Proofreader: Jennifer Knight Indexer: Jay Marchand Cover Designer: Karen Montgomery Interior Designer: David Futato Illustrator: Robert Romano Printing History: May 2001: First Edition. July 2006: Second Edition. June 2010: Third Edition. Nutshell Handbook, the Nutshell Handbook logo, and the O’Reilly logo are registered trade- marks of O’Reilly Media, Inc. LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell, the image of a bull, and related trade dress are trademarks of O’Reilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and O’Reilly Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. TM This book uses RepKover™, a durable and flexible lay-flat binding. ISBN: 978-0-596-80487-9 [M] 1276182761 www.it-ebooks.info Table of Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii 1. LPI Exams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. Exam 101 Study Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Exam Preparation 5 3. System Architecture (Topic 101.1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Objective 1: Determine and Configure Hardware Settings 7 BIOS 7 USB Topology 10 USB Controllers 10 USB Devices 11 USB Drivers 11 USB Hotplug 12 Reporting Your Hardware 12 Manipulating Modules 14 Device Management Definitions 20 4. Change Runlevels and Shut Down or Reboot System (Topics 101.2 and 101.3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Objective 2: Boot the System 21 Boot-time Kernel Parameters 21 Introduction to Kernel Module Configuration 22 Objective 3: Change Runlevels and Shut Down or Reboot System 24 Single-User Mode 25 Overview of the /etc Directory Tree and the init Process 26 v www.it-ebooks.info Setting the Default Runlevel 28 Determining Your System’s Runlevel 28 5. Linux Installation and Package Management (Topic 102) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Objective 1: Design a Hard Disk Layout 34 System Considerations 34 Swap Space 37 General Guidelines 38 Objective 2: Install a Boot Manager 38 LILO 39 GRUB 41 Objective 3: Manage Shared Libraries 44 Shared Library Dependencies 44 Linking Shared Libraries 45 Objective 4: Use Debian Package Management 46 Debian Package Management Overview 46 Managing Debian Packages 47 Objective 5: Use Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) 52 RPM Overview 52 Running rpm 53 YUM Overview 58 6. GNU and Unix Commands (Topic 103) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Objective 1: Work on the Command Line 64 The Interactive Shell 65 Command History and Editing 71 Manpages 75 Objective 2: Process Text Streams Using Filters 77 Objective 3: Perform Basic File Management 91 Filesystem Objects 91 File-Naming Wildcards (File Globbing) 100 Objective 4: Use Streams, Pipes, and Redirects 102 Standard I/O and Default File Descriptors 102 Pipes 103 Redirection 104 Using the tee Command 106 The xargs Command 106 Objective 5: Create, Monitor, and Kill Processes 107 Processes 107 Process Monitoring 108 Signaling Active Processes 115 Terminating Processes 117 Shell Job Control 118 Objective 6: Modify Process Execution Priorities 120 nice 120 Objective 7: Search Text Files Using Regular Expressions 123 vi | Table of Contents www.it-ebooks.info Regular Expression Syntax 123 Using grep 125 Using sed 127 Examples 130 Objective 8: Perform Basic File Editing Operations Using vi 135 Invoking vi 135 vi Basics 135 7. Devices, Linux Filesystems, and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (Topic 104) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Objective 1: Create Partitions and Filesystems 140 Disk Drives Under Linux 140 Objective 2: Maintain the Integrity of Filesystems 151 Monitoring Free Disk Space and Inodes 151 Monitoring Disk Usage 153 Modifying a Filesystem 154 Checking and Repairing Filesystems 157 Objective 3: Control Filesystem Mounting and Unmounting 161 Managing the Filesystem Table 161 Mounting Filesystems 163 Unmounting Filesystems 166 Objective 4: Set and View Disk Quotas 167 Quota Limits 168 Quota Commands 169 Enabling Quotas 175 Objective 5: Manage File Permissions and Ownership 176 Linux Access Control 176 Setting Access Modes 181 Setting Up a Workgroup Directory 186 Objective 6: Create and Change Hard and Symbolic Links 187 Why Links? 188 Objective 7: Find System Files and Place Files in the Correct Location 192 Datatypes 193 The root Filesystem 194 Locating Files 200 8. Exam 101 Review Questions and Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 System Architecture (Topic 101) 205 Review Questions 205 Exercises 206 Linux Installation and Package Management (Topic 102) 206 Review Questions 206 Exercises 207 GNU and Unix Commands (Topic 103) 208 Review Questions 208 Exercises 208 Table of Contents | vii www.it-ebooks.info Devices, Linux Filesystems, and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (Topic 104) 211 Review Questions 211 Exercises 212 9. Exam 101 Practice Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Questions 215 Answers 226 10. Exam 101 Highlighter’s Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 System Architecture 229 Objective 101.1: Determine and Configure Hardware Settings 229 Objective 101.2: Boot the System 230 Objective 101.3: Change Runlevels and Shut Down or Reboot System 230 Linux Installation and Package Management 230 Objective 102.1: Design Hard Disk Layout 230 Objective 102.2: Install a Boot Manager 231 Objective 102.3: Manage Shared Libraries 231 Objective 102.4: Use Debian Package Management 232 Objective 102.5: Use Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) 232 GNU and Unix Commands 232 