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LPI 102-500 Exam Topics

LPI 102-500 Exam Overview :

Exam Name: LPIC-1 System Administrator Exam 102, Part 2 of 2, version 5.0
Exam Code: 102-500
Certifications: LPIC 1 Certification
See Expected Questions: LPI 102-500 Expected Questions in Actual Exam

LPI 102-500 Exam Topics :

Section Weight Objectives
Topic 105: Shells and Shell Scripting 8%

105.1 Customize and use the shell environment

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to customize shell environments to meet users' needs. Candidates should be able to modify global and user profiles.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Set environment variables (e.g. PATH) at login or when spawning a new shell.
  • Write Bash functions for frequently used sequences of commands.
  • Maintain skeleton directories for new user accounts.
  • Set command search path with the proper directory.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • .
  • source
  • /etc/bash.bashrc
  • /etc/profile
  • env
  • export
  • set
  • unset
  • ~/.bash_profile
  • ~/.bash_login
  • ~/.profile
  • ~/.bashrc
  • ~/.bash_logout
  • function
  • alias

105.2 Customize or write simple scripts

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to customize existing scripts, or write simple new Bash scripts.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Use standard sh syntax (loops, tests).
  • Use command substitution.
  • Test return values for success or failure or other information provided by a command.
  • Execute chained commands.
  • Perform conditional mailing to the superuser.
  • Correctly select the script interpreter through the shebang (#!) line.
  • Manage the location, ownership, execution and suid-rights of scripts.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • for
  • while
  • test
  • if
  • read
  • seq
  • exec
  • ||
  • &&
Topic 106: User Interfaces and Desktops 4%

106.1 Install and configure X11

Weight: 2

Description: Candidates should be able to install and configure X11.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Understanding of the X11 architecture.
  • Basic understanding and knowledge of the X Window configuration file.
  • Overwrite specific aspects of Xorg configuration, such as keyboard layout.
  • Understand the components of desktop environments, such as display managers and window managers.
  • Manage access to the X server and display applications on remote X servers.
  • Awareness of Wayland.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • /etc/X11/xorg.conf
  • /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/
  • ~/.xsession-errors
  • xhost
  • xauth
  • DISPLAY
  • X

106.2 Graphical Desktops

Weight: 1

Description: Candidates should be aware of major Linux desktops. Furthermore, candidates should be aware of protocols used to access remote desktop sessions.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Awareness of major desktop environments
  • Awareness of protocols to access remote desktop sessions

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • KDE
  • Gnome
  • Xfce
  • X11
  • XDMCP
  • VNC
  • Spice
  • RDP

106.3 Accessibility

Weight: 1

Description: Demonstrate knowledge and awareness of accessibility technologies.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Basic knowledge of visual settings and themes.
  • Basic knowledge of assistive technology.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • High Contrast/Large Print Desktop Themes.
  • Screen Reader.
  • Braille Display.
  • Screen Magnifier.
  • On-Screen Keyboard.
  • Sticky/Repeat keys.
  • Slow/Bounce/Toggle keys.
  • Mouse keys.
  • Gestures.
  • Voice recognition.
Topic 107: Administrative Tasks 12%

107.1 Manage user and group accounts and related system files

Weight: 5

Description: Candidates should be able to add, remove, suspend and change user accounts.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Add, modify and remove users and groups.
  • Manage user/group info in password/group databases.
  • Create and manage special purpose and limited accounts.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • /etc/passwd
  • /etc/shadow
  • /etc/group
  • /etc/skel/
  • chage
  • getent
  • groupadd
  • groupdel
  • groupmod
  • passwd
  • useradd
  • userdel
  • usermod

 

107.2 Automate system administration tasks by scheduling jobs

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to use cron and systemd timers to run jobs at regular intervals and to use at to run jobs at a specific time.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Manage cron and at jobs.
  • Configure user access to cron and at services.
  • Understand systemd timer units.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • /etc/cron.{d,daily,hourly,monthly,weekly}/
  • /etc/at.deny
  • /etc/at.allow
  • /etc/crontab
  • /etc/cron.allow
  • /etc/cron.deny
  • /var/spool/cron/
  • crontab
  • at
  • atq
  • atrm
  • systemctl
  • systemd-run

