L inux+ L inux+ Master the material for the CompTIA Linux+ Exam XK0-001 Test your knowledge with assessment questions and scenario problems Practice on state-of-the-art test-preparation software “This is the all-inclusive Linux+ guide you’ve been looking for.” — Tim Sosbe, Editorial Director, Certification Magazine 100% ONE HUNDRED PERCENT COMPREHENSIVE AUTHORITATIVE WHAT YOU NEED ONE HUNDRED PERCENT ible Trevor Kay, Linux+, A+, Network+, Server+ Author of Server+ Certification Bible Test Engine powered by “This is the all-inclusive Linux+ guide you’ve been looking for.” — Tim Sosbe, Editorial Director, Certification Magazine ® ® Linux ® + Certification Bible Linux ® + Certification Bible Trevor Kay Best-Selling Books • Digital Downloads • e-Books • Answer Networks • e-Newsletters • Branded Web Sites • e-Learning New York, NY ✦ Cleveland, OH ✦ Indianapolis, IN Linux ® + Certification Bible Published by Hungry Minds, Inc. 909 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 www.hungryminds.com Copyright © 2002 Hungry Minds, Inc. 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THE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN AND THE OPINIONS STATED HEREIN ARE NOT GUARANTEED OR WARRANTED TO PRODUCE ANY PARTICULAR RESULTS, AND THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY INDIVIDUAL. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES. Trademarks: Hungry Minds and the Hungry Minds logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Hungry Minds, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Linux is a trademark or registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Hungry Minds, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. is a trademark of Hungry Minds, Inc. About the Author Trevor Kay is a holder of four CompTIA certifications: A+, Network+, Server+, and Linux+. Trevor is also the author of the Server+ Certification Bible. Trevor started his IT career working at a local museum as a desktop publisher. From there, he has held many positions, from IT help desk, technical support, and network administra- tor positions for local companies to having a key roll in the Y2K projects of one of the largest financial institutes in Canada. Credits Acquisitions Editor Katie Feltman Project Editor Amanda Munz Peterson Technical Editor Joe Byrne Question Writer James Russell Copy Editor Rebekah Mancilla Editorial Manager Ami Frank Sullivan Senior Vice President, Technical Publishing Richard Swadley Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek Project Coordinator Jennifer Bingham Graphics and Production Specialists Beth Brooks, Laurie Petrone, Jill Piscitelli, Heather Pope Quality Control Technician John Bitter, Valery Bourke, Angel Perez Permissions Editor Laura Moss Media Development Specialist Travis Silvers Media Development Coordinator Marisa Pearman Proofreading and Indexing TECHBOOKS Production Services Cover Image Anthony Bunyan This book is dedicated to all my family and friends. Your tremendous support made this book possible. Preface W elcome to the Linux ® + Certification Bible! This book is designed to help you acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities you need to pass CompTIA’s Linux+ Certification: * Exam XK0-001 : Linux+ Certification This book is designed to be the only book or course you need to prepare for and pass CompTIA’s Linux+ Certification exam, which is one of the newest members of CompTIA’s certification family. This book deals with all of the objectives stated by CompTIA for the Linux+ exam. You learn how to deal with planning a Linux implementation (including installing Linux in a GUI or text-based environment) and configuring the Linux operating sys- tem after installation. This book also teaches you how to administrate and maintain your Linux system, troubleshoot common problems, and how to identify, install, and maintain system hardware. My hope is that you’ll find this book the most helpful Linux+ Certification product reference that you’ve ever read. I also hope that you’ll use it not only to prepare for CompTIA’s Linux+ Certification exam, but that you’ll come back to it again and again as you perform your day-to-day Linux professional tasks. How This Book Is Organized This book is organized into seven major parts, followed by a glossary, an index, and one CD. Here’s what you’ll find in this book: Part I: Linux Basics Part I presents the information that you need to understand Linux. This part covers the creator of Linux and a brief history about the development of Linux . The Linux Kernel and the many different types Linux distributions are also discussed. Part II: Installation Part II includes the instructions on how to perform a proper installation of Linux. GUI and text-based installations are covered. Identifying all system requirements and validating that they support Linux is also included. The different types of roles ix Preface and services of Linux system are discussed along with identifying where to obtain software and resources. Part III: Configuration Part III is about configuring your Linux system. This part teaches you how to config- ure X windows with automated utilities and workstations for remote access . This part also covers how to add and configure printers along with