LPIC-1 & 2 as a precursor to RHCSA <Security+?>

I’m Travis. I have a couple years of experience in technology as a PC tech, ISP service installation/troubleshooting, and telecommunications networking (RF). I’m also a veteran of the Army with over six years of service. I had a question in regards to becoming a Linux admin. I understand that Redhat certifications hold more weight in the industry. It would seem this is largely due to the RHCSA being ‘hands on’ and the Linux+/LPIC1 exam being more multiple choice and scenario based. Would taking the LPIC-1 and LPIC-2 examinations be the best precursor and adequately prepare one for the RHCSA examination? I sit for the CompTIA Network+ exam this week. I have the Security+ ‘bundle’ which is good for a year. What order of certifications would help to ensure success on the Linux certifications (Would it be best to do net+, Security+, then LPI-1&2 then RHCSA, or could Security+ wait?-not sure how much security related content is required for Linux) The finale, I’m currently laid off from an RF telecommunications positon I was in with Ericsson and have 40+ hours weekly to devote to study for exams, I plan on going back to work in 3 months. That being said, do you honestly think giving 40 hours a week for a month (160 hours) would be enough to prepare and pass the first Linux+ exam, and then spending another month on the second Linux+ exam? I have a limited amount of experience with Linux (basic commands and Ubuntu GUI J) but I honestly have nothing but time. I’ve narrowed my study materials to CBT nuggets, LinuxAcademy.com, (I’m a huge video fan), the Roderick Smith Linux+ book:

CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide: Exams LX0-101 and LX0-102: Roderick W. Smith: 9781118531747: Amazon.com: Books

And The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction by William Shotts:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593273894/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Any advice on certifications (or order of certs), and study material would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
-Travis

I’m always up for connecting with professionals, please find my LinkedIn URL below.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisebyrd

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brownwrap

I am current studying the Linux+ certification. I did find another new cert that seems to be in between Linux+ and Red Hat:

Linux Certification and Certification Courses - Linux Foundation Training

I say in between because from what I understand about the test, it is a proctored exam where you log into a live system from your own workstation that has a webcam and you take the test. There has only been one person that I have found with any experience on this test and he failed it. I am not ready to try it yet, but I did buy a voucher when it was offered at a very reduced price.

aderon

Hello Travis. Nice to see another Orlandian on the board

. There's a lot of questions here so I'll try to help on anything I'm familiar with.

I think starting with the Network+ is a good idea. It's definitely the easiest of all the ones you listed and sets a good framework for IT in general.

While Security+ knowledge is definitely not necessary to start on the Linux+, I would still recommend taking it right after the Network+. There is a large similarity between the two tests and if you're just coming off of the Net+ it will most likely reduce the time it takes to study and sit for the Security+ rather than if you came back to it later on. If your whole end goal is Linux certification though, and you want to finish as soon as possible then I would say the Security+ isn't necessary. (If you do decide to take the Security+, the Darril Gibson book is hands down the best resource).

It is 100% possible to sit for the LX0-101 exam within a month. And if you're putting in 40+ hours a week I'd expect you could most likely sit within 2 weeks. I was doing roughly 10-13 hours a week and was able to sit within a month with zero linux experience.

The Roderick Smith book isn't very good, but it aligns very well with the Linux+ objectives. Since you're new to Linux, I'd suggest starting with "The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction" by William E. Shotts Jr. As a newbie myself, I found it very easy to follow along with and the first half loosely correlates to LX0-101 and the second half loosely correlating with LX0-102. After reading Mr. Shotts book, the Roderick book becomes a bit easier to read.

I don't have any experience with RHCSA so I'll leave that for others to comment on. Welcome to the board!

impelse

It is possible to learn the material with that time, remember you are trying to get new skills and with 40+ hours a week is good time.

Now I can see you have some computer, ISP and RF experience. Did you think going through Cisco certs, those mix with your telecom experience can open better doors because everything is related with Telecommunication/networking.

Now if you are trying to change field it will take some time, it is possible but you will need to fight again the Linux experience for high level.

Verities

1. Linux +/LPIC-1 is a good prep for RHCSA in my opinion. Some will tell you to skip Linux +/LPIC-1 entirely if you have some Linux experience already.

2. I wouldn't go after the LPIC-2 until you have some hands on experience.

3. The best resources for the current flavor of RHCSA exam is Michael Jang's RHCS/RHCE Guide, 6th edition and a lab to practice.

orlandofl

Thanks everyone for the info! Since you guys have Security+, what are your thoughts on study time frame for it? Given the 8 hours a day, 40 a week scenario do you think 3 weeks is enough time to get this one done, or is that a little far-fetched? Once again thanks!

