My experience with linux+ LX-0103

Well I studied a month and used linux academy and CompTIA Linux+ / LPIC-1 Cert Guide by Ross Brunson [COLOR=#555555 !important](Author), [/COLOR]Sean Walberg [COLOR=#555555 !important](Author). I barely passed with a score of 500/800 (yes, right on the boarder!) In my opinion the test had a lot of "trivia questions" on SysVinit and other technicalities that you'd read straight from a book. Linux Academy won't help you with that. If I didn't read the text book, I'd probably fail. Don't get me wrong, linux academy is great for teaching you real world scenarios and such, but I can't see how anyone would pass just using that as a resource.. I had two fill in the blanks which were super easy. One was "what is the required umask to set a certain permission on a directory."

[/COLOR]Some background info: My entire career has been with Windows. I had no prior knowledge of how Linux operates and what the various distributions were. As an IT professional, I was considered a true newbie in regards to LINUX. This experience has taught be a lot and I'm ready for the next part. I'll probably study at least twice as long since I have more time to do so.

Can anyone give me any info on how difficult the LX-0104 exam is and where to focus?

Thanks all!

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nisti2

Congrats on your pass! And as is said, a pass is pass no matter what!

zesty2016

This is uncanny. I too train with Linux Academy and I too took the 103 exam recently, last saturday actually, ans I also got that umask question (I'm guessing it is the only one). However, i was very disappointed in my score, I got 470 despite acing the LA practice exam and doing some online questions too.
I am retaking the exam this week but I am thinking of taking he 101 instead. I just don't know if the LA is a good preparation for this exam .

I too am a Windows person and I have never worked on a live Linux environment. I started my courses, with LA in March, and I rely on them for all of my Linux experience. I have already passed the Linux Essentials this year and felt prepared for the 103 but I struggled from Q1. When I left the exam I was angry as I felt that I wasn't properly prepared and because I got so close to passing. Just a couple more correct answers i reckon would have done it.

ccboy85

nisti2 wrote: »

Congrats on your pass! And as is said, a pass is pass no matter what!

Thanks! I appreciate that.

ccboy85

zesty2016 wrote: »

This is uncanny. I too train with Linux Academy and I too took the 103 exam recently, last saturday actually, ans I also got that umask question (I'm guessing it is the only one). However, i was very disappointed in my score, I got 470 despite acing the LA practice exam and doing some online questions too.
I am retaking the exam this week but I am thinking of taking he 101 instead. I just don't know if the LA is a good preparation for this exam .

I too am a Windows person and I have never worked on a live Linux environment. I started my courses, with LA in March, and I rely on them for all of my Linux experience. I have already passed the Linux Essentials this year and felt prepared for the 103 but I struggled from Q1. When I left the exam I was angry as I felt that I wasn't properly prepared and because I got so close to passing. Just a couple more correct answers i reckon would have done it.

Yes, I put about 70% of my time into linux academy and 30% into my text book. The difference could have been the text book.

I actually read my textbook FIRST, once through. Stuff hardly made any sense since it was all new to me. I then subscribed to Linux Academy and went through everything -- Linux Essentials / and LPIC part 1. Stuff began to make sense and I did all the labs and what not.

I took the test and barely passed. There were questions asking about obsolete stuff. Linux Academy teaches more current things and if you used Linux Academy as your only resource without any Linux Sys Admin experience, I dont know how you could pass.

For Part 2 of my LPIC1, I'll be watching the videos first and THEN I'll be reading the text.

ITrascal

I thought you couldnt take the 101-102 anymore. I thought its just 103 and 104.?

Kalabaster

Spend more time with practice tests, I recently just passed the 103 and 104 this week and although the training from LA gives you ebtter practical knowledge, the type of knowledge you need to get through those tests is more efficiently learned through a variety of practice tests. I' a WGU student so I used uCertify for myself but I'm sure if you look around there's probably plenty of well regarded practice tests available online for free.

ccboy85

Kalabaster wrote: »

Spend more time with practice tests, I recently just passed the 103 and 104 this week and although the training from LA gives you ebtter practical knowledge, the type of knowledge you need to get through those tests is more efficiently learned through a variety of practice tests. I' a WGU student so I used uCertify for myself but I'm sure if you look around there's probably plenty of well regarded practice tests available online for free.

Thanks, any advice for LX-0104? Is it harder? What supplemental resources would you recommend?

T-RAV

Kalabaster wrote: »

Spend more time with practice tests, I recently just passed the 103 and 104 this week and although the training from LA gives you ebtter practical knowledge, the type of knowledge you need to get through those tests is more efficiently learned through a variety of practice tests. I' a WGU student so I used uCertify for myself but I'm sure if you look around there's probably plenty of well regarded practice tests available online for free.

I too am a WGU student. Bachelor's program for IT security. I went into this with Zero Linux experience and I found that UCertify's practice test were not hard enough to prepare for the exam. the reading material is good though. I also used CBTnuggets as a resource and feel the same way as you. the videos are great for getting the concept but as far as passing a test it was not enough detail. definitely need to watch the video and then read the text.

anyways I took the 103 today and failed with a 480. needed a 500. So dang close, im mad. But CONGRATS to you and let us know how the 104 goes.

