Linux Certifications?

[ddrueding]

I've been meaning to learn Linux for quite some time. In fact, I have started a number of times without success. I am of the firm belief that Linux proficiency will be a prerequisite for employment in my business somewhere down the road.

Ideally, I'd like a certification of some kind as testament to my 1337 linux skills. Are there any that are worthwhile? If not, are there any lesson plans/guided tutorials that are worthwhile?

 

[Chewy509]

A lot of the Linux certification paths I've seen are on about the same level as the A+ and the MCP/MSCE track. They're a good introduction, but leave a lot to be desired...

Also be aware that many of the certifications focus on Novell, RedHat or SuSE, none are generic, except maybe Linux+ (CompTIA). IMHO the best way to learn Linux is by following the LFS (Linux From Scratch) guide to build a base system, then look at the base tools provided by the various distro's for system administration. Some distro's require you edit the config file by hand, others have full blown GUI's applications, and trust me, learn to edit the config files by hand, even if tools are provided!

IMHO, the skills needed are Samba (with AD integration), NFS, Sendmail (still the most popular, despite better MTA solutions out there), DNS/DHCP/Firewall and possibly NIS+/LDAP setup. The rest can be learnt on the fly...

 

[Mercutio]

Linux+ is a joke for anyone who has any real experience with Linux.

Also, all the Linux certs I've looked into a deeply focused on command line and config file level subject matter, which might not be the best thing to learn for someone who is used to Windows.

A+ is a joke for a tech or serious hobbyist, but for someone without that doesn't have a background as a computer tech, there's genuinely a lot of work involved in learning enough to pass the test. I respect non-techies who take and pass A+.

MCP stuff, beyond the desktop exam is actually pretty tough since many of the questions depend on knowledge of parts of Windows that no one ever uses. It's a LOT harder than it was back in the NT4 days.

So, anyway, the best way to learn Linux is to figure out something that you want to do and then do it. As an example, configuring a file or email server. Since we're talking about Linux, there isn't even one right way to do it, there are dozens.

 

[The JoJo]

Linux Professional Institute test are not so much "vendor" specific, and they are actually quite thorough in my opinion.

RHCE is pretty much "the" linux cert to get, it is the one that is known and respected from what I've seen.

 

[The JoJo]

Oh, and one more thing, I think a good way to get necessary basic understanding of linux is to go through all the aspects required for a linux LPIC/RHCE certification. That's the basis to build further knowledge and specialisation areas on.

 

[Pradeep]

I need to learn UNIX/Linux for a new position I'm starting in a couple of weeks (same company). The enterprise backup system (NetBackup) runs on Solaris.

I'll request that they pay for RHCE certification. They already want me to get certified in IBM System x/Blade hardware. There doesn't appear to be any programs for Sun hardware.

 

[Howell]

Congratulations! It looks like there is a hardware component to the Sun Cert.
http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/edu/programs/sai/#courses

 

[ddrueding]

Is there a favorite linux-based e-mail server program out there? Is Sendmail "the one"?

 

[Mercutio]

These days it's probably procmail.

 

[ddrueding]

Thanks Merc.

vi is a PITA...is there something more straightforward for basic editing of config files? I don't need to script or program, just edit /etc/network/interfaces and the like.

 

[timwhit]

Emacs maybe?

 

[ddrueding]

After looking at quite a few, I think I've settled on nano. WYSIWYG with Control-key functionality, and it is included with the server and workstation variants of Ubuntu.

 

[Mercutio]

There is a very, very good reason to learn vi.
It is the standard text editor. Every system has to have it.

Also, using anything less makes you a total wuss.

 

[LiamC]

Truly, our responsibility to spread the Gospel of the Gnu is weighty.
Cleave to what is good. Remember the words the prophet Stallman
brought down from the Mount MIT, graved in Lisp on tablets of
crystalline lambda calculus.

Only this true: Emacs is pure.
All else is false.
Do not be misled by false gods like Vi, the Editor of the Beast.
Do not be seduced by Word, the Scarlet Woman of Babylon.
Do not be driven to madness by Xcode, the Blind Priest of the Children of Asherath.

When the wild winds of chaos blow, stay pure.
When the universe collapses in shards around you, stay holy.
When the gibbering hobgoblins of apostate Editors attack with shards
of broken syntax, seek the crystalline stillness within you.

Brethren, ensure that you (Meta-x-say-hallel-to-Emacs) daily for otherwise you will be lost.
When the Beast comes, only Emacs can save you.

