Course: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005)

There are many varying distributions of Linux available for personal and enterprise use and embedded in a large variety of devices. Linux technicians must have the ability to install Linux and navigate and search Linux file systems. In this course, you will explore Linux components and distributions, and how those distributions can address specific business needs. Then you will discover how Linux interacts with the basic input/output system (BIOS) and Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). Next, you will examine the various ways to boot and install Linux, learn how to install a Linux server and desktop from an ISO image, and deploy a cloud-based Linux virtual machine. Finally, you will use Linux commands to manage hardware and navigate and search Linux file systems. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Managing Linux storage devices, partitions, and file systems is a required skill for Linux technicians. Most Linux distributions have similar file system hierarchies, and performance and fault tolerance improvements can be realized by configuring redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) disk levels. Linux storage is not limited to local mass storage devices but can also include network storage. Begin this course by discovering how Linux treats mass storage devices, partitions, and file system types. Then you will examine the Linux file system hierarchy standard and learn when to use specific Linux file system management commands, and how to partition and format Linux storage. Next, you will learn how to mount and unmount Linux file systems, and when to use hard and soft, or symbolic, links. Finally, you will explore how to implement RAID disk levels in Linux, and you will work with Linux logical volume management (LVM) and network storage using an Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI). This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Managing Linux file system permissions is crucial for proper IT security governance for legal, contractual, and regulatory compliance. Partial or entire Linux file systems can be compressed and archived for retention or backup purposes. Begin this course by discovering how standard Linux file system permissions work in relation to file system object owners, groups, and others. Then use standard Linux command line tools to manage Linux file system permissions. Next, explore how extended access control lists (ACLs) for file system permissions allow flexibility by granting multiple groups different permissions to the same file system resources. Finally, you will manage extended ACL permissions and work with Linux file system compression and archiving. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Linux distributions support IPv4 and IPv6 addressing. Technicians must be familiar with standard commands that can be used to manage all aspects of Linux networking. Begin this course by focusing on how to plan for the use of IPv4 and IPv6 on a network. Then you will explore common Linux commands used to manage networking, such as ifconfig, arp, route, nslookup, and more. Next, you will learn how to manage Linux network interfaces and IP settings at the command line, and how to manage IP routing. Then you will use tcpdump and Wireshark to capture and analyze network traffic. Finally, you will examine the use of rsync to synchronize files between Linux hosts. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

A crucial part of managing the Linux OS is controlling how processes and daemons run. The cron facility can be used to schedule maintenance tasks. Using cron to view and manage logs, including log forwarding, leads to a secure and performant Linux environment. Begin this course by discovering how processes and daemons work in Linux, and how to manage them using command line tools. Then you will explore Linux foreground and background jobs and find out how to schedule recurring tasks using cron. Next, you will view and manage Linux logs using logrotate. Finally, you will configure log forwarding using rsyslog. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Using the Linux OS in the enterprise necessitates the use of network services to meet a variety of needs, including the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), the Domain Name System (DNS), and the Network Time Protocol (NTP). Remote management and file transfers are common tasks performed by Linux technicians. In this course, you will begin by learning how and when DHCP should be used. Next, you will find out how to deploy a Linux-based DHCP server and configure a Linux DHCP client. Then, you will explore how DNS is used, deploy a Linux-based DNS server, and configure a Linux DNS client. Finally, you will configure network time synchronization with NTP, and remotely manage Linux through Secure Shell (SSH) and transfer files using secure copy protocol (SCP) and Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Linux software management involves configuring software package repositories and keeping them updated. Sometimes, this also requires compiling software from source code to run on a Linux host. In this course, examine how Linux software management components work together, such as repositories and packages. Next, discover how to manage software packages using the yum, pacman, and apt command line tools. Finally, learn how to build software packages from source code using Linux commands such as configure, make, and make install. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

The Linux OS and installed packages normally use text configuration files that control their behavior, and various Linux shells can be used to interact with the OS where some commands and environment variables can behave differently. The centralized configuration management of Linux hosts can be controlled using solutions like Ansible and Puppet. In this course, explore how Linux configuration files work and how to use commands to work with configuration files. Next, learn how to use various shells to interact with the Linux OS. Finally, discover how to work with Linux environment variables and manage configurations through Ansible. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Managing Linux security properly lessens the impact of security incidents. Cryptography can play a role in securing Linux environments. In this course, I will start by discussing common Linux threats and their mitigations followed by going over the CIA security triad. I will then discuss how cryptography can secure data and how to manage Linux file system encryption. Next, I will discuss integrity and use Linux file system hashing to determine if files have been modified. Lastly, I will discuss the public key infrastructure (PKI) hierarchy, create a private certificate authority (CA) and certificate, discuss Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS), and enable a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) binding. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Linux authentication and authorization determine which entities have which access to specific resources. Managing user authentication methods including elevated privileges and remote management are critical skills for Linux technicians. In this course, I will begin with a discussion of authentication and authorization including how pluggable authentication module (PAM) works in Linux. I will then create and manage Linux user account and password settings. Next, I will create and manage Linux groups, configuration files, and I will configure sudo for normal user elevated privileges. Lastly, I will discuss various Linux remote management solutions, I will configure Secure Shell (SSH), and I will configure a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server and client. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