 

107.3 Localisation and internationalisation

Weight: 3

Description: Candidates should be able to localize a system in a different language than English. As well, an understanding of why LANG=C is useful when scripting.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Configure locale settings and environment variables.
  • Configure timezone settings and environment variables.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • /etc/timezone
  • /etc/localtime
  • /usr/share/zoneinfo/
  • LC_*
  • LC_ALL
  • LANG
  • TZ
  • /usr/bin/locale
  • tzselect
  • timedatectl
  • date
  • iconv
  • UTF-8
  • ISO-8859
  • ASCII
  • Unicode
Topic 108: Essential System Services 9%

108.1 Maintain system time

Weight: 3

Description: Candidates should be able to properly maintain the system time and synchronize the clock via NTP.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Set the system date and time.
  • Set the hardware clock to the correct time in UTC.
  • Configure the correct timezone.
  • Basic NTP configuration using ntpd and chrony.
  • Knowledge of using the pool.ntp.org service.
  • Awareness of the ntpq command.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • /usr/share/zoneinfo/
  • /etc/timezone
  • /etc/localtime
  • /etc/ntp.conf
  • /etc/chrony.conf
  • date
  • hwclock
  • timedatectl
  • ntpd
  • ntpdate
  • chronyc
  • pool.ntp.org

 

108.2 System logging

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to configure rsyslog. This objective also includes configuring the logging daemon to send log output to a central log server or accept log output as a central log server. Use of the systemd journal subsystem is covered. Also, awareness of syslog and syslog-ng as alternative logging systems is included.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Basic configuration of rsyslog.
  • Understanding of standard facilities, priorities and actions.
  • Query the systemd journal.
  • Filter systemd journal data by criteria such as date, service or priority.
  • Configure persistent systemd journal storage and journal size.
  • Delete old systemd journal data.
  • Retrieve systemd journal data from a rescue system or file system copy.
  • Understand interaction of rsyslog with systemd-journald.
  • Configuration of logrotate.
  • Awareness of syslog and syslog-ng.

Terms and Utilities:

  • /etc/rsyslog.conf
  • /var/log/
  • logger
  • logrotate
  • /etc/logrotate.conf
  • /etc/logrotate.d/
  • journalctl
  • systemd-cat
  • /etc/systemd/journald.conf
  • /var/log/journal/

 

108.3 Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) basics

Weight: 3

Description: Candidates should be aware of the commonly available MTA programs and be able to perform basic forward and alias configuration on a client host. Other configuration files are not covered.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Create e-mail aliases.
    Configure e-mail forwarding.
    Knowledge of commonly available MTA programs (postfix, sendmail, exim) (no configuration).

Terms and Utilities:

  • ~/.forward
  • sendmail emulation layer commands
  • newaliases
  • mail
  • mailq
  • postfix
  • sendmail
  • exim

 

108.4 Manage printers and printing

Weight: 2

Description: Candidates should be able to manage print queues and user print jobs using CUPS and the LPD compatibility interface.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Basic CUPS configuration (for local and remote printers).
  • Manage user print queues.
  • Troubleshoot general printing problems.
  • Add and remove jobs from configured printer queues.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • CUPS configuration files, tools and utilities
  • /etc/cups/
  • lpd legacy interface (lpr, lprm, lpq)
Topic 109: Networking Fundamentals 14%

109.1 Fundamentals of internet protocols

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should demonstrate a proper understanding of TCP/IP network fundamentals.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Demonstrate an understanding of network masks and CIDR notation.
  • Knowledge of the differences between private and public "dotted quad" IP addresses.
  • Knowledge about common TCP and UDP ports and services (20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 53, 80, 110, 123, 139, 143, 161, 162, 389, 443, 465, 514, 636, 993, 995).
  • Knowledge about the differences and major features of UDP, TCP and ICMP.
  • Knowledge of the major differences between IPv4 and IPv6.
  • Knowledge of the basic features of IPv6.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • /etc/services
  • IPv4, IPv6
  • Subnetting
  • TCP, UDP, ICMP