This was brought to you as a public service by the Holy and Ineffable Church of The Mighty Emacs.
SUPPORT THIS CRUSADE WITH YOUR DONATIONS. EMAIL THE STILL BEATING
HEART OF A VILE VI USER TO emacs-highpriest@god-hates-vi-users

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editor_war

FWIW, if you have an x-server running, I prefer Kate.

 

[ddrueding]

Yeah, yeah. I learned enough to use vi before I researched anything else. As soon as I read that it was the one editor guaranteed to be on any *nix system, I knew I needed to know the basics on it. But then I started looking for an editor that made more sense.

 

[Chewy509]

Learn vi, as it's the only editor that will exist on any *nix system you touch. Then again, 'cat' can be quite handy if you need to add a quick few lines to a file.

On FreeBSD, try 'ee' aka Easy Editor, but on most Linux systems, you'll either have 'nano' or 'pico'.

As for a MTA, sendmail is the defacto MTA you'll find on most *nix systems, however procmail or qmail are far better systems.

ps. http://www.sm.luth.se/csee/courses/smd/139/smd139_vi.pdf

 

[Mercutio]

vi makes plenty of sense if you understand where it came from. 25 years ago, a multiuser terminal system generally would not have the RAM to allow dozens of people access to full screens of text, so a text editor operated one line at a time.

The standard editor was called 'ed' and was basically the same as the original PC DOS editor, edlin.

vi was a vast improvement, in that it can display a full screen of text, but continues to use the conventions of its predecessor, ed. That means jkl;^$ (many dumb terminals did not have arrow or position keys) for cursor movement and direct editing and regular expression modes of operation.

The ability to use regular expressions to create text is obscenely powerful, and is the essential justification for keeping vi in a world where the kiddies, raised with GUIs and Word Processing appilcations, would rather have something closer to Wordpad.

 

[Mercutio]

As for a MTA, sendmail is the defacto MTA you'll find on most *nix systems, however procmail or qmail are far better systems.

qmail is deprecated. The guy responsible for it quit working on it and was pretty much an asshole besides. sendmail has pretty much had no end of security issues and forked off into commercial software a while back (there is still a free version, naturally, but IIRC the commercial one comes with commercial support and I believe priority bugfixes), which is why the community as a whole has largely moved to procmail.

Random trivia: sendmail is installed by default on Windows when you install IIS.

 

[ddrueding]

Based on a comment from Merc in another thread, I have now installed an OpenLDAP server in a VMWare enviroment. I have also installed Luma on a Ubuntu workstation and sucessfully connected to the OpenLDAP server.

1) Luma is super-slow at just about anything. Is it really the best GUI solution? Should I still be doing all this stuff in a text editor on the OpenLDAP server?

2) Is there a best-practices structure I should be following for the database?

Off to install ProcMail on the mail server and try to tie it in with the OpenLDAP server....

 

[Mercutio]

Try phpLDAPadmin. Makes sense to manage your database from a browser anyway.

I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish in doing server-y stuff on one of the most obnoxiously desktop-focused Linux distros there is - but that's up to you.

As far as structuring your directory, it's rare for me to really need anything but a "users" ou, though I suppose in a larger organization I might want departmental or geographic divisions.

 

[ddrueding]

Thanks Merc. I'll give phpLDAPadmin a try.

I'm using Ubuntu Server (CLI-only) because I was used to using Ubuntu workstation before. Since I'm doing everything via CLI and installing the packages myself, what makes the distribution desktop-focused?

Thanks for the tip on the structure, I just didn't want to go against any common conventions.

 

[ddrueding]

Ugh, phpLDAPadmin is my first experience with poorly documented software. After apt-get'ing it and it's dependencies I don't know where it went. Considering it requires apache, you would think it would install to the default www path...

 

[Mercutio]

I'm using Ubuntu Server (CLI-only) because I was used to using Ubuntu workstation before. Since I'm doing everything via CLI and installing the packages myself, what makes the distribution desktop-focused?

My previous experiences with Ubuntu are that the server install CD did not include lots of little things I expected to have from long-term use of RedHat/Fedora/Centos. No one thing is terribly annoying, but in combination it led to a great deal of irritation.

 

[Mercutio]

sudo find / -name phpldapadmin -print

will search your whole directory structure for the files you need. It should be somewhere under /var/www.

