You may not have heard of the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) or its professional certifications, but they're becoming an important part of proving professional competence in the Linux operating system. That aside, LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell is a fantastic introductory Linux book, well suited to introducing a curious newcomer to the environment and bringing an intermediate user up to expert status.

The book is organized around the LPI's published standards for two Level 1 exams (exams 101, which deals with key commands and file-system concepts, and 102, which places more emphasis on hardware, networking, and shell scripting). The organization works well even if you're not specifically preparing for either exam.

LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell assumes nothing in early chapters, going so far--to cite one example--as to walk readers through the concept of commands with parameters separately from the concept of commands alone. Later, the pace picks up, and strategic advice is substituted (such as how to partition a disk for maximum speed and reliability) for "type-this" instructions.

Throughout, the book makes effective use of O'Reilly's time-tested and remarkably clear format for presenting Unix commands and configuration files. Each chapter concludes with a series of exercises designed to help you discover behaviors on your own, and includes the practice questions you expect in a test-prep aid. --David Wall

Topics covered: The knowledge that's tested on the Linux Professional Institute's exams 101 and 102, which includes everything from basic Linux commands and concepts to installation of the operating system, essential network configuration, and kernel recompilation.


Book Description
Companies ranging from IBM to Novell are dramatically expanding Linux training and development. As more corporations adopt Linux as the networking backbone for their IT systems, the demand for certified technicians will become even greater. LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell prepares system administrators for the basic LPI General Linux 101 exam and the more advanced 102 exam. The book is divided into two parts, one for each of the LPI exams. Each part features a summary of the exam, a Highlighter's Index, labs, suggested exercises, and practice exams to help the you pass the LPI exams with flying colors. For those preparing to take the LPI Linux Certification Exams, this book will prove to be invaluable in its scope and breadth. Linux newbies will also find this book useful for learning more about how to use their Linux system.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Even if you're an experienced Linux sysadmin, passing LPI's distribution-independent Exams 101 and 102 will require a broader range of knowledge than you may have. At minimum, it'll require a strong refresher on stuff you haven't used lately. We recommend O'Reilly's LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell.

(Pssst: if you're a newbie, this book's tutorials will go a long way towards helping you master Linux administration -- but don't tell anyone you took the exam without suffering the requisite hard knocks first!)

Jeffrey Dean covers every task objective on both exams. For the 101 exam, he starts with basic GNU and Unix commands -- the stuff you need to handle text filtering, file and process management, redirects, and other typical day-to-day tasks. Next, he reviews devices and filesystems, including the widely-accepted FHS filesystem layout. There's coverage of the boot and initialization process; runlevels; and shutdown; user and group accounts; user environments; and backup.

Part II focuses on Exam 102: Linux hardware, architecture, installation, package management, kernels, vi, printing, shells, scripting, networking, security, and other key topics. You'll find complete 101 and 102 practice exams, sample exercises and labs, plus a "Highlighter's Index" that's ideal for last-moment review. (Bill Camarda)

Bill Camarda is a consultant and writer with nearly 20 years' experience in helping technology companies deploy and market advanced software, computing, and networking products and services. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks For Dummies®, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Companies ranging from IBM to Novell are dramatically expanding Linux training and development. Certification will be a key part of this trend, and support is growing for an industry-wide Linux certification program. Most companies want a vendor-neutral certification initiative, and the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is the leading effort in this direction. As more corporations adopt Linux as the networking backbone for their IT systems, the demand for certified technicians will become even greater.

LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell prepares system administrators for the basic LPI General Linux 101 exam and the more advanced 102 exam, and includes information on objectives and test suggestions. It also provides readers who aren't planning to take the exam with an excellent understanding of the targeted Linux concepts and functions.

The book is divided into two parts, one for each of the LPI exams. Each part features a summary of the exam, a Highlighter's Index, labs, suggested exercises, and practice exams to help the reader pass the LPI exams with flying colors.

Part I covers the General Linux 101 Exam: GNU and Unix commands Devices, Linux filesystems, and the filesystem hierarchy standard Boot, initialization, shutdown and run levels Documentation Administrative tasks Hardware and architecture Part II covers the General Linux 102 Exam: Linux installation and package management The Linux kernel Text editing, processing, and printing Shells, scripting, programming, and compiling X-Windows Networking fundamentals Network services Security For those preparing to take the LPI Linux Certification Exams, this book will prove to be invaluable in its scope and breadth. Linux newbies will also find this book useful for learning more about how to use their Linux system.

SYNOPSIS

LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell prepares system administrators for the basic LPI General Linux 101 exam and the more advanced 102 exam. The book is divided into two parts, one for each of the LPI exams. Each part features a summary of the exam, a Highlighter's Index, labs, suggested exercises, and practice exams to help the reader pass the LPI exams with flying colors.

AUTHOR DESCRIPTION