LPIC 1 LPIC 1 NASH NASH The only guide you need for LPIC 1 exam success . . . You’re holding in your hands the most comprehensive and effective guide available for the Linux Professional Institute Certification 1 exams. Veteran Linux administrators Jason and Angie Nash deliver incisive, crystal-clear explanations of every topic covered, highlighting exam-critical concepts and offering hands-on tips that can help you in your real-world IT career. Throughout, they provide pre-tests, exam-style assessment questions, scenario problems, and computer-based lab exercises—everything you need to master the material and pass the exams. Shelving Category: Certification/Linux Reader Level: Beginning to Advanced System Requirements: PC with a Pentium processor running at 90 MHz or faster; 20MB+ RAM; CD-ROM drive ISBN 0-7645-4772-0 $59.99 USA $89.99 Canada £44.99 UK incl. VAT Master the material for Linux Professional Institute exams 101 and 102 Test your knowledge with assessment questions, scenarios, and labs Practice on state- of-the-art test- preparation software “The ultimate reference guide to LPI Level 1 certification, packed with useful tips and self-assessment features.” —Tim Sosbe, Editorial Director, Certification Magazine ,!7IA7G4-fehhca!:p;p;T;T;t www.hungryminds.com 100% ONE HUNDRED PERCENT COMPREHENSIVE AUTHORITATIVE WHAT YOU NEED ONE HUNDRED PERCENT *85555-AFDHHj 100% COMPREHENSIVE Covers LPI exams 101 and 102 LPIC 1 LPIC 1 Bible Test-prep material on CD-ROM Labs include complete installation instructions for Red Hat and Debian About the Authors Angie Nash is IT Consultant for her own firm, Tarheel Solutions. She has her LPIC 1 certification and works primarily with Linux and Microsoft operating systems to provide solutions for small businesses. Jason Nash is a LPIC 1–certified independent consultant experi- enced with Linux, Solaris, and several BSD variants. He has written several books for the Microsoft world, but now spends most of his time in Linux and BSD. Angie Nash and Jason Nash Get complete coverage of the LPIC 1 exam objectives as you learn the ins and outs of: • Administering the system • Using the shell • Installing software • Processing text • Managing network services • Using shells and scripts • Using documentation • Using X • Managing users and groups • Installing Linux • Working with the kernel • Printing • Networking fundamentals • Managing security • Understanding the boot process • Managing files • Using partitions and file systems • Hungry Minds test engine powered by top-rated Boson Software • Linux FAQs and HOWTOs for exam preparation • A searchable e-version of the book Learn to set up graphical window managers Hungry Minds Test Engine powered by Certification “The ultimate reference guide to LPI Level 1 certification, packed with useful tips and self-assessment features.” —Tim Sosbe, Editorial Director, Certification Magazine ▲ Test-Prep Material on CD-ROM Linux Professional Institute, www.lpi.org LPIC 1 Certification Bible 4772-0 FM.F 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page i 4772-0 FM.F 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page ii LPIC 1 Certification Bible Angie Nash and Jason Nash Best-Selling Books • Digital Downloads • e-Books • Answer Networks • e-Newsletters • Branded Web Sites • e-Learning Indianapolis, IN ✦ Cleveland, OH ✦ New York, NY 4772-0 FM.F 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page iii LPIC 1 Certification Bible Published by Hungry Minds, Inc. 909 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 www.hungryminds.com Copyright  2001 Hungry Minds, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book, including interior design, cover design, and icons, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Control Number: 2001090743 ISBN: 0-7645-4772-0 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1P/RY/QW/QR/IN Distributed in the United States by Hungry Minds, Inc. Distributed by CDG Books Canada Inc. for Canada; by Transworld Publishers Limited in the United Kingdom; by IDG Norge Books for Norway; by IDG Sweden Books for Sweden; by IDG Books Australia Publishing Corporation Pty. 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For press review copies, author interviews, or other publicity information, please contact our Public Relations department at 317-572-3168 or fax 317-572-4168. For authorization to photocopy items for corporate, personal, or educational use, please contact Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, or fax 978-750-4470. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF W ARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK. THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES WHICH EXTEND BEYOND THE DESCRIPTIONS CONTAINED IN THIS PARAGRAPH. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES OR WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS. THE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN AND THE OPINIONS STATED HEREIN ARE NOT GUARANTEED OR WARRANTED TO PRODUCE ANY PARTICULAR RESULTS, AND THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY INDIVIDUAL. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES. Linux Professional Institute and the LPI logo are trademarks of Linux Professional Institute, Inc. The Linux Professional Institute does not endorse any third party exam preparation material or techniques. For further details please contact info@lpi.org. Trademarks: All trademarks are property of their respective owners. Hungry Minds, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. is a trademark of Hungry Minds, Inc. 4772-0 FM.F 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page iv About the Authors Angie Nash is an IT Consultant for her own firm, Tarheel Solutions. She works primarily with Linux and Microsoft operating systems to provide solutions for small businesses. Her free time is spent adding new products to her arsenal. She can be reached at angie@the-nashes.net. Jason Nash is an independent consultant experienced with Linux, Solaris, and several BSD variants. He has written several books for the Microsoft world, but now spends most of his time in Linux and BSD. He can be reached at jason@the-nashes.net. 4772-0 FM.F 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page v Credits Acquisitions Editors Nancy Maragioglio Katie Feltman Project Editors Brian MacDonald Kevin Kent Technical Editor Theresa Hadden-Martinez Copy Editor Kevin Kent Editoral Managers Ami Frank Sullivan Kyle Looper Project Coordinator Emily Wichlinski Graphics and Production Specialists Gabriele McCann Brian Torwelle