Choosing book for LPIC-2

Hi junilinux!

Clearly I have a very biased opinion on this topic as I am the author of the LPIC-2 Pearson book. I have gotten positive feedback so far and feel it does a great job preparing you for the exam. I'm certain the Sybex book will be very good as well, but as you pointed out, that doesn't come out until October.

While writing the LPIC-2 book, I made sure I covered all of the exam testable topics. With the LPIC exams, depth of coverage is always problematic because LPI doesn't say how much of a topic that you need to know, but just that you need to know it. I tried to provide the correct depth (too much and you are overwhelmed, too little and you don't know enough to answer the questions) on each topic.

I know that this doesn't really answer your question (you want someone who isn't the author to provide you with feedback), but I thought I would respond and let you know that I really did what I could to create a quality product. I used my 25+ years of training and courseware development skills to create a book that will help you pass the LPIC-2 exams.

Lastly, I have my contact info in the book (and you can respond to me via this forum). If you ever have any questions, I will do my best to respond to you with an answer!

Good luck!

-William "Bo" Rothwell

I've had some positive experiences with Pearson literature (e.g. Kevin Wallace, Sander Van Vugt) and especially their live lessons. Kind of cool...not too many authors that I know of answer your questions directly using TE.

His book looks like the most current piece of literature for LPIC-2. I did a quick look over some of the chapters on Safari Books Online and it looks like a good read that I'll definitely be adding it to my virtual book shelf.

I'm a newbie on this forum. Found the question via a Google search (was looking for where the book was being sold). I figured I would pop in, say hi and let you all know that I encourage feedback, questions, comments, etc.

-Bo

junilinux

Hi William,

It's so great to have the book author replied directly to my question
Although it should be not quite good so far but I really appreciated to your feedback about the book. It gives me an other point of view about the quality behind the book production.

As you have pointed out in your reply as well as I already did a quick look of your book via Google search, I found it a good resource that could help me in passing this exam with no problem (of course I must give it more labs, more hands on commands...) and in my perspective, your book is well-managed with focused-writing contents.
I am also happy to know that my question about your book also brings you up here and join to TE forum. With your Linux experiences in training, developing, I think the LPI or Linux+ boxes would be full of your valuable Linux advice.

Thank you.

You don't often see people taking lpic-2 and last time anyone published a guide on lpic- 2 was 5+ years ago. I wonder what prompted publishers to put this guide on the market.
Just skimming through the table of contents it looks promising.
Good luck junilinux pursuing this certificate .

TacoRocket

varelg wrote: »

You don't often see people taking lpic-2 and last time anyone published a guide on lpic- 2 was 5+ years ago. I wonder what prompted publishers to put this guide on the market.
Just skimming through the table of contents it looks promising.
Good luck junilinux pursuing this certificate .

I think certifications are becoming mainstream. Its cash for everyone who is involved. So the push for material is higher. I dont think its so bad. We get a collective amount of information in one piece.

masq

varelg wrote: »

You don't often see people taking lpic-2 and last time anyone published a guide on lpic- 2 was 5+ years ago. I wonder what prompted publishers to put this guide on the market.

It is not surprising, - LPIC-2 objectives had major changes in 2013, and even after some minor changes in 2015, there was no preparation guide for LPIC-2 that would cover all these changes until recently. Roderick's book is considered horribly outdated now. And of course, being alive, LPI stimulates new book releases.

masq

2junilinux
In your case, I would get any up-to-date LPIC-2 guide, -any- up-to-date guide.
When I studied for LPIC-2, I used a number of additional materials, specific to the particular exam objective.. Like one book covering postfix, another covering OpenVPN, and so on.. So in case you run into difficulties setting up some network daemon even after reading lpic-2 guide, just get some books, and you'll be fine.

junilinux wrote: »

Hi William,

It's so great to have the book author replied directly to my question
Although it should be not quite good so far but I really appreciated to your feedback about the book. It gives me an other point of view about the quality behind the book production.

As you have pointed out in your reply as well as I already did a quick look of your book via Google search, I found it a good resource that could help me in passing this exam with no problem (of course I must give it more labs, more hands on commands...) and in my perspective, your book is well-managed with focused-writing contents.
I am also happy to know that my question about your book also brings you up here and join to TE forum. With your Linux experiences in training, developing, I think the LPI or Linux+ boxes would be full of your valuable Linux advice.

Thank you.

