Linux+ - Progress thread pt 2 (LX0-104)

shochan

si20 wrote: »

I feel like i'm missing out a bit by not having the Linux Academy course material but I think I can pass this if I keep this going.

I'm 15 pages away from finishing the System Administration chapter. And maybe it's just me, but it's proving much harder to get through than the 103. I think the big issue is that most job interviews I keep getting tend to be on the Windows side of things and it's making the LX0-104 study harder because it's more of a personal goal rather than a work related goal.

Either way i'll have this chapter finished today. One day behind schedule but I should be able to catch up and get another chapter out the way next week. Then by the end of November i'll have the book done and schedule the exam early December as planned.

EDIT: Just as i've said i'm bored with the log files section, it has now moved onto NTP and how the computer stores time and why NTP is a better option. The 104 is getting interesting again!

You might consider the certmaster 104 questions, there are over 700 questions. It might be worth the $140 and pass it the first time. Since it is CompTIA study material and it is a CompTIA test, I would bet they are going to have those questions burnt into your memory after you go thru the certmaster. Keep it going, almost there duder! CHEERS & HI5!

egyasia.com

Hi si20 ,

so did u read any textbook in the preparation that you could recommend ? or you just depend on online courses? I just passed the 103 today with 800 out of 800 , I didn't watch any video as I found them all missing important parts and will waste time that I don't have (I work fulltime and barley find time for my family already), I have just read the SYBEX textbook but I found out today that it doesn't cover all the questions in exams though , say maybe 70 or 80% roughly and for the rest my 10-years experience in managed webhosting helped me a little bit as the exam is focused on the basic file manipulation commands without any focus on web servers , database , DHCP , DNS that the things I do everyday but that's why I wanted to take the exam originally to refresh this part of basic linux commands as in reallife I'm used to use different control panels and CMS as wells as FTP ,SFTP , winscp etc.So now I'm really confused on how to go about the 104 as I see it's mainly focused around X and GUI which I never do on servers to save resources so I will appreciate any recommendation on materials to prepare noting that I want to take this exam in 2-3 weeks max

si20

egyasia.com wrote: »

Hi si20 , so did u read any textbook in the preparation that you could recommend ? or you just depend on online courses? I just passed the 103 today with 800 out of 800 , I didn't watch any video as I found them all missing important parts and will waste time that I don't have (I work fulltime and barley find time for my family already), I have just read the SYBEX textbook but I found out today that it doesn't cover all the questions in exams though , say maybe 70 or 80% roughly and for the rest my 10-years experience in managed webhosting helped me a little bit as the exam is focused on the basic file manipulation commands without any focus on web servers , database , DHCP , DNS that the things I do everyday but that's why I wanted to take the exam originally to refresh this part of basic linux commands as in reallife I'm used to use different control panels and CMS as wells as FTP ,SFTP , winscp etc.So now I'm really confused on how to go about the 104 as I see it's mainly focused around X and GUI which I never do on servers to save resources so I will appreciate any recommendation on materials to prepare noting that I want to take this exam in 2-3 weeks max

I only got 540 on the LX0-103 (I think it was 540, might have been 520, not got my score to hand). So you're way ahead of me! I only read the books - one by Bresnahan and Blum and one by Robb Tracy. I've just now finished Chapter 7 and did a self-assessment. I got a poor 11/20. I'm convinced that there is simply too much information in the Linux+ and it's too much to digest. For example, the 'date' command stores time like this: [MMDDhhmmCC]YY][.ss - how is anyone supposed to remember that? And this is what has messed me up in the self-assessment.

The book says cronjobs are the same as at and anacron - then asks which one is best to use. There are a lot of trick questions and I honestly couldn't tell you how best to go about it because I am struggling myself. I don't think it's possible to sit it within 2-3 weeks and pass it (unless you have prior knowledge of course). But you got a much better score than me on the 103, so for you, it might be doable. I'll have to spend a bit more of today reading up on what I got wrong and then move onto the next chapter. Again, still on track to take the exam in December but this is the first time i've scored poorly in a self-assessment, so i'm not full of confidence at the minute!