Quality Control Technicians Andy Hollandbeck Susan Moritz Carl Pierce Charles Spencer Permissions Editor Laura Moss Media Development Specialist Megan Decraene Media Development Coordinator Marisa Pearman Proofreading and Indexing TECHBOOKS Production Services 4772-0 FM.F 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page vi This book is dedicated to two women who have made a profound impact on both our lives. The unconditional love and support that we have received from Marie Ward and Melva Hamby are always with us. 4772-0 FM.F 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page vii 4772-0 FM.F 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page viii Preface W elcome to the LPIC 1 Certification Bible. This book is designed to help you prepare for the Linux Professional Institute Certification Level 1 exams 101 and 102. The Linux Professional Institute is a distribution-independent, nonprofit organization. The exams are developed to certify an individual’s expertise with Linux systems. Level 1 certification is based upon many general tasks involving Linux systems. This book provides all the information you need to perform these tasks. Because of this, the book is useful as a study guide as well as a general Linux reference. We believe that this book will prove to be a useful tool when preparing for the LPIC exams and that you will want to keep it nearby as a handy resource while working with Linux systems. How This Book Is Organized This book is organized into four major parts, followed by several appendixes, a robust glossary, an index, and a compact disc. Here’s what you’ll find in this book: Part I: Installing Linux and Getting Started Part I presents basic information about Linux. It covers the basic installation and configuration of the Linux operating system. This part introduces the shell environ- ment and its usage. Finally, this part covers software installation, including the packaging systems used on Debian and Red Hat distributions. Part II: Getting Around in Linux Part II covers the basics of using Linux. This part explains many of the text process- ing tools available for Linux. Information on working with Linux partitions and file systems is also covered in this section. Another task required to get around in Linux is managing files and directories. This part introduces the commands most often used for this task. The documentation resources available to aid with the proper use of these commands and many of the tasks required on Linux are also covered here. Part II also explores the boot process, detailing the use of various configuration files and run levels. Finally, this part explores XFree86, the graphical user interface available for Linux. 4772-0 FM.F 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page ix [...]... xvii Part I: Installing Linux and Getting Started 1 Chapter 1: Installing Linux 3 History of Linux and GNU 5 The GNU General Public License 6 What Does Free Mean? 7 Why Use Linux? 7 Linux is multiuser 8 Linux is multitasking ... 8 Linux is stable 8 Linux has lots of available software 9 Linux has a wide range of supported hardware 9 Linux is fast 9 Overview of the Linux Architecture 9 Kernel space 9 User space 10 Linux Distributions... 848 4772-0 PtO1.F 5/14/01 8:46 AM Page 1 P Installing Linux and Getting Started A R T I ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ In This Part Chapter 1 Installing Linux T Chapter 2 Using the Shell Chapter 1 provides instructions on installing Red Hat and Debian distributions of Linux Chapter 2 introduces the Linux shell environment including the bash shell used by default on Linux systems Chapter 3 covers the various methods and... System Requirements Using the CD with Microsoft Windows Using the CD with Linux What’s on the CD Hungry Minds test engine Electronic version of LPIC 1 Certification Bible Guides FAQs HOWTOs Troubleshooting ... your studies for the LPI level 1 certification, you need to cover the basics of installing Linux and getting started This part will prepare you to move on to the next sections in the book Chapter 3 Installing Software ✦ ✦ ✦ 4772-0 PtO1.F 5/14/01 8:46 AM Page 2 4772-0 Ch01.F 5/14/01 10:07 AM Page 3 1 C H A P T E R Installing Linux EXAM OBJECTIVES Exam 102 ✦ General Linux, Part 2 1.1 Hardware & Architecture... 18 Configuring Plug-and-Play devices 20 4772-0 FM.F xxii 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page xxii LPIC 1 Certification Bible Partitioning Schemes Using fdisk Using Disk Druid Using cfdisk Boot Managers Installing Linux Red Hat installation Debian installation Assessment Questions Scenarios Answers to Chapter... LPIC 1 Certification Bible Answers to Chapter Questions Chapter Pre-Test Assessment Questions Scenarios 744 744 745 746 Appendix A: What’s on the CD-ROM 747 System Requirements Using the CD with Microsoft Windows Using the CD with Linux ... Acknowledgments xvii Part I: Installing Linux and Getting Started 1 Chapter 1: Installing Linux 3 Chapter 2: Using the Shell 63 Chapter 3: Installing Software 93 Part II: Getting Around in Linux 157 Chapter 4: Processing Text Chapter... Part IV covers the various concerns of a networked Linux computer This part introduces the basics of TCP/IP protocols, files, and tools Additionally, Part IV explains how to create and configure network and dial-up connections It also covers the various server functions Linux can provide on a network Finally, Part IV shows you how to efficiently secure a Linux system At the end of the book are several... useful programs and utilities First you’ll find the Hungry Minds test engine, which is powered by Boson Software and features practice test questions to help you prepare for the exam The disk also includes an electronic version of the book in PDF format along with Adobe Acrobat Reader so you can easily navigate this resource Also included are several useful Linux guides, FAQs, and HOWTOs, documentation that . INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES. Linux Professional Institute and the LPI logo are trademarks of Linux Professional Institute, Inc. The Linux Professional Institute does not endorse any third. 1 Certification Bible 477 2-0 FM.F 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page i 477 2-0 FM.F 5/14/01 4:20 PM Page ii LPIC 1 Certification Bible Angie Nash and Jason Nash Best-Selling Books • Digital Downloads • e-Books. information on Hungry Minds products and services please contact our Customer Care department within the U.S. at 80 0-7 6 2-2 974, outside the U.S. at 31 7-5 7 2-3 993 or fax 31 7-5 7 2-4 002. For sales