CIS 191AB, UNIX/Linux System Administration

Incomes
The following are the computer skills you should already have to succeed in this course:

A grasp of computer terminology specifically as it applies to the UNIX market, such as would be gathered from CIS 90
Navigate the UNIX file system from a command line
Manage files, (copy, move, remove) from a command line interface
View and modify the permissions and ownership of files and directories
Use a UNIX-based text editor to create and edit text documents
Redirect input and output between files and commands
Use pipes to connect commands together
Configure the shell environment by setting and viewing variables
Outcomes
The following are the skills you will acquire upon successful completion of CIS 191A; students will be able to:

Describe the structural components of Unix/Linux systems and outline the similarities and differences among the UNIX/Linux distributions.
Create different types of file systems on various storage devices, and populate them with files representing the various UNIX file types.
Create an operating system boot disk that allows choosing among a variety of boot configurations.
Demonstrate a knowledge of boot loaders by configuring two operating systems to dual boot, and by recovering a system that won't boot.
Determine the services a Linux system will provide by defining the run levels into which the system will boot.
Transfer files from one system to another using network protocols or removable storage devices.
Configure a graphical desktop environment by editing the configuration files for the X Windows server, a window manager, and appropriate graphical clients
Install a UNIX/Linux System as a workstation or server to meet the needs of a small to medium company.
Add, update and remove software packages using an appropriate package installation tool.
The following are the skills you will acquire upon successful completion of CIS 191B; students will be able to:

Contrast command line and graphical user interfaces and evaluate the tradeoffs between the two.
Use online manual pages and Internet web sites to discover proper command usage or how to use a new utility.
Create, modify and delete user accounts and groups, and customize user profiles to meet specified security and productivity needs.
Bring a system down and back up again after reorganizing or expanding storage space.
Recover lost files and forgotten passwords.
Perform a complete system backup and restore the system with that backup.
Configure system logging to collect information needed for troubleshooting and correcting system problems.
Maintain optimal system performance by monitoring disk usage, scheduling processes, and removing resource bottlenecks.
Restore an unstable system by identifying and removing one or more errant processes.
Maintain operating system currency by recompiling and installing a new kernel.

Lesson 1: An Orientation and Overview

Compare and contrast the various Linux Distributions describing how they are similar and how they are different.
Describe three major roles the kernel plays in the context of the UNIX operating system.
Describe the three primary steps involved when installing a Linux operating system.
List installation methods, includeing CD-ROM vs. network and attended vs. unattended.
Use a remote Linux server for uploading and downloading files.
Access the CIS Bulletin Board and leave a post.
Create a Virtual Machine using a VMware ESXi server.

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Lesson 2: System Administration

Describe the essential tasks of a system administrator.
Identify what should be kept in a computer log.
List six technical support resources available for Linux and describe their strengths and weaknesses.
Describe the three ways of becomming the root user and compare their advantages and disadbvantages.
Explain the use of pseudo-users and identify the most commonly used pseudo accounts.

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Lesson 3: File Types and File Systems

Describe UNIX's four major file types in terms of name, inode and data representation.
Differentiate the major root subdirectories on a UNIX system and what types of files they contain.
Relate how UNIX file system fit into the UNIX directory hierarchy.
Use the dd utility to write data to a device and to file.
Use the mkfs utility to create, mount and unmount file systems.
Create representative examples of each of the four file types supported under UNIX.

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Lesson 4: Storage and Storage Devices

Describe basic disk geometry in terms of cylinders, heads, and sectors.
Demonstrate hard disk partitioning concepts using the fdisk command.
Differentiate raw data from file system data.
Describe the structure of a UNIX/Linux file system, (name the three major components and what they are used for.)
Compare and contrast the files, fstab and mtab.
Create file systems on various storage devices: disk, usb drives, floppy, file.

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Lesson 5: Boot Loaders and System Booting

Use the dd command to copy partition tables and boot loaders.
Compare and contrast the function and structure of UNIX/Linux boot loaders
Describe in detail the steps in booting the Linux kernel.
Describe the structure and meaning of thesyslinux, lilo or grub configuration files.
Describe what is meant by a runlevel.
Define the purpose of the init program.
Define the three components of an rc script name.
Describe the general shutdown procedure.
Create a bootable partition using any of the popular boot loaders.
Configure runlevel 4 as a single user workstation.

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Lesson 6: Package Managers and Software Installation

Define Package and give examples of three popular Package Managers
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using Package Managers
Create a compressed file archive using the tar command and then extract it
Use the RedHat package manager to query, install, verify, and remove RPM packages
Be able to apply new updates to a given system.
Identify the package information constituents from the name of an RPM package
Install a software package from a third party vendor.

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Lesson 7: X Windows

List the components of the X Window system
List the locations of the most important X Window files
Describe the structure of the xorg.conf file
Configure the X Server using:
system-config-display or the /etc/x11/xorg.conf file.
Distinguish between a file manager, window manager, and display manager
Use the .xinitrc to customize an X Window session

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Lesson 8: Administering User Accounts and Groups

Explain three methods for performing user and group administration
Know the syntax of the /etc/passwd and /etc/group files
Describe the various shells available to UNIX/Linux users
Add, modify, and delete new user accounts and groups
Enable password aging with minimum and maximum password expirations
List the steps for enabling disk quotas for users and groups
Become familiar with a graphic administrative tool such as Linuxconf, COAS, or YaST
Describe the login process, listing the stages from getty to your shell prompt
Describe how the /etc/skel directory can be used to configure user environments

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Lesson 9: File Systems and Monitoring Storage

List and describe the functions of a file system
Describe ext's components, architecture, and development history
Describe the ext extended permissions
Use system utilities to analyze disk usage and quotas

Lesson 10: System Backup and Restore

Discern an appropriate backup policy based on system needs
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different backup devices and media
Distinguish between different types of data and how they should be backed up
Define Epoch, Incremental, and Differential backups
Discuss several backup archive utilities
Be able to use tar and cpio to make local backups
Describe the steps necessary to recover a machine that is having trouble booting
Be able to use fsck to repair a damaged file system
Explain the process of restoring a broken symbolic link
Be able to recover from a disaster using a boot disk and backup tapes

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Lesson 11: Controlling Processes

Define and describe the terms multi-user, multi-tasking and multi-threaded
Describe how system commands interact with shared vs static libraries
Differentiate user memory from protected memory
List the various commands for managing processes and explain the usage of each
Explain how to locate and terminate a zombie process

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Lesson 12: System Monitoring and Logging

List some of the common Linux log files
Explain how to use syslog to keep system log files
Create a cron file to automate a repetitive task

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Lesson 13: The Linux Kernel

Understand the structure of the kernel
Understand the process and reasons for linking a new kernel
Upgrade the kernel by compiling and installing a new kernel
Upgrade the kernel by applying a patch to an existing kernel
List, add, and remove driver modules from a running kernel

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Lesson 14: The Common UNIX Print System

Describe the components of the UNIX/Linux Print system.
Configure a printer using local command line utilities as well as the CUPS web-based interface.

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