Examen 201

Topic 201: Linux Kernel

201.1 Kernel components
Weight: 2
Description:
Candidates should be able to utilise kernel components that are necessary to specific hardware, hardware drivers, system resources and requirements. This objective includes implementing different types of kernel images, identifying stable and development kernels and patches, as well as using kernel modules.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Kernel 2.6.x documentation

201.2 Compiling a kernel
Weight: 2
Description:
Candidates should be able to properly configure a kernel to include or disable specific features of the Linux kernel as necessary. This objective includes compiling and recompiling the Linux kernel as needed, updating and noting changes in a new kernel, creating an initrd image and installing new kernels.
Key Knowledge Areas
• /usr/src/linux/
• GRUB configuration files
• Kernel 2.6.x make targets

201.3 Patching a kernel
Weight: 1
Description:
Candidates should be able to properly patch a kernel to add support for new hardware. This objective also includes being able to properly remove kernel patches from already patched kernels.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Kernel Makefiles

201.4 Customise, build and install a custom kernel and kernel modules
Weight: 2
Description:
Candidates should be able to customise, build and install a 2.6 kernel for specific system requirements, by patching, compiling and editing configuration files as required. This objective includes being able to assess requirements for a kernel compile as well as build and configure kernel modules.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Customize the current kernel configuration.
• Build a new kernel and appropriate kernel modules.
• Install a new kernel and any modules.
• Ensure that the boot manager can locate the new kernel and associated files.
• /usr/src/linux/
• Module configuration files

201.5 Manage/Query kernel and kernel modules at runtime
Weight: 3
Description: Candidates should be able to manage and/or query a 2.6.x kernel and its loadable modules.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Use command-line utilities to get information about the currently running kernel and kernel
  modules.
• Manually load and unload kernel modules.
• Determine when modules can be unloaded.
• Determine what parameters a module accepts.
• Configure the system to load modules by names other than their file name.

Topic 202: System Startup

202.1 Customising system startup and boot processes
Weight: 4
Description:
Candidates should be able to query and modify the behaviour of system services at various run levels. A thorough understanding of the init structure and boot process is required. This objective includes interacting with runlevels.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Linux Standard Base Specification (LSB)

202.2 System recovery
Weight: 4
Description:
Candidates should be able to properly manipulate a Linux system during both the boot process and during recovery mode. This objective includes using both the init utility and init-related kernel options.
Key Knowledge Areas
• inittab
• GRUB
• grub shell

Topic 203: Filesystem and Devices

203.1 Operation the Linux filesystem
Weight: 4
Description:
Candidates should be able to properly configure and navigate the standard Linux filesystem. This objective includes configuring and mounting various filesystem types.
Key Knowledge Areas
• The concept of the fstab configuration
• Tools and utilities for handling SWAP partitions and files
• Use of UUIDs

203.2 Maintaining a Linux filesystem
Weight: 3
Description:
Candidates should be able to properly maintain a Linux filesystem using system utilities. This objective includes manipulating standard filesystems.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Tools and utilities to manipulate and ext2 and ext3
• Tools and utilities to manipulate reiserfs V3
• Tools and utilities to manipulate xfs

203.3 Creating and configuring filesystem options
Weight: 2
Description:
Candidates should be able to configure automount filesystems using AutoFS?. This objective includes configuring automount for network and device filesystems. Also included is creating filesystems for devices such as CD-ROMs.
Key Knowledge Areas
• autofs configuration files
• UDF and ISO9660 tools and utilities
• awareness of CD-ROM filesystems (UDF, ISO9660, HFS)
• awareness of CD-ROM filesystem extensions (Joliet, Rock Ridge, El Torito)

203.4 udevDevice Management
Weight: 1
Description:
Candidates should understand device detection and management using udev. This objective includes troubleshooting udev rules.
Key Knowledge Areas
• udev rules
• Kernel interface

Topic 204: Advanced Storage Device Administration

204.1 Configuring RAID
Weight: 2
Description:
Candidates should be able to configure and implement software RAID. This objective includes using and configuring RAID 0, 1 and 5.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Software raid configuration files and utilities

