Cert Prep: CompTIA Linux+ (XKO-004)

Get ready to tackle the CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) certification exam, one of the most popular entry-level certifications for Linux administrators in the world.

Introduction

• Prepare for the CompTIA Linux+ XKO-005 Certification
• What you should know
• About the Linux+ XKO-005 exam

1. Lab Setup

• Explore Linux distributions
• Prepare the host for virtualization
• Enterprise Linux install
• Ubuntu install
• Locale and date tools

2. Manipulating Files

• About Linux Shells
• About Linux Terminals
• Get help on the command line
• Understand the Linux Filesystem Hierarchy
• Understand filesystem paths
• Create files and dirs
• Get information about files
• Copy files and dirs
• Move and rename files and dirs
• Remove files and dirs
• Create links to files and dirs
• Use input-output redirection (>, >>, |, 2>)
• Connect programs with named and unnamed pipes
• File redirects and tees
• Find files using Locate
• Find files with Find

3. Processing Text Files

• Get familiar with Nano
• An introduction to Vim
• Edit text in Vim
• Find text in files with grep
• Edit text with sed

4. Basic Boot Process

• Understand the Linux bootup process
• Linux boot loaders and sources
• Use GRUB2 commands
• Rescue a system

5. Maintaining Processes and System Services

• About Linux processes
• Monitor processes using ps
• Monitor processes in real time
• Manage processes
• Manage process jobs
• Introduction to systemd services
• Get systemd service status
• Manage systemd services
• Make systemd services persistent
• Introduction to job scheduling
• One-time jobs using at and batch
• About cronjobs
• Systemd timers
• Analyze system processes and optimize
• Troubleshoot applications and hardware

6. Configuring Network Connections

• Linux networking overview
• Prepare for Linux networking
• Configure live network connections
• Configure saved network connections
• Configure networking with NetworkManager
• Troubleshoot DNS client issues
• Monitor the network and remediate

7. Managing Users

• User and group overview
• User account file
• User password file
• Group accounts and passwords
• Create and delete users
• Modify user accounts
• Create and delete groups
• Assign users to groups
• Become a super user
• Elevate group privileges
• Elevate privileges using sudo
• Manage sudo users

8. Handling Storage

• Linux storage system overview
• Prepare for handling storage
• Create partitions using fdisk
• Create partitions using parted
• Manage LVM volumes and volume groups
• Expand existing logical volumes
• Reduce existing logical volumes
• Create EXT filesystems
• Repair EXT filesystems
• Create and repair XFS filesystems
• MDRAID or DMRAID?
• Create a RAID 5 using LVM
• Create RAIDs using mdadm
• Mount filesystems on boot
• Encrypt drives with LUKS
• Troubleshoot storage systems

9. Backup, Restore, and Compress Files

• Archive files with tar and cpio
• Compress files
• Copy files between systems

10. Manage Software

• Software management systems overview
• DNF overview
• Get DNF packages by name
• Get info on packages with DNF
• Get info on package groups with DNF
• Search for packages with DNF
• Install and remove packages with DNF
• Install and remove package groups with DNF
• Get package information with RPM
• Manage DNF repositories
• Manage OS updates
• Update the kernel
• Manage kernel modules
• Get package information with dpkg and APT
• Manage software with dpkg and APT
• Work with APT repositories
• Install software from source
• About sandboxed applications

11. File Security

• What is a file?
• Get information about files
• About extended attributes
• Get extended attributes
• Linux permissions overview
• File and directory modes
• File ownership
• Permissions using numeric method
• Permissions using symbolic method
• Initial permissions using umask
• Special file bits: SUID and SGID
• Special directory bits: SGID and Sticky
• Access control lists overview
• Read access control lists
• Set access control lists
• Configure inheritance with default access control lists
• Delete access control lists
• Troubleshoot access control

12. Mandatory Access Control

• Set enforcing and permissive modes for SELinux
• List and identify SELinux file and process context
• Restore SELinux default file contexts
• Use booleans to modify SELinux behavior
• Diagnose routine SELinux policy violations
• Maintain security context when managing files
• Use AppArmor

13. System Security

• About pluggable authentication modules
• Use login counters
• Change default password policies
• Edit global user account defaults
• Lock user accounts and change password aging
• Force password resets
• Configure Secure Shell
• Explore PKI concepts
• Configure key-based authentication for SSH
• Tunnel data with SSH
• Summarize security best practices

14. Linux Firewalls

• Compare and contrast Linux firewalls
• Use firewalld for packet filtering
• Use firewalld zones
• Use firewalld for NAT

15. Automation and Scripting

• What makes a shell script a shell script?
• Positional arguments
• File globbing
• Wildcards
• Bash variable scope
• Output to STDOUT and STDERR
• Pipe data into a script
• Conditional flow with if, then if
• Conditional flow with case
• Numeric conditions
• String conditions
• File conditions
• For loop
• While loop

16. Automating Jobs

• Manage one-time jobs with at
• Manage reoccurring user jobs with cron
• Manage reoccurring system jobs with cron
• Configure a system to use Network Time Protocol

17. Version Control

• Start with Git
• Commit and add files
• Why branch?
• Create branches
• Compare, rename, and delete branches
• Merge branches
• Create a GitHub repository

18. Realizing Virtual and Cloud Environments

• Compare cloud and virtualization concepts
• Types of hypervisors
• VM initialization and tools
• Explore containers

19. System Orchestration

• Utilize configuration management systems
• Explain server roles
• Infrastructure and build automation
• About app deployment
• Explore orchestration

Conclusion

• Take the exam