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Hello, Seeking advice concerning what a Linux admin would need in regard to certs and what knowledge would one need to feel comfortable in that admin position? I have passed courses in Unix and Linux, The Linux course was beginner and also advanced Linux. , I took these courses years ago, and have been working the last 10 years in mostly windows environments.

I just put together 2 boxes to install Linux on. I am wondering what is the best flavor to install. I still have books such as Linux guide to Linux certification and I am currently 3/4 of the way through it. This book is kind of dated though but it refreshed my Linux skills. I am working on my scripting currently.

Any help pointing me in the right direction as to what I should be studying, what I should concentrate on, which Certs to obtain, and/or what the current Linux admin should know would be greatly appreciated. Which version of Linux is best to work on. What should I concentrate my time learning. If there are any Linux admins out there that can offer up any advice, again I would greatly appreciate it.

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For getting a job, RHEL is the leading Linux distro. For home, that means CentOS as they are identical. Get CentOS 7 loaded up and play around.

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Ubuntu is very up and coming and lots of cloud environments are using it. So worth getting to know some too. But it is a small number of the available jobs.

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Suse is the other big distro, especially big outside of the US. Worth knowing. It’s possibly my favourite but I get the least time to work on it.

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Do projects on Linux. Certs aren’t bad but they don’t tend to be how Linux people get hired. That’s much more of a Windows / Cisco thing. Outside of the Windows and Cisco worlds, certs play a much more minor role.

Find things to do in Linux and run lots of systems at home. Build file servers, email servers, web servers, database servers, jump boxes, etc.

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If you are looking to get certified look at the CompTIA Linux+ powered by LPI 3-in-1 certification path. Passing 2 exams gets you Linux+, LPIC-1, and SUSE CLA certifications.

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Also take a look at the Introduction to Linux course on EdX. It is sponsored by the Linux Foundation and provides an up-to-date curriculum relevant to current linux distributions.

One of my favorite YouTube channels to follow is that of The Urban Penguin. He has a lot of excellent material on LPIC and is one of the primary instructors for a lot of Pluralsight’s Linux-related content.

Professor Messer also has quite a bit of Linux+ related content to peruse, though it looks like it might be getting dated.

http://www.professormesser.com/category/linux-plus/

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Also RHCE is probably the most recognized Linux Expert level certification. The other would probably be LPIC-3. You could always follow those paths if that is truly your interest, but on the Linux side, experience is the best teacher. Especially experience you can document on your resume in order to make yourself appealing to potential employers.

I’d work with CentOS as your learning distro. Go strictly command line. Learn vi. Find projects to do that challenge you. You’ll learn that way.

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I was just reading about this, Thank you… Some article said the Main Dev/admin for CentOs was AWOL… Was he ever found? LOL just curious… Hope he was just on a WoW binge and nothing serious befell the poor fellow.

Thanks I am looking into CentOs right now.

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Scott,

Thank You for your reply. I have a job opportunity through a friend in mind. Basically they need someone to just load / maintain their Linux installs… Software installs are done by Engineers. Maybe I do IP addressing, Patches, Updates, Packages type of job. It is a Big company so my position is very specific… cog in wheel type of job where I do only certain things. She does not know exactly what they run or job description is so I am trying to cover bases and prepare myself.

I will load Ubuntu on a box and refresh my skills moving around in it. Also RHEL has a 30 day trial I see. Things have changed since I first got into Linux… Work has me elsewhere these past years. Thanks for the update on Suse as well. I understand and your right in regards to windows and Cisco certs Vs Linux. I do 100% plan to install and network and do ANYTHING i can to get a mix of flavors on a network and move around. I am putting my old " Test/learn" network together… Cisco Router and Switch i bought used, Sparc station/Server I got used… a bunch of Linux boxes along with my Windows Servers and Desktops/Laptops.

That how I learned and got certified years ago. Think Its time to do it again.

Thank You for all your help.