There are various Linux firewall options to control inbound and outbound traffic for Linux hosts. Proxy servers, intrusion detection system (IDS) and intrusion prevention system (IPS) solutions, and security information and event management (SIEM) monitoring solutions all play a part in securing the Linux ecosystem. In this course, you will explore IP forwarding and various types of firewalls, including those available in the Linux OS. Then you will learn how to configure firewall settings using iptables and Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW) and you will discover when and how to use forward and reverse proxy servers. Next, you will investigate IDS/IPS, configure the Snort IDS, and find out how honeypots and honeynets can be used to monitor malicious activity. Finally, you will examine how SIEM and security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) solutions can be used to detect and remediate security incidents. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Hardening Linux hosts reduces the potential for security incidents. A wide variety of techniques can be employed to secure the Linux boot process through advanced file system permissions. Begin this course by exploring hardening techniques related to the Linux system. You will discover how Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) secure boot can help secure the Linux boot process. Then you will learn how to control default file system permissions with umask, scan for open ports using nmap, and run a vulnerability assessment against a Linux host. Next, you will disable and remove unneeded components and configurations in Linux and configure a reverse shell. Finally, you will find out how to manage advanced file system permissions related to SUID, group ID (GID), and the sticky bit. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Security-enhanced Linux (SELinux) is a mandatory access control (MAC) solution where the Linux OS controls access to Linux resources such as files and network sockets. SELinux can be used to secure sensitive Linux stations. In this course we will begin by covering SELinux terminology and components and see how it controls resource access in Linux. You will then see how to install SELinux on Ubuntu Linux. Finally, you will learn to configure and manage SELinux security contexts including mapping Linux users to SELinux users to limit permissions. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Linux shell scripts can be used to automate and schedule repetitive tasks. The proper management of scripts involves an understanding of how to work with script components such as variables, parameters, functions, redirection, as well as conditional and looping constructs. In this course, we'll begin with an overview of Linux shell scripting, including covering common commands used in scripting such as tee, awk, sed, grep and egrep. We will then discuss script comparison operators, how to pipe command output to other commands and how to use input and output redirection. Next, we'll cover how to use various conditional statements such as "if", and how to use various looping constructs such as "for" and "while". Then, we'll cover how to manage Linux environment and shell script variables followed by working with array variables. Lastly, we'll create and run Linux shell scripts followed by scheduling and troubleshooting scripts. This course can be used to prepare to the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Application containers are commonly used by both server admins and software developers. Linux technicians must possess skills related to the installation and management of container hosts and Kubernetes clusters. In this course, we will explore the benefits of application containers and find out how they differ from virtual machines. Then we will learn how to install Docker on Linux, discover the Docker container hosting platform, and list common Docker CLI commands. Next, we will create a container overlay network and manage containerized applications, create a container registry, and create a container image from a dockerfile. Finally, we will manage a Kubernetes container cluster in the cloud using the kubectl command. This course can be used to prepare learners for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) refers to the use of directive files written commonly in YAML or JSON syntax that control the deployment or configuration of IT components, including cloud resources such as virtual networks and virtual machines. Git version control is commonly used to manage multiple versions of files, which can include programming code. In this course, we will begin by exploring IaC. Then we will discover how continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) is relevant in managing IT code and infrastructure. Next, we will use Terraform to deploy IaC files and investigate the benefits of using Git for file version control. We will install Git on Linux, clone a Git repository, and work with local and remote Git repositories. Finally, we will branch and merge a Git repository and manage Git events that trigger Git hooks. This course can be used to prepare learners for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

The standard troubleshooting methodology provides a structured and repeatable approach to quick and effective problem resolution. Linux subsystems such as CPU, memory, and boot configurations can be monitored to facilitate troubleshooting. In this course, I will start by describing the standard troubleshooting methodology as a structured approach to problem solving, followed by listing and troubleshooting common CPU and memory problems. I will then manage Linux process CPU time using nice priority values. Finally, I will vertically scale a Linux server by modifying the underlying hardware resources and configuring horizontal scaling with an autoscaling load balancer. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

The Linux storage and network subsystems are crucial for Linux functionality. Many techniques are available to solve storage and network problems, such as the inability to mount file systems and TCP/IP configuration issues. In this course, I will start by covering common Linux storage and network problems and their potential resolutions. I will then troubleshoot storage and network hardware devices in a Linux host. Next, I will troubleshoot storage capacity issues by resizing partitions and filesystems and look at how to manage Linux swap space. Lastly, I will troubleshoot Linux network configuration problems and solve Apache web server problems. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

Problems arising from user account configuration and file permissions assignments are sometimes seen only over time. Backing up and restoring Linux hosts can solve these and many other problems. In this course, I will describe common user and file permissions problems in Linux and potential solutions, followed by troubleshooting user account and file permissions issues. I will then manage user-elevated permissions with sudo and the SUID file system bit. Next, I will configure file system quota limits for users and groups and revert cloud and on-premises Linux servers to previous states. Lastly, I will backup and restore a cloud-based Linux virtual machine. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.

systemd is a valuable Linux troubleshooting tool for many types of Linux components, such as application crashes and network services. The systemd timer facility can be used to schedule Linux jobs instead of using CRON. In this course, I will start by covering how systemd works in and identify relevant terminology, such as service units. I will then manage Linux services using systemd and troubleshoot domain name system (DNS) name resolution problems using systemd. Lastly, I will schedule jobs using the systemd timer. This course can be used to prepare for the Linux+ XK0-005 certification exam.