A bit of advice up front: Pay attention to the weight values assigned to each topic. There are 40 questions on each exam and each exam has a total weight value of 40. So, if you are studying a topic that has a weight value of 1, expect one question on the exam from that topic. If an objective has a weight value of 7, expect 7 questions on the exam. Don't beat yourself up on the objectives with a weight value of 1 or 2, rather focus on the higher weight values when studying and practicing.

masq wrote: »

It is not surprising, - LPIC-2 objectives had major changes in 2013, and even after some minor changes in 2015, there was no preparation guide for LPIC-2 that would cover all these changes until recently. Roderick's book is considered horribly outdated now. And of course, being alive, LPI stimulates new book releases.

masq hit one of the reasons (the primary one) on the head. There was nothing out there that was up-to-date. Publishers abhor a vacuum.

There are other reasons why. I have worked with LPI (as a supporter) for several years and they have recently had a change in leadership. The new leadership is being more proactive with the higher level certifications (we are writing a LPIC-300 cert guide for them now, it will be self-published). So, hopefully, the timing will be good and we will see LPIC-2 and LPCI-3 become more of an alternative choice to other higher-level certs (namely Red Hat's). BTW, I used to teach and give RH cert exams and feel there are good reasons to have both RH and LPI certs.

For Christine Bresnahan and Richard Blum (authors of the other LPIC-2 book coming out in October), they had another reason. Christine is an instructor at a college and wanted her students to have timely material. I'm sure their book will be great as well since they have had several other successful books (didn't know when I was writing mine that they were also writing theirs). Choice is a good thing, right?

-Bo

Good to see changes are coming to LPI. And choice is a very good thing, as long as it is genuine. If the ambition is to be Red Hat's alternative, I think there's a long way to go. At least two things need to happen at LPI:
- abolish the multiple-choice question format and transition to practical exam format, as demonstrated by exams from Linux Foundation. Home/anywhere delivery of a practical exam for a cert that lasts 5 years.
- abolish the SOHO objectives of exams at all levels, even of LPIC-1. Configuring X11... printers... sad.
This may be hard to swallow for some LPI people. If your goal is to be Red Hat's alternative however...

varelg wrote: »

Good to see changes are coming to LPI. And choice is a very good thing, as long as it is genuine. If the ambition is to be Red Hat's alternative, I think there's a long way to go. At least two things need to happen at LPI:
- abolish the multiple-choice question format and transition to practical exam format, as demonstrated by exams from Linux Foundation. Home/anywhere delivery of a practical exam for a cert that lasts 5 years.
- abolish the SOHO objectives of exams at all levels, even of LPIC-1. Configuring X11... printers... sad.
This may be hard to swallow for some LPI people. If your goal is to be Red Hat's alternative however...

Never ending debate on the mult choice vs practical. The challenge of a practical LPI exam is that their mandate is to be "vendor neutral". It is hard to make a practical exam when you are suppose to not favor any particular distro.

This (vendor neutral) is actually, IMO, one of the values of LPI certs. RHSA/RHCE/RHCA are great when entering an organization that is Red Hat-based, but if the organization is not, then those certs don't have as much value. In fact, I've had folks say "oh, you know Red Hat, we use Ubuntu/Mint/SUSE/[pick a distro], so maybe this isn't a good fit for you". Yes, RH dominates the US market, but go outside the US and the story changes. This is important because a global IT structure is becoming more standard.

Not that practical exams in LPI won't ever happen. The new leadership is very much open to looking into alternatives. I suspect you will see some changes in objectives in the near future too.

-Bo

borothwell wrote: »

1. Never ending debate on the mult choice vs practical.
This (vendor neutral) is actually, IMO, one of the values of LPI certs. 2. RHSA/RHCE/RHCA are great when entering an organization that is Red Hat-based, but if the organization is not, then those certs don't have as much value.

-Bo

1. Never ending?! For whom? Maybe for LPI folks...
2. RH certs not having much value outside of RH-centric organizations... interesting (at best) view.
Advocacy doesn't solve problems.

junilinux

@masq:

Thank you a lot. I did ask you some questions about your LPIC2 testing preparation progress before and they are really invaluable information as well as experiences for me. Hope you would get LPIC3 soon and give us some feedback and review about it

@borothwell:

I will definitely take notes of your useful advice. I hope that I could know it before taking LPIC1 exam cuz there were so many objectives having only a few questions existed in the exam that I had paid attention to and spent so much time learning on them.
I also get excited when knowing that LPIC3 cert guide has been being in progress of publishing. There should be a huge change in LPI board management views, I think.
By the way, talking about certs value, both RedHats and LPIs are also high-recognized in over the world, I think. But about the application, RedHat's maybe just suite for the organization that running their technologies in spite of their high value in Linux industry. This also happened to me when choosing the RHCSA or start from LPIC1 for my career path. Not just took so much time but between a RedHat (a company that I had been known about when I still sat on the High school chairs and their certs are full of value) and a vendor-neutral LPI, it was really a hard choice for me but anyway, time passed and decision was chosen.

varelg wrote: »

1. Never ending?! For whom? Maybe for LPI folks...
2. RH certs not having much value outside of RH-centric organizations... interesting (at best) view.
Advocacy doesn't solve problems.

