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RHCEPrerequisites

CERTIFICATION OBJECTIVES

1.01Basic Linux Knowledge1.02Linux Filesystem Hierarchyand Structure1.03Basic Commands1.04Printing1.05The Linux/Unix Shell1.06Basic Security1.07Linux/Unix System Administration1.08Basic TCP/IP Networking1.09Standard Network Services1.10Basic Network Security

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Chapter1:RHCE Prerequisites

he Red Hat Certified Engineer exam is an advanced challenge. As the RHCE coursehas a number of prerequisites, this book assumes that you know some basics aboutLinux. This chapter covers each of these prerequisite topics in a minimum of detail,withreferencestootherbooksandsourcesformoreinformation.Unlikeinotherchaptersand other books in this series, the Questions include a number of “zingers” that go beyond thischapter’s content. That is the only way to see if you have the prerequisite skills necessary forremaining chapters.

The prerequisites are quite broad; it is okay if you do not feel comfortable with asmallnumberoftopicsinthischapter.It’sinfactquitenaturalthatmanyexperiencedLinux administrators don’t use every one of the prerequisite topics in their everyday work. Many candidates are successfully able to fill in the “gaps” in their knowledge with some self-study and lots of practice.Unfortunately,itisnotpossibletocondensealloftheprerequisitelessonsintoonechapter, at least in a way that can be understood by newcomers to Linux and otherUnix-basedoperatingsystems.Ifafterreadingthischapter,youfindgapsinyourknowledge, please refer to one of the following guides:

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Red Hat Linux: The Complete Reference, Second Edition

, by Richard Petersen(McGraw-Hill/Osborne,2001),providesadetailedstep-by-stepguidetoevery part of this operating system. After reading this book, if you want additionalexercises in Red Hat Linux, this is the book.

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Hacking Linux Exposed: Linux Security Secrets & Solutions

by Hatch, Lee, andKurtz (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2001), gives you a detailed look at how youcan secure your Linux system and networks in every possible way.

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Linux Programming: A Beginner’s Guide

, by Richard Petersen (McGraw-Hill/Osborne,2001),takesafundamentallookatthescriptsyouneedtoadministerLinuxprofessionally,andcustomizetoolssuchastheGNOMEandKDEGUIsfor your users.CriticaltoaLinuxadministratorisknowledgeofoneormoretexteditorstomanagethemanyconfigurationfilesonaLinuxsystem.TheLinuxfilesystemhierarchy organizes hardware, drivers, directories, and of course, files. You need to master anumberofbasiccommandstomanageLinux.Printerconfigurationcanbeacomplextopic. Shell scripts enable you to automate many everyday processes. Security is now a huge issue that Linux can handle better than other operating systems; locally, andon larger networks such as the Internet.

As an administrator, you need a good knowledge of basic system administrationcommands,TCP/IPconfigurationrequirements,andstandardnetworkservices.ThebasichardwareknowledgeassociatedwithRHCEprerequisitesiscoveredinChapter2.This is not a book for beginners to Linux/Unix-type operating systems. Some of what you read in this chapter may be unfamiliar. Use this chapter to create a list of topics that you may need to study further. In some cases, you’ll be able to get up tospeedwiththematerialinotherchapters.ButifyouhavelessexperiencewithLinuxoranotherUnix-typeoperatingsystem,youmaywanttorefertotheaforementionedbooks.

CERTIFICATION OBJECTIVE1.01

Basic Linux Knowledge

Linux and Unix are managed through a series of text files. Linux administrators donot normally use graphical editors to manage these configuration files. Editors suchas WordPerfect, StarOffice, and yes, even Microsoft Word normally save files in abinaryformatthatLinuxcan’tread.PopulartexteditorsforLinuxconfigurationfilesinclude emacs, pico, joe, and vi.

TheVIsual Editor

While emacs may be the most popular text editor in the world of Linux, every administrator needs at least a basic knowledge of vi. While emacs may be morepopular and flexible, vi may help you save a broken system. If you ever have torestore a critical configuration file using an emergency boot floppy, vi is probably the only editor that you’ll have available. You need to know how to restore your system from a rescue floppy, which doesnot have enough room to carry any editor other than vi. Youshouldknowhowtousethetwobasicmodesofvi:commandandinsert.Whenyou use vi to open a file, it opens in command mode. Some of the commands startinsert mode. Opening a file is easy; just use the

filename

command. By default,this starts vi in command mode. An example of vi with the /etc/passwd file is shownin Figure 1-1.

Basic Linux Knowledge