LPI General Linux II Exam Cram
Authors: Emmett A. Dulaney, Chris Hare
Venue:  (2001)

From the Book:Welcome to LPI General Linux II Exam Cram! This book aims to help you get ready to take-and pass-the LPI certification exam 102. This Introduction explains LPI's certification programs in general and talks about how the Exam Cram series can help you prepare for LPI's certification exams. Exam Cram books help you understand and appreciate the subjects and materials that you need to pass LPI certification exams. Exam Cram books are aimed strictly at test preparation and review. As such, they do not teach you everything you need to know about a topic (such as the ins and outs of building your own servers). Instead, we present and dissect the questions and problems that you're likely to encounter on a test. I've worked from LPI's own objectives, preparation guides, and tests. My aim is to consolidate as much information as possible about LPI certification exams. Nevertheless, to completely prepare yourself for any LPI test, you should begin by taking the self-assessment that's included in this book. This tool will help you evaluate your knowledge base against the requirements for the actual exam under both ideal and real circumstances. Based on what you learn from the assessment, you might decide to begin your studies with some classroom training, or you might pick up and read one of the many Linux guides that are available from third-party vendors. We strongly recommend that you also install and configure the software and tools that you'll be tested on, because nothing beats hands-on experience and familiarity when it comes to understanding the questions you're likely to encounter on a certification test. Book learning is essential, but hands-on experience is the best teacher of all. The Linux Professional Institute Cerification (LPIC) Program LPI certification comprises three levels, and each level consists of two exams. There is no time limit governing when the exams must be taken, or the order in which they must be taken, but you must pass both of the exams within each level to be certified at that level. Many of the higher-level exams are currently under development, and the best place to keep tabs on the program and its various certifications is on the LPI Web site. (The current URL for the LPI program is www.lpi.org.) Before undertaking any certification venture, you should make certain that you have the latest and most accurate information about the organization's certification programs. Taking a Certification Exam Alas, testing is not free. The current cost (which is always subject to change) is $100 per exam, and the exams are offered through VUE testing centers (www.vue.com). Although VUE is flexible about scheduling, it is best to call at least ten days in advance. Exam seats are limited and might be booked solid around the time you realize you are ready for the test. To cancel or reschedule an exam, you should call at least two days before the scheduled test time to receive any sort of refund. When calling to schedule, please have the following information ready for the staff member who handles your call: Your name, social security number (if applicable), organization, and mailing address. A method of payment. (The most convenient approach is to supply a valid credit card number with sufficient available credit. Otherwise, payments by check, money order, or purchase order must be received before a test can be scheduled. If the latter methods are required, ask the staff member for more details.) On the day of the test, arrive at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time. You must bring and supply two forms of identification, one of which must be a photo ID. All exams are completely closed-book. In fact, you will be required to stow anything you brought with you under your desk. You will be furnished with a blank sheet of paper, a pencil, and any other tools you might need for your exam. We suggest that you immediately write down on that sheet of paper all the information you've memorized for the test. When you complete an exam, you'll get an immediate printout of your results and know whether you passed or not. All exam components are scored on a percentage basis. How to Prepare for an Exam Preparing for any Linux exam requires that you obtain and study materials that are designed to provide comprehensive information about Linux and the specific exam for which you are preparing. The following list of materials will help you study and prepare. A vendor's Linux manuals (or online documentation found on their Web site). This should be available for the vendor's version you are running (be it OpenLinux from Caldera, Red Hat, Debian, or any other). The Linux Documentation Project (online resource found at www.linuxdoc.org/). Study guides. Several publishers, including The Coriolis Group, offer Linux titles. The Coriolis Group series includes the following: The Exam Cram series-These books give you information about the material you need to know to pass the tests. The Exam Prep series-These books provide a greater level of detail than do the Exam Cram books and are designed to teach you everything you need to know from an exam perspective. Each book comes with a CD that contains interactive practice exams in a variety of testing formats. Together, the two series make a perfect pair. Check ExamCram.com for additional products