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UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook

Gain the skills to manage and secure UNIX/Linux systems, from traditional servers to modern cloud-based infrastructures.

(UNIX-LINUX-ADM.AB1) / ISBN : 978-1-64459-476-6
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About This Course

This UNIX/Linux system configuration course is the ultimate training resource for installing, configuring, and maintaining system admin essentials. 

Updated to reflect the latest Linux distributions and cloud technologies, the course covers best practices in system administration. It includes storage management, network design, web hosting, automation, configuration management, and performance optimization. 

You will also benefit from hands-on learning experience on cloud deployments, continuous delivery, Docker, containerization solutions, and more. 

So what are you waiting for? This UNIX/Linux handbook for beginners is your all-in-one training plan for winning command over IT infrastructure. 

Skills You’ll Get

  • Identify software installation methods and hosting options. 
  • Configure system firmware and boot loaders (e.g., GRUB, FreeBSD boot process). 
  • Manage system daemons using tools like systemd. 
  • Implement and modernize UNIX access control mechanisms and manage root privileges. 
  • Monitor processes, adjust scheduling priorities, and trace system calls. 
  • Mount, unmount and organize file systems, manage RAID and advanced file systems like ZFS, and implement backup strategies. 
  • Install/manage software packages and create/manage user accounts with centralized account systems. 
  • Write shell, Python, and Ruby scripts, and automate tasks with tools like Ansible and Git. 
  • Configure and troubleshoot networks, implement firewalls, manage DNS, and deploy cloud-based virtual networks. 
  • Deploy and manage cloud instances, auto-scaling groups, and cost-efficient architectures. 
  • Manage virtual machines with VMware and VirtualBox; deploy and scale Docker containers. 
  • Use Ansible and Salt to automate configuration. 
  • Configure and manage system logs, monitor performance, and analyze system/network activity. 
  • Perform vulnerability assessments, implement cryptographic solutions, and secure systems with firewalls, SSH, and VPNs. 
  • Use Apache, NGINX, and cloud platforms for web hosting services. 
  • Design and maintain reliable and secure data center environments. 
  • Develop IT policies, and disaster recovery strategies, and ensure regulatory compliance. 
Download Course Outline

1

Introduction

  • The Organization of this course
2

Where to Start

  • Essential duties of a system administrator
  • Suggested background
  • Linux distributions
  • Example systems used in this course
  • Notation and typographical conventions
  • Units
  • Man pages and other on-line documentation
  • Other authoritative documentation
  • Other sources of information
  • Ways to find and install software
  • Where to host
  • Specialization and adjacent disciplines
  • Recommended reading
3

Booting and System Management Daemons

  • Boot process overview
  • System firmware
  • Boot loaders
  • GRUB: the GRand Unified Boot loader
  • The FreeBSD boot process
  • System management daemons
  • systemd in detail
  • FreeBSD init and startup scripts
  • Reboot and shutdown procedures
  • Stratagems for a nonbooting system
4

Access Control and Rootly Powers

  • Standard UNIX access control
  • Management of the root account
  • Extensions to the standard access control model
  • Modern access control
  • Recommended reading
5

Process Control

  • Components of a process
  • The life cycle of a process
  • ps: monitor processes
  • Interactive monitoring with top
  • nice and renice: influence scheduling priority
  • The /proc filesystem
  • strace and truss: trace signals and system calls
  • Runaway processes
  • Periodic processes
6

The Filesystem

  • Pathnames
  • Filesystem mounting and unmounting
  • Organization of the file tree
  • File types
  • File attributes
  • Access control lists
7

Software Installation and Management

  • Operating system installation
  • Managing packages
  • Linux package management systems
  • High-level Linux package management systems
  • FreeBSD software management
  • Software localization and configuration
  • Recommended reading
8

Scripting and the Shell

  • Scripting philosophy
  • Shell basics
  • sh scripting
  • Regular expressions
  • Python programming
  • Ruby programming
  • Library and environment management for Python and Ruby
  • Revision control with Git
  • Recommended reading
9

User Management

  • Account mechanics
  • The /etc/passwd file
  • The Linux /etc/shadow file
  • FreeBSD's /etc/master.passwd and /etc/login.conf files
  • The /etc/group file
  • Manual steps for adding users
  • Scripts for adding users: useradd, adduser, and newusers
  • Safe removal of a user’s account and files
  • User login lockout
  • Risk reduction with PAM
  • Centralized account management
10

