Starting on LPIC, advise me on good references

NightShade03

LinuxG33k wrote: »

Still deciding whether I should wait till the new RHCE exam is released. I'd really hate to have my cert status expire too soon.

If you have the time and interest do it now. Your cert isn't going to expire anytime soon. It wouldn't expire until RHEL7 comes out and they haven't even fully released RHEL6 yet. Not to mention it only costs $400 to sit for the exam if you already have an RHCE.

LinuxG33k

NightShade03 wrote: »

If you have the time and interest do it now. Your cert isn't going to expire anytime soon. It wouldn't expire until RHEL7 comes out and they haven't even fully released RHEL6 yet. Not to mention it only costs $400 to sit for the exam if you already have an RHCE.

Sure it wouldn't expire till RHEL7, but if I wait for the exam to be updated for RHEL6 then it wouldn't expire till RHEL8. It makes sense to get a cert that's good for two versions near the beginning of it's first version; to take the exam right now you're effectively halving the life of an expensive cert.

The $400 is listed under the "Specials" link on Redhat.com. So I'm not counting that egg two or more years before it hatches.

NightShade03

LinuxG33k wrote: »

Sure it wouldn't expire till RHEL7, but if I wait for the exam to be updated for RHEL6 then it wouldn't expire till RHEL8. It makes sense to get a cert that's good for two versions near the beginning of it's first version; to take the exam right now you're effectively halving the life of an expensive cert.

The $400 is listed under the "Specials" link on Redhat.com. So I'm not counting that egg two or more years before it hatches.

Fair point however, the new version of the exam would require you to either wait until there are some new books including the material or undertake learning any material on your own. I could see why you would wait, I don't disagree....I just think that taking the current version of the exam wouldn't be so bad either.

Bl8ckr0uter

Well I was given permission by the CTO to use Ubuntu on my work laptop so I will install it on that as well (with gui) and join it to the domain. I am not sure what I am going to run on my personal laptop. I am thinking ubuntu as well, but I want to learn the cli is good and as fast as I can. Any ideas?

dynamik

Go with CentOS (or Fedora if you want a more desktop-like experience). Then you get to experiment with Red Hat's package management system as well.

I personally prefer KDE, so I run Kubuntu. I might make the switch again tonight or over the weekend myself.

Bl8ckr0uter

dynamik wrote: »

Go with CentOS (or Fedora if you want a more desktop-like experience). Then you get to experiment with Red Hat's package management system as well.

I personally prefer KDE, so I run Kubuntu. I might make the switch again tonight or over the weekend.

Ah. Have you ever joined a Ubuntu box to a windows domain? It looks pretty simple but I am worried about things like vpn (we use cisco and I think there is a built in client) WSUS, GPOs, etc...

dynamik

No, I haven't. I'm curious what will be supported beyond the basics (authentication, file/print sharing, etc.). Keep us posted.

Bl8ckr0uter

dynamik wrote: »

No, I haven't. I'm curious what will be supported beyond the basics (authentication, file/print sharing, etc.). Keep us posted.

I'll let you know. The main thing is going to be getting the cisco VPN client up and running. And configuring the firewall on the box. I really don't know about WSUS (I might have the other guy not monitor my laptop). Exchange client sync (non outlook) seems like it would be pretty easy.

Guess I need to find a freeware version of this

http://www.likewise.com/products/index.php

NightShade03

knwminus wrote: »

I'll let you know. The main thing is going to be getting the cisco VPN client up and running. And configuring the firewall on the box. I really don't know about WSUS (I might have the other guy not monitor my laptop). Exchange client sync (non outlook) seems like it would be pretty easy.

Guess I need to find a freeware version of this

Products | Likewise Software

1) likewise open has a free version in the ubuntu repositories that will join your computer to the domain. You can do the basics like authentication and file/print sharing (as dynamik mentioned). If you want some advanced features you'd need to buy into their product which is not cheap. Linux also doesn't need GPOs the way Windows does bc their default file system permissions are completely different.

2) Evolution is an email client that will sync with exchange for you. Depending on the version of exchange and how you have it configured you might be able to use thunderbird as well.

3) Cisco VPN client on Ubuntu is really easy. They actually have it built into the default network utility.

4) Like dynamik said centos and the rpm package manager will give you a better feel for something other than ubuntu. That being said I have used Ubuntu for a long time and they make things really easy to get up and running. Centos would be a better server choice though because the Ubuntu developers tend to do weird things (particularly when it comes to file locations).

MentholMoose

NightShade03 wrote: »

1) likewise open has a free version in the ubuntu repositories that will join your computer to the domain. You can do the basics like authentication and file/print sharing (as dynamik mentioned). If you want some advanced features you'd need to buy into their product which is not cheap. Linux also doesn't need GPOs the way Windows does bc their default file system permissions are completely different.

