Linux+ - Progress thread

I'm about to start Linux+. When I did the OSCP, I started a progress thread and people on here seemed to like it, because it let them know whether they should do it too. As of today 8th Jan, 2016, i've set up a CentOS box (I hear that CentOS is the best distro to lab during the course) and i've had a mess about with it. Yum seems easy to use (equivalent of apt-get on ubuntu).

Why am I doing Linux+? I want to get a better understanding of Linux because I will *hopefully* be getting a linux administrator job soon. I am keen to get the LPIC certs too. I have purchased both CompTia vouchers, so I *have*to take the exam.

I'll update this thread regularly, so feel free to bookmark it as I go on my Linux+ journey.

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Comments

si20

Ok, day #1. Haven't got as far as I wanted to. The beginning of the book i'm using to study was a bit deceiving! It starts talking about the history of Linux. Then suddenly, it has a series of questions on it. I wasn't paying much attention to the history of linux because I wanted to get my hands dirty with the CLI. I'm going to read through it in much more detail and take notes. I get the impression that the exam is going have some trick questions in to test if you really know the answer. The book is trying to emulate that too, which is good.

bhero

I'm in a similar boat, I want the knowledge, but it's also for my degree through WGU. I started December 30th, plan to take the lx0-103 at the end of January. I've been using testout and ucertify, I also signed up for a month on Linux Academy, but I'm wondering if that was maybe overkill. I set up debian on virtualbox and LA also lets you set up virtual machines that you can access remotely.

I'm about halfway through testout, I've been pushing hard because my term ends at the end of February and I really want to bang this out (plus maybe some other classes) before then.

si20

I'm going to use the book by Robb Tracy as my only guide for this exam. I like the sound of LA, but with the potential move in jobs, I would be on a lower salary, so money is a big factor at the moment. I *think* I should be able to pass the exam based on the content i've seen in the books. It doesn't look overly difficult. The hardest thing is going to be remembering all the commands during the exam. I'm probably going to take the first exam at the end of March. If I can spend about 2 months per exam, I could get this all polished off by April. But being honest, it wont surprise me if it takes me longer than i'm envisioning. I've got one more master's degree module to do before I can quit the MSc with a PGCert and focus solely on the Linux+.

DoubleNNs

Good luck on the Linux+ progress! I'm looking forward to following this thread.

Honestly, you should be able to passively read the history of Linux section of the book. It's mostly there so that you understand how it's different from Windows, understand what Open Source is, the philosophy of chaining Unix commands together instead of huge monolithic applications with unlimited features which are needlessly reimplemented, and know who Linus is. These concepts won't necessarily show up on the exam itself, but are important nonetheless because understanding them will help you understand a lot of the WHY when studying.

Keith27

Hi si20:
I am newbie to TechExams only because I don't really log on as much as I should.
I am scheduled to sit for the Linux LX0-103 in 2 weeks.
Here are my thoughts:
a.) I bought Robb Tracey book, and I really like his Teaching, and training. But I do not like Testout.com as a training company....too many
errors in the exams, etc.....not enough attention to detail.
b.) also, I bought Kaplan and Transcender, and I recommend them to you. Expensive, yes? but both those e-learning resources provide a test bank with teaching resources that will show you some good tips
c.) I also purchased Christine Bresnahan, CompTIA Linux+ book through O-Wiley. And I recommend that too.
I will like you know what happens, but for the first time on my 6 month journey, I am feeling somewhat confident that I will pass the Linux
LX0-103 in 2 weeks.

si20

@DoubleNN's - That's what I was thinking. It's useful/interesting to know, but the concepts wont be in the exam from what i've seen.

@Kieth27 - Keep using TechExams! It's good to have someone here in the same boat as I am.

#Day2 - I've got to say, i've learned some nice bits and pieces so far. I've been using Linux for a while, but the Linux+ course teaches some uncommon things. So far i've covered environmental variables, login/non-login shells etc. So far, it has been straight forward. I've understood pretty much everything i've read. I'm on pg 52 of the Robb Tracey book. I think he's a good writer and teaches the concepts well.