-Travis

stryder144

Depending on when you got out of the Army, the Security+ concepts should be pretty familiar, overall. I would say that three weeks should be sufficient. Many boot camp style training programs will tell you that you go to class for a week, then study for a week, then schedule your exam.

Edit: Welcome to the forum, Travis. Glad to have you on board!

orlandofl

Not to pollute the thread, but what about *entry level* Linux jobs? most sysadmin postings require 3-10 years of experience, so where does one go after LPIC-1? I realize a couple years of experience and a few more advanced certs is the route to a decent admin position, but what to do in the interim? Do Linux help-desk/desktop support/technical support roles exist? <Linux end-user support> Since by default these roles appear to be slightly more technical than their Microsoft counterpart, how do they compare in terms of compensation? Any one know what companies are the biggest employers of entry level/junior Linux positions? Once again, Thanks!

-Travis

aderon

orlandofl wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the info! Since you guys have Security+, what are your thoughts on study time frame for it? Given the 8 hours a day, 40 a week scenario do you think 3 weeks is enough time to get this one done, or is that a little far-fetched? Once again thanks!

-Travis

I took mine directly after the Network+ and found it very easy (A lot of that has to do with how good Darril Gibson's book is). 40 hours a week could easily do it in 2.5 - 3 weeks or even less. Really just depends on how quickly you can read through the material. As stryder144 said a lot of it will be pretty familiar stuff and some of it you will already know from the Net+.

aderon

orlandofl wrote: »

Not to pollute the thread, but what about *entry level* Linux jobs? most sysadmin postings require 3-10 years of experience, so where does one go after LPIC-1? I realize a couple years of experience and a few more advanced certs is the route to a decent admin position, but what to do in the interim? Do Linux help-desk/desktop support/technical support roles exist? <Linux end-user support> Since by default these roles appear to be slightly more technical than their Microsoft counterpart, how do they compare in terms of compensation? Any one know what companies are the biggest employers of entry level/junior Linux positions? Once again, Thanks!

-Travis

That seems to be the catch 22 with most things in IT. Need experience to get the job, can't get experience without the job. My only suggestion would be to cert up and just continuously apply to everything regardless of whether you qualify or not. Eventually someone will take a chance on you. Also, connections are invaluable in this industry and if you know someone who already works at the company, getting past HR is much easier.

Verities

aderon wrote: »

That seems to be the catch 22 with most things in IT. Need experience to get the job, can't get experience without the job. My only suggestion would be to cert up and just continuously apply to everything regardless of whether you qualify or not. Eventually someone will take a chance on you. Also, connections are invaluable in this industry and if you know someone who already works at the company, getting past HR is much easier.

This^. Network, network and network! The more people you meet, the more likely you are going to be able to get your foot in the door. Also, practice with Linux at home, setup BIND, SQUID, Apache,clusters (if you can) and you might be able to get into a position where you will have some exposure to Linux. A huge plus is learning BASH scripting and a object oriented programming language; python (biggest up and comer), perl (a bit antiquated), and/or Ruby (established and popular). I suggest looking into codeacademy after you get the certs you want as they provide free training for Ruby and Python.

varelg

orlandofl wrote: »

Not to pollute the thread, but what about *entry level* Linux jobs? most sysadmin postings require 3-10 years of experience, so where does one go after LPIC-1? I realize a couple years of experience and a few more advanced certs is the route to a decent admin position, but what to do in the interim?

-Travis

What after LPIC-1? RH certs and/or Solaris. I will soon be sitting LPIC-2 exams just for the sake of effort that I put into passing LPIC-1 as my cert expires by the end of April.
Linux end- user support? I haven't seen anything even remotely close to it. UNix on user- side lives in the form of Apple, so if you want to stick to Unix AND do end- user support, do Apple support.
I don't see LPIC/Linux+ as a pre- requisite for RH and I hold an LPI cert. Maybe you can get some form of at least partial coverage for cost of RH's and Solaris training and exams from the Big Gov since you mentioned being a military veteran?
Some of posters here mentioned Linux+ as a pre- req when doing DoD contracting jobs, and that would be the only reason to go for that line of cert.
Go over some Linux books (like "Linux Phrasebook" and Sobell's latest on Red Hat/Fedora) and lab scenarios just be able to comprehend what is instructor talking about during RH/Solaris training and go for those certs.

