FastTrack to Red Hat Linux for Experienced UNIX/LINUX System Administrators — A 4-Day Course

 Open Public Course Closed In-House Course

Synopsis

This course is designed to give experienced LINUX/UNIX administrators practical experience in the administration, security and performance administration of a LINUX system. This course is targeted to closely follow the official Red Hat curriculum, this course will enable the student to work towards the Red Hat RHCE qualifications. This instructor-led class will have a high, practical content and a fast pace. Delegates should have a strong UNIX/LINUX background.

The delegate will have knowledge in all, and practise in some, of the following:

• Install the Operating System manually and also using kickstart
• Configure Network Interfaces
• Configure for Network Services such as DNS, BIND, NIS etc.
• Configure Virtual Hosting using the Apache Web Server
• Share Data Using the Samba and NFS File Sharing Systems
• Configure a Proxy Server
• Configure all aspects of User Administration
• Secure Systems using SELinux, Authentication/User/Data Security and Firewalls
• Configure PAM Modules
• Handle Package Management
• Backup/Restore and Compression
• Configure Advanced System Logging
• XEN virtualisation
• Mail Services
• Troubleshoot and Disaster Recover Systems

Course Objectives

On completion of this course the delegate will have a greater technical awareness of the system and acquired practical experience of the key administration duties of the Red Hat Linux system. They will possess the essential knowledge required to study towards the official Red Hat certification routes.

Suitable for

• Experienced LINUX/UNIX System Administrators who need to acquire knowledge of the key administrative, networking and security tasks required to administer a LINUX system
• Delegates looking to prepare for Red Hat certification status

Prerequisites

• Strong prior knowledge of the LINUX/UNIX operating system. The content of the Administering Red Hat Linux course would be the minimum level of knowledge required for attendance on this course

Examinations

This course is targeted to closely follow the official Red Hat curriculum, and thus will enable the student to work towards the Red Hat RHCE qualifications.

Before taking any exam, ensure you have the recommended experience. The Red Hat website lists all exam requirements and these are updated regularly.

Exams are not included as part of the course.

Publicly scheduled dates, locations, and prices

Contents:

Investigating the System

• The /proc psuedo filesystem
• Investigating bus/devices:lspci,lsusb etc.
• Graphical tools for investigating hardware
• Serial device management
• Monitoring and managing logfiles
• Using the system-config Tools
• Setup and kudzu Utilities

Installing Red Hat Linux

• Installation methods available
• The virtual consoles
• Using boot time options
• Firstboot and post installation

Installing Red Hat Linux using Kickstart

• Automating an Install
• Kickstart File Layout
• Creating a Kickstart File
• Starting a kickstart installation
• Creating the Linux Install server

Basic Administration

• The RedHat Administrative tools available
• User/group and password administration
• The shells and the user environment
• The Red Hat Linux boot sequence
• Control services using chkconfig,ntsysv etc.
• System shutdown and reboot management
• Printer Management- CUPS and system-config-printer
• Recovering Lost Root Password

Filesystem Configuration

• The Native Linux Filesytems ext2fs and ext3fs
• Disk partitioning: fdisk and parted
• File System administration and Maintenance
• Handling removable media
• Using Disk quotas

LVM and RAID

• Basic LVM design and configuration
• Software RAID using mdadm
• Implementing RAID0, 1 & 5 file systems
• Hot swap replacement
• Simulating RAID disk failure

Managing System Software

• The Redhat Package Management system
• The YUM and package management tool
• Installing and removing software manually
• RPM queries and verifying packages
• Dependency problems and resolution
• Other RPM features
• Updating Enterprise Linux with up2date

Basic Networking

• Configuring network interfaces
• Controlling network devices:ifup/ifdown/mii-tool/ethtool
• Creating virtual interfaces/Using DHCP
• Routing IP traffic under RedHat Linux
• Network diagnosis tools : tcpdump, netstat etc.
• The xinetd daemon operation & ports/sockets
• Limiting access to services using TCP wrappers

Network Services : Apache and Squid

• The Apache and Tux web servers
• Apache Server configuration files
• Virtual host management : name and IP based access
• The squid web proxy cache server

Sharing File System (NFS & SAMBA)

• NFS operation : daemons, etc.
• Configuring an NFS server
• Using the automounter to access NFS mounts
• The Samba system
• Samba Daemons and operation
• Samba authentication methods
• Samba client tools
• Using smbmount to access Windows shares

The Domain Name System and NIS Clients

• The DNS/BIND system under Red Hat Linux
• Master/Slave/Reverse zones
• Name Daemon control utility (rndc)
• Address match lists (acl)
• Sub-domains
• BIND checking utilities
• Creating a NIS Client

Data Security

• SELinux
• Types of Attack Usually Experienced
• System and User Security Policies
• One Way Hashes, Public Key Encryption
• Digital Signatures
• The Secure Shell : Openssh
• Public/Private Key Authentication

Securing Networks : Pluggable Authentication (PAM)

• PAM overview
• Main PAM configuration files
• PAM configuration rules
• Important PAM libraries
• Controlling access by time
• Denying access by user/group

Securing Networks: Firewalls

• Netfilter overview
• Packet filtering using iptables
• Rule targets
• Network address translation
• Source and Destination NAT configuration
• RedHat supplied tools for iptables configuration

System Monitoring

• Syslog Configuration
• /etc/syslog.conf Configuration
• Monitoring Tools

Electronic Mail

• Email Components
• SMTP
• Configuring Sendmail
• Postfix and sendmail Alternative
• Switching Mail Systems

XEN A Basic Definition

• XEN Components
• Virtualisation Modes
• System Requirements
• Installing XEN
• Creating a Virtual Machine
• Enabling access to a CD Drive
• Accessing the network
• Managing the VM Environment
• Migration

Troubleshooting

• The rescue environment
• Rescue environment utilities and operation
• The networked rescue environment
• Over riding boot levels from grub
• Creating a Bootable USB Device
• Common boot problems and their resolution