I have been enlighted, and so shall you. This sums up the history of Unix and the roots of Linux.
I was temped to go out and get OS X Leopard, the new update from Apple. Then I had to stop myself and ask, “Do you really need it ?”
The truth is I don’t.
I often return to OS X just to realize that all the things I need are available to me on Linux. Sure with a little work I could get OS X to work a little more like Linux. I mean the main things I enjoy are a terminal with tabs, gnu utilities, and access to lots of open-source software. All things that I can have on OS X. One thing, I don’t like chasing down software.
Some will say that it’s simple to install software on OS X, and it is. But after using a package manager, such as yum, one gets a little spoiled. For example using OS X, if I want to install a new program such as a different version of apache, I have to chase down the dmg file and double click my way through an install.
Easy, but not my style.
With Red Hat, its just a “yum install httpd” and I am on my way. The OS X approach is OK for one or two programs, but when I want to try out many things at once, its nice to be able to add them like this “yum install httpd dhcpd gcc firefox2 sendmail gimp”. Well you get the picture.
Don’t get me wrong, OS X is the best desktop in the game by far, but when it comes to using pure open-source software, and keeping with the UNIX philosophy, I think Linux wins hands down. I do have a bias towards using the command-line for system admin tasks, and I really prefer using the “RedHat” way of doing things. We I guess that means I will have Linux on my MacBook Pro.
Taking a break from sysadmin work, I want to learn a little programming. It seems that the C programming language plays a huge role in the Linux history and community so that will be my language of choice. The last couple of weeks I have spent some time learning C using the C for Dummies book written by Dan Gookin.
So far so good. The book has a slow pace that I do enjoy, the book makes sure you learn the basics by repeating key topics. This approach may drive some people crazy. I find it rather refreshing knowing that the author understands that we are “learning”.
Having a good background writing shell scripts, I find that learning C is a lot easier than I thought. It’s nice to see where at lot of other languages get their idea’s from. It also helps me understand a little more about how Linux works, and what “Open Source” is all about. It’s cool to have the source code, but it’s even better if you can do something with it.
Using the group password is good for giving a user temporary access to files and directories that are owned by a particular group.
When to use?
Suppose you have a folder that is owned by a group of users all members of the same group. In this case we use “testgroup” as the group name. Lets say later you want the flexibility of giving a user that is not a member of the “testgroup” access with out adding him as a member of the group.
You can setup a group password that will grant you this level of flexibility. Below is an example of setting up a group, enabling a group password, listing the groups you are apart of, and finally changing your group membership.
Here is a good example:
[root@rhel5 ~]# groupadd testgroup
[root@rhel5 ~]# gpasswd testgroup
Changing the password for group testgroup
New Password:
Re-enter new password:
[root@rhel5 ~]# su – khightower
[khightower@rhel5 ~]$ groups
khightower
[khightower@rhel5 ~]$ newgrp testgroup
Password:
[khightower@rhel5 ~]$ groups
testgroup khightower
[khightower@rhel5 ~]$ exit
exit
[khightower@rhel5 ~]$ groups
khightower
[khightower@rhel5 ~]$
You can tell from the commands that a new group “testgroup” was created by the root user. A password was then assigned to the “testgroup”.
I switched to another user (khightower) account that is not a member of “testgroup”. Next I list my current group membership with the groups command.
Then change to the “testgroup” using the following:
[khightower@rhel5 ~]$ newgrp testgroup
*If you are not listed as a member of the group you are changing to, you must supply a password.
When finished, you can enter “exit”, and return to your normal group. I then used the groups command again to list my current group membership.
Talk about “copy and paste”. Not only has Oracle taken Red Hat Enterprise Linux and turned it into Unbreakable Linux. They now have a certification that is similar to that of Red Hat’s RHCE. After reviewing the details, it seems the exams will be in the more traditional format of multiple choice.
The exams seem to cover a lot of material. I guess you can with a multiple choice exam.
There are currently 2 levels of certifications being developed.
- Oracle Enterprise Linux Administrator Certified Associate
- Oracle Enterprise Linux Administrator Certified Professional
To attract RHCT’s to the new exams, Oracle is giving credit for the prerequisite exam “Enterprise Linux Fundamentals 1Z0-402“. The similarities don’t stop there. Oracle will soon offer 4 day instructor led training courses as well.
This may be be good news, as we all know competition can produce a better product in the long run. It seems that Oracle is serious about Linux, and plans to give Red Hat a run for their money.
I have taken the on-line Red Hat Linux System Administration Series (RH133) course from RedHat. I wanted to take this course in preparation for my RHCT exam. As it turns out, the course was not updated for RHEL 5 and I received a refund.
I did take some time and go through the course and it’s very well written, and covers a lot of info. But for $1600, I would like something that’s up-to-date. You know, get my money’s worth.
I would like to try the on-line course for the RH253 Red Linux Networking Services and Security Series (RH253). I am just worried about it being targeted for RHEL4 as well.
Has anyone taken this course?
Is it updated for RHEL 5?
I decied to take the RHCT before my RHCE so that I could get a feel for the test. Can’t talk about the exam, but I can say I passed!
Here’s the cool link to prove it.
Certificate Verification
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There are plenty of Fedora user groups out there.
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I what to help grow the “professional” Linux workforce and focus on training, certification, and enterprise level services.
- Provide a learning hub for those with an interest in enterprise computing (clusters, GFS, LDAP, iptables, DNS, etc)
I come from a background that was not exposed to GNU, Linux, programming, and the Free Software movement. I am sure many can say the same. I was drawn to Linux because it was “Free Software”. I am free to take the source code, modify it, redistribute, and learn from it. In order for people to take advantage of those freedoms, we must learn the skills necessary to leverage them.
Most users know how to change the owner of a file using:
# chown <username> <filename>
and changing the group:
# chgrp <groupname> <filename>
You can combine the 2 commands into one and change the group and owner at the same time:
# chown <username>.<groupname> <filename>
Note the period between <username> and <groupname>.
Check outs Red Hats new social website Mugshot, and while your at it, get your mugshot!
“Mugshot makes it easy to keep up with what your friends are doing online at different sites, all in one place.”