204.2 Adjusting Storage Device Access
Weight: 1
Description:
Candidates should be able to configure kernel options to support various drives. This objective includes software tools to view & modify hard disk settings.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Tools and utilities to configure DMA for IDE devices including ATAPI and SATA
• Tools and utilities to manipulate or analyse system resources (e.g. interrupts)
• Awareness of sdparm command and its uses

204.3 Logical Volume Manager
Weight: 3
Description:
Candidates should be able to create and remove logical volumes, volume groups, and physical volumes. This objective includes snapshots and resizing logical volumes.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Tools in the LVM suite
• Resizing, renaming, creating, and removing logical volumes, volume groups, and physical
  volumes
• Creating and maintaining snapshots
• Activating volume groups

Topic 205: Networking Configuration

205.1 Basic Networking configuration
Weight: 3
Description:
Candidates should be able to configure a network device to be able to connect to a local, wired or wireless, and a wide-area network. This objective includes being able to communicate between various subnets within a single network.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Utilities to configure and manipulate ethernet network interfaces
• Configuring wireless networks

205.2 Advanced Network Configuration and Troubleshooting
Weight: 4
Description:
Candidates should be able to configure a network device to implement various network authentication schemes. This objective includes configuring a multi-homed network device, configuring a VPN client and resolving communication problems.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Utilities to manipulate routing tables
• Utilities to configure and manipulate ethernet network interfaces
• Utilities to analyse the status of the network devices
• Utilities to monitor and analyse the TCP/IP traffic
• OpenVPN

205.3 Troubleshooting network issues
Weight: 5
Description:
Candidates should be able to identify and correct common network setup issues, to include knowledge of locations for basic configuration files and commands.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Location and content of access restriction files
• Utilities to configure and manipulate ethernet network interfaces
• Utilities to manage routing tables
• Utilities to list network states.
• Utilities to gain information about the network configuration
• Methods of information about the recognised and used hardware devices
• System initialisation files and their contents (SysV init process)

205.4 Notify users on system-related issues
Weight: 1
Description:
Candidates should be able to notify the users about current issues related to the system.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Automate communication with users through logon messages.
• Inform active users of system maintenance

Topic 206: System Maintenance

206.1 Make and Install programs from source
Weight: 4
Description:
Candidates should be able to build and install an executable program from source. This objective includes being able to unpack a file of sources.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Unpack source code using common compression and archive utilities.
• Understand basics of invoking make to compile programs.
• Apply parameters to a configure script.
• Know where sources are stored by default.

206.2 Backup operations
Weight: 3
Description:
Candidates should be able to use system tools to back up important system data.
Key Knowledge Areas
• Knowledge about directories that have to be include in backups
• Awareness of network backup solutions such as Amanda, Bacula and BackupPC
• Knowledge of the benefits and drawbacks of tapes, CDR, disk or other backup media
• Perform partial and manual backups.
• Verify the integrity of backup files.
• Partially or fully restore backups.

Topic 207: Domain Name Server

207.1 Basic DNS server configuration
Weight: 2
Description:
Candidates should be able to configure BIND to function as a caching-only DNS server. This objective includes the ability to convert older BIND configuration files to newer format, managing a running server and configuring logging.
Key Knowledge Areas
• BIND 9.x configuration files, terms and utilities
• Defining the location of the BIND zone files in BIND configuration files
• Reloading modified configuration and zone files

207.2 Create and maintain DNS zones
Weight: 2
Description:
Candidates should be able to create a zone file for a forward or reverse zone or root level server. This objective includes setting appropriate values for records, adding hosts in zones and adding zones to the DNS. A candidate should also be able to delegate zones to another DNS server.
Key Knowledge Areas
• BIND 9 configuration files, terms and utilities
• Utilities to request information from the DNS server
• Layout, content and file location of the BIND zone files
• Various methods to add a new host in the zone files, including reverse zones

207.3 Securing a DNS server
Weight: 2
Description:
Candidates should be able to configure a DNS server to run as a non-root user and run in a chroot jail. This objective includes secure exchange of data between DNS servers.
Key Knowledge Areas
• BIND 9 configuration files
• Configuring BIND to run in a chroot jail
• Split configuration of BIND using the forwarders statement

Linux LPI certificering level 2 (LPIC2) examen 201

This is a required exam for LPI certification Level 2. It covers advanced skills for the Linux professional that are common across all distributions of Linux.