Problems studying for Linux+ LX-101
Hey all, first post, long time lurker.
So I'm finding that I am having extraordinary difficulty preparing myself for the LX-101 test. I feel like I have resorted to having to cram every command and flag/option under the sun to prepare for this exam-I'm finding it to be much less enjoyable then the prep I did for my Cisco certifications as those were much more hands on style certifications-I studied for those primarily through labbing with physical gear.
I'm taking the course through WGU and am preparing using LabSim's test out-their practice exams seem to revolve around mostly identifying commands and a variety of options/flags. As such, I've been going through the course and writing down notes for the commands they introduce along with the bulk of these options. It feels impractical to memorize all of these options..but from what I know about the exam, its all fill in the blank/multiple choice style test.
I've been working on entering the commands in at the cli to enforce the learning of these various commands, but I seem to continuously forget several of these different options-some of them are just not very intuitive. I feel abit lost here in how to go about preparing for this-any recommendations for getting the command options to stick (or insight as to just how many of these options I'm supposed to remember for each command?)
So I'm finding that I am having extraordinary difficulty preparing myself for the LX-101 test. I feel like I have resorted to having to cram every command and flag/option under the sun to prepare for this exam-I'm finding it to be much less enjoyable then the prep I did for my Cisco certifications as those were much more hands on style certifications-I studied for those primarily through labbing with physical gear.
I'm taking the course through WGU and am preparing using LabSim's test out-their practice exams seem to revolve around mostly identifying commands and a variety of options/flags. As such, I've been going through the course and writing down notes for the commands they introduce along with the bulk of these options. It feels impractical to memorize all of these options..but from what I know about the exam, its all fill in the blank/multiple choice style test.
I've been working on entering the commands in at the cli to enforce the learning of these various commands, but I seem to continuously forget several of these different options-some of them are just not very intuitive. I feel abit lost here in how to go about preparing for this-any recommendations for getting the command options to stick (or insight as to just how many of these options I'm supposed to remember for each command?)
Comments
Make sure you have the objectives for the Linux+ exam and practice those objectives over and over. There are way too many Linux commands and options to memorize. You want to focus on the ones which will be needed to complete the objectives.
It's funny how you stated studying for Cisco was easier. CCNA is currently my next goal and I get intimidated just by the vast amounts of material I need to read. For me, Linux+ was more doable.
Studying on again, off again...
I spent about a year learning the A+ material. I think that it'll be the same for the Linux+ because I plan on taking both exams about the same time.
WIP : | CISSP [2018] | CISA [2018] | CAPM [2018] | eCPPT [2018] | CRISC [2019] | TORFL (TRKI) B1 | Learning: | Russian | Farsi |
*****You can fail a test a bunch of times but what matters is that if you fail to give up or not*****
I just got a new Mac book pro so I'm stuck with Mac until someone writes a nice guide on getting Linux to work on the new hardware but some commands still work.. Example I regularly move and copy files from my mac to my xbmc over my network using scp etc..
Im studying for my 102 at the moment so I'm spending a lot of time in my Virtual machines setting up email, Apache, SQL, users etc.. I find this helps me to remember the command option by repeatedly doing the hands on activities from my various resources.
I use linux primarily on my work computer and my home computer, as it makes scripting my network tasks significantly easier, but this material is definitely making me feel like an end user
Took a practice test oriented solely at the commands, and I'm starting to recall them better..I finally have the common options for the tar command down
I have passed this exam and recently took a job as a junior linux admin (after many years in Windows). Step 1 in learning the exam is using Linux as a desktop & having a practice server (pure command line). Unlike some Comptia exams, you can't just memorize Linux stuff. You need to be hands on, all the time. When I was studying I never turned on my Windows laptop.
I have my CCNA as well and you'll find you need to be hands on all the time to study it. Once you get the commands in your head, you'll never forget them. You'll have dreams of commands like ls
For those interested, I worked primarily with labsim, a book called Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification by Jason W Eckert (had it from a Linux course I took previously at school) and two VM's-Fedora and Debian, and it took me about three months until I felt confident enough to take the exam.
Good luck with the 102. It is more fun to study and a more difficult exam imo
This is also why I really dislike certification exams. In the real world, you have Google. In the testing room, you're lucky if you get man pages.
I totally agree with you regarding the real world. There is plenty I have implemented, but when asked to do it again, I have to go back to notes. Same with commands. There are many I seldom use, but if I get stuck, I look it up. Not that it stops me from doing my jog.
It can be frustrating trying to remember everything. As mentioned by others, it makes a difference to do hands on practise.