 

109.2 Persistent network configuration

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to manage the persistent network configuration of a Linux host.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Understand basic TCP/IP host configuration.
  • Configure ethernet and wi-fi network using NetworkManager.
  • Awareness of systemd-networkd.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • /etc/hostname
  • /etc/hosts
  • /etc/nsswitch.conf
  • /etc/resolv.conf
  • nmcli
  • hostnamectl
  • ifup
  • ifdown

 

109.3 Basic network troubleshooting

Weight: 4

Description: Candidates should be able to troubleshoot networking issues on client hosts.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Manually configure network interfaces, including viewing and changing the configuration of network interfaces using iproute2.
  • Manually configure routing, including viewing and changing routing tables and setting the default route using iproute2.
  • Debug problems associated with the network configuration.
  • Awareness of legacy net-tools commands.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • ip
  • hostname
  • ss
  • ping
  • ping6
  • traceroute
  • traceroute6
  • tracepath
  • tracepath6
  • netcat
  • ifconfig
  • netstat
  • route

 

109.4 Configure client side DNS

Weight: 2

Description: Candidates should be able to configure DNS on a client host.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Query remote DNS servers.
  • Configure local name resolution and use remote DNS servers.
  • Modify the order in which name resolution is done.
  • Debug errors related to name resolution.
  • Awareness of systemd-resolved.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • /etc/hosts
  • /etc/resolv.conf
  • /etc/nsswitch.conf
  • host
  • dig
  • getent
Topic 110: Security 10%

110.1 Perform security administration tasks

Weight: 3

Description: Candidates should know how to review system configuration to ensure host security in accordance with local security policies.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Audit a system to find files with the suid/sgid bit set.
  • Set or change user passwords and password aging information.
  • Being able to use nmap and netstat to discover open ports on a system.
  • Set up limits on user logins, processes and memory usage.
  • Determine which users have logged in to the system or are currently logged in.
  • Basic sudo configuration and usage.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • find
  • passwd
  • fuser
  • lsof
  • nmap
  • chage
  • netstat
  • sudo
  • /etc/sudoers
  • su
  • usermod
  • ulimit
  • who, w, last

 

110.2 Setup host security

Weight: 3

Description: Candidates should know how to set up a basic level of host security.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Awareness of shadow passwords and how they work.
  • Turn off network services not in use.
  • Understand the role of TCP wrappers.

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • /etc/nologin
  • /etc/passwd
  • /etc/shadow
  • /etc/xinetd.d/
  • /etc/xinetd.conf
  • systemd.socket
  • /etc/inittab
  • /etc/init.d/
  • /etc/hosts.allow
  • /etc/hosts.deny

 

110.3 Securing data with encryption

Weight: 4

Description: The candidate should be able to use public key techniques to secure data and communication.

Key Knowledge Areas:

  • Perform basic OpenSSH 2 client configuration and usage.
  • Understand the role of OpenSSH 2 server host keys.
  • Perform basic GnuPG configuration, usage and revocation.
  • Use GPG to encrypt, decrypt, sign and verify files.
  • Understand SSH port tunnels (including X11 tunnels).

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

  • ssh
  • ssh-keygen
  • ssh-agent
  • ssh-add
  • ~/.ssh/id_rsa and id_rsa.pub
  • ~/.ssh/id_dsa and id_dsa.pub
  • ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa and id_ecdsa.pub
  • ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 and id_ed25519.pub
  • /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key and ssh_host_rsa_key.pub
  • /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key and ssh_host_dsa_key.pub
  • /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key and ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub
  • /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key and ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub
  • ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
  • ssh_known_hosts
  • gpg
  • gpg-agent
  • ~/.gnupg/
Official Information https://www.lpi.org/our-certifications/lpic-1-overview

Updates in the LPI 102-500 Exam Topics:

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