+1 on Likewise, it is waaaaay easier than the winbind method of joining a domain. I wouldn't recommend a Linux newbie try to get winbind working. The free version is pretty much only authentication, so for GPOs and other stuff you'd have to buy it.

NightShade03 wrote: »

4) Like dynamik said centos and the rpm package manager will give you a better feel for something other than ubuntu. That being said I have used Ubuntu for a long time and they make things really easy to get up and running. Centos would be a better server choice though because the Ubuntu developers tend to do weird things (particularly when it comes to file locations).

For a desktop I have to recommend Fedora over CentOS. CentOS (like RHEL) has extremely old desktop components in the repository (e.g. CentOS 5.5 still has KDE 3.5, which hasn't been actively developed for over a year now, Firefox 3.0, etc.), so it's not as easy as Fedora to have the latest and greatest desktop software. Also Fedora is similar to CentOS, so I don't think you will lose anything by going with Fedora for a desktop.

Bl8ckr0uter

Thanks guys.

I have a question. I thought about what I asked last night about GPOs and stuff. Since Linux doesn't have a registry what could I actually push to the ubuntu box anyway.


Based on the suggestions here, I am going to go with Fedora and I am downloading it now (I 8> torrents right now). Probably later on tonight, I will do a wipe of vista and go for it. I have already made a backup and I will probably make one more just to be safe. I have plenty of time tonight since I have to work my weekend job (aka sit in a noc for 12 hours) so I should make very good progress on this.

NightShade03

MentholMoose wrote: »

For a desktop I have to recommend Fedora over CentOS. CentOS (like RHEL) has extremely old desktop components in the repository (e.g. CentOS 5.5 still has KDE 3.5, which hasn't been actively developed for over a year now, Firefox 3.0, etc.), so it's not as easy as Fedora to have the latest and greatest desktop software. Also Fedora is similar to CentOS, so I don't think you will lose anything by going with Fedora for a desktop.

I agree Fedora is a much better choice for a desktop/laptop platform. I should have been more clear...I use Centos for a desktop, but I don't use a GUI so that's why the old school GUI doesn't matter to me

@knwminus - Usually you don't push "policy" to a linux box. If you only have a handful of machines you would update/adjust by hand or write a few shell scripts for automation. When you end up with tons of machines then you can look at things like cfengine to ease management of hundreds of systems at a time. Also SELinux is kinda of the "security policy" for centos/rhel/fedora but slightly complex and not something you'd want to take on when just learning linux.

Bl8ckr0uter

The security+ briefly mentions it and SELinux is on my to research list. I am installing the OS now so hopefully in about 20-30 minutes I should have it on the domain.

NightShade03 wrote: »

II should have been more clear...I use Centos for a desktop, but I don't use a GUI so that's why the old school GUI doesn't matter to me

This is what I planned to do but I got kind of intimidated and decided to ease into. I want to spend about 60% of my time using the gui and 40% using the cli. Everything I do from the gui I want find a way to do it from the cli. Hopefully in a few months the numbers will be switched.

NightShade03

As you start learning tasks and how to do things from the cli you should make an effort to never do them again in the GUI unless absolutely necessary. You will find your comfort level on the command line rise drastically. Have fun with the install....here if you need anything.

Bl8ckr0uter

NightShade03 wrote: »

As you start learning tasks and how to do things from the cli you should make an effort to never do them again in the GUI unless absolutely necessary. You will find your comfort level on the command line rise drastically. Have fun with the install....here if you need anything.

That seems like a winning idea. The install is done. I have done this a few times so I am pretty quick about getting it done. Now time for likewise.

Bl8ckr0uter

well I got it installed. Got root activated. Changed the rights and ran the domain join from the cli. Got all the way to the end and I got an error: 5 ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED - ACCESS IS DENIED.

NightShade03

knwminus wrote: »

well I got it installed. Got root activated. Changed the rights and ran the domain join from the cli. Got all the way to the end and I got an error: 5 ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED - ACCESS IS DENIED.

Who did you run the domain join as? Did you get a prompt for your credentials?

Bl8ckr0uter

I ran myself. I did get a prompt to put in my credentials. I wonder if my change request hasn't got processed yet...If so I would only be a domain user still. Probably not enough rights huh?

NightShade03

Exactly...I'd check to make sure that you have privileges to join computers to the domain before anything.

Bl8ckr0uter

Yep. It hasn't been done yet. I need to track down the PM right quick.

Bl8ckr0uter

I am posting this from my Ubuntu Laptop sitting on the windows domain. Next up, Cisco VPN (already have the packages installed and stuff but I will have to wait till I get added to the groups on Monday).

Thanks for the help Nightshade.

Sorry about taking over your thread Paul.

NightShade03

Anytime

Glad its working for you.

