Course Introduction

• Administration and Course Materials
• Course Structure and Agenda
• Delegate and Trainer Introductions

Session 1: INVESTIGATING THE SYSTEM

• The /proc pseudo File System
• Investigating Bus/Devices: lspci, lsusb etc.
• Graphical Tools for Investigating Hardware
• Serial Device Management
• Monitoring and Managing logfiles
• Using the system-config Tools
• Setup and kudzu Utilities

Session 2: INSTALLING RED HAT LINUX

• Installation Methods Available
• The Virtual Consoles
• Using Boot Time Options
• Firstboot and Post Installation

Session 3: INSTALLING RED HAT LINUX USING KICKSTART

• Automating an Install
• Kickstart File Layout
• Creating a Kickstart File
• Starting a kickstart installation
• Creating the Linux Install server

Session 4: BASIC ADMINISTRATION

• The Red Hat Administrative Tools Available
• User/Group and Password Administration
• The Shells and the User Environment
• Sudo command and configuring the sudoers file
• Printer Management - CUPS and system-config-printer
• The Red Hat Linux Boot Sequence
• Control Services Using chkconfig, service, system-config-services etc.
• System Shutdown and Reboot Management
• Recovering Lost Root Password

Session 5: FILESYSTEM CONFIGURATION

• The Native Linux File Systems ext2fs and ext3fs
• Disk Partitioning: fdisk and parted
• File System Administration and Maintenance
  • - mkfs, tune2fs, mount, umount and fsck
  • File Access Control Lists
• Using Disk Quotas

Session 6: LVM AND RAID

• Software RAID Using mdadm
• Implementing RAID0, 1 and 5 File Systems
• Hot Swap Replacement
• Simulating RAID Disk Failure
• Basic LVM Design and Configuration
• Creating and backing up Snapshots
• Configuring Swap space

Session 7: MANAGING SYSTEM SOFTWARE

• The Red Hat Package Management System
• Installing and Removing Software Manually
• RPM Queries and Verifying Packages
• Dependency Problems and Resolution
• Other RPM Features
• Pirut, pup and system-config-packages
• The Red Hat Network
• The YUM Package Management Tool
  • Configuring YUM
  • Running YUM from the command line

Session 8: BASIC NETWORKING

• Configuring Network Interfaces
• Controlling Network Devices: ifup/ifdown/mii-tool/ethtool
• Creating Virtual Interfaces/Configuring DHCP/VSFTP Server
• Routing IP Traffic Under Red Hat Linux
• Network Diagnosis Tools: tcpdump, netstat etc.
• Configuring Network Time Protocol. (ntp)

Session 9: DATA SECURITY

• SELinux -semanage, setsebool, getsebool, setroubleshoot, chcon
• Types of Attack Usually Experienced
• System and User Security Policies
• One Way Hashes, Public Key Encryption
• Digital Signatures
• The Secure Shell : Openssh
• Public/Private Key Authentication

Session 10: NETWORK SERVICES: APACHE AND SQUID

• The Apache and Tux Web Servers
• Apache Server Configuration Files
• Virtual Host Management: Name and IP Based Access
• The Squid Web Proxy Cache Server

Session 11: NETWORK SERVICES (NFS AND SAMBA)

• NFS Operation: daemons, etc.
• Configuring an NFS
• Using the automounter to Access NFS Mounts
• The Samba System
• Samba Daemons and Operation
• Samba Authentication Methods
• Samba Client Tools
• Using smbmount to Access Windows Shares
• Samba and SELinux implications

Session 12: THE DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM and NIS CLIENTS

• The DNS/BIND System Under Red Hat Linux
• Master/Slave/Reverse Zones
• Name Daemon Control Utility (rndc)
• Address Match Lists (acl)
• Sub-domains
• BIND Checking Utilities
• Creating a NIS Client

Session 13: SECURING NETWORKS: PLUGGABLE AUTHENTICATION (PAM)

• PAM Overview
• Main PAM Configuration Files
• PAM Configuration Rules
• Important PAM Libraries
• Controlling Access by Time
• Denying Access by User/Group

Session 14: SECURING NETWORKS: FIREWALLS

• Netfilter Overview
• Packet Filtering Using iptables
• IPV6 addressing
• Rule Targets
• Connection tracking
• Network Address Translation
• Source and Destination NAT Configuration
• Red Hat Supplied Tools for iptables Configuration

Session 15: SYSTEM MONITORING

• Syslog Configuration
• /etc/syslog.conf Configuration
• Monitoring Tools

Session 16: ELECTRONIC MAIL

• Email Components
• SMTP
• Configuring Sendmail
• Postfix and sendmail Alternative
• Procmail and Dovecot
• Switching Mail Systems

Session 17: XEN A Basic Definition

• XEN Components
• Virtualisation Modes
• System Requirements
• Installing XEN
• Creating a Virtual Machine
• Enabling access to a CD Drive
• Accessing the network
• Managing the VM Environment
• Migration

Session 18: TROUBLESHOOTING

• The Rescue Environment
• Rescue Environment Utilities and Operation
• The Networked Rescue Environment
• Overriding Boot Levels from grub
• Creating a Bootable USB Device
• Common Boot Problems and their Resolution