First of all, I'm not advocating, just pointing out potential advantages of vendor neutral certifications. If advocacy doesn't solve problems, are you suggesting that just bashing how LPI does things solves problems?

Secondly, I didn't even come close to saying "RH certs not having much value outside of RH-centric organizations". I said that they don't have AS MUCH value in a non-RH organization as they have in a RH organization. Please don't twist my words to something different that what I said.

I happen to be a big fan of practical exams. I am a former RHCI and RHCX. Additionally, I am developing a RHCE video course for O'Reilly and Associates. Vendor neutral practical certs pose a challenge. Even the Linux Foundation's certs are not really vendor neutral (although it is cool that you get to pick the distro that you are tested on...well, at least one of three distros).

BTW, SUSE also has a multiple choice exam (and a practical for the higher level cert), so it isn't just LPI that is debating the merits of practical exams.

-Bo

I think LPI material offers a good direction for advancing your Linux skills. As much as I enjoy Red Hat, work with the product and continue my studies advancing to RHCE, their exam objectives only cover the top layer. Specifically when it comes to covering network services. Just take a brief glimpse at the objectives for RHCE vs LPIC-2. There are a few similarities but RHCE exam doesn't even come close to all of the areas LPIC-2's 202 exam objectives. Not to mention all of the LPIC-3 exam objectives.

Having said that, certifications from Red Hat are excellent because they validate hands on experience, however they're not the end all be all for Linux certifications. I do believe in the value of LPIC certifications even if they are multiple choice questions because of the content they cover.

In the end certifications are for validating experience. When it comes to job interviews, anyone worth their salt will see if you're a fraud within 5 minutes of asking you Linux questions if you dumped your way through exams.

borothwell wrote: »

Secondly, I didn't even come close to saying "RH certs not having much value outside of RH-centric organizations". I said that they don't have AS MUCH value in a non-RH organization as they have in a RH organization. Please don't twist my words to something different that what I said.

-Bo

I haven't twisted your words. But now I may be not AS MUCH interested in your elaboration of worthiness of Red Hat certifications. Relevancy.

@junilinux: Let me know how you do on LPIC-2.

@Verities: Good insight, I happen to agree.

@varelg: Not really clear about your meaning, but no worries. Sounds like we just have different opinions and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

-Bo

borothwell wrote: »

@varelg: Not really clear about your meaning, but no worries . Sounds like we just have different opinions and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

-Bo

Oh, I was supposed to be worried?!

varelg wrote: »

Oh, I was supposed to be worried?!

You are welcome to be whatever you wish to be.

Butt you certainly are.

wolfinsheepsclothing

borothwell wrote: »

Never ending debate on the mult choice vs practical. The challenge of a practical LPI exam is that their mandate is to be "vendor neutral". It is hard to make a practical exam when you are suppose to not favor any particular distro.

This (vendor neutral) is actually, IMO, one of the values of LPI certs. RHSA/RHCE/RHCA are great when entering an organization that is Red Hat-based, but if the organization is not, then those certs don't have as much value. In fact, I've had folks say "oh, you know Red Hat, we use Ubuntu/Mint/SUSE/[pick a distro], so maybe this isn't a good fit for you". Yes, RH dominates the US market, but go outside the US and the story changes. This is important because a global IT structure is becoming more standard.

Not that practical exams in LPI won't ever happen. The new leadership is very much open to looking into alternatives. I suspect you will see some changes in objectives in the near future too.

-Bo

Bo, where have you heard this? I doubt this was at the enterprise level. I agree with your assertion regarding the potential for a practical LPI exam: vendor neutrality kills it.

wolfinsheepsclothing wrote: »

Bo, where have you heard this? I doubt this was at the enterprise level. I agree with your assertion regarding the potential for a practical LPI exam: vendor neutrality kills it.

Personally, I've had this happen once when my resume was heavily RH-based. A training broker wanted to put me up for a bid that involved SUSE training, but was hesitant because my resume didn't mentioned much about SUSE specifically. Didn't get the gig, but don't know if it was because of that (you never know with open bids).

Indirectly, I've had several students mention this sort of thing in classes that I've taught.

This isn't a reason for *not* getting RH certified. I think it just highlights that having both RH and LPI can be advantageous.

Agree with you on the enterprise/architect level. Right now RH owns that market.

