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Introduction
The CompTIA Linux+ (2009 Edition) certification is a vendor neutral credential. The Linux+ exam is a
validation of “foundation” level Linux skills and knowledge, and is used by organizations and security
professionals around the globe.
The skills and knowledge measured by this examination are derived from an industry-wide Job Task
Analysis (JTA) and were validated through a global survey in Q4, 2008. The results of the survey were
used to validate the content of the subject areas (domains) and exam objectives, as well as the overall
domain weightings, ensuring the importance of one domain relative to another.
The CompTIA Linux+ (2009 Edition) certification is aimed at an IT administrator experienced in Windows
or other operating systems who also has at least 6-12 months as a Linux system administrator. The exam
assumes experience with command line utilities, common administrative tasks, and troubleshooting.
**Note: The lists of examples provided in bulleted format below each objective are not exhaustive lists.
Other examples of technologies, processes or tasks pertaining to each objective may also be included on
the exam although not listed or covered in this objectives document.
CompTIA is constantly reviewing the content of our exams and updating test questions to be sure our
exams are current and the security of the questions is protected. When necessary, we will publish
updated exams based on existing exam objectives. Please know that all related exam preparation
materials will still be valid.
1.2 Implement partitioning schemes and filesystem layout using the following
tools and practices
LVM – a method of allocating space on mass-storage devices that is more flexible than
conventional partitioning schemes
RAID – technology that provides increased storage reliability through redundancy, combining
multiple low-cost, less-reliable disk drive components into a logical unit where all drives in the
array are interdependent
fdisk – Partition table manipulator for Linux
parted – a partition manipulation program
1.3 Explain the purpose for using each of the following filesystem types
Local
o EXT2 – second extended filesystem
o EXT3 – third extended filesystem
o Reiser – general-purpose, journaled computer file system
o FAT – File Allocation Table
1.5 Explain the advantages of having a separate partition or volume for any of
the following directories
/boot
/home
/tmp
/usr
/var
/opt
http://tldp.org/LDP/lame/LAME/linux-admin-made-easy/install-partitioning.html
/dev
/etc
/mnt
/proc
/root
/user/bin
/usr/local
/usr/lib
/usr/lib64
/usr/share
/var/log
http://www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/linuxdir.html
http://www.comptechdoc.org/os/linux/usersguide/linux_ugfilestruct.html
1.9 Configure profile and environment variables system-wide and at the user
level
PS1
PS2
PATH
EDITOR
TERM
PAGER
HOME
PRINTER
Rescue – live CDs, DVDs and USB keys – bootable CDs/DVDs/USB sticks used to troubleshoot, or
to recover data from computers that fail to start properly
dmesg – print or control the kernel ring buffer
/sys
/proc/usbinfo
modprobe – program to add and remove modules from the Linux Kernel
/proc – process information pseudo-filesystem
/etc/modules.conf – configuration file for loading kernel modules
Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) – list of computer hardware (typically including many types of
peripheral) that is compatible with a particular operating system or device management
software.
2.1 Given a scenario, use the following fundamental Linux tools, techniques
and resources
• Directory navigation (cd, ls, pushd, popd, pwd)
• File commands
o file – determine file type
o test – check file types and compare values
o find – search for files in a directory hierarchy
o locate – find filenames quickly
o slocate – Security Enhanced version of the GNU Locate
o which – shows the full path of (shell) commands
o whereis – locate the binary, source, and manual page files for a command
o ln – make links between files
o ls -F – list directory contents, append indicator (one of */=@|) to entries
o mknod – make block or character special files
o touch – change file timestamps
o mkdir – make directories
o mv – move (rename) files
o cp – copy files and directories
o rm – remove files or directories
o cd – change the current directory
o file types
• hardlinks, softlinks, directory, device file, regular file, named pipe
• File editing with vi – see also ‘vimtutor’ program under Linux
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vim_%28text_editor%29
• Process management
o ps – report a snapshot of the current processes
o kill – terminate a process
o top – display Linux tasks
System documentation
o Man pages
• man# – format and display the on-line manual pages
Virtual consoles – a.k.a. Virtual terminal (VT) is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and
display for a computer user interface
http://luv.asn.au/overheads/virtualconsoles.html
Kernel / architecture information
o cat – concatenate files and print on the standard output
o /proc/version – obtain kernel and gcc version
http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/howto-find-out-what-kernel-version-running/
o uname – print system information
o common sysctl settings
http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-kernel-etcsysctl-conf-security-hardening/
o /etc/sysctl.conf – sysctl(8) preload/configuration file
Shell features
o history – display the command history list with line numbers
o tab completion – a common feature of command line interpreters, in which the