Scan through the exam objectives and keep an eye on the weighting as it gives an idea of how heavy you will be tested in that area.
Wish you all the very best with the 102
Thanks, for mentioning these two. I'll add these to the list of videos to check out.
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity
The DigitalOcean suggestion was good too. You can't go wrong for $5 a month if you don't have the hardware to spin up VMs locally.
As most people mentioned practice makes perfect and you really need to use Linux 24/7 for a while in order to get more comfortable and the commands will start to sink in. Another suggestion would be go check out howtoforge.com and run through as many of the tutorials as you can. Just by configuring services and setting things up you'll become more comfortable all around.
Plus you know the community here is awesome if you get stuck too
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But over all I understand having the struggles of studying for this exam.
:cheers:
Linux Command Line Introduction
The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction: Amazon.co.uk: William E. Shotts: Books
LinuxCommand.org: Learn the Linux command line. Write shell scripts.
If you are knew to Linux then I urge you to read the above book, It is Noob friendly and is very informative the section on Bash scripting is excellent, the author walks you through setting up a program and gradually introduces gradual steps i.e variable declaration - for loops highly recommend this book!
Ok so you have worked through that book now what?
Grab yourself a cup of tea, navigate to the following website and print off all the exercises stick them in a binder and work through them [ Learn Linux The Hard Way ]
Your will become a ninja and learn how to master stuff like VIM, environment variables and some cool stuff
llthw - *nix spellbook
For Server configuration if your like myself and like Red Hat and want a easy to follow book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/CentOS-6-Linux-Server-Cookbook/dp/B00GQ5ZIRI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1390419313&sr=8-2&keywords=centos+cookbook
You cannot go wrong with this either
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Enterprise-Linux-Administration-Administrators/dp/1118301293/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1390419350&sr=8-8&keywords=red+hat
For Bash scripting the best resources I think are
Bash Guide for Beginners
Linux Command Line and Shell Scripting Bible: Amazon.co.uk: Richard Blum, Christine Bresnahan: Books
Those are the best resources I have used over the years, I have also read alot of documentation and books that to put it blunt suck! they over over-complicate matters!
The Linux+ Roderick Smith book I didn't like it skips around to much and is like watching paint dry trying to read it
Hopefully you will find some of the resources I have posted useful
" Embrace, evolve, extinguish "
I'm slowly making some progress. I have decided that the trainsignal/plural sight videos are not that helpful, and I found myself constantly falling asleep while watching these videos. The CBT Nuggets videos seem to be more engaging to me. I'll probably check out the udemy videos soon along with the additional resources given by ally_uk.
Out of all the Linux+ threads this one seems to have some really good and helpful info. Thanks to everyone who has added to this.
lol I have to strongly agree with that. The book isn't terrible if you can get through it, but logically it doesn't follow a smooth flow. One day I'll re-write this book myself
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Roderick smith book sucks Your right aswell it does not flow well at all there is a huge gap in the market for easy to follow and understand documentation especially for users who make the transition from windows a Recipe format Linux+ book would be awesome
" Embrace, evolve, extinguish "
Working on it.
Progress is slow going at the moment, but I'll get there....stupid day job!
I actually have around 2 years worth of content that I'm trying to get posted/published. Guess I should publish that list somewhere and get feedback on what should take priority. The TE community is also very helpful in determining what topics are in demand currently.
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" Embrace, evolve, extinguish "
I also have to say that I find it quite amusing about the general lack of good quality material (in terms of books mostly) that cover the LPIC 101/102 exams. Apparently, as one progresses to more advanced LPIC certs (201, 202, etc), the situation only gets worse.
Geez, why can't anything concerning Linux be easy!!
The problem I've had so far is finding prep questions that are:
a) accurate i.e. not 10 year old information e.g. about X that doesn't reference X.org
b) easy to use, some of the free prep websites are either horribly designed, slow or don't work properly
c) give you feedback, no point telling me I got 25 questions wrong if I can't see which ones they are or explain what the correct answer is
I've been attempting to read through the Roderick Smith book which was going well until work projects ramped up a notch or two and when I come home I haven't got enough mental energy left to do study as well
For those who have done the exam how do the practice questions from the Roderick Smith materials match up? They seem a bit too easy compared to some of the hellish questions I've had online (type the whole command with all switches for some random situation you'd very rarely need in day-to-day operations etc).
Either way my Comptia voucher expires in April so will have to go for it by that point whether I'm ready or not!
I want to do for this community what Lynda.com, Railscasts, CodeSchool, Learnable, PluralSight, etc. did for the Web Development community
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