The only thing I would say about the book, which has slightly ruined my plan, is that Robb Tracey has decided to teach from basic to advanced. This means that the LX0-103 material is scattered throughout the book. He has been kind enough to list the pages where the material sits. But I was expecting to read half of the book and learn the LX0-103 material and then take the exam, then come back for the rest. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. I'm not sure how to tackle this now. I don't know if I should only read the relevant pages, OR read everything. If anyone has passed the exam, please give me your thoughts.

The inclusion of the CD was a nice touch. OpenSUSE is on the disk and can be opened with virtualbox so you can write some commands using the CLI. The inclusion of videos is also a welcome addition too. I really wish i'd have studied this a few years ago when time wasn't an issue. I honestly think I could have blasted through the first exam within about 3-4 weeks. The only difficult thing for me so far has been remembering commands. The practice exam that comes with the disk asks things like: "what does the -a switch do when you run x command?" Or "what does -b do?" I feel like it's a tiny bit unfair expecting people to remember switches for commands, but that's what they want, so i've got to do it.

Will update mid-week.

jamesleecoleman

I agree about Rob's book. It's awesome but it would have been great if it was divided up. I'm using LA to help out things and I'm using the book to help fill in the gaps. I feel that watching the video's take up so much time but they kinda help explain things a little better. I thinking about just doing the Linux+ stuff for a base for the RHCSA since there's a lot of overlap. Still not sure if I'll take the Linux+ but I wanna get it.

si20

Ok, my mid-week update as promised. I'm now 90 pages into the book and taken 2 of the quizzes within the book. I got 34/36 in the first quiz (made two silly mistakes) and 14/17 in the second quiz (made one silly mistake and wasn't 100% sure on the other 2 questions).

Overall i'm feeling pretty confident. I am seriously loving this course. I don't know why, perhaps it's because my masters degree was such a big disappointment, but the Linux+ balances practical work with theory very well. I'm now wondering whether I should just learn the things required for the 103 exam, OR read the entire book and then revise for the 103 exam. I'd definitely appreciate some input on what method you guys decided to use before sitting the exam.

bhero

Glad to hear it's going well! I'm pushing through the material as fast as I can. I've gone through most of Labsim, I've also been going through Ucertify as well. There is a lot to remember, I'm hoping I will be ready by the end of the month. It's fun in a way, but I'm trying to remember a lot in a very short amount of time.

si20

I'm exactly the same. I really want to pass this as quick as humanly possible because a few weeks ago, I was looking to get a Linux-related job. Having now been to a Linux sys admin interview, i've found that lots of Linux roles are very long hours and sometimes you'll be the sole person on-site responsible for infrastructure. That's a responsibility that i'm not sure I want. Either way, I still want to bang out this cert.

fuz1on

Keep working hard and good luck!

bhero

Still chugging along, plan to take the lx0-103 mid next week. I think I'll be ready, but I guess we'll see! I plan to take the lx0-104 a week later. How is everyone else doing?

si20

My revision has grinded to a halt because i've got one more module of my MSc/PGCert to do. But it's 100% getting done this year. I'm hoping to get further in the book on the weekend.

si20

Quick update guys. I just finished Chapter 4 of the book. I'm on pg 121. I finished Chapter 4's quiz with 100%. Just in case you're wondering how I tackle the quiz section: I do it legitimately. I read the questions and write down what I think is the answer on a piece of paper. I then mark myself when i've finished using the answers provided on the following page.

I'm quite happy with how it's going. I don't doubt that I can get this done within a few months. If I wasn't working and doing a MSc, I could probably smash this out within 1-2 months maximum. Either way, it's still an enjoyable experience and i'm committed to getting this certification.

lovejoi

Hello Guys. i am new so sorry if make incorrect question.

