Linux for Unix Administrators (GL615)

Audience

Experienced UNIX system administrators new to Linux.

Prerequisites

Experience as a UNIX system administrator is required and a good understanding of network concepts, the TCP/IP protocol suite, and basic UNIX security is also assumed.
The accelerated pace of this course is only possible if students are already comfortable with basic HP-UX or Sun Solaris system administration concepts and tasks.

Course Outline

1. LINUX ORIENTATION

• FSF and GNU
• GPL – General Public License
• Linux Kernel and Versioning
• Components of a Distribution
• Red Hat Linux Products
• SUSE Linux Products

2. LINUX KERNEL & HARDWARE

• Hardware Discovery Tools
• Configuring New Hardware with hwinfo
• Hardware and System Clock
• Console
• Virtual Terminals
• Keyboard & locale configuration
• Serial Ports
• SCSI Devices
• USB Architecture
• Defining a Printer
• Tape Libraries
• Managing Linux Device Files
• Kernel Hardware Info – /sys/
• /sys/ Structure
• udev
• Kernel Modules
• Configuring Kernel Components and Modules
• Handling Module Dependencies
• Configuring the Kernel via /proc/
• Random Numbers and /dev/random
• System Tools

LAB TASKS

• Adjusting Kernel Options
• Linux Kernel Driver Compilation
• Configuring Print Queues
• Introduction to Troubleshooting Labs
• Troubleshooting Practice: Kernel Modules

3. SYSTEMD OVERVIEW

• System Boot Method Overview
• systemd System and Service Manager
• Modifying systemd services
• Systemd Service Sandboxing Features
• systemd Targets
• Using systemd
• Linux Runlevels Aliases
• Legacy Support for SysV init

LAB TASKS

• Managing Services With Systemd’s systemctl
• Creating a systemd unit file

4. GRUB2/SYSTEMD BOOT PROCESS

• Booting Linux on PCs
• GRUB 2
• GRUB 2 Configuration
• GRUB 2 Security
• Boot Parameters
• Initial RAM Filesystem
• init
• Systemd local-fs.target and sysinit.target
• Systemd basic.target and multi-user.target
• Legacy local bootup script support
• System Configuration Files
• RHEL7 Configuration Utilities
• SLES12 Configuration Utilities
• Shutdown and Reboot

LAB TASKS

• Boot Process
• Booting directly to a bash shell
• GRUB Command Line
• Basic GRUB Security
• Troubleshooting Practice: Boot Process

5. SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE

• RPM Architecture
• Working With RPMs
• Querying and Verifying with RPM
• Updating the Kernel RPM
• Using the Yum command
• Using the Zypper command
• YUM package groups
• Zypper Services and Catalogs
• Configuring Yum
• YUM Repositories
• Rebuilding Source RPM Packages
• Software Tools Comparison Matrix

LAB TASKS

• Managing Software with RPM
• Creating a Custom RPM Repository
• Querying the RPM Database
• Installing Software via RPM & Source and Rebuilding SRPMs
• Using Yum
• Using Zypper

6. LOCAL STORAGE ADMINISTRATION

• Partitioning Disks with fdisk & gdisk
• Resizing a GPT Partition with gdisk
• Partitioning Disks with parted
• Non-Interactive Disk Partitioning with sfdisk
• Filesystem Creation
• Mounting Filesystems
• Filesystem Maintenance
• Resizing Filesystems
• Managing an XFS Filesystem
• Swap
• Filesystem Attributes
• Filesystem Creation and Management

LAB TASKS

• Creating and Managing Filesystems
• Hot Adding Swap

7. LVM & RAID

• Logical Volume Management
• Implementing LVM
• Creating Logical Volumes
• Activating LVM VGs
• Exporting and Importing a VG
• Examining LVM Components
• Changing LVM Components
• Advanced LVM Overview
• Advanced LVM: Components & Object Tags
• Advanced LVM: Automated Storage Tiering
• Advanced LVM: Thin Provisioning
• Advanced LVM: Striping & Mirroring
• Advanced LVM: RAID Volumes
• SLES Graphical Disk Tool
• RAID Concepts
• Array Creation with mdadm
• Software RAID Monitoring
• Software RAID Control and Display
• LVM and RAID: Unix Tool Comparison

LAB TASKS

• Creating and Managing LVM Volumes
• Creating LVM Thin Volumes
• Creating and Managing a RAID-5 Array

8. REMOTE STORAGE ADMINISTRATION

• Remote Storage Overview
• Remote Filesystem Protocols
• Remote Block Device Protocols
• NFS Clients
• NFS Server Configuration
• Implementing NFSv4
• AutoFS
• AutoFS Configuration
• SAN Multipathing
• Multipath Configuration
• Multipathing Best Practices
• iSCSI Architecture
• Open-iSCSI Initiator Implementation
• iSCSI Initiator Discovery
• iSCSI Initiator Node Administration
• Mounting iSCSI Targets at Boot
• iSCSI Multipathing Considerations