program automatically fills in partially typed commands.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bash_%28Unix_shell%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourne_shell
3.4 Given a scenario, explain the purpose of the following web-related services
Tomcat – an open source servlet container, which implements the Java Servlet and the
JavaServer Pages (JSP) specifications and provides a "pure Java" HTTP web server environment
for Java code to run
3.8 Explain the purpose of each of the following mail services, protocols and
features
Protocols – used for communicating data across a packet-switched internetwork using the
Internet Protocol Suite, also referred to as TCP/IP
o SMTP – Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
o IMAP – Internet Message Access Protocol
o POP3 – Post Office Protocol version 3
MTA – software that transfers e-mail between computers
o Postfix – a free and open-source mail transfer agent (MTA) that routes and delivers
electronic mail
o Sendmail – a general purpose internetwork email routing facility that supports many
kinds of mail-transfer and delivery methods
3.10 Set up, install, configure and maintain a BIND DNS server and related
services
DNS utilities – a hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected
to the Internet or a private network
o named – Internet domain name server
o rndc – name server control utility
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIND
Config file locations (/var/named)
Forward zones, reverse zones, root hints
http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/wiki/index.php/Quick_HOWTO_:_Ch18_:_Configuring_DNS
23 – telnet
25 – simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP)
4.4 Explain the different DNS record types and the process of DNS resolution
Local resolution
5.1 Manage and monitor user and group accounts using the following
Tools
o useradd – Create a new user or update default new user information
o userdel – Delete a user account and related files
o usermod – Modify a user account
o groupadd – Create a new group
o groupdel – Delete a group
o groupmod – Modify a group
o lock – usermod –l, passwd -l
o who – show who is logged on
o w – Show who is logged on and what they are doing.
o last – show listing of last logged in users
o whoami – print effective userid
Files
o /etc/skel – default environment file for new users
o /etc/passwd – password file
o /etc/shadow – encrypted password file
o /etc/group – user group file
http://www.faqs.org/docs/linux_admin/x2331.html
5.2 Given a scenario, select the appropriate file permissions and ownership
and troubleshoot common problems
Tools
o chmod – change file access permissions
o chown – change file owner and group
o chroot – run command or interactive shell with special root directory
o chgrp – change group ownership
o lsattr – list file attributes on a Linux second extended file system
o chattr – change file attributes on a Linux second extended file system
5.5 Explain the appropriate use of the following security related utilities
nmap – (Network MAPper) is a security scanner used to discover hosts and services on a
computer network, thus creating a "map" of the network
http://nmap.org/
Wireshark – a free and open-source packet analyzer used for network troubleshooting, analysis,
software and communications protocol development, and education.
http://www.wireshark.org/
Tripwire – a free software security and data integrity tool useful for monitoring and alerting on
specific file change(s) on a range of systems
http://www.tripwire.com/
HowToForge
TuxFiles
nixCraft
Linux Home Networking
Wikipedia
GNU Foundation
Linux.com
Linux Online
Acronym Meaning
ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ACPI Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
BASH Bourne Again Shell
BIND Berkeley Internet Naming Daemon
CD Compact Disc
CGI Common Gateway Interface
CIFS Common Internet file System
CUPS Common Unix Printing System
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DNS Domain Name Service
DVD Digital Versatile Disc
FAT File Allocation Table
FTP File Transfer Protocol
GB Gigabyte
GDM GNOME Display Manager
GNU GNU is not Unix
GPG GNU Privacy Guard
GPM Group Policy Management
GRUB Grand Unified Bootloader
GUID Globally Unique Identifier
HDD Hard Disk Drive
HTTP Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
HTTPS Hyper Text Transfer Protocol-Secure
IMAP Internet Message Access Protocol
ISC Internet Software Consortium
ISO International Standards Organization
JVM Java Virtual Machine
KDM KDE Display Manager
L2TP Level 2 Transfer Protocol
LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
LILO Linux Loader
LVM Logical Volume Manager
MAC Media Access Control
MB Megabyte
MTA Mail Transport Agent
MUA Mail User Agent
MX Mail Exchanger
NFS Network File System
NIC Network Interface Card
NIS Network Information Service
I created this guide to consolidate notes I took while studying for my Linux+ exam together with the
Certification Exam Objectives 2009 Edition. While the CompTIA Linux+ Objectives (2009 Edition)
Certification Exam Objectives is much more comprehensive the 2004 Edition, there are still some areas
that are not clear. To this end, I have inserted notes and hyperlinks to web pages to help explain more
about each topic in the objectives. I hope that this guide proves useful in helping you learn Linux quickly!
If you have found this guide useful, please donate to or volunteer with Child Rights and You
(http://www.cry.org), or to any charitable organization of your choice.
Vasudev
cavguy101@yahoo.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
License.