-Bo

It wouldn't be that much of a stretch to copy what Red Hat has done with kiosks and VMs. Instead of multiple choice you have a centos vm and a debian based vm (ubuntu, suse, who cares?) then have the examinee do the objectives on whichever vm they choose then do the remaining differing tasks between the two systems (package management, config file changes, and finding maybe some libraries?). Binaries are the same in how they function and man pages are present on any flavor of *nix.

Either way with the exams, there is a positive outlook for Linux in the future. Ubuntu has done a good job popularising linux with the hobbyist/average consumer while Red Hat has done an excellent job with big businesses and the DoD. Having any of the Linux certifications and proficiency in any flavor is bound to be beneficial in IT.

masq

erm.. about rh/lpic story.. my 2 cents as you say:
The situation Bo mentioned is pretty much possible in Europe, but not because of RH certs not being valued a lot here, not at all.
For example, LPIC has it's little advantage over RH certs here, as it covers more areas of traditional system administration, but still, it's less then enough to fit the requirements for mid./senior roles, and it's not practical like RH exams are..
So what I'm trying to say - RH certs are valued and respected here, as well as so called "advanced" certifications of lpi - LPIc-2 and 3, but a lot of companies rely heavy on Debian/Ubuntu and Suse, and the requirements for a candidate applying for mid level sysadmin role are waaay too high, so having only RHCE certificate won't help you much, like yeah it's good to have, but still you gotta have additional experience and technical skillset that depends on particular company and business, same true for LPIC-2/LPIC-3 certification . It's more like a question of popularity, not value,really.
PS I'm planning to go after RHCE right after I'm done with LPIC-3, just for skill sharpening, it won't benefit me more than that, I guess. Plans may change, but for now, I think having both lpic-3 and rche would be cool.
2junilinux
Hey, just send me a pm if you have any questions regarding LPIC-2 exams.

Verities wrote: »

It wouldn't be that much of a stretch to copy what Red Hat has done with kiosks and VMs. Instead of multiple choice you have a centos vm and a debian based vm (ubuntu, suse, who cares?) then have the examinee do the objectives on whichever vm they choose then do the remaining differing tasks between the two systems (package management, config file changes, and finding maybe some libraries?). Binaries are the same in how they function and man pages are present on any flavor of *nix.

Either way with the exams, there is a positive outlook for Linux in the future. Ubuntu has done a good job popularising linux with the hobbyist/average consumer while Red Hat has done an excellent job with big businesses and the DoD. Having any of the Linux certifications and proficiency in any flavor is bound to be beneficial in IT.

Unfortunately, the way that the LPI charter is written, the powers that be @ LPI do care. Even if they provide a choice of a couple of distros on the exam, the certification ends up favoring those specific Linux distos. Keep in mind, this isn't my personal opinion, just something that I know that they need to come to terms with (and have struggled to do so, at least historically). They have a legally binding charter that they either would have to change (not likely) or figure out how to work around. They have worked around it before, which is why you see both rpm and dkg commands on the exam (although they may argue that those are distro specific, but more "distro family" specific).

And, I agree, this is a very good time for Linux in general and (potentially) Linux certifications. Red Hat has always done a great job with their certification program and it continues to grow. The Linux Foundation has entered the market with a couple of practical exam-based certs. There are changes in the works @ SUSE regarding their certification program and LPI may also go to practical exams.

-Bo

Alchazar

Let's return to LPIC-2 book:)
Currently reading book mentioned in first reply to thread (LPIC-2 Cert Guide: (201-400 and 202-400 exams) by William Rothwell Published by Pearson Certification, 2016.)
I think this book is quite good to prepare for exam and to learn more about Linux. But don;t forget to try all commands yourself and read man pages. this will help you to better understand those commands, and it's will be easier to remember them.

P.s. sorry for my English..
.VCE exam files https://vce-examfiles.com

Alchazar wrote: »

Let's return to LPIC-2 book:)
Currently reading book mentioned in first reply to thread (LPIC-2 Cert Guide: (201-400 and 202-400 exams) by William Rothwell Published by Pearson Certification, 2016.)
I think this book is quite good to prepare for exam and to learn more about Linux. But don;t forget to try all commands yourself and read man pages. this will help you to better understand those commands, and it's will be easier to remember them.

P.s. sorry for my English..
.VCE exam files https://vce-examfiles.com

Hi Alchazar,

Glad you like the book and good suggestion to try all commands and explore the man page. Good luck on your exam!

-Bo

junilinux

Thank Alchazar for your review.

My order is on the way cuz it takes 7 days to be shipped from UK
After completing reading this book, I will be back here with my full review
Good luck on your exam