I do not understand if is difference in questions between LPI and Linux+ first level. And what number of exam is actually now , in LPIC as i know 101-400 and what about Linux+.

orlandofl

As an aspiring Linux Admin do you think the Cisco CCNA holds value in a Linux Admin role? I’m indecisive about the CCNA’s worth. I want to get into a Linux Admin role and eventually into security...thinking maybe I should drop my CCNA studies and start on Linux+/LPIC-1

-Travis

Keith27

Hi, thanks for your patience......

I forgot to log back in and share my good news.

I have successfully passed Linux+ LX0-103 with a 570 out of 800 possible on February 4 of this year.

Here are my thoughts:

a.) I have studied and crammed for about 7 months, and I felt very confident that I was going to at least score a 750 or so. I was wrong.
b.) The Linux + exam is a lot ...............a lot harder than A+ or Network+ or Security+ exam.

I actually almost scored a near perfect on CompTIA Security+ in 2014, and so I was fairly confident going into this Linux exam. I was wrong.

c.) It is a tough exam.
d.) My advice to everyone is to buy different study materials ( Kaplan, Transcender, and other books ).......you will not regret it.

e.) regarding commands, you must KNOW both the long format ( spelled out ) AS WELL as the short format.

Too many people make the mistake of only studying 1 OR the other....................

You must know both formats in order to do well on the Linux+ exam.
It is a tough exam.

I plan on taking LX0-104 in May of this year.

take care everyone......

brownwrap

This is an honest assessment. Anyone who studies for three weeks and is lucky enough to pass it without and other experience doesn't really know Linux. Granted, I don't think this test really proves anyone is a Linux problem solver, but if someone was to come to me and all they had was L+ with without any further Linux background, that wouldn't get them a job.

jamesleecoleman

Yeaaa... Switching over to the RHCSA. But I think that the Linux+ stuff will for sure help out with the other intro stuff. Kinda sick of taking the multi choice exams. Never did a fill in the blank.

fuz1on

orlandofl wrote: »

As an aspiring Linux Admin do you think the Cisco CCNA holds value in a Linux Admin role? I’m indecisive about the CCNA’s worth. I want to get into a Linux Admin role and eventually into security...thinking maybe I should drop my CCNA studies and start on Linux+/LPIC-1

Honestly, I think both Linux+/LPIC-1 and CCNA help tremendously when you're an aspiring Linux sysadmin - then you can put the pieces together more quickly as understanding the intricacies of load-balancing and tuning which is so the rage in our DevOps-centric world.

As for Linux+, I really think it gave me a kick in the right direction as I failed LX0-102 the first time around even though I'd used Linux since the late 90s/early 2000s. I depended too much on my experience which was too specialized for specific tasks I'd grown accustomed to running throughout the years. I studied hard and passed on my 2nd attempt but that Linux knowledge has helped me tremendously - pretty much cementing vague/irregularly used commands/tools.

I'm going for LFCE soon but good luck to everyone on their Linux+/LPIC-1 journey. It was really worth it for me - hope it's the same for you (I got around 6 fill-in-the-banks in LX0-101 and around 11 in LX0-102)!

Loga99

I'm using Linux + study Guide: Exam XK0-002 by Roderick Smith , also will be using ucertify labs do you think this will be enough to pass linux+ ?

si20

Just to keep everyone updated: I've got one more module to do for my PGCert before I quit it. As soon as I quit, i'll be right back on the Linux+ material. I think it'll be about 8 weeks from now. I can't afford (financially) to fail the PGCert module, so I need to invest time in that before moving onto the Linux+. But the Linux+ *will* be getting studied in 8 weeks time.

si20

As promised guys, 8 weeks has almost passed, so I will be returning to studying the Linux+ very soon. I just have coursework and an exam on the 30th of this month (8 days away) before my PGCert is out of the way and I can devote my spare time to the Linux+. I am looking forward to getting back into it. In fact, I have a ubuntu certified laptop and a desktop computer running CentOS 7 ready to help with my studies.