 

[ddrueding]

Thanks Merc. This is day 2 of this attempt to learn Linux. In past attempts I've tried to memorize commands and file structures, and just got frustrated. This time I am just trying to build a linux-based network from the ground up:

Directory Services (OpenLDAP)
File (SAMBA)
Mail (ProcMail)
Web (LAMP)
Ubuntu Workstation
WinXP workstation

Each on their own VM behind a Smoothwall. Should be quite the project.

 

[ddrueding]

Ugh, phpLDAPadmin is my first experience with poorly documented software. After apt-get'ing it and it's dependencies I don't know where it went. Considering it requires apache, you would think it would install to the default www path...

I take that back. When you use aptitude to install phpLDAPadmin on an ubuntu server that has the LAMP preconfigured package already on it, no configuration is required. http://serverIP/phpLDAPadmin automatically takes you to it.

I must have botched the Apache installation. I hate sucking at something.

 

[Mercutio]

There should be some kind of preconfigured package for Apache/MySQL/php that already has everything working.

I don't see Spamassassin on that list anyplace, and if you're doing a mail server, you'll want it. Also, some kind of IMAP server (Dovecot, probably).

 

[ddrueding]

Spamassassin and Dovecot on the mail server, check

This is already a real bear. I haven't really studied for anything in about a decade.

 

[Mercutio]

There should be pretty detailed howtos for everything you want to do. It's mostly just a matter of figuring out what steps you need to take and repeating them.

More fun: Configure Squid + SquidGuard (content monitoring)
ClamAV (Virus Detection)
SSH endpoint
Asterix (PBX)

 

[ddrueding]

Thanks again. There is sooo much I still need to learn.

In this environment I've been building separate servers for each task. Other than adding CPUs, or seperating DMZ from LAN, is there a reason to do this? Will I have issues running LAMP, OpenLDAP, ProcMAIL and SAMBA on the same server? What would you recommend?

 

[Mercutio]

Nope. You can do everything on one server if you like.

 

[ddrueding]

Sweet. Time to blow everything away and see if I can do it without googling and bothering you over every little thing.

 

[ddrueding]

LDAP is driving me nuts. Every time it adds or removes something it completely rebuilds the slapd config file based on info from my router somehow. The domain name keeps reverting to "dc=comcast,dc=ca, etc, etc", which of course breaks slapd so bad that it won't start. So I go in and rebuild it by hand. sure enough, it's nuked again the next time I do something (like install phpldapadmin).

I've already given it a static IP, and changed the DNS servers to not even reference comcast. Where is it getting this information?

grrr....

 

[ddrueding]

I'm trying to figure out what records are required in LDAP to correctly verify and operate Linux login verification, Samba(including AD authentication) and ProcMail. Does anyone have a location where this information is stored?

I've been googling for days, and all the stuff I find is either conceptual without stating actual entries or a step-by-step walk through of just one of them.

 

[ddrueding]

This looks very useful for LDAP/Samba integration.

 

[ddrueding]

LDAP server running, phpLDAPadmin connected, LDAP database populated.

SAMBA tied into LDAP, Linux and XP workstations tied to SAMBA including home dirs

Next up: ProcMail! It seems that all the how-tos for ProcMail refer to it as a processing tool for Postfix; am I missing something...scratch that, what am I missing?

Thanks,
David

 

[ddrueding]

This howto will keep me busy:

Ubuntu + Postfix + Courier IMAP + MySQL + Amavisd-new + SpamAssassin + ClamAV + SASL + TLS + SquirrelMail + Postgrey

 

[ddrueding]

My recent plan to get a LAMP server up and running made it impressively (to me) far before failing. Here is what I have so far:

Install Ubuntu 7.10 Server in LAMP mode
Perform all updates
Configure Apache
Install Webmin
Install basic Gnome GUI (I know, I don't need it, but it's good for local testing).

I then followed a basic tutorial here to create a database and write a simple php file to reference the database. Everything was working fine except that when I browse to the location (database.php), it tries to save/open the file instead of running it. What do you think I'm missing?

Thanks,
David

 

[Handruin]

It sounds like you need to adjust apache's httpd.conf file to register php as a type. Browse that file and look for something like this:

"AddType application/x-httpd-php .php"

you should also have something similar to this inside the httpd.conf

LoadModule php4_module modules/libphp4.so


If you're using php5, replace the above to reference php5. Restart apache (usually by running "service apache restart") and see if that helps.

 

[ddrueding]

Thanks Handruin. That was indeed the problem. I stumbled accross the answer earlier, and I thought I had posted the fix, but it doesn't look like it's here.

Now I'm looking for a reference on getting form data into the database.