Learn Linux, 101: A roadmap for LPIC-1

Your guide to LPIC-1 exam-preparation tutorials on developerWorks

Ian Shields July 31, 2017

(First published August 25, 2009)

Use this roadmap to find IBM developerWorks tutorials that help you learn and review basic Linux tasks.
And if you're also pursuing professional certification as a Linux system administrator, these tutorials can
help you study for the Linux Professional Institute's LPIC-1: Linux Server Professional Certification
exams 101 and exam 102. This roadmap is organized according to the 43 objectives in the 101 and 102
exams, which you are required to pass for LPIC-1 certification.
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About this series

This series of tutorials helps you learn Linux system administration tasks. The topics mirror those of the
Linux Professional Institute's LPIC-1: Linux Server Professional Certification exams. You can use the
tutorials to prepare for certification, or you can use them to learn about Linux.

There are two exams for LPIC-1 certification: exam 101 and exam 102, and you must pass both to attain
LPIC-1 certification. Each exam has several topics, and each topic has several objectives. This series of
tutorials covers one objective per tutorial.

The material in these tutorials corresponds to version 4.0 of the objectives of the LPIC-1 exams as updated
April 15th, 2015 for LPIC-1 exam 101 and LPIC-1 exam 102. You can always refer to the objectives for the
definitive requirements.
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This roadmap is in progress; as tutorials are updated or completed, they will be added to the roadmap.

Note: New material will be added over the coming months as it becomes available. Build your own feed or
check back here for updates.

Exam 101
Exam 101 - Topic 101: System architecture
developerWorks tutorial LPI exam objective summary

Learn Linux, 101: 101.1 Determine and configure hardware settings

Configure hardware settings Determine and configure fundamental system hardware. This task covers integrated and external
peripherals, coldplug and hotplug devices, and different kinds of mass storage devices. Tools related to
devices, including USB devices, setting IDs, especially for booting, and low-level facilities such as sysfs,
udev, and dbus are also covered.
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Learn Linux, 101: 101.2 Boot the system

Boot the system Guide the system through the booting process. Tasks include giving common boot loader commands and
kernel options at boot time, knowing the boot sequence from BIOS to boot completion, understanding the
traditional SysVinit initialization alternatives and newer alternatives, and checking boot events in the log
files.
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Learn Linux, 101: 101.3 Change runlevels / boot targets and shutdown or reboot system
Runlevels, boot targets, shutdown, and Manage the runlevel of the system. Tasks include changing to single-user mode, shutting down or
reboot rebooting the system, setting the default runlevel, switching between runlevels, alerting users, and
properly terminating process.
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Exam 101 - Topic 102: Linux installation and package management

developerWorks tutorial LPI exam objective summary

Learn Linux, 101: 102.1 Design hard disk layout

Hard disk layout Design a disk partitioning scheme for a Linux system. Tasks include allocating filesystems and swap
space to separate partitions or disks, tailoring the design to the intended use of the system, and ensuring
that the boot partition is acceptable for the hardware architecture.
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Learn Linux, 101: 102.2 Install a boot manager

Install a boot manager Select, install, and configure a boot manager. Tasks include providing alternative boot locations and
backup boot options, installing and configuring a boot loader such as GRUB or GRUB 2, and interacting
with the boot loader.
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Learn Linux, 101: 102.3 Manage shared libraries

Manage shared libraries Determine the shared libraries that executable programs depend on, and install them when necessary.
Tasks include identifying shared libraries, knowing the typical locations of system libraries, and loading
shared libraries.
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Learn Linux, 101: 102.4 Use Debian package management

Debian package management Perform package management using the Debian package tools. Tasks include installing, upgrading, and
removing Debian binary packages, finding packages containing specific files or libraries, and obtaining
package information like version, content, dependencies, package integrity, and installation status.
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Learn Linux, 101: 102.5 Use RPM and YUM package management
RPM and YUM package management Perform package management using RPM and YUM tools. Tasks include installing, reinstalling,
upgrading, and removing packages using RPM and YUM; obtaining information on RPM packages such
as version, status, dependencies, integrity, and signatures; and determining what files a package provides,
and finding which package a specific file comes from.

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Exam 101 - Topic 103: GNU and UNIX commands

developerWorks tutorial LPI exam objective summary

Learn Linux, 101: 103.1 Work on the command line

The Linux command line Interact with shells and commands using the command line. This task includes typing valid commands
and command sequences; defining, referencing and exporting environment variables; using command
history and editing facilities; invoking commands in the path and outside the path; and using man pages to
find out about commands.
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Learn Linux, 101: 103.2 Process text streams using filters

Text streams and filters Apply filters to text streams. This task includes sending text files and output streams through text utility
filters to modify the output, using standard UNIX commands found in the GNU textutils package.
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Learn Linux, 101: 103.3 Perform basic file and directory management
File and directory management Use the basic UNIX commands to copy, move, and remove files and directories. Tasks include advanced
file management operations such as copying multiple files recursively, removing directories recursively,
using wildcard patterns, finding files and acting on them based on type size or time, and using tar, cpio,
and dd commands.
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Learn Linux, 101: 103.4 Use streams, pipes, and redirects