orlandofl

So, i'm going to go ahead and say it, though i'll look like a complete moron, what for? What would python and ruby enable me to do? I've been through the Windows Server 2012 official course and have experience with power-shell. I realize what scripting is used for, and that makes good sense to me. What could i use python and ruby for in terms of administrative tasks for say Ubuntu and CentOS (RH) servers? <Which by the way i'm assuming are the two main distros for corporate/enterprise environments due to longevity of support-correct me if i'm wrong> Thanks!

brownwrap

Although the scripting I've done has been in BASH, there are lots of Python scripts around. I have spent the bulk of my day today, installing Python modules and software needed for these modules.

7.4M Jan 14 12:06 cartopy-0.11.0.tar.gz
58K Jan 14 13:30 pyshp-1.2.1.tar.gz
277K Jan 14 13:28 Shapely-master.zip
29K Jan 14 13:52 six-1.9.0.tar.gz

We also use ROCKS here for our clusters. All of the custom scripts in ROCKS are written in Python.

www.rocksclusters.org | Rocks Website

I have no experience with Ruby, and of the 4 Linux Admin, I do much of the software installs, so it is not like you would have to know your way around Python, but it is a nice little niche I have for myself here.

jofas88

I did Net+(N10-005) and Sec+(SY0-401) pretty much back to back, 1 month each. The material def overlaps a ton. Going Net+ right into Sec+ would be a good move. I read the book and used Prof messer vids, went in and killed the exams. I honestly felt i over prepared for the exams, but im also an IT guy by hobby, employment is just a result of that.

Xavor

Based on your background, I'd strongly recommend the nailing the Security+ while you're unemployed and see about getting back into the classified job sector.

FWIW: Harris Corporate headquarters are located in Melbourne, FL. If you have a clearance I can see what openings exist down there. If you're not afraid to move, there are positions for entry level around the country.

I have no experience with the LPIC exams. I went the Red Hat route and did self-study. Basic command-line skills can be shown by any of the certifications. For entry level: Understanding permissions and how to change them, cron jobs, moving and renaming files, installing packages, installing and configuring the OS, managing network connections, and mounting would be a great start.

As to scripting, just learn the basics with Bash while learning a linux distribution. I would go with CentOS as the learning distro of choice and specifically anything 6.x.

Read the Linux Filesystem Hierarchy: Filesystem Hierarchy Standard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lastly, I saw the below on Reddit the other day and printed it out for some of my buddies who ask me about Linux. If you can do all these steps you're gold:

"
This is what I tell people to do, who ask me "how do I learn to be a Linux sysadmin?".
1) Set up a KVM hypervisor.

2) Inside of that KVM hypervisor, install a Spacewalk server. Use CentOS 6 as the distro for all work below. (For bonus points, set up errata importation on the CentOS channels, so you can properly see security update advisory information.)

3) Create a VM to provide named and dhcpd service to your entire environment. Set up the dhcp daemon to use the Spacewalk server as the pxeboot machine (thus allowing you to use Cobbler to do unattended OS installs). Make sure that every forward zone you create has a reverse zone associated with it. Use something like "internal.virtnet" (but not ".local") as your internal DNS zone.

4) Use that Spacewalk server to automatically (without touching it) install a new pair of OS instances, with which you will then create a Master/Master pair of LDAP servers. Make sure they register with the Spacewalk server. Do not allow anonymous bind, do not use unencrypted LDAP.

5) Reconfigure all 3 servers to use LDAP authentication.

6) Create two new VMs, again unattendedly, which will then be Postgresql VMs. Use pgpool-II to set up master/master replication between them. Export the database from your Spacewalk server and import it into the new pgsql cluster. Reconfigure your Spacewalk instance to run off of that server.

7) Set up a Puppet Master. Plug it into the Spacewalk server for identifying the inventory it will need to work with. (**** and use ansible for deployment purposes, again plugging into the Spacewalk server.)

8 Deploy another VM. Install iscsitgt and nfs-kernel-server on it. Export a LUN and an NFS share.

9) Deploy another VM. Install bakula on it, using the postgresql cluster to store its database. Register each machine on it, storing to flatfile. Store the bakula VM's image on the iscsi LUN, and every other machine on the NFS share.

10) Deploy two more VMs. These will have httpd (Apache2) on them. Leave essentially default for now.

11) Deploy two more VMs. These will have tomcat on them. Use JBoss Cache to replicate the session caches between them. Use the httpd servers as the frontends for this. The application you will run is JBoss Wiki.