information about installing and configuring add-in hardware, reconfiguring the boot loader, and editing basic configuration files. Part IV: Administration Part IV covers how to administrate a Linux-based environment. This part shows you how to create and delete users, modify existing users, and create, modify, and delete groups. Next, this part teaches you how to identify and change file permis- sions, manage and navigate the Linux hierarchy, and mount and manage file sys- tems, devices, common shell commands, and expressions. You also learn how to use network commands to create, extract, and edit file and tape archives by using tar. The part ends with the information that you need to manage runlevels; start- ing, stopping, and restarting services; managing print spool and queues; using vi; and managing and navigating the GUI. It also teaches you how to program basic shell script by using common shell commands. Part V: Maintaining the Linux System Part V is about maintaining the Linux system. This part provides you with informa- tion on how to monitor and maintain processes, network interfaces, system logs, security, and backup. Areas in this part include creating and managing local storage devices and file systems, understanding functions of the cron command, identify- ing core dumps, and how to run and interpret ifconfig. This part focuses on down- loading and installing patches and updates; identifying, executing, and killing processes; monitoring system log files; and how to properly document work per- formed on a system. This part also teaches you how to perform and verify backups and restores, gives you security best practices, and teaches you how to set daemon and process permissions. Part VI: Troubleshooting and Maintaining System Hardware Part VI is about troubleshooting Linux systems. This part provides you with the basic knowledge and skills to identify, inspect, and diagnose problems in the Linux operating system and how to apply remedies by using common commands and util- ities. In this part, you learn how to identify and locate the problem by determining whether the problem originates from: hardware, operating system, application [...]... points out important information or advice for those preparing to take the Linux+ Certification exam Sometimes things work differently in the real world than books — or product documentation — say they do This icon draws your attention to the author’s realworld experiences, which will hopefully help you on the job (if not on the Linux+ certification exam) This icon is used to draw your attention to a little... networking comprehensions If you meet these prerequisites, you’re ready to begin this book xi xii ® Linux + Certification Bible If you don’t have the basic Linux experience or mouse skills, I recommend that you work through a self-study book, such as Linux For Dummies (Hungry Minds, Inc.) or the Linux Bible (Hungry Minds, Inc.) Conventions Used in This Book Every book has its own set of conventions, so...x ® Linux + Certification Bible software, configuration, or the user You also learn troubleshooting best practices, editing configuration files based on symptoms using system utilities, using systems boot disk(s) and root... applications 55 56 56 56 57 57 57 xvii xviii ® Linux + Certification Bible The Server and DNS A Linux Web server Linux e-mail server File servers Proxy, news, and search servers FTP... The X Window System X Client and Server communications X Window Manager 177 177 179 179 xix xx ® Linux + Certification Bible Configuring X Window Systems Custom X Window System Programs Manual Configuration of the X Window System Documentation Summary ... 293 293 293 295 297 297 298 298 299 299 300 xxi xxii ® Linux + Certification Bible Setting File and Directory Permissions The chmod command The chown command The chgrp command Mounting and Managing File Systems Mount Umount ... 411 412 413 416 419 420 422 423 427 427 xxiii xxiv ® Linux + Certification Bible Answers to Chapter Questions Chapter Pre-test Assessment Questions Scenarios ... 509 509 510 510 514 514 516 518 518 518 519 520 521 xxv xxvi ® Linux + Certification Bible Scenarios Lab Exercises Answers to Chapter Questions Chapter Pre-test Assessment Questions Scenarios ... are available Knowing and understanding the pros and cons of each distribution will help you to decide what type of distribution is right for you, your company, and your customers R T I Linux Basics he Linux+ exam covers 14 percent on Linux basics Understanding how Linux has a wide variety of distributions available; knowing the primary distributions and the packages that are included with each distribution . the all-inclusive Linux+ guide you’ve been looking for.” — Tim Sosbe, Editorial Director, Certification Magazine ® ® Linux ® + Certification Bible Linux ® + Certification Bible Trevor Kay Best-Selling. Linux ® + Certification Bible! This book is designed to help you acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities you need to pass CompTIA’s Linux+ Certification: * Exam XK0-001 : Linux+ Certification This. Author Trevor Kay is a holder of four CompTIA certifications: A+, Network+, Server+, and Linux+. Trevor is also the author of the Server+ Certification Bible. Trevor started his IT career working