Streams, pipes, and redirects Redirect streams and connect them to efficiently process textual data. Tasks include redirecting standard
input, standard output, and standard error; piping the output of one command to the input of another
command; using the output of one command as arguments to another command; and sending output to
both stdout and a file.
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Learn Linux, 101: 103.5 Create, monitor, and kill processes

Create, monitor, and kill processes Manage processes. This task includes knowing how to run jobs in the foreground and background,
bringing a job from the background to the foreground and vice versa, starting a process that will run
without being connected to a terminal, and signaling a program to continue running after logout. Tasks
also include monitoring active processes, selecting and sorting processes for display, sending signals to
processes, and killing processes.
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Learn Linux, 101: 103.6 Modify process execution priorities

Process execution priorities Manage process execution priorities. Tasks include determining the default priority of jobs, running a
program with higher or lower priority, determining the priority of a process, and changing the priority of a
running process.
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Learn Linux, 101: 103.7 Search text files using regular expressions
Search text files using regular Manipulate files and text data using regular expressions. Tasks include creating simple regular
expressions expressions that contain several notational elements and use regular expression tools to perform searches
through a filesystem or file content.
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Learn Linux, 101: 103.8 Perform basic file editing operations using vi
File editing with vi Edit text files using vi. Tasks include vi navigation; understanding basic vi nodes; and inserting, editing,
deleting, copying, and finding text.
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Exam 101 - Topic 104: Devices, Linux filesystems, Filesystem Hierarchy

Standard
developerWorks tutorial LPI exam objective summary

Learn Linux, 101: 104.1 Create partitions and filesystems

Create partitions and filesystems Configure disk partitions and create filesystems or swap space on media such as hard disks, and design a
disk partitioning scheme for a Linux system. Tasks include understanding the different types of common
Linux filesystems and allocating filesystems and swap space to separate partitions or disks.

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04 Dec 2012 -

Learn Linux, 101: 104.2 Maintain the integrity of filesystems

Maintain the integrity of filesystems Maintain a standard filesystem or journaling filesystem. Tasks include verifying the integrity of
filesystems, monitoring free space and inodes, and repairing simple filesystem problems.
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Learn Linux, 101: 104.3 Control mounting and unmounting of filesystems

Control mounting and unmounting of Configure the mounting of a filesystem. Tasks include manually mounting and unmounting filesystems,
filesystems configuring filesystem mounting on bootup, and configuring user-mountable removable filesystems.
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Learn Linux, 101: 104.4 Manage disk quotas

Manage disk quotas Manage disk quotas for users. Tasks include setting up a disk quota for a filesystem and editing, checking,
and generating user quota reports.
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Learn Linux, 101: 104.5 Manage file permissions and ownership

Manage file permissions and ownership Control file access through the proper use of permissions and ownerships. Tasks include managing access
permissions on regular and special files as well as directories; using access modes such as suid, sgid, and
the sticky bit to maintain security; learning how to change the file creation mask; and using the group
field to grant file access to group members.
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Learn Linux, 101: 104.6 Create and change hard and symbolic links
Create and change hard and symbolic Create and manage hard and symbolic links to a file. Tasks include creating links, identifying hard and
links or soft links, understanding the difference between copying and linking files, and using links to support
system administration tasks.
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Learn Linux, 101: 104.7 Find system files and place files in the correct location
Find and place system files Understand the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS), including typical file locations and directory
classifications. Tasks include understanding the correct locations of files under the FHS, finding files and
commands on a Linux system, and learning the location and purpose of important file and directories as
defined in the FHS.
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Exam 102
Exam 102 - Topic 105: Shells, scripting, and data management
developerWorks tutorial LPI exam objective summary

Learn Linux, 101: 105.1 Customize and use the shell environment
Customize and use the shell environment Meet your user needs. Tasks include customizing shell environments to meet user needs; modifying
global and user profiles; setting environment variables, such as PATH, at login or when spawning a
new shell; writing Bash functions for frequently used sequences of commands; maintaining skeleton
directories for new user accounts; and setting command search paths with the proper directories.
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Learn Linux, 101: 105.2 Customize or write simple scripts

Customize or write simple scripts Customize existing Bash scripts, or write simple new ones. Tasks include using standard shell loop and
test syntax; using command substitution; testing return values for success or failure; conditionally mailing
the superuser, selecting the correct script interpreter through the shebang (#!) line; and managing the
location, ownership, execution, and suid-rights of scripts.
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Learn Linux, 101: 105.3 SQL data management