LAB TASKS

• Using autofs
• NFS Server Configuration
• iSCSI Initiator Configuration

9. USER/GROUP ADMINISTRATION

• Approaches to Storing User Accounts
• User and Group Concepts
• User Administration
• Modifying Accounts
• Group Administration
• Password Aging
• Default User Files
• Controlling Login Sessions
• RHEL DS Client Configuration
• SLES DS Client Configuration
• PAM Overview
• PAM Module Types
• PAM Order of Processing
• PAM Control Statements
• pam_wheel.so
• pam_limits.so
• User/Group Administration Comparison Matrix

LAB TASKS

• User and Group Administration
• Using LDAP for Centralized User Accounts
• Troubleshooting Practice: Account Management
• Restricting superuser access to wheel group membership
• Setting Limits with the pam_limits Modules
• Using pam_limits to Restrict Simultaneous Logins

10. SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

• Security Concepts
• Tightening Default Security
• Security Advisories
• Fine Grained Authorizations with Polkit
• File Access Control Lists
• Manipulating FACLs
• Viewing FACLs
• Backing Up FACLs
• File Creation Permissions with umask
• User Private Group Scheme
• Alternatives to UPG
• TCP Wrappers Concepts
• TCP Wrappers Concepts
• Xinetd
• SUSE Basic Firewall Configuration
• Netfilter Concepts
• Using the iptables Command
• Common match_specs
• Extended Packet Matching Modules
• Connection Tracking
• AppArmor
• SELinux Security Framework
• SELinux Modes
• SELinux Commands
• Choosing an SELinux Policy
• SELinux Booleans
• SELinux Policy Tools
• (X)INETD and Firewalls

LAB TASKS

• User Private Groups
• Using Filesystem ACLs
• Securing xinetd Services
• Enforcing Security Policy with xinetd
• Securing Services with TCP Wrappers
• Securing Services with SuSEfirewall2
• Securing Services with Netfilter
• Exploring SELinux Modes
• SELinux File Contexts

11. PROCESS ADMINISTRATION

• at & cron Usage
• Anacron
• Viewing Processes
• Managing Processes
• Tuning Process Scheduling
• Process Accounting
• Setting Resource Limits via ulimit

LAB TASKS

• Creating and Managing User Cron Jobs
• Adding System cron Jobs

12. NETWORKING

• Linux Network Interfaces
• Ethernet Hardware Tools
• Network Configuration with ip Command
• Configuring Routing Tables
• IP to MAC Address Mapping with ARP
• Starting and Stopping Interfaces
• NetworkManager
• DNS Clients
• DHCP Clients
• Network Diagnostics
• Information from ss and netstat
• Managing Network-Wide Time
• Continual Time Sync with NTP
• Configuring NTP Clients
• Multiple IP Addresses
• IPv6
• Interface Aggregation
• Interface Bonding
• Network Teaming
• Interface Bridging
• 802.1q VLANS
• Network Configuration Tools

LAB TASKS

• Network Discovery
• Basic Client Networking
• NTP Client Configuration
• Multiple IP Addresses Per Network Interface
• Configuring IPv6
• Troubleshooting Practice: Networking

13. MONITORING & TROUBLESHOOTING

• System Status – Memory
• System Status – I/O
• System Status – CPU
• Performance Trending with sar
• Troubleshooting Basics: The Process
• Troubleshooting Basics: The Tools
• System Logging
• Syslog-ng
• systemd Journal
• systemd Journal’s journalctl
• Secure Logging with Journal’s Log Sealing
• Rsyslog
• /etc/rsyslog.conf
• Log Management
• Log Anomaly Detector
• strace and ltrace
• Troubleshooting Incorrect File Permissions
• Inability to Boot
• Typos in Configuration Files
• Corrupt Filesystems
• RHEL7 Rescue Environment
• SUSE Rescue Environment
• Process Tools

LAB TASKS

• Using the systemd Journal
• Setting up a Full Debug Logfile
• Remote Syslog Configuration
• Remote Rsyslog TLS Configuration
• Recovering Damaged MBR

14. BIND DNS

• The Domain Name Space
• Delegation and Zones
• Server Roles
• Resolving Names
• Resolving IP Addresses
• Basic BIND Administration
• Configuring the Resolver
• Testing Resolution
• rndc Key Configuration
• named.conf Options Block
• Creating a Site-Wide Cache
• Zones In named.conf
• Zone Database File Syntax
• SOA – Start of Authority
• A, AAAA, & PTR – Address & Pointer Records
• NS – Name Server
• TXT, CNAME, & MX – Text, Alias, & Mail Host
• Abbreviations and Gotchas
• $GENERATE, $ORIGIN, and $INCLUDE