New schedule:

*added self-assessment scores to let me know how i'm doing*

Sat 1st Oct - Security (DONE) 15/20 self assessment score
Sat 8th Oct - Networking Fundamentals (DONE) 17/20 self assessment score
Tue 25th Oct - Administrative Tasks (DONE) 11/20 self assessment score
Sat 12th Nov - Shells, Scripting and Data Management (IN PROGRESS)
Sat 19th Nov - Essential System Services (TO DO...)
Sat 26th Nov - User Interfaces and Desktop (TO DO...)

so far on i've scored 43/60 (71%) across 3 self-assessments.


So now i'm back to my weekly schedule. 3 chapters to do in 3 weeks. I need to keep up the pace - I can't afford to fall behind again. That brings me to December 3rd and I should be finished with all of the chapters. Then I will spend another few days doing practice questions and book the exam immediately.

egyasia.com

Thanks for sharing the thoughts , though I think I will use the PEARSON book as I just scroll it's PDF for some of today stubborn exam questions and I found most of them so the topics are better arranged in the sybex book I think pearson made this book specifically to pass the exam , anyway goodluck for all of us

si20

Quick update: I'm flying through the shell scripting section. I think it helps that I did a python project at university and variables and scripting makes sense. I can read the script and fully understand what it does and how it does it. I'm on pg 479 of the book and I think this particular chapter goes to pg 511. So i'm just 30 pages from the end of this chapter I'm ahead of schedule now (I knew i'd catch up eventually!) and i'm starting to get that positive vibe back.

Also, remember I said the 'Administrative Tasks' section was MASSIVE. Well, it turns out that the book i'm reading merged it with Essential System Services! Doh!! So i've actually done more than I thought i'd done!!! This means I can yet again revise my schedule and this puts me a week head of where I thought I was!


Sat 1st Oct - Security (DONE) 15/20 self assessment score
Sat 8th Oct - Networking Fundamentals (DONE) 17/20 self assessment score
Tue 25th Oct - Administrative Tasks (DONE) 11/20 self assessment score
Tue 25th Oct - Essential System Services (DONE) (N/A)
Sat 12th Nov - Shells, Scripting and Data Management (IN PROGRESS)
Sat 19th Nov - User Interfaces and Desktop (TO DO...)

Estimated time to finish LX0-104 book: 26/11/16
Possible exam date: 3rd Dec
so far on i've scored 43/60 (71%) across 3 self-assessments.

I *might* look at booking the exam for the beginning of December. But I want to make sure I feel 100% confident before I do. I can't afford to fail (literally). If I failed, I wouldn't be re-taking the LX0-104.

Cheers!

shochan

si20 wrote: »

Quick update: I'm flying through the shell scripting section. I think it helps that I did a python project at university and variables and scripting makes sense. I can read the script and fully understand what it does and how it does it. I'm on pg 479 of the book and I think this particular chapter goes to pg 511. So i'm just 30 pages from the end of this chapter I'm ahead of schedule now (I knew i'd catch up eventually!) and i'm starting to get that positive vibe back.

Also, remember I said the 'Administrative Tasks' section was MASSIVE. Well, it turns out that the book i'm reading merged it with Essential System Services! Doh!! So i've actually done more than I thought i'd done!!! This means I can yet again revise my schedule and this puts me a week head of where I thought I was!


Sat 1st Oct - Security (DONE) 15/20 self assessment score
Sat 8th Oct - Networking Fundamentals (DONE) 17/20 self assessment score
Tue 25th Oct - Administrative Tasks (DONE) 11/20 self assessment score
Tue 25th Oct - Essential System Services (DONE) (N/A)
Sat 12th Nov - Shells, Scripting and Data Management (IN PROGRESS)
Sat 19th Nov - User Interfaces and Desktop (TO DO...)

Estimated time to finish LX0-104 book: 26/11/16
Possible exam date: 3rd Dec
so far on i've scored 43/60 (71%) across 3 self-assessments.

I *might* look at booking the exam for the beginning of December. But I want to make sure I feel 100% confident before I do. I can't afford to fail (literally). If I failed, I wouldn't be re-taking the LX0-104.

Cheers!

I would suggest taking all of those assessments again after you finish the book...then see where you are at. If you are still not confident, you should go ahead & buy the $140 certmaster for 104...it will only reinforce of what you have learned and possibly learn some more. It's only a suggestion though.

si20

shochan wrote: »

I would suggest taking all of those assessments again after you finish the book...then see where you are at. If you are still not confident, you should go ahead & buy the $140 certmaster for 104...it will only reinforce of what you have learned and possibly learn some more. It's only a suggestion though.