12) You guessed right, deploy another VM. This will do iptables-based NAT/round-robin loadbalancing between the two httpd servers.

13) Deploy another VM. On this VM, install postfix. Set it up to use a gmail account to allow you to have it send emails, and receive messages only from your internal network.

14) Deploy another VM. On this VM, set up a Nagios server. Have it use snmp to monitor the communication state of every relevant service involved above. This means doing a "is the right port open" check, and a "I got the right kind of response" check and "We still have filesystem space free" check.

15) Deploy another VM. On this VM, set up a syslog daemon to listen to every other server's input. Reconfigure each other server to send their logging output to various files on the syslog server. (For extra credit, set up logstash or kibana or greylog to parse those logs.)

16) Document every last step you did in getting to this point in your brand new Wiki.

17) Now go back and create Puppet Manifests to ensure that every last one of these machines is authenticating to the LDAP servers, registered to the Spacewalk server, and backed up by the bakula server.

18 Now go back, reference your documents, and set up a Puppet Razor profile that hooks into each of these things to allow you to recreate, from scratch, each individual server.

19) Destroy every secondary machine you've created and use the above profile to recreate them, joining them to the clusters as needed.

20) Bonus exercise: create three more VMs. A CentOS 5, 6, and 7 machine. On each of these machines, set them up to allow you to create custom RPMs and import them into the Spacewalk server instance. Ensure your Puppet configurations work for all three and produce like-for-like behaviors.

Do these things and you will be fully exposed to every aspect of Linux Enterprise systems administration. Do them well and you will have the technical expertise required to seek "Senior" roles. If you go whole-hog crash-course full-time it with no other means of income, I would expect it would take between 3 and 6 months to go from "I think I'm good with computers" to achieving all of these -- assuming you're not afraid of IRC and google (and have neither friends nor family ...)."

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxadmin/comments/2s924h/how_did_you_get_your_start/

Xavor

orlandofl wrote: »

What would python and ruby enable me to do?

Python and Ruby are popular languages that power automation tools such as Puppet and SaltStack among other things. If you know one language you can work on the others. If you had to pick one, I'd say Python. Ruby is the newer of the two.

But learn what comes with the distribution you choose (aka Bash).

Kinet1c

My experience of the LPIC1 is quite positive. Since passing it last summer, the recruiters have been banging my door down, albeit for similar positions that I'm in now (NOC). I used Roderick's book and found it to be useful, I did have previous linux experience before though. LinuxAcademy.com is another great resource too!

I like the look of that list Xavor, will defo be trying it after university is finished for the summer.

fuz1on

@Xavor - Nice write-up!!!

OctalDump

Xavor wrote: »

Do these things and you will be fully exposed to every aspect of Linux Enterprise systems administration. Do them well and you will have the technical expertise required to seek "Senior" roles. If you go whole-hog crash-course full-time it with no other means of income, I would expect it would take between 3 and 6 months to go from "I think I'm good with computers" to achieving all of these -- assuming you're not afraid of IRC and google (and have neither friends nor family ...)."

I just took a quick look at the post RHCE tracks from RedHat, and to my eyes, this list looks very much like it would give you skills close to RHCA - Datacentre. There's a few here that would roughly fit in with RHCSA/RHCE, but most are firmly in RHCA territory.
Red Hat Certified Virtualization Administrator (RHCVA)
Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Clustering and Storage Management
Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Deployment and Systems Management
Red Hat Certified JBoss Administrator (RHCJA)

What's missing is the hardening, tuning or Hybrid Cloud storage. There's some of those, but maybe not enough.

So, "Senior roles" is definitely "Senior roles" and not what I more often see as "Senior Administrator or Senior Engineer" which are more commonly RHCE with a Puppet/Chef and Nagios, and some kind of backup.

More generally, I would think that the suggested path might be a bit light on cloud. It seems to make the same mistakes that many programs make by taking the typical senior IT professional as they exist today, looking at their skills and then making that a benchmark. A senior IT professional typically has many years of experience (hence senior) during which they have accumulated a lot of obsolete knowledge.

For someone starting their journey now, they need to be looking (as best they can) 3 to 5 years down the track. This will mean virtualisation, but it will also mean cloud. It means also skills for bringing together cloud and outsourced services. This starts to lean towards more soft skills like project management. If you are buying IaaS or PaaS or even SaaS, then the need to understand in depth, for example, kernel tuning, clustering, load balancing, or SAN set up is far less.