Kalabaster

Use the cohort links to the webinars, among other things they have a few practice tests linked to in these webinars that were very helpful.

varelg

While I still had an account on Linux Academy, every few days someone would post how he/she passed one of the Linux+ exams. Maybe the quality of the exam questions changed?
As far as obsolete stuff (ccboy85), you may want to relay that remark to Bo Rothwell, who opened an account here at TE, is an author of an LPIC guide and involved with the LPI organization and participated in a discussion in the LPI/Red Hat part of this forum. The discussion was veeery far from useful, however.
Yes, being nitpicked on an option of a command that you'd otherwise find in 2 seconds via manpage but you don't have access to a shell isn't cool, is it? It totaly sucks.

zesty2016

Thanks for that ccboy85. I took the 103 exam yesterday and passed (540...phew!). I start on part 2 this evening. I spent the whole of last week doing online practice questions, a couple of which actually came up

, but I think I will also do the labs on LA.

I'm in such a hurry to get these done that I cannot afford too much time to do the reading. I am being made redundant at the end of October and I want to get the LPIC1 out of the way before then as I want to do the OSCP afterwards. So I am not sure that I have time to read the books but maybe the labs and the exercises will help on LA.

I passed my Linux Essentials, at the end of Ma (670), which I was very pleased about but this last exam was really a ramp up in quality. It's such a big syllabus, I know that I know a lot but I was surprised at how much didn't even come up. And commands that I was familiar with, that LA only covered in a few sentences, has so much more to them than I thought.

Anyway, I have passed and I am very happy about it. I know that I am not going to get a score like 770 after one month of study & three weeks of revision, even with the labs & the exercises, so I am resigned to getting just a pass and moving on.

zesty2016

I saw, about three weeks ago, a guy on Linux Academy, posted that he passed the 101. Also, if you look in the Comptia store, it is still available to buy and sit.

zesty2016

ITrascal wrote: »

I thought you couldnt take the 101-102 anymore. I thought its just 103 and 104.?

I saw, about three weeks ago, a guy on Linux Academy, posted that he passed the 101. Also, if you look in the Comptia store, it is still available to buy and sit.

zesty2016

ccboy85 wrote: »

Thanks, any advice for LX-0104? Is it harder? What supplemental resources would you recommend?

how are you getting on with the 104? I am just about to start it tonight

thomas_

zesty2016 wrote: »

I saw, about three weeks ago, a guy on Linux Academy, posted that he passed the 101. Also, if you look in the Comptia store, it is still available to buy and sit.

I think the exam code in other countries is still 101, but in the US it's 104.

zesty2016

thomas_ wrote: »

I think the exam code in other countries is still 101, but in the US it's 104.

Hi Thomas, yeah, i was told this by someone at the Linux Academy but I don't think that it is strictly true. I myself am from the UK and I had the option of taking the 101 or the 103. I chose the 103 because I thought it was the updated version of the 101 but they are both still available certainly in the UK and presumably other parts of Europe and possibly the world. (This goes for the 102& 104 as well.)

UPDATE: Just checked the CompTIA Marketplace website and they have removed the 101 & 102 options. So the options for the UK at least are only 103 & 104. I only booked my exam on friday (2 Sept 2016) and all four options were definitely there as I was thinking that the 101 might be easier to pass.

ccboy85

zesty2016 wrote: »

how are you getting on with the 104? I am just about to start it tonight

Morning Zesty. I took a week off after cramming for LX-0103. I will start the LX-0104 material tonight. Like I said, I will watch the videos on Linux Academy first and then go through my text. I'm certain the nitty gritty details will stick with me more if I go that route.

What resources are you using? Let me know!

zesty2016

ccboy85 wrote: »

Morning Zesty. I took a week off after cramming for LX-0103. I will start the LX-0104 material tonight. Like I said, I will watch the videos on Linux Academy first and then go through my text. I'm certain the nitty gritty details will stick with me more if I go that route.

What resources are you using? Let me know!

I am going to use the LA videos, finished group management last night, the exercises at the end, gonna look into the labs & a couple of the instructors recommended that I memorise the study guide. As well as that, I will be using online practice questions, I recommend...
4tests.com
gocertify.com
gnosis.cx - very limited number of questions

penguintutor.com
debian-tutorials.com

They all explain the answers so if you get something wrong you can at least find out why it is wrong & you get to learn the correct answer. I found these in the week between my first & retake exams &, like I said, a few questions actually came up & I was much better prepared after doing these.

The he pool of questions is limited so you'll probably have to do them all & a couple of sites have 101 & 102 questions chucked in the same test but I was very happy with the results having done these.