from Coriolis. You'll find that this book complements your studying and preparation for the exam, either on your own or with the aid of the previously mentioned study programs. In the section that follows, I'll explain how this book works and why this book is a part of the required and recommended materials list. About This Book Each topical Exam Cram chapter follows a regular structure, along with graphical cues about important or useful information. Here's the structure of a typical chapter: Opening hotlists-Each chapter begins with a list of the terms, tools, and techniques that you must learn and understand before you can be fully conversant with that chapter's subject matter. These hotlists are followed by one or two introductory paragraphs to set the stage for the rest of the chapter. Topical coverage-After the opening hotlists, each chapter covers a series of topics related to the chapter's subject. Throughout this section, we highlight important topics or concepts as Exam Alerts, like this: This is what an Exam Alert looks like. Normally, an Exam Alert stresses concepts, terms, software, or activities that are likely to relate to one or more certification test questions. For that reason, any information found offset in this Exam Alert format is worthy of unusual attentiveness on your part. Indeed, most of the information that appears on the Cram Sheet appears as Exam Alerts within the text. Pay close attention to material flagged as an Exam Alert; although all the information in this book pertains to what you need to know to pass the exam, we flag certain items that are really important. You'll find what appears in the meat of each chapter to be worth knowing, too, when preparing for the test. Because this book's material is very condensed, we recommend that you use this book along with other resources to achieve the maximum benefit. In addition to the Exam Alerts, we have provided occasional notes that will help build a better foundation for Linux knowledge. Although the information might not be on the exam, it is certainly related and will help you become a better test taker. This is how tips are formatted. Keep your eyes open for these, and you'll become a Linux guru in no time. Practice questions-This section presents a series of mock test questions and explanations of both correct and incorrect answers. Details and resources-Every chapter ends with a section titled "Need to Know More?" which provides direct pointers to third-party resources offering more details on the chapter's subject. If you find a resource you like in this collection, use it, but don't feel compelled to use all the resources. On the other hand, we recommend only those resources that we use on a regular basis, so none of my recommendations will be a waste of your time or money. (But purchasing them all at once probably represents quite an expense to many network administrators and would be hard to justify.) The bulk of the book slavishly follows this chapter structure, but there are a few other elements that I'd like to point out. Chapter 14 includes a sample written test that provides a good review of the material presented throughout the book to ensure that you're ready for the exam. Chapter 15 is an answer key to this sample test. Additionally, you'll find a glossary that explains terms and an index that you can use to track down terms as they appear in the text. Finally, the tear-out Cram Sheet attached next to the inside front cover of this Exam Cram book represents a condensed and compiled collection of facts and tips that We think you should memorize before taking the test. Because you can dump this information out of your head onto a piece of paper before answering any exam questions, you can master this information by brute force. You need to remember it only long enough to write it down when you walk into the test room. You might even want to look at it in the car or in the lobby of the testing center just before you walk in to take the test. How to Use this Book If you're prepping for a first-time test, keep in mind that I've structured the topics in this book to build upon one another. Therefore, some topics in later chapters make more sense after you've read earlier chapters. That's why we suggest you read this book from front to back for your initial test preparation. If you need to brush up on a topic or you have to bone up for a second try, use the index or table of contents to go straight to the topics and questions that you need to study. Beyond the tests, we think you'll find this book useful as a tightly focused reference to some of the most important aspects of Linux. Given all the book's elements and its specialized focus, I've tried to create a tool that will help you prepare for-and pass-LPI's exam 102. Please share your feedback on the book with me, especially if you have ideas about how we can improve it for future test-takers. Please send your questions or comments to The Coriolis Group at learn@examcram.com or to the author at edulaney@iquest.net. Please remember to include the title of the book in your message; otherwise, we'll be forced to guess which book you're writing about. Also, be sure to check out the Web page at www.examcram.com, where you'll find information updates, commentary, and clarifications on documents for each book. You can either read this material online or download it for use later on. Thanks, and enjoy the book!