Linux Essentials
The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is proud to announce an innovative "first-of-its-kind" program for the academic sector, youth and others new to the world of Linux and Open Source technology.
Created in partnership with a community of teachers,trainers and experts world-wide. The "Linux Essentials" program prepares the next generation to acquire the advanced skills needed to fill increasing shortages of workers in today’s mixed IT environments. It supports government and educational authorities bringing Linux and Open Source to the classroom at much younger ages. Supporting learning and fun through skills competitions like World Skills and Euroskills. Supporting international collaboration and the development of teacher-tested educational initiatives for the classroom.
Please Note: This Certificate of Achievement is not delivered through VUE testing centers, please visit the Affiliate Locations page and request localized Test Center availability from your closest Master Affiliate.
Linux Essentials Certificate of Achievement
Recommended by the best teachers and trainers in the world, the Linux Essentials Exam is a vendor neutral, one-of-a-kind measure of foundation knowledge in Linux and Open Source.
- Status: Live in EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa), Expanding to other regions soon
- Prerequisites: none
- Requirements: Pass the Linux Essentials Exam
Overview of Tasks
To secure the Certificate of Achievement in Linux Essentials, you should be able to demonstrate a (n):
- Understands the basic concepts of processes, programs and the components of an Operating System.
- Has a basic knowledge of computer hardware
- Demonstrates a knowledge of Open Source Applications in the Workplace as they relate to Closed Source equivalents.
- Understands navigation systems on a Linux Desktop and where to go for help.
- Has a rudimentary ability to work on the command line and with files.
- Can use a basic command line editor.
Linux Essentials Exam
The Linux Essentials exam is a recommended, not required, pre-requisite for training in the LPIC professional program. Exams are delivered in schools and training centres around the world. To locate the centre nearest you, please contact your local LPI Affiliate.
This is a required exam for Linux Essentials Certificate. It covers basic knowledge for those working and studying in Open Source and various distributions of Linux.
Each objective is assigned a weighting value. The weights range roughly from 1 to 10 and indicate the relative importance of each objective. Objectives with higher weights will be covered in the exam with more questions.
- The Linux community and a career in open source
- Finding your way on a Linux system
- The power of the command line
- The Linux operating system
- Security and file permissions
Topic 1:The Linux Community and a Career in Open Source (weight: 7)
1.1 Linux Evolution and Popular Operating Systems
- Weight 2
- Description Knowledge of Linux development and major distributions
Key Knowledge Areas
- Open Source Philosophy
- Distributions
- Embedded Systems
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- Android
- Debian
- CentOS
1.2 Major Open Source Applications
- Weight 2
- Description Awareness of major applications and their uses.
Key Knowledge Areas
-
Desktop Applications
- Server Applications
- Mobile Applications
- Development Languages
- Package Management Tools and repositories
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- OpenOffice.org, LibreOffice, Thunderbird, Firefox
- Blender, Gimp, Audacity, ImageMagick
- Apache, MySQL, PostgreSQL
- NFS, Samba, OpenLDAP, Postfix, DNS, DHCP
- C, Perl, shell, Python, PHP
1.3 Understanding Open Source Software and Licensing
- Weight 1
- Description Open communities and licensing Open Source Software for business.
Key Knowledge Areas
- Licensing
- Free Software Foundation (FSF), Open Source Initiative (OSI)
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- GPL, BSD, Creative Commons
- Free Software, Open Source Software, FOSS, FLOSS
- Open Source business models
1.4 ICT Skills and Working in Linux
- Weight 2
- Description Basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills and working in Linux
Key Knowledge Areas
- Desktop Skills
- Getting to the Command Line
- Industry uses of Linux, Cloud Computing and Virtualization
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- Using a browser, privacy concerns, configuration options, searching the web and saving content
- Terminal and Console
- Password issues
- Privacy issues and tools
- Use of common open source applications in presentations and projects
Topic 2: Finding Your Way on a Linux System (weight: 8)
2.1 Command Line Basics
- Weight 2
- Description Basics of using the Linux command line.
Key Knowledge Areas
- Basic shell
- Formatting commands
- Working With Options
- Variables
- Globbing
- Quoting
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- echo
- history
- PATH env variable
- which
Nice to know
- Substitutions
- ||, && and ; control operators
2.2 Using the Command Line to Get Help
- Weight 2
- Description Running help commands and navigation of the various help systems
Key Knowledge Areas
- Man
- Info
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- man
- info
- Man pages
- /usr/share/doc
- locate
Nice to know
- apropos, whatis, whereis
2.3 Using Directories and Listing Files
- Weight 2
- Description Navigation of home and system directories and listing files in various locations.