Thanks - I will definitely consider it, however I must admit - I have still not found work yet. I think i've been unlucky because I had 2 interviews with a certain company which went very well - however the project was cancelled and so they didn't take me on.

I had a talk last week with a company who promised to my face they would "call me on Monday" - it's now Thursday and they haven't called. Guess they changed their mind. I'm living on very limited funds at the moment as a result of all of this. I wont lie - it has been super stressful and I think most people would be at breaking point by now. I've applied to around 20 jobs and i'll accept anything that comes my way, even if it's not IT-related. I've definitely hit rock bottom in that sense.

But an update on the LX0-104. I'm on pg 493 of about 515 and i've done a fair amount of scripting using bash. I have to say - bash started off fun, but tasks in Python are so much easier than in bash. I'm aware that the rest of the chapter talks about for loops/while loops etc and ends with SQL stuff. I *think* I can get a good score on this stuff. The key seems to be understanding the basics - I don't think the Linux+ actually wants you to fully understand scripting - that's for later. I think the Linux+ is just trying to make you aware and give you some fairly straight-forward examples of what can be done.

I'm expecting to have this chapter done by the weekend so I can start the next and final chapter which is "User Interfaces" after this. This was the chapter I started the LX0-104 with and it was so boring and dry I decided to change tactics. I'm extremely glad I changed tactics because if I started with "User Interfaces" i'd probably have quit this by now. But now i've come this far, i've got to begin the final push.

I'm getting ever closer to the exam day. Time-permitting, I might be able to get this exam booked in the first week of December. Again - that's assuming everything goes well, including revision.

Cheers!

si20

I've just got done with the Shells,Scripting and Data Management chapter. Some of the questions were once again, trick questions but I think I get it for the most part. I'm happy to say i'm right on target to start User Interfaces and Desktop tomorrow and spend a week on that. So now my schedule is looking like this:

Sat 1st Oct - Security (DONE) 15/20 self assessment score
Sat 8th Oct - Networking Fundamentals (DONE) 17/20 self assessment score
Tue 25th Oct - Administrative Tasks (DONE) 11/20 self assessment score
Tue 25th Oct - Essential System Services (DONE) (N/A)
Sat 12th Nov - Shells, Scripting and Data Management (DONE) 15/20 self assessment score
Sat 19th Nov - User Interfaces and Desktop (IN PROGRESS)

Estimated time to finish LX0-104 book: 26/11/16
Possible exam date: 3rd Dec
So far on i've scored 58/80 (72.25%) across 3 self-assessments.

It's safe to say my weakest area is the 'Administrative Tasks' so i'll brush up on that. I'll brush up on all of it. But I am now certain that I can take this exam in early December.

shochan

Keep on keeping on! you are almost there! I went ahead & bought the certmaster for 103 and started those questions. A lot more info that I didn't know, even after taking the Intro to Linux class on eDX.org...I am also reading the Sybex 103 book too. I don't anticipate taking the 103 test until Jan or Feb though.

si20

shochan wrote: »

Keep on keeping on! you are almost there! I went ahead & bought the certmaster for 103 and started those questions. A lot more info that I didn't know, even after taking the Intro to Linux class on eDX.org...I am also reading the Sybex 103 book too. I don't anticipate taking the 103 test until Jan or Feb though.

That's good! I'm interested to see how you find certmaster. I heard there was a discount for certmaster but I think I might have missed it. There's no real rush on the LX0-103 and LX0-104 now considering they removed the 3 certs for 1 offer because that was one reason I wanted to go down that track, because the openSUSE certification track looked really good.

I'll start the final chapter tomorrow, I was going to do some more now but it's 00:27am at the time of writing and I can barely keep my eyes open. I'll give an update later in the week.

si20

I've just sat a very realistic practise test - I set the practise exam to have 60 questions in a 90 minute time-frame. It took me around 35 mins and this is what I got:





I have to say, I think i'm finding the 104 harder than the 103. I seem to remember passing some of the practise exams on the 103. I've said it before and i'll say it again: the 104 covers so much stuff that it becomes a memory test. The 103 cares about the command line a bit more, whereas the 104 cares about command line and paths to config files. It's tough.