Mike

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I think I am supposed to be a Linux System Admin but I end up doing so many different things - I am not sure I’d classify it that way. We run lots of our software on Linux systems – but once you get that part done, they run like they do in Windows. I actually find Linux systems easier to use most times even without the gui.

I end up scripting with shell script or perl to automate tasks. I set up ftp servers, web platforms (apache, tomcat, weblogic, ohs, etc), and other proprietary software.

Setup a web system that you can use to document your projects. Setup e-mail on it so it can send out e-mail messages to yourself. Try setting up OpenLDAP and use it to authenticate your document app. Then create some scripts to pull information on from your document app’s db. Move that information to another linux server and a windows server. Import it into another db. Make it do this without your intervention.

Sounds fun right.

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Thanks! I was wondering what the new certs are that are needed. I like that 3-1 idea. I know I am going for my Linux+. That is for me personally, whether or not it is needed for a job. That was something I should have done years ago and did not. Regrets suck. Time to finish.

Thanks again!

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Thank You… Sound advice. I remember VI and only learned command line… That is all I know. I logged in a few times to GUI but when I learned it was Command line. When I finished school years ago I had advanced Linux, Scripting, and was actually very good with it. Best in my class… i just got sidetracked and have been working Windows/Cisco for last 13 years. I have all my old books and am going through them but I need to know what I need NOW in 2015.

CentOs Command line… projects… That is what I will do…

Thank You sir.

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I found EdX a few days ago and I am using it. I am doing the intro to Linux course just to refresh my memory. Thanks for info on

http://theurbanpenguin.com/ The site unavailable currently but I will look into the Urban Penguin for sure.

Thank You!

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If/When you get hired look at FOG for imaging. It does a spectacular job with Linux boxes now. Load it up on your favorite flavor and get a little more experience plus an imaging solution to-boot. If most of what your going to be doing is building base machines for the engineers, make it a fast build. I can drop a Linux image of 5-6gigs in about 1.5 minutes. Makes cranking out machines easy.

If nothing else it gives you practical experience and a good project to start with.

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OpenLdap sounds like fun,., Ldap is fun on Active Directory already, on Linux it must be just awesome :slight_smile: … Yeah that is where I think I need to be, I want to make sure I am ready when/If I take this admin job. Thanks for your advice, it does make a lot of sense. I agree that is the best way to learn. I need to do projects and document them. Yes getting email working is definitely on my list also.,

Thanks for your help… much appreciated.

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Dan I have Solaris 8 … A big box with tons of software and also Solaris 10 CD. A have a really old sparc station and Sparc server / Sun monitor. Ancient stuff. I noticed you said you setup proprietary software and web apps, web servers, Apache, FTP etc…so…

Is there anything to gain in my setting up Solaris 8 and and Solaris 10? I do not know if I need to install and familiarize myself with Solaris. My hardware was ancient when I got it 10 years ago. I do not even know if it would work… I can look and see if Solaris 8 and/or Solaris 10 can load on a regular computer or see if there is emulator type hardware…

Any thoughts on Solaris 8? I know it is WAY past its time,. But I have all these CD’s for developer software and just tons of stuff… worth installing just for the value of experience installing? How about Solaris 10? 10 years have gone by I guess since I first starting installing Solaris 8. I started installing and playing with it but got hired and was so busy back then I never did anything with it. Is there any value in Solaris 10 software as far as me installing it? I did some light reading and I know Solaris 11 is out, did that make Solaris 10 obsolete?

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Jim.

I believe they have a jumpstart and/or kickstart servers… My friend said she knows they use something to load OS’s so I am guessing Jumpstart/Kickstart. If not I will definitely look into FOG. Actually I will look into myself since it is the new thing. I need to learn all the new stuff as my 10-12 year old knowledge needs updating.

Thanks man.

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A good initial project: install a wiki for your home or office.

https://www.dokuwiki.org/install

i’ve got one running now on Ubuntu Server; it was a fantastic learning experience for me.

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YAS2T on open suse is really amazing and worth playing around with even if you don’t get any formal training on it.

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