Cloud Computing

  • The cloud in context
  • Cloud platform choices
  • Cloud service fundamentals
  • Clouds: VPS quick start by platform
  • Cost control
  • Recommended Reading
11

Logging

  • Log locations
  • The systemd journal
  • Syslog
  • Kernel and boot-time logging
  • Management and rotation of log files
  • Management of logs at scale
  • Logging policies
12

Drivers and the Kernel

  • Kernel chores for system administrators
  • Kernel version numbering
  • Devices and their drivers
  • Linux kernel configuration
  • FreeBSD kernel configuration
  • Loadable kernel modules
  • Booting
  • Booting alternate kernels in the cloud
  • Kernel errors
  • Recommended reading
13

Printing

  • CUPS printing
  • CUPS server administration
  • Troubleshooting tips
  • Recommended reading
14

TCP/IP Networking

  • TCP/IP and its relationship to the Internet
  • Networking basics
  • Packet addressing
  • IP addresses: the gory details
  • Routing
  • IPv4 ARP and IPv6 neighbor discovery
  • DHCP: the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
  • Security issues
  • Basic network configuration
  • Linux networking
  • FreeBSD networking
  • Network troubleshooting
  • Network monitoring
  • Firewalls and NAT
  • Cloud networking
  • Recommended reading
15

Physical Networking

  • Ethernet: the Swiss Army knife of networking
  • Wireless: Ethernet for nomads
  • SDN: software-defined networking
  • Network testing and debugging
  • Building wiring
  • Network design issues
  • Management issues
  • Recommended vendors
  • Recommended reading
16

IP Routing

  • Packet forwarding: a closer look
  • Routing daemons and routing protocols
  • Protocols on parade
  • Routing protocol multicast coordination
  • Routing strategy selection criteria
  • Routing daemons
  • Cisco routers
  • Recommended reading
17

DNS: The Domain Name System

  • DNS architecture
  • DNS for lookups
  • The DNS namespace
  • How DNS works
  • The DNS database
  • The BIND software
  • Split DNS and the view statement
  • BIND configuration examples
  • Zone file updating
  • DNS security issues
  • BIND debugging
  • Recommended reading
18

Single Sign-On

  • Core SSO elements
  • LDAP: “lightweight” directory services
  • Using directory services for login
  • Alternative approaches
  • Recommended reading
19

Electronic Mail

  • Mail system architecture
  • Anatomy of a mail message
  • The SMTP protocol
  • Spam and malware
  • Message privacy and encryption
  • Mail aliases
  • Email configuration
  • sendmail
  • Exim
  • Postfix
  • Recommended reading
20

Web Hosting

  • HTTP: the Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • Web software basics
  • Web hosting in the cloud
  • Apache httpd
  • NGINX
  • HAProxy
  • Recommended reading
21

Storage

  • I just want to add a disk!
  • Storage hardware
  • Storage hardware interfaces
  • Attachment and low-level management of drives
  • The software side of storage: peeling the onion
  • Disk partitioning
  • Logical volume management
  • RAID: redundant arrays of inexpensive disks
  • Filesystems
  • Traditional filesystems: UFS, ext4, and XFS
  • Next-generation filesystems: ZFS and Btrfs
  • ZFS: all your storage problems solved
  • Btrfs: “ZFS lite” for Linux
  • Data backup strategy
  • Recommended reading
22

The Network File System

  • Meet network file services
  • The NFS approach
  • Server-side NFS
  • Client-side NFS
  • Identity mapping for NFS version 4
  • nfsstat: dump NFS statistics
  • Dedicated NFS file servers
  • Automatic mounting
  • Recommended reading
23

SMB

  • Samba: SMB server for UNIX
  • Installing and configuring Samba
  • Mounting SMB file shares
  • Browsing SMB file shares
  • Ensuring Samba security
  • Debugging Samba
  • Recommended reading
24

Configuration Management

  • Configuration management in a nutshell
  • Dangers of configuration management
  • Elements of configuration management
  • Popular CM systems compared
  • Introduction to Ansible
  • Introduction to Salt
  • Ansible and Salt compared
  • Best practices
  • Recommended reading
25

Virtualization

  • Virtual vernacular
  • Virtualization with Linux
  • FreeBSD bhyve
  • VMware
  • VirtualBox
  • Packer
  • Vagrant
  • Recommended reading
26