I I hope they help everyone cos they really did help me. (They're free too.)

si20

zesty2016 wrote: »

I am going to use the LA videos, finished group management last night, the exercises at the end, gonna look into the labs & a couple of the instructors recommended that I memorise the study guide. As well as that, I will be using online practice questions, I recommend...
4tests.com
gocertify.com
gnosis.cx - very limited number of questions
penguintutor.com
debian-tutorials.com

They all explain the answers so if you get something wrong you can at least find out why it is wrong & you get to learn the correct answer. I found these in the week between my first & retake exams &, like I said, a few questions actually came up & I was much better prepared after doing these.

The he pool of questions is limited so you'll probably have to do them all & a couple of sites have 101 & 102 questions chucked in the same test but I was very happy with the results having done these.

I I hope they help everyone cos they really did help me. (They're free too.)

Is the exam as hard as some of the questions on these sites? Because the book i've got doesn't seem to cover the questions in the same detail as they're asked. Or rather, it's briefly touched on in the book but unless you've done a fair bit of work and reading outside of the book, there's little chance of getting it right.

zesty2016

si20 wrote: »

Is the exam as hard as some of the questions on these sites? Because the book i've got doesn't seem to cover the questions in the same detail as they're asked. Or rather, it's briefly touched on in the book but unless you've done a fair bit of work and reading outside of the book, there's little chance of getting it right.

I would say yes. Not sure if I said this before but I was acing the LinuxAcademy.com practice exams & exercises but failed (470) my first attempt at this exam. I spent the whole of the next week going thru these questions & looking up stuff that was unfamiliar to me & I passed with 540. The basics will nearly get you there but you definitely need to supplement it with some extra reading.

I would argue that if these questions, in the format that they are set, is unfamiliar to you then you need to do the extra reading. I was particularly mystified by the sed & tr commands which LA only dealt with briefly so I didn't think they were that important. I faced a lot of other commands that I knew well but they had so many pipes & redirections & back slashes that I really had to sit & work them out. I would suggest that you expose yourself to those before the exam so that they are second nature when you take it.

There are some very simple questions too & they only need a simple radio button answer. The range is very easy to quite challenging.

Sorry if this comes as a shock but a bit of extra reading now could save you a re-take. I wish I had known this before I sat my first exam

[Deleted User]

These threads are helping a lot as i am about to start WGU.

ThePawofRizzo

A bit off topic, but zesty2016 I believe you took the LPIC Essentials exam? What did you use to prepare for it. I have the All-in-One book, and then have done some reading using Linux+ materials....which are obviously beyond the scope of the Essentials.

Kalabaster

zesty2016 wrote: »

I would say yes. Not sure if I said this before but I was acing the LinuxAcademy.com practice exams & exercises but failed (470) my first attempt at this exam. I spent the whole of the next week going thru these questions & looking up stuff that was unfamiliar to me & I passed with 540. The basics will nearly get you there but you definitely need to supplement it with some extra reading.

I would argue that if these questions, in the format that they are set, is unfamiliar to you then you need to do the extra reading. I was particularly mystified by the sed & tr commands which LA only dealt with briefly so I didn't think they were that important. I faced a lot of other commands that I knew well but they had so many pipes & redirections & back slashes that I really had to sit & work them out. I would suggest that you expose yourself to those before the exam so that they are second nature when you take it.

There are some very simple questions too & they only need a simple radio button answer. The range is very easy to quite challenging.

Sorry if this comes as a shock but a bit of extra reading now could save you a re-take. I wish I had known this before I sat my first exam

I don't think I remember ever having to work out any complicated piping in the test. Just know what it is. It's a good thing to know for yourself, especially if you want to get info out of logs, but as far as the test goes I thing you just need to learn the redirects >, >>, and STDERR (standard error), STDOUT (standard output), etc.

zesty2016

Hi Kalabaster, I stand by everything that I wrote in reply to si20. Obviously, everyone's experience of the same exam is going to be different and there are definitely questions in the pool, from CompTIA/LPI, that are much easier than some of the questions on those links that I supplied but equally, there are questions that are every bit as tough as those questions too. And, as I said above, had I had the benefit of those links prior to my first attempt, at the end of september, then I think I would have passed first time.

The LA, and I suspect si20's book although I do not know which one it is, only says that they will teach you everything that you need to pass the exam. So, if they are aiming at a score of 500 then it is quite easy to see how someone, with a run of difficult questions, could fall below that threshold. Had they set their material to get you a core of 600 and you slipped a little, you would almost be certain to pass everytime. However, in a lot of their videos they do encourage you to go off & read the man pages and other resources.

Finally, if I were taking this exam again, for the first time, and someone gave me the above advice, I would take it. Those questions are definitely in the pool & don't be like me and encounter them for the first time on your exam.

zesty2016

Hi Guys, I came across this today and thought everyone on here might be interested. It's called the Linux Certification Virtual Summit, it's run by the LPI, and has speakers giving strategies on how to pass Linux+, Linux Essentials, RH Certified Engineer & Administrator exams. It's free & online and all sessions are recorded so if you cannot make it live then you can view them after. You can register here...Home | Linux Certification Virtual Summit
(I was going to do this as a separate post but couldn't see how...my apologies.)