I'm going to go through the correct answers, figure out why they're correct and why I got my answers incorrect and hopefully i'll learn something. I definitely need to re-read the previous chapter and learn more about mail / postfix and CUPS. Those subjects seem to get me every single time. Exam is booked for December 2nd but i'll sit another 1-2 practise exams and if my scores don't go up significantly i'll delay my exam by a week.

si20

Hi all, just checking in for another update. The past 2-3 days i've been busy so haven't been able to use all my time to revise. Today i've probably spent around 3-4 hours on my notes and doing practice exams... I sat 2x 60 question practice exams and got 70% and 78% respectively. The LX0-104 is kicking my ass!

So I decided to go back to the drawing board: read my notes and attempt some smaller practice exams. I decided to then sit 3x 10 questions practice exams (custom mode on total tester). I just finished my last set of questions and got 100%. Finally. I think for the sake of passing, I need to run through this for one more week, which means i'll re-schedule my exam for the week beginning 5th December as originally planned. As I mentioned - I simply can't afford (financially) to fail. I need to go into this full of confidence.

My weakest area is X server - knowing where each file is kept and what directives are used. I will brush up on that and I will quickly return to the security section of the book/practice exam so I don't forget that. I also need to spend a little bit of time going over the 'at' command - that keeps popping up in the practice exam and I admit, I didn't pay attention to it in the book and it has come back to bite me.

TL;DR - The exam is being re-scheduled for week beginning 5th December to give me the very best possible chance of passing this thing. I think if I attempted it next week i'd fail. I need just a little more time to fill the gaps in my knowledge.

Bobses

Good luck!
Where did you practice these realistic tests?

si20

Bobses wrote: »

Good luck!
Where did you practice these realistic tests?

Thanks Bobses!

I got a CD with the Linux+ book by Robb Tracy. It has a program called 'Total Tester 6.2' which lets me run practice exams. There are only a finite amount of questions so I do get some repeats - but I still have to understand why the answer is correct; the Linux+ is very unforgiving - if you don't know, you will fail. I'm on a limited budget so this is all i've got to practice on but I heard that there are other legitimate ways of doing practice tests but i've not gone down that route personally. Hope this helps.

Bobses

Thanks for answer! I saw this book on Amazon.

thomas_

You may want to check out your public library and see if they have any Linux+ certification guides. If they do, then those books might have practice tests and you won't have to buy the book to take them.

si20

Ok guys, final update before the exam...I've re-scheduled my exam for 6th December - it wont be re-scheduled again. That is the date. I will spend the next 7 days reading my notes and doing a little bit of practical work on both the GPG and 'at' commands. I feel like they're still my weak areas. Since my last post, i've been working hard and i've definitely learned a lot. I will post back here on the 6th December to let you guys know how I got on

thomas_

To be honest, if the 4th rolls around and you still don't feel prepared I would just push it out another week. I can't tell you how many times I rescheduled my CCNA. I usually sit the exam when I've gone through my study materials and I'm just sick of studying and I just want to get the exam over with whether I pass or fail.

I would rather reschedule the exam multiple times and pass than fail, but I think there is a point where you just need to take it otherwise you can study forever and still not feel ready.

si20

I think you're right Thomas, i've kinda got to the point where it's "now or never". I purchased the Linux+ vouchers back in January of this year. I thought i'd be able to bust out both exams within 6 months and work full time (how wrong I was!).

But i've booked my exam, booked my train tickets to get to the exam centre. It's happening! I think i'm as ready as i'll be. I've been revising everything; all of my notes, my practice exams etc. I've even gone out of my way and tried to install a CUPS sever (although I had issues but I think that was down to my OpenSUSE install rather than anything else). I've also gone over subnetting too.

Note to self: Study X server and configuration files / locations.

Will update Tuesday, late afternoon/evening (GMT).

duta74

si20 wrote: »

Note to self: Study X server and configuration files / locations.

Do not spend a lot of time on it. These questions have low weight in exam and can be in practice only once in live have to use.

Andy from Sactown

Do you have any exam prep software / practice tests? I'd be doing a more comprehensive review at this point right before sitting the exam.

shochan

si20 wrote: »

I think you're right Thomas, i've kinda got to the point where it's "now or never". I purchased the Linux+ vouchers back in January of this year. I thought i'd be able to bust out both exams within 6 months and work full time (how wrong I was!).