Containers

  • Background and core concepts
  • Docker: the open source container engine
  • Containers in practice
  • Container clustering and management
  • Recommended reading
27

Continuous Integration and Delivery

  • CI/CD essentials
  • Pipelines
  • Jenkins: the open source automation server
  • CI/CD in practice
  • Containers and CI/CD
  • Recommended reading
28

Security

  • Elements of security
  • How security is compromised
  • Basic security measures
  • Passwords and user accounts
  • Security power tools
  • Cryptography primer
  • SSH, the Secure SHell
  • Firewalls
  • Virtual private networks (VPNs)
  • Certifications and standards
  • Sources of security information
  • When your site has been attacked
  • Recommended reading
29

Monitoring

  • An overview of monitoring
  • The monitoring culture
  • The monitoring platforms
  • Data collection
  • Network monitoring
  • Systems monitoring
  • Application monitoring
  • Security monitoring
  • SNMP: the Simple Network Management Protocol
  • Tips and tricks for monitoring
  • Recommended reading
30

Performance Analysis

  • Performance tuning philosophy
  • Ways to improve performance
  • Factors that affect performance
  • Stolen CPU cycles
  • Analysis of performance problems
  • System performance checkup
  • Help! My server just got really slow!
  • Recommended reading
31

Data Center Basics

  • Racks
  • Power
  • Cooling and environment
  • Data center reliability tiers
  • Data center security
  • Tools
  • Recommended reading
32

Methodology, Policy, and Politics

  • The grand unified theory: DevOps
  • Ticketing and task management systems
  • Local documentation maintenance
  • Environment separation
  • Disaster management
  • IT policies and procedures
  • Service level agreements
  • Compliance: regulations and standards
  • Legal issues
  • Organizations, conferences, and other resources
  • Recommended reading

1

Where to Start

  • Building Software from Source Code
2

Booting and System Management Daemons

  • Using systemd Commands
3

Process Control

  • Using ps Commands
  • Creating a cron Job
4

The Filesystem

  • Using the chmod Command
5

Scripting and the Shell

  • Working with Arithmetic Operations and Loops
  • Executing the sh Script
6

Cloud Computing

  • Creating an Instance in GCP
  • Creating an EC2 Auto Scaling Group
7

Logging

  • Using journalctl Commands
8

TCP/IP Networking

  • Obtaining the IP Route Information from the IP Routing Table
  • Capturing Network Packets Using tcpdump
  • Capturing a Packet Using tshark
  • Creating a VPC
9

Physical Networking

  • Using Commands for Wireless Connectivity
10

IP Routing

  • Configuring OSPF
  • Configuring BGP Redistribution
  • Configuring EIGRP
11

DNS: The Domain Name System

  • Performing Zone Transfer Using dig
  • Signing a Zone
12

Single Sign-On

  • Examining Kerberos Settings
13

Web Hosting

  • Using the curl Command
  • Creating a Load Balancer in GCP
14

Storage

  • Partitioning a Disk
15

The Network File System

  • Configuring NFS Server
16

SMB

  • Configuring Samba
  • Creating an SMB File Share
17

Configuration Management

  • Using the Ansible Tool
  • Using Ansible Vault
  • Creating Ansible Roles
  • Creating an Ansible Configuration File
18

Virtualization

  • Checking Hyper-V Compatibility
19

Containers

  • Running Docker daemon Commands
  • Using Docker
20

Security

  • Using Social Engineering Techniques to Plan an Attack
  • Simulating the DDoS Attack
  • Performing Nmap Port Scanning
  • Cracking a Linux Password Using John the Ripper
  • Generating a Symmetric Key
  • Generating an Asymmetric Key
  • Examining Asymmetric Encryption
  • Performing Symmetric Encryption
21

Performance Analysis

  • Using Performance Analysis Commands

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This course is ideal for IT professionals, system administrators, and students interested in mastering UNIX/Linux system administration skills.

Yes, the course covers fundamentals of UNIX and Linux system administration including scenarios in cloud environments.

No, you can access all hands-on labs and simulations directly via your browser.

Yes, some labs incorporate cloud-based setups using AWS and Google Cloud for hands-on experience.

After completing this course, you can pursue roles such as System Administrator, IT Support Specialist, DevOps Engineer, and Cloud Administrator.

Yes, you’ll have access to course materials for a year following the day of enrollment.

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  Discover best practices for managing UNIX/Linux systems in both traditional and cloud-based IT settings.  

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