urstuffplz1

I'm looking forward to following your progress with the Linux+. I am sure you'll smash through it pretty quickly once you get properly stuck into the materials.

si20

Today I continued where I left off before my PGCert - pg 121. I got through 40 pages today and ended up on, you guessed it, pg 161! I attempted the exam at the end of the chapter "Installing Linux" and I got 24/34 correct. I think that being away from the Linux+ for the last 8 weeks has definitely clouded my mind, so I need to re-visit some chapters to keep it fresh. What I can say, is that some of the questions seemed a bit unfair. One asked what timezone the US is in as opposed to UTC. Being from the UK - I don't know. I assumed 5 hours and I was wrong. Another question asked about "locales" and although the chapter had covered it, it wasn't fully engrained in my brain.

I'm going to spend some evenings this week going over everything from pg 1 through to 161 and trying to understand things that aren't 100% clear. I need to also familiarize myself with the way Linux names the disks e.g sda1, sda2, sdb1 etc. 24/34 is still 70% so I think i'm capable of passing this course, but it's definitely no joke. Some people might think: "You passed the OSCP, this should be easy!" The difference is, this is Linux administration, not penetration testing. It's a different ball game, although knowing your way around Linux is definitely useful for pen-testing. Either way, i'm still enjoying it, which is the main thing!!

Expect an update late this week, or next weekend.

ThomasITguy

Can't wait for an update

si20

Ok so here's my latest update: I've been looking through the Bresnahan and Blum study guide in addition to my other study guide and I've confused myself somewhat. Both study guides cover some core concepts, but different things in each book. I'm wondering if I'd be better off reading both of them before doing the exam. The problem with this approach is a huge lack of time on my part.

I've been looking at the Linux Academy but can't justify paying their prices to learn open source stuff - I fully believe the material is good but I've already bought one study guide outright, buying a course as well seems like it might be overkill.

I need to devise a strategy to ensure I do well in the exam because the material isn't that hard, but there's a huge amount of it to remember.

si20

Ok, so another update. I got 93% on my MSc coursework, so I have passed the module, so I now officially can add the "PGCert" to my resume.

Back to Linux+. After much reading up on the subject, I decided to do the following. Make a note of what exam #1 requires, then make a note of what exam #2 requires. Use Robb Tracey's book along with Bresnahan's book to maximise the amount i'm learning and then use CBT Nuggets for the 101 / 102 exam to view the commands being used. By using these 3 resources, I think i'll get the most out of the course and things that aren't mentioned in Robb's book, will be mentioned in Bresnahan's book.

After viewing some of the CBT Nugget videos - I definitely understand a bit more about the way Linux is put together. It is starting (slowly) to seem less daunting. I don't like the insistence that Linux has on the command line - I actually find that it breeds elitism - however, that's the way it is and it's just something I have to get to grips with.

Will update next weekend with more information about where i'm up to etc.

si20

I can only apologise guys. I lost motivation. I moved from a job I disliked into another job I dislike (which has poor rates of pay too. Ugh!)... But my motivation has suddenly came back tonight. The old me is back. I've saw that i've got 5 months left to pass this thing (from date I purchased the exam voucher). Not to big up myself, but I am good at working under pressure. Now I know I have 5 months to pass, i'm going to give it one last push.

The linux+ now HAS to be completed. No excuses. My mind is in the right place. Thanks for the continued support everyone, it means a lot.

si20

I've decided to tackle the first exam's material first because I plan to take both exams on different dates. I've moved onto the Bresnahan and Blum study guide for the time being, because it lays out exam LX0-103 in order. I just did the end of chapter review and hit around 75%. There are 5 chapters to learn for exam LX0-103, so I consider myself 1/5 of the way there already. I am confident I can do this. With a big push i'll aim to sit the exam in October. 4 chapters to go in Bresnahan's book. Then i'll go through Robb Tracey's book, look at CBT Nugget's videos and I should be as prepared as I can be. I'm now using Ubuntu 16.04 LTS as my daily OS which is keeping me in the right mindset.