The ALCSA Training Objectives

What is the ALCSA Training?

Understand and use essential tools

  • Access a shell prompt and issue commands with correct syntax

  • Use input-output redirection (>, >>, |, 2>, etc.)

  • Use grep and regular expressions to analyze text

  • Access remote systems using SSH

  • Log in and switch users in multi-user targets

  • Archive, compress, unpack, and uncompress files using tar, gzip, and bzip2

  • Create and edit text files

  • Create, delete, copy, and move files and directories

  • Create hard and soft links

  • List, set, and change standard ugo/rwx permissions

  • Locate, read, and use system documentation including man, info, and files in /usr/share/doc

Manage software

  • Configure access to pacman repositories

  • Install and remove pacman software packages

  • Configure access to AUR repositories

  • Install and remove AUR software packages

Create simple shell scripts

  • Conditionally execute code (use of: if, test, [], etc.)
  • Use Looping constructs (for, etc.) to process file, command line input.
  • Process script inputs (1, 2, etc.)
  • Processing output of shell commands within a script

Operate running systems

  • Boot, reboot, and shut down a system normally
  • Boot systems into different targets manually
  • Interrupt the boot process in order to gain access to a system
  • Identify CPU/memory intensive processes and kill processes
  • Adjust process scheduling
  • Manage tuning profiles
  • Locate and interpret system log files and journals
  • Preserve system journals
  • Start, stop, and check the status of network services
  • Securely transfer files between systems.

Configure local storage

  • List, create, and delete partitions on GPT disks.
  • Create and remove physical volumes
  • Assign physical volumes to volume groups.
  • Create and delete logical volumes
  • Configure systems to mount file systems at boot by universally unique ID (UUID) or label.
  • Add new partitions and logical volumes, and swap to a system non-destructively

Create and configure file systems.

  • Create, mount, unmount, and use VFAT, ext4, and XFS file systems
  • Mount and unmount network file systems using NFS
  • Configure autofs
  • Extend existing logical volumes
  • Diagnose and correct file permission problems

Deploy, configure, and maintain systems

  • Schedule tasks using at, cron and systemd timer units.
  • Start and stop services and configure services to start automatically at boot
  • Configure systems to boot into a specific target automatically
  • Configure time service client
  • Install and update software packages from Red Hat Content Delivery Network, a remote repository, or from the local file system
  • Modify the system bootloader

Manage basic networking

  • Configure IPv4 and IPv6 addresses

  • Configure hostname resolution

  • Configure network services to start automatically at boot

  • Restrict network access using firewalld and firewall-cmd

Manage users and groups

  • Create, delete, and modify local user accounts
  • Change passwords and adjust password aging for local user accounts
  • Create, delete, and modify local groups and group memberships
  • Configure privileged access

Manage security

  • Configure firewall settings using firewall-cmd/firewalld
  • Manage default file permissions
  • Configure key-based authentication for SSH
  • Set enforcing and permissive modes for SELinux
  • List and identify SELinux file and process context
  • Restore default file contexts
  • Manage SELinux port labels
  • Use Boolean settings to modify system SELinux settings