Key Knowledge Areas
- Files, directories
- Hidden files and directories
- Home
- Absolute and relative paths
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- Common options for ls
- Recursive listings
- cd
- . and ..
- home and ~
2.4 Creating, Moving and Deleting Files
- Weight 2
- Description Create, move and delete files and directories under the home directory.
Key Knowledge Areas
- Files and directories
- Case sensitivity
- Simple globbing and quoting
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- mv, cp, rm, touch
- mkdir, rmdir
Topic 3: The Power of the Command Line (weight: 10)
3.1 Archiving Files on the Command Line
- Weight 2
- Description Archiving files in the user home directory
Key Knowledge Areas
- Files, directories
- Archives, compression
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- tar
- Common tar options
- gzip, bzip2
- zip, unzip
Nice to know
- Extracting individual files from archives
3.2 Searching and Extracting Data from Files
- Weight 4
- Description Search and extract data from files in the home directory.
Key Knowledge Areas
- Command line pipes
- I/O re-direction
- Partial POSIX Regular Expressions (., [ ], *, ?)
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- find
- grep
- less
- head, tail
- sort
- cut
- wc
Nice to know
- Partial POSIX Basic Regular Expressions ([^ ], ^, $)
- Partial POSIX Extended Regular Expressions (+, ( ), |)
- xargs
3.3 Turning Commands into a Script
- Weight 4
- Description Turning repetitive commands into simple scripts.
Key Knowledge Areas
- Basic text editing
- Basic shell scripting
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- /bin/sh
- Variables
- Arguments
- for loops
- echo
- Exit status
Nice to know
- pico, nano, vi (only basics for creating scripts)
- Bash
- if, while, case statements
- read and test, and [ commands
Topic 4: The Linux Operating System (weight: 8)
4.1 Choosing an Operating System
- Weight 1
- Description Knowledge of major operating systems and Linux distributions
Key Knowledge Areas
- Windows, Mac, Linux differences
- Distribution life cycle management
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- GUI versus command line, desktop configuration
- Maintenance cycles, Beta and Stable
4.2 Understanding Computer Hardware
- Weight 2
- Description Familiarity with the components that go into building desktop and server computers
Key Knowledge Areas
- Hardware
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- Hard drives and partitions, motherboards, processors, power supplies, optical drives, peripherals
- Display types
- Drivers
4.3 Where Data is Stored
- Weight 3
- Description Where various types of information are stored on a Linux system.
Key Knowledge Areas
- Kernel
- Processes
- syslog, klog, dmesg
- /lib, /usr/lib, /etc, /var/log
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- Programs, libraries, packages and package databases, system configuration
- Processes and process tables, memory addresses, system messaging and logging
- ps, top, free
4.4 Your Computer on the Network
- Weight 2
- Description Querying vital networking settings and determining the basic requirements for a computer on a Local Area Network (LAN).
Key Knowledge Areas
- Internet, network, routers
- Domain Name Service
- Network configuration
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- route
- resolv.conf
- IPv4, IPv6
- ifconfig
- netstat
- ping
Nice to know
- ssh
- dig
Topic 5: Security and File Permissions (weight: 7)
5.1 Basic Security and Identifying User Types
- Weight 2
- Description Various types of users on a Linux system
Key Knowledge Areas
- Root and Standard Users
- System users
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- /etc/passwd, /etc/group
- id, who, w
- sudo
Nice to know
- su
5.2 Creating Users and Groups
- Weight 2
- Description Creating users and groups on a Linux system
Key Knowledge Areas
- User and group commands
- User IDs
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/group
- id, last
- useradd, groupadd
- passwd
Nice to know
- usermod, userdel
- groupmod, groupdel
5.3 Managing File Permissions and Ownership
- Weight 2
- Description Understanding and manipulating file permissions and ownership settings
Key Knowledge Areas
- File/directory permissions and owners
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- ls -l
- chmod, chown
Nice to know
- chgrp
5.4 Special Directories and Files
- Weight 1
- Description Special directories and files on a Linux system including special permissions
Key Knowledge Areas
- System files, libraries
- Symbolic links
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- /etc, /var
- /tmp, /var/tmp and Sticky Bit
- ls -d
- ln -s
Nice to know
- Hard links
- Setuid/Setgid