Exam Tips

Introduction

Linux Concepts

Boot Process

User and Application-related Directories

System Directories

Server Architectures

Linux Distributions

Software Licensing

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

User and Session Environmental Variables

System and Execution Environmental Variables

Paths

Environment Configurations

Output Redirection

History and Shortcuts

Search and Extract

Input Redirection

Modify and Replace

Sort and Count

View and Navigate

Output and Redirect

Regex

Math and Format

System and Scripts

Text editors

Device Management

Kernel Module Management

System Monitoring and Diagnostics Commands

Module Information and Dependency Handling

Hardware Inventory Commands

Hardware Information Commands

Initrd Management

Custom Hardware

Storage Management

Partition Information Commands

Modifying and Removing Physical Volumes

Basic Physical Volume Management

Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID)

Partition Management Commands

Basic Logical Volume Management

Modifying and Removing Logical Volumes

Basic Volume Group Management

Dynamic Mounting and Automounting

Modifying and Removing Volume Groups

Performace & Accessibility Mount Options

Static and System Mount Information

Network Mounts

Security & Restriction Mount Options

Inodes

Filesystems Formats

Filesystem Creation and Modification Utilities

File and Directory Management

Navigation and Directory Management Commands

File Operation Commands

File Information and Serach Commands

File Comparison and Usage Commands

dev Device Types

File Links

Add

Delete

Modify

Local Account Management

Lock

Expiration

User Profile Templates

LoginSession Tracking

User Information

Account Comparisons

Account Files

Attributes

Processes

Process ID

Process States

Process Priority

Performance Metrics

Diagnostic and Debugging Tools

Process Monitoring

Background Execution Commands

Process Limits

Job Control Commands

Shell and Process Invocation

Job Scheduling

Signals and Process Termination

Software Configuration and Management

Repository Management

Manual or Specialized Installations

Package Managers by Distributions

System-Level Package Management

RHEL-based Package and Repository Exclusions

Debian-based Package and Repository Exclusions

openSUSE-based Package and Repository Exclusions

Software Configuration

Update Alternatives

Sandboxed Applications

Core-level Service Configuration

Application-level Service Configuration

Systemd

Management Utilities

Configuration Utilities

Units

Analysis and Diagnostic Utilities

Configuration and Reloading Unit States

Service Control

Boot-Time State Management

Bare metal vs virtual machines

Virtualization

Hypervisors

VM Management

Operations

VM Resources

VM Architecture and Performance

Network Types

VM Tools

Containers

Runtimes

Building an Image

Container Lifecyle Management

Image Retrieval and Maintenance

Container Inspection and Interaction

Container Storage and Tagging

Volume Management Operations

Volume Security and Filesystem Operations

Local Networks

Advanced and Overlay Networks

Priviledged vs Unprivileged

Network Management Operations

Network Services and Configurations

NetworkManager

Network Configuration

Netplan

IP Network Manangement Tool

Network Configuration Tools

Network Connectivity Tools

Scanning and Traffic Analysis Tools

DNS Tools

Backup and Restore Operations

Relative Paths

Archiving

Compression Tools

Decompression Tools

Data Copy and Recovery

Compressed File Operations

Authorization, Authentication, and Accounting Methods

Local Authentication

Network Domain Integration

Directory-based Identity Management

Logging

System Audit

Firewalld Rules and Access Control

Firewall Implementation

Firewalld Configuration and Management

Uncomplicated Firewall

Netfilter Module

Types of Address Translation

Network Address Translation Variants

Firewall Implementations

Stateful vs Stateless

IP forwarding

Hardening Techniques

Password Composition Controls

MFA

Checking existing breach lists

Restricted shell use

Password Lifecyle Controls

pam tally2

Avoid running as root

Cryptographic Concepts

Data at Rest - File Encryption

Data at Rest - Filesystem Encryption

Data in Transit Protection Methods

Removal of Weak Algorithms

Hashing

Certificate Management

Self-Signed Certificates

Data in Transit - OpenSSL

Detection and Response

Compliance and Audit Procedures

Vulnerability Categorization

Vulnerability Management

Vulnerability Detection

Standards and Audit

File Integrity Verification

File Integrity Tools

Data Destruction Overwriting Tools

Software Supply Chain

Security Banners

Cryptographic Data destruction

sudoers Directives

sudo Configuration

Operating System Hardening

sudo User Groups

Root shell

File Permisssions

File Attributes

File Special Permissions

File Modifications

Default File Creation Mask

ACLs

SELinux States

SELinux Mode Management

SELinux File Security Contexts

SELinux system-wide configuration

SSHD Secure Configuration and Usage

SELinux Logging and Troubleshooting

SSHD Secure Authentication and Access Control

Secure Remote Access

fail2ban

Secure Boot

Disable Unused File Systems

Avoid Unsecure Services

Unecessary SUID Permissions

Automation and Orchestration

Puppet Core Usage

Ansible IaC Advanced Usage

Puppet Advanced Usage

OpenTofu Advanced Usage

OpenTofu Core Usage

Foundational CICD Concepts

Unattended Deployment

Modern CICD Approaches

Kubernetes Core Workloads for Deployment Orchestration

Kubernetes Configuration

Docker Swarm Core Workloads for Deployment Orchestration

Docker Swarm Configuration

Ansible IaC Core Concepts

DockerPodman Compose for Deployment Orchestration

Parameter Expansion

Automated Tasks with Shell Scripting

Command Substituion

Subshell Execution

Internal Field Seperator Output Field Separator

Functions

Looping Statements

Conditional Statements

Interpreter Directive

Numerical Comparisons

Redirection String Operators

Regular Expressions

Comparison String Operators

Test Operators

Variables

Alias and Command Management

Variable Management

Return Codes

Setting up a virtual environment

Python Basics

Built-in modules

Installing dependencies

Python Fundamentals

Python Data Types

Python Structures

PEP 8 Best Practices

Extensible using Python modules and packages

Git Basics

Implement Git

Git Changes

Git Versions

Managing Git Workflows

Git Repositories

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Code Generation Use Cases

Code Quality Use Cases

Security and Compliance Use Cases

AI Best Practices

AI Data Governance

AI Local Models

Prompt Engineering

Monitoring Concepts and Configurations

Service Monitoring

Networking Monitoring

Event Management

Event-driven Data Collection

Alerting and Notifications

Troubleshooting Hardware, Storage, and LinuxOS

Process Issues

Boot Issues

Filesystem Issues

System Issues

Dependency Issues

Troubleshooting Networking Issues

Firewall Issues

Addressing Issues

Interface Misconfiguration

Link Issues

Routing Issues

Troubleshooting Security Issues

File and Directory Permission Issues

Configuration Issues

Access Issues

SELinux Issues

Vulnerabilities

Troubleshooting Performance Issues

CPU Issues

Memory Issues

Disk IO Issues

Network Performance Issues

Network Stability Issues

System Responsiveness Issues

Process Manangement Issues

Security-related Performance Issues

BONUS Where to go from here

Conclusion