But i've booked my exam, booked my train tickets to get to the exam centre. It's happening! I think i'm as ready as i'll be. I've been revising everything; all of my notes, my practice exams etc. I've even gone out of my way and tried to install a CUPS sever (although I had issues but I think that was down to my OpenSUSE install rather than anything else). I've also gone over subnetting too.

Note to self: Study X server and configuration files / locations.

Will update Tuesday, late afternoon/evening (GMT).

GoodLUCK!

Bobses

Fingers crossed! Good luck!

si20

Andy from Sactown wrote: »

Do you have any exam prep software / practice tests? I'd be doing a more comprehensive review at this point right before sitting the exam.

I've spent around 4-5 hours today going over security (gpg etc). I will be doing a 45 minute exam using questions from the Robb Tracy book. I will also test myself using the Bresnahan book too. I can't think of any other ways to study for this one. My biggest weakness is remembering file locations - I find the Linux filesystem a real maze of files.

5th Dec: Final prep work.

I'll probably edit this through the day instead of making a new post.

I've just done a practice exam with the Bresnahan book and got 42/50 which is 84%. I am looking at what i've got wrong so I can fix it quickly before the exam. But these are some of the best scores i've got so far, so i'm slowly beginning to feel a bit more confident now.

EDIT: 15/20 (75%) network questions correct - /etc/resolv.conf, /etc/hosts and /etc/nsswitch.conf all blur into one for me. I *need* to get that sorted in my head for tomorrow.

EDIT: 17/20 (85%) on Essential system services practice Q's (Bresnahan book again).

EDIT: 15/20 (75%) on X questions.

My mine is blown at the moment. I must have answered 100+ questions today and spend a good while doing so and learning why I was wrong. Going to have a little break and come back and do Security and more practice Q's.

EDIT: it's 20:36 and i've just finished 23 networking questions from Robb Tracy's book. I got 21/23 which is 91%

If the real exam is like these practice questions, I feel like I can do it. If the exam is NOT like these questions, then i'm stuffed because i've learned the questions i've got wrong and why I got them wrong.

si20

Excellent news guys! I passed the LX0-104. I got 800/800 as well. I'll be honest, I didn't feel like I got a hard set of questions. I didn't get any questions asking me about valid hosts (although I did know how to do it). I got simple questions like: "how big is an ipv6 address". I won't mention all the questions I had but none of them were ridiculously hard. I guess I was panicking a bit, I was expecting lots of X questions. I can honestly say I got no more than 5 questions on X. I mostly got security, system essentials and a number of networking questions. I had several fill in the blanks too, some of which I'd studied the night before (security).

All in all, I'd say I got lucky with my question set. That being said, I still think the LX0-104 exam is easier than the LX0-103.

Thanks for everyone following me on this journey! I hope others can read this and it'll help people. Si20, signing out! (Will be back in a few days.)

Bobses

Congrats! I'm happy for you!

shochan

WOW! you didn't miss anything, whoa! great job & congrats on passing! CHEERS & HI5!

si20

Thanks guys!! I forgot to mention: approx 60% of quotations I had were similar (or the same) as the practice questions in Robb Tracy's book and Bresnahan's book. So if anyone is reading this and preparing for the exam, I strongly recommend you use BOTH books and do every single practice question 2-3 times and understand why it's the right answer. Doing that absolutely helped me pass today.

p@r0tuXus

Congratulations. While I'm relatively new to the site, I can say I read all of your Linux+ exam posts and feel like I've been on a long journey that spanned most of the year (in just a few weeks). As I'm currently studying for the Linux+ exams, I found your experience of great help. Thanks for sharing and a long-overdue congratulations! You proved to yourself you could do it and in style like a boss.

si20

Thanks P@r0, I seriously appreciate that people have took time out to read my posts. It really has been a long journey. I paid for both vouchers in January, studied on and off for the 103 and only just passed it... Remembering 100's of switches wasn't my strong point. I've studied almost non-stop for 3 months for the 104. I don't want to downplay my score but I do feel as if I got slightly lucky with the questions. Sure, some questions were tricky, but I didn't get any serious subnetting questions which were mentioned in other threads recently.