Bl8ckr0uter

Yea it was just a permissions thing. Now I don't know what to do next. I have my shares and printers mapped. I need to see what we are going to do about GPOs and AV but if they really really (they being the CTO) want me to have an AV, I might install CLAMAV but I am not sure if its worth it. I have the "new" cisco vpn client installed so as soon as I get added to this groups I will be set.

I think I might install some networking tools. Hell I might just get backtrack on here.

Paul Boz

Over the last week I spent some time reading Teach Yourself Linux. My co-worker lent it to me while I wait for the books I ordered from Amazon to arrive. I learned a few interesting subjects but left with more questions than answers.

My main goal with improving my Linux skills isn't to create theoretical knowledge but to develop hands-on skills with the operating system. I'm doing most of my day to day work in CentOS now but that still doesn't constitute any kind of system administration so for that I've set up a few servers for various tasks. The Teach Yourself Linux book briefly touched on the subject of backups so I worked a little on backups over the weekend. Server backups is an interesting subject for someone who's never been in a sysadmin role. Just about everyone knows about commercial software (or even the software built into Windows) for backing up your desktop but understanding the critical aspects of server backups is a completely different beast. So far it looks like there are several schools of thought regarding backups.

The easiest method which I've discovered is just doing bit to bit replication using something like DD, on backup hardware that is identical to the production disks. This is obviously easy because a typical kernel footprint is small. The problem with this scenario is that you generally have to have the same hardware to back up with.

Another valid solution is to use GUI tools which are designed specifically for backing up areas of the file system which you specify. This isn't something I'm terribly interested in because CLI appears to be where I should be spending my focus.

I've seen that a large number of admins use cron jobs to perform backups and just use scripts to back up the settings and files they want. These options all seem pretty valid but for someone with almost no sysadmin experience I can't really judge. I would really like it if there was a link or web resource (or just posters here willing to write it up) which describes more of the logical aspects to backups, such as rotation, frequency, types of backups, what to backup, etc. There are plenty of books on this subject but having you guys explain your processes generally makes more sense to me.

varelg

Well PaulBoz, I'd suggest that while your are waiting for that one or several helping hands that will take you through the Path of the Sysadmin you keep reading that wonderfull free literature offered for Red Hat and its offsprings like the Deployment Guide and anything you can find on CentOS.org web site. Then go for the Sobell's Red Hat and Fedora Guide whatever the latest edition is, and if you are ready to dig a tad deeper into bash scripting pick up yet another Sobell title- this time about bash scripting.
"... for Dummies" can only get you so far...

NightShade03

Paul Boz wrote: »

I've seen that a large number of admins use cron jobs to perform backups and just use scripts to back up the settings and files they want. These options all seem pretty valid but for someone with almost no sysadmin experience I can't really judge. I would really like it if there was a link or web resource (or just posters here willing to write it up) which describes more of the logical aspects to backups, such as rotation, frequency, types of backups, what to backup, etc. There are plenty of books on this subject but having you guys explain your processes generally makes more sense to me.

While I'm no expert I can offer the following. Backups can be a little tough depending on the type of server that you are running. For our web applications here at work I have custom BASH scripts that run via cron, which backup the application and files, **** the databases, etc...I think it's going to be different for everyone and that you'd have to customize your solution based on environment.

You may want to look at: Amanda Network Backup: Open Source Backup for Linux, Windows, UNIX and OS X to get started. This is a very popular backup solution on linux.

You could also use NFS or tapes (with cron) to do backups as well. You may want to look at the ubuntu server guide which gives a simple, yet detailed explanation on backups, shell scripting backups, and rotation.

https://help.ubuntu.com/10.04/serverguide/C/backups.html
https://help.ubuntu.com/10.04/serverguide/C/backups-shellscripts-rotation.html

The dd command is decent but insanely slow when dealing with large amounts of data. You may want to look into BASH scripting with tar, gunzip, and rsync. Here is also a sample of how to backup with scripts to tape:

Linux Shell Script To Backup To Tape Drive

Hope this helps.

dynamik

I recommended this to Paul at work, but for anyone else who's curious, this is the bible for *nix systems administration: Amazon.com: Essential System Administration, Third Edition (9780596003432): Æleen Frisch: Books

Paul Boz

Thanks for the advice guys. I've got some reading to do.

MentholMoose

One thing I like about Gentoo is that it's package repository is categorized. So for example, if you are interested in backup software, you just check the "app-backup" category. It's available online, here:
Gentoo-Portage - Browse app-backup

For the home directory on my Gentoo workstations I use rdiff-backup, which is rsync-based and easy to use. A simple backup is done simply by entering "rdiff-backup /path/to/source /path/to/destination"... this is actually what I use, except that I add a few "--exclude" directives to not backup certain files.

appropriator

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