LAB TASKS

• Configuring a Slave Name Server
• Use rndc to Control named
• Configuring BIND Zone Files

15. SQL FUNDAMENTALS AND MARIADB

• Popular SQL Databases
• SELECT Statements
• INSERT Statements
• UPDATE Statements
• DELETE Statements
• JOIN Clauses
• MariaDB
• MariaDB Installation and Security
• MariaDB User Account Management
• MariaDB Replication

LAB TASKS

• SQL with Sqlite3
• Installing and Securing MariaDB
• Creating a Database in MariaDB
• Create a Database Backed Application

16. OPENLDAP

• OpenLDAP: Server Architecture
• OpenLDAP: Backends
• OpenLDAP: Replication
• OpenLDAP: Configuration Options
• OpenLDAP Server Tools
• OpenLDAP Client Tools
• LDIF: LDAP Data Interchange Format
• Enabling LDAP-based Login
• System Security Services Daemon (SSSD)

LAB TASKS

• Building An OpenLDAP Server
• Enabling TLS For An OpenLDAP Server
• Enabling LDAP-based Logins

17. VSFTPD & APACHE

• vsftpd
• Anonymous FTP with vsftpd
• Configuring vsftpd
• HTTP Operation
• Apache Architecture
• Apache Configuration Files
• httpd.conf – Server Settings
• httpd.conf – Main Configuration
• httpd.conf – VirtualHost Configuration
• Virtual Hosting DNS Implications
• Adding Modules to Apache
• Apache Logging
• Delegating Administration
• Directory Protection
• Directory Protection with AllowOverride
• Common Uses for .htaccess
• TLS Using mod_ssl.so

LAB TASKS

• Configuring vsftpd
• Apache Architecture
• Apache Content
• Configuring Virtual Hosts
• Using .htaccess Files
• Using TLS Certificates with Apache

18. SQUID PROXY SERVER

• Squid Overview
• Squid File Layout
• Squid Access Control Lists
• Applying Squid ACLs
• Tuning Squid & Configuring Cache Hierarchies
• Bandwidth Metering
• Monitoring Squid
• Proxy Client Configuration

LAB TASKS

• Installing and Configuring Squid
• Squid Cache Manager CGI
• Proxy Auto Configuration
• Configure a Squid Proxy Cluster

19. SAMBA

• Samba Daemons
• Accessing Windows/Samba Shares from Linux
• Samba Utilities
• Samba Configuration Files
• The smb.conf File
• Mapping Permissions and ACLs
• Mapping Linux Concepts
• Sharing Home Directories
• Sharing Printers
• Share Authentication
• User-Level Access
• Mapping Users
• Samba Account Database
• User Share Restrictions

LAB TASKS

• Samba Share-Level Access
• Samba User-Level Access
• Samba Group Shares
• Handling Symbolic Links with Samba
• Samba Home Directory Shares

20. POSTFIX

• Postfix Features
• Postfix Components
• Postfix Configuration
• master.cf
• main.cf
• Postfix Map Types
• Postfix Pattern Matching
• Virtual Domains
• Postfix Mail Filtering
• Configuration Commands
• Management Commands
• SMTP AUTH Server and Relay Control
• SMTP AUTH Clients
• TLS Server Configuration
• Postfix Client Configuration for TLS

LAB TASKS

• Configuring Postfix
• Postfix Network Configuration
• Postfix Virtual Host Configuration
• Postfix SMTP AUTH Configuration
• Postfix STARTTLS Configuration
• SUSE Postfix Configuration Cleanup

21. EMAIL SERVICES

• Procmail
• SpamAssassin
• amavisd-new Mail Filtering
• Cyrus IMAP/POP3 Server
• Cyrus IMAP MTA Integration
• Cyrus Mailbox Administration
• Dovecot POP3/IMAP Server

LAB TASKS

• Configuring Procmail & SpamAssassin
• Configuring Cyrus IMAP
• Dovecot TLS Configuration

A. INSTALLING RHEL7

• Anaconda: An Overview
• Anaconda: Booting the System
• Anaconda: Common Boot Options
• Anaconda: Loading Anaconda and Packages
• Anaconda: Storage Options
• Anaconda: Troubleshooting
• FirstBoot
• Kickstart
• Network Booting with PXE
• A Typical Install

LAB TASKS

• Linux Installation
• Automating Installation with Kickstart

B. INSTALLING SLES12

• YaST Install Program Interface
• Network Installation
• SLP for SUSE Linux Installation
• Installation Choices
• Kernel Crash Dump Configuration
• Network Booting with PXE
• Creating AutoYaST2 Files
• Using AutoYaST2 files
• linuxrc Automation
• Installation Diagnostics
• After The First Reboot
• A Typical Install

LAB TASKS

• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Installation
• Automating Installation with AutoYaST