Use basic SQL commands Query databases and manipulate data using basic SQL commands, including joins or subselects. Tasks
include using basic SQL commands and performing basic data manipulation.
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Exam 102 - Topic 106: User interfaces and desktops

developerWorks tutorial LPI exam objective summary

Coming soon 106.1 Install and configure X11

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Install and configure X11. Tasks include verifying that your video card and monitor are supported by an
X server, understanding the X font server, and understanding the X Window configuration file.
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Coming soon 106.2 Set up a display manager

Describe the basic features and configuration of the LightDM display manager. Be aware of XDM (X
Display Manger), GDM (Gnome Display Manager) and KDM (KDE Display Manager). Turn the display
manager on or off and change the display manager greeting.
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Coming soon 106.3 Accessibility

Demonstrate knowledge and awareness of accessibility technologies. Tasks include understanding
keyboard accessibility settings, visual settings and themes, and assistive technology (ATs).
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Exam 102 - Topic 107: Administrative tasks

developerWorks tutorial LPI exam objective summary

Learn Linux, 101: 107.1 Manage user and group accounts and related system files
Manage user and group accounts and Add, remove, suspend, and change user accounts. Tasks include adding, modifying, and removing users
related system files and groups; managing user and group information in password and group databases; and creating and
managing special-purpose and limited accounts.
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Learn Linux, 101: 107.2 Automate system administration tasks by scheduling jobs
Automate system administration tasks by Maintain a standard filesystem or journaling filesystem. Tasks include using the cron or anacron facilities
scheduling jobs to run jobs at regular intervals and the at command to run jobs at a specific time.
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Learn Linux, 101: 107.3 Localisation and internationalisation

Localization and internationalization Localize a system in a language other than English and understand why LANG=C is useful when
scripting. Tasks include understanding locale and timezone settings.
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Exam 102 - Topic 108: Essential system services

developerWorks tutorial LPI exam objective summary

Coming soon 108.1 Maintain system time

Maintain the system time and synchronize the clock via NTP. Tasks include setting the system date and
time, setting the hardware clock to the correct time in UTC, configuring the timezone, configuring NTP,
and understanding the pool.ntp.org service.
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Coming soon 108.2 System logging

Configure the syslog daemon and the logging daemon to send log output to a central log server or accept
log output as a central log server. Tasks include understanding syslog configuration files, the syslog
facility, and standard facilities, priorities, and actions.
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Coming soon 108.3 Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) basics

Become familiar with commonly available MTA programs and perform basic forward and alias
configuration on a client host. Tasks include creating email aliases, configuring email forwarding, and
learning about commonly available MTA programs such as postfix, sendmail, qmail, and exim.
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Coming soon 108.4 Manage printers and printing

Manage print queues and user print jobs using CUPS and the LPD compatibility interface. Tasks include
configuring CUPS for local and remote printers, managing user print queues, troubleshooting general
printing problems, and adding and removing jobs from configured printer queues.
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Exam 102 - Topic 109: Networking fundamentals

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Coming soon 109.1 Fundamentals of internet protocols

Understand TCP/IP network fundamentals. Tasks include learning about network masks; knowing the
differences between private and public dotted decimal IP addresses; setting a default route; understanding
common TCP and UDP ports (20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 53, 80, 110, 119, 139, 143, 161, 443, 465, 993, and
995); understanding the differences and major features of UDP, TCP, and ICMP; and knowing the major
differences between IPv4 and IPv6.
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Coming soon 109.2 Basic network configuration

View, change, and verify configuration settings on client hosts. Tasks include manually and automatically
configuring network interfaces and configuring TCP/IP hosts.
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Coming soon 109.3 Basic network troubleshooting

Troubleshoot networking issues on client hosts. Tasks include manually and automatically configuring
network interfaces and routing tables to add, start, stop, restart, delete, or reconfigure network interfaces;
changing, viewing, or configuring the routing table; correcting an improperly set default route manually;
and debugging problems associated with the network configuration.
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Coming soon 109.4 Configure client side DNS

Configure DNS on a client host. Tasks include using DNS on the local system and modifying the order in
which name resolution is done.
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Exam 102 - Topic 110: Security

developerWorks tutorial LPI exam objective summary

Coming soon 110.1 Perform security administration tasks

Review system configuration to ensure host security in accordance with local security policies. Tasks
include auditing a system to find files with the suid/sgid bit set; setting or changing user passwords and
password aging information; using nmap and netstat to discover open ports on a system; setting limits on
user logins, processes, and memory usage; and basic sudo configuration and usage.
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Coming soon 110.2 Setup host security

Set up a basic level of host security. Tasks include learning about shadow passwords and how they work,
stopping network services not in use, and learning about TCP wrappers.
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Coming soon 110.3 Securing data with encryption

Use public key techniques to secure data and communication. Tasks include configuring and using
OpenSSH 2 clients, learning the role of OpenSSH 2 server host keys, configuring and using GnuPG, and
learning about SSH port tunnels, including X11 tunnels.
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Related topics
Get Certified with LPI
LPIC-1 Exam 101
LPIC-1 Exam 102

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