Objective 103.1: Work on the Command Line 232 Objective 103.2: Process Text Streams Using Filters 233 Objective 103.3: Perform Basic File Management 235 Objective 103.4: Use Streams, Pipes, and Redirects 237 Objective 103.5: Create, Monitor, and Kill Processes 238 Objective 103.6: Modify Process Execution Priorities 239 Objective 103.7: Search Text Files Using Regular Expressions 239 Objective 103.8: Perform Basic File Editing Operations Using vi 241 Devices, Linux Filesystems, and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard 243 Objective 104.1: Create Partitions and Filesystems 243 Objective 104.2: Maintain the Integrity of Filesystems 244 Objective 104.3: Control Filesystem Mounting and Unmounting 244 Objective 104.4: Set and View Disk Quotas 246 Objective 104.5: Manage File Permissions and Ownership 246 Objective 104.6: Create and Change Hard and Symbolic Links 248 Objective 104.7: Find System Files and Place Files in the Correct Location 248 11. Exam 102 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 12. Exam 102 Study Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Exam Preparation 253 viii | Table of Contents www.it-ebooks.info [...]... from the command line Linux Installation and Package Management 5 Objectives for this Topic include the basics of getting any LSB-compliant Linux distribution installed and installing applications Some of the basics include partitioning hard drives, installing your choice of boot managers, managing shared libraries, and using Debian’s dpkg and apt family of commands and RPM and Yellowdog Updater Modified... the day-to-day use of Linux If you have a basic working understanding of Linux administration, the material in this book will help fill gaps in your knowledge while at the same time preparing you for the LPI Exams, should you choose to take them This book should also prove to be a valuable introduction for new Linux users and administrators looking for a broad, detailed introduction to Linux Part of... operating system and network technologies These two programs are often cited as having popularized a certification market for products that had previously been highly specialized and relatively rare These programs have become so popular that a huge training and preparation industry has formed to service a constant stream of new certification candidates Certification programs, offered by vendors such as... two years of practical system administration experience The Level 1 candidate should be comfortable with Linux at the command line as well as capable of performing simple tasks, including system installation and troubleshooting Level 1 certification is required prior to obtaining Level 2 certification status All of LPI s exams are based on a published set of technical Objectives These technical Objectives... lsdev Syntax lsdev Description The lsdev command displays information about your system’s hardware, such as interrupt addresses and I/O ports The command is useful for obtaining information prior to installing devices that may have hardware addressing conflicts, such as ISA devices This command uses DMA files in /proc to also report I/O addresses and IRQ and DMA channel information There are no options... www.it-ebooks.info forms are equally difficult The scores are between 200 and 800, and passing score is 500 Audience for This Book The primary audience for this book is, of course, candidates seeking the LPIC certification These may range from administrators of other operating systems looking for a Linux certification to complement an MSCE certification to Unix administrators wary of a growing pool of Linux- certified... (#) and as the user prompt ($) under the Bourne or Bash shell On the Exam Provides information about areas you should focus on when studying for the exam xvi | Preface www.it-ebooks.info Indicates a tip, suggestion, or general note Indicates a warning or caution A final word about syntax: in many cases, the space between an option and its argument can be omitted In other cases, the spacing (or lack... Topic In addition, each part contains a practice exam (with answers), review questions and exercises, and a handy highlighter’s index that can help you review important details Book Chapters Each part of this book contains some combination of the following materials: Exam overview Here you find an introduction to the exam along with details about the format of the questions Preface | xv www.it-ebooks.info... 107.1: Manage User and Group Accounts and Related System Files Objective 107.2: Automate System Administration Tasks by Scheduling Jobs Objective 107.3: Localization and Internationalization Essential System Services Objective 108.1: Maintain System Time Objective 108.2: System Logging Objective 108.3: Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) Basics Objective 108.4: Manage Printers and Printing Networking Fundamentals... find, as well as your suggestions for future editions, by writing to: O’Reilly Media, Inc 1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol, CA 95472 800-998-9938 (in the United States or Canada) Preface | xvii www.it-ebooks.info 707-829-0515 (international or local) 707-829-0104 (fax) We have a web page for this book, where we list errata, examples, and any additional information You can access this page at: . Media, Inc. LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell, the image of a bull, and related trade dress are trademarks of O’Reilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations. Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation