Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) EX200 Study Guide

Study Guide for EX200

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Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) EX200 Study Guide

Understand and use essential tools

Access a shell prompt and issue commands with correct syntax.
Open a shell by going to:
Applications | System Tools | Konsole

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

> Directs output to a file or device (overwrites if the file exists
Example
# cat /etc/testdata.txt | grep fail > failures.txt
< Directs input from the file or device
>> Appends output or text to a file (creates if the file doesnt exist)
| Redirects the output of one command to another

Use grep and regular expressions to analyze text.

# cat foobar.txt | grep text

Access remote systems using ssh and VNC.

# ssh 192.168.1.100 -l USERNAME
# vncviewer 192.168.1.100

Log in and switch users in multiuser runlevels.

Switch user: # su <username>
Switch to user to root: # su - or # su root

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Archive, compress, unpack, and uncompress files using tar, star, gzip, and
bzip2.
Uncompress tar: # tar -xvf file.tar
Unpack zipped tarball: # tar -xzvf file.tar.gz
Uncompress gzip: # gunzip file.gz
Uncompress bzip2: # bunzip2 file.bz2
Uncompress star: # star -xv f=/tmp/file.star

Create and edit text files.

# nano TEXTFILE
# vi TEXTFILE

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

Delete file: # rm TESTFILE
Copy file: # cp TESTFILE /home/testdir/
Move file # mv TESTFILE /home/testdir/TESTFILE.bak

Create hard and soft links.

Soft link: # ln -s /test/target /test/softlink
Hard link: # ln /test/target /test/hardlink

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

# chmod ugo+rwx file.test //Ads read write execute privileges to file
# chmod ugo-rwx file.test //Removes read write execute privileges to file
# chmod 755 file.test //Ads permissions based on octal format

Locate, read, and use system documentation including man, info, and files
in /usr/share/doc.
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# man <command
# info <command> navigate to /usr/share/doc to find additional documentation
Note: Red Hat may use applications during the exam that are not included in Red Hat Enterprise
Linux for the purpose of evaluating candidates abilities to meet this objective.

Operate running systems

Boot, reboot, and shut down a system normally.
Physically power on the system
You can shutdown a system with the following commands
Shutdown Commands
# shutdown -h +<time delay in minutes> ex: shutdown -h +5 (Shuts down system in 5 min
# shutdown -h now (shutdown immediately)
# poweroff
# init 0 (Switches to runlevel 0 which shutdown the system)
# halt
Reboots Commands
# reboot
# shutdown -r +<time delay in minutes>
# shutdown -r now
# init 6 //switches to runlevel 6 which reboots the system immediately

Boot systems into different runlevels manually.

1) Boot your system and press any key within the allotted amount of time to get to the Grub
bootloader screen.
2) Select your boot OS and press a to edit the boot command
3) Add the number of the runlevel you would like to use at the end of the command to boot to
that runlevel
Example:
ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_centosvm-lv_root rd_NO_LUKS LANG=en_US.UTF-8 rd_NO_MD
quiet SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16 rhgb crashkernel=auto
rd_LVM_LV=vg_centosvm/lv_swap KEYBOARDTYPE=pc KEYTABLE=us
rd_LVM_LV=vg_centosvm/lv_root rd_NO_DM 1

The 1 at the end of the boot string will boot the system to runlevel 1
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Use single-user mode to gain access to a system.

Boot the system to runlevel 1 as shown above to gain super user (root) access in run level 1

Identify CPU/memory intensive processes, adjust process priority with

renice, and kill processes.
You can identify process with the following commands
# ps aux
# ps-ef
# ps -u <username> // shows programs running for username
# ps -o user,comm,pid,nice -u root //Gets the processes PID and Nice value for the root user
top // Shows the stop processes that are using system resources
You can kill processes with the following commands
# kill -9 <process id> //hard close of the process
# kill -15 <process id> //attempts to kill process gracefully
# killall <process name> //kills the parent and all associated child processes
Adjust process priorities
# renice <priority number> <pid>
nice priorities range from -19 to 20 with -19 being the hightest priority and -20 being the lowest.

Locate and interpret system log files.

You can find the system logs in the /var/log directory. The logs can be viewed with text viwer
commands such as cat, less and tail

Access a virtual machines console.

# virt-viewer REDHATVM

Start and stop virtual machines.

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# virsh start REDHATVM

# virsh shutdown REDHATVM (Attempts a graceful system shutdown)
# virsh destroy REDHATVM (Equivalent to turning off the system with the power button
unsaved data may be lost with this option.

Start, stop, and check the status of network services.

# service <name of service> start //example: service httpd start
# service <name of service> stop
# service <name of service> restart
# service <name of service> status
# checkconfig <name of service> on //turns on service at boot
# checkconfig <name of service> off //turns off services at boot

Configure local storage

List, create, delete, and set partition type for primary, extended, and
logical partitions.
List partitions: # fdisk -l
Delete: partitions
1) Open the drive with:
# fdisk /dev/sda
2) Press c to turn off DOS-compatible mode and the u to display units in sectors.
3) Type n for a new partition. Each disk can have 4 primary partitions which are number 1-4.
Partition 5 is the extended partition and partitions 6 X are logical partitions.
4) Press w to write the changes to the disk or q to exit without saving changes.

Create and remove physical volumes, assign physical volumes to volume

groups, and create and delete logical volumes.
Create physical volume: # pvcreate -v /dev/sda1 /dev/sda2
Create volume group: # vgcreate -v -s 32 VG01 /dev/sda1 /dev/sda2

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Create logical volume: # lvcreate -v 10g -n LV01 VG01

# lvcreate -v 15g -n LV02 VG01
Explanation:
In order to create a logical volume the first thing that needs to be done is to format the partitions
so they can be added to a volume group. This is done with the pvcreate command.
The next step is to add the physical volumes to the volume group and that is done with the
vgcreate command. The -s 32 option define the physical extent size. The physical extent size
determines the maximum size of the logical volume and the default physical extent size which
4mb. There are 65,536 physical extents available to a volume group with gives you a total size of
262,114mb or 256gb (4mb x 65,536 mb = 262,114mb) for the volume group. By setting the
extent size to 32mb the maximum size of the volume group would be 2,097,152mb or
approximately 2 terabytes (32mb x 65,536 = 2,097,152mb).
Once the volume group has been defined the next step is to add the logical volumes to the
volume group.
The volumes created in the example above will be located in /dev/VG01/LV01 and
/dev/VG01/LV02
these logical volumes can now be formatted with a file system, mounted and placed in the fstab
so that they are mounted when the system boots.

Format the Volumes

# mkfs.ext4 /dev/VG01/LV01
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/VG01/LV02
Delete Volumes
In order to remove the volumes you will need to run the following sequence of commands.
# lvremove /dev/VG01/LV01
# lvremove /dev/VG01/LV02
# vgremove /dev/VG01
# pvremove /dev/sda1 /dev/sda2

Create and configure LUKS-encrypted partitions and logical volumes to

prompt for password and mount a decrypted file system at boot.
The following procedure assumes that the dm_crypt module has been loaded. For a more
detailed explanation please see
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# cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/sda1 //formats the drive and prompts you to create a passphrase
# cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sda1 luks01 //opens drive /dev/sda1 and maps it to
/dev/mapper/luks01
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/luks01 //formats the volume with the ext4 file system.
Now that the LUKS-encrypted volume has been created and formatted it can be added to the
boot process.
Create an /etc/crypttab file.
Add the following line to the file and save it:
luks01 /dev/sda1
the crypttab file will attempt to open the encrypted volume at boot and will prompt you for a
password. If the file is successfully opened its mapped to /dev/mapper/luks01
next add the mapped volume to the fstab
/dev/mapper/luks01 /LUKS ext4 defaults 1 2

See this article for a more detailed explanation on luks encryption

http://www.linuxexplorers.com/2012/03/how-to-configure-a-luks-encrypted-partition-in-red-hatenterprise-linux-rhel-rhcsa-objective/

Configure systems to mount file systems at boot by Universally Unique ID

(UUID) or label.
Add the following line to the /etc/fstab
UUID=6a235116-5447-4c68-b14a-644196d76902 /home ext4 defaults 1 2

Add new partitions and logical volumes, and swap to a system nondestructively.
You need to be careful when editing the /etc/crypttab and /etc/fstab files. Errors could cause you
to have boot problems which my cost valuable time to troubleshoot during the exam. Double
check your work and make backup copies of the files in case you make a mistake.
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Create and configure file systems

Create, mount, unmount, and use ext2, ext3, and ext4 file systems.
Create file systems
# ext4: mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1
# ext3: mkfs.ext3 /dev/sda1
# ext2: mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda1
# mkswap /dev/sda3 //makeswap partition
Mount file system:
# mount /dev/sda1 /mountpoint
# mount -a //mounts all file systems in the /etc/fstab file
Unmount file system:
# umount /mountpoint

Mount, unmount, and use LUKS-encrypted file systems.

LUKS filesystems need to be opened before they can be mounted once opened it can be
mounted with a command such as:
#mount /dev/mapper/LUKS /home/luks_mount

Mount and unmount CIFS and NFS network file systems.

Mount NFS Volume:
# mount 192.168.1.67:/home /home/nfs_local
Mount CFS Volume
# mount -t cifs -o guest //192.168.1.70/Share /home/win_mount

Configure systems to mount ext4, LUKS-encrypted, and network file

systems automatically.
/etc/fstab entries
/dev/mapper/LUKS ext4 defaults 1 2
/dev/sda1 /home ext4 defaults 1 2
//192.168.1.70/Share /home/win_mount cifs guest,_netdev 0 0
192.168.1.67:/home /home/nfs_local nfs defaults 0 0

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Extend existing unencrypted ext4-formatted logical volumes.

# vgextend VG01 /dev/sdb1 //adds partition to volume group VG01
# lvextend -L +5g /dev/VG01/LV01 //adds 5gigs to logical volume LV01
# resize2fs -p /dev/VG01/LV01 //resizes the filesystem

Create and configure set-GID directories for collaboration.

Create a directory to be shared by a group
# mkdir /home/topsecret
# chgrp -R security /home/topsecret //changes group owner of the folder to security
# chmod 2755 /home/topsecret // Adds the GUID bit to the directory
# chmod g+s /home/topsecret //Adds the GUID bit to the directory

Create and manage Access Control Lists (ACLs).

# setfacl -m u:boss:rwx /home/bonus_payouts.txt //add the user boss to the file
# setfacl -x u:boss /home/bonus_payouts.txt //remove the user boss from the file
# setfacl -b /home/bouns_payouts.txt //removes the acl settings from the file
# getfacl /home/bonus_payouts.txt // lists the acl settings for the directory

Diagnose and correct file permission problems.

Deploy, configure, and maintain systems

Configure networking and hostname resolution statically or dynamically.

DHCP Configuration
nano /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
DEVICE="eth0"
BOOTPROTO="dhcp"
HWADDR="00:16:D4:39:5B:6F"
NM_CONTROLLED="yes"
ONBOOT="yes"

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Static IP
DEVICE="eth0"
IPADDR=192.168.1.100
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
HWADDR="00:16:D4:39:5B:6F"
NM_CONTROLLED="yes"
ONBOOT="yes"
DNS1=192.168.1.254

/etc/sysconfig/network

NETWORKING=yes
HOSTNAME=RH_PC.com
GATEWAY=192.168.1.254
# service network restart

Schedule tasks using cron

Username = tigerwoods
# crontab -e
sample entry
default entries must edited with the vi editor
*/2 * * * * touch /home/tigerwoods/win_masters{1..10}.txt
this entry creates the files win_masters1.txt, win_masters2.txt through win_masters10.txt
System crontab
/etc/crontab
The system crontab consists cron jobs for system processes. For example scripts that clean
space from users home directories.

Configure systems to boot into a specific runlevel automatically.

Edit the /etc/inittab and specify the runlevel or exit the etc/grub.conf file

Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux automatically using Kickstart.

Install a VM with kickstart
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# virt-install -n VMGUEST01 -r 2048 vcpus=1 -l /home/RHINSTALL --disk

path=/home/VM/VMGUEST01.img,size=50 -x ks=/home/ks.cfg

Options
-n Name of the VM Guest
-r Amount of RAM in MB
vcpus Number of CPUs to be used
-l location of the install files
disk d efine the location for the disk file and its size. The size is in GB
-x location of the kickstart file
This can also be done via virt-manager GUI

Configure a physical machine to host virtual guests.

# yum -y groupinstall Virtualization
# yum -y groupinstall Virtualization Client

Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems as virtual guests.

Install virtual guests via the virt-manager console or via the virt-install command

Configure systems to launch virtual machines at boot.

Configure this through the virt-manager or virt-viewer console or with the command
# virsh autostart <VM Guest>

Configure network services to start automatically at boot

# chkconfig <service> on

Configure a system to run a default configuration HTTP server.

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# yum -y install httpd

# service httpd start
# chkconfig httpd on

Configure a system to run a default configuration FTP server.

# yum -y install vsftpd
# service vsftpd start
# chkconfig vsftpd on

Install and update software packages from Red Hat Network, a remote
repository, or from the local file system.
Use yum to update and install packages.

Update the kernel package appropriately to ensure a bootable system.

Install the new kernel side by side and edit the grub bootloader
# yum -y install kernel //installs newest kernel and modifies grub to boot with new kernel

Modify the system bootloader.

Edit the /etc/grub.conf file

Manage users and groups

Create, delete, and modify local user accounts.
useradd <usrname>
usermod -a -G <groupname> <username> //adds user to a group

Change passwords and adjust password aging for local user accounts.

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passwd
# chage -M 30 tigerwoods //sets the password to expire evert 30 days for user tigerwoods
# chage -E 2012-05-31 tigerwoods //sets the password to expire on 5/31/2012 for user
tigerwoods

Create, delete, and modify local groups and group memberships.

Manually edit the /etc/group file to add groups
groupadd
groupmod
gpasswd

Configure a system to use an existing LDAP directory service for user and
group information.

Manage security
Configure firewall settings using system-config-firewall or iptables.
You can open or close ports in the firewall by editing the /etc/sysconfig/iptables file

Set enforcing and permissive modes for SELinux.

Use sestatus to determine if SELinux is in enforcing or permissive mode.
This can be done by editing the /etc/sysconfig/selinux file or with the following commands
# setenforce 1
# setenforce 0

//sets SELinux to run in enforcing mode

//sets SELinux to run in permissive move#

List and identify SELinux file and process context.

# ls -Z //lists SELinux context for directories
# ps -ef -Z //lists SELinux context for processes
# id -Z //List SELinux contexts for users
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# cp -Z <user:role:type> // directory copy SELinux context for files. If not specified the file
inherits the contex for the destination directory

Restore default file contexts.

# restorecon <filename>

Use boolean settings to modify system SELinux settings.

# getsebool -a //lists all SELinux boolean settings
# setsebool -p <boolean>=1 //turns on SELinux boolean setting
Example:
#setsebool -P samba_run_unconfined=1
settings can also be toggled with
# togglesebool <sebool>
SELinux booleans can also be configured with the system-config-selinux

Diagnose and address routine SELinux policy violations.

# sealert -a /var/log/audit/audit.log

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