You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June, 2007.
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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.”
RHEL 5 features SElinux installed by default. SElinux has the ability to protect every file on your system.
How is this done?
SELinux lables every file on your system with a security context. The security context is stored in the extended atrubits of the file. To view the security context for a file issue the following from a command prompt.
# ls -Z <file_name>
Replace the <file_name> with a file name. An example of the security context for resolv.conf.
Command:
# ls -Z /etc/reslov.conf
Output:
-rw-r–r– root root system_u:object_r:net_conf_t /etc/resolv.conf
The break down
Let’s focus on “system_u:object_r:net_conf_t”
On a typical setup SELinux uses 3 fields for a security context separated by colons.
user:role:type
In our example resolv.conf is a system file. We can tell this by looking at the user field of the security context. In our case system_u.
resolv.conf is an object file because it is labled as “object_r” in the role field and protected by the “net_conf_t” rule.
This is just a basic introduction into the world of SElinux, more information can be found here.
Today I registered for the RH302 Red Hat Certified Engineer exam. 3+ years of working with Red Hat products I am ready to prove my skills and add a little spice to my resume.
Why RHCE?
It will be a challenge. When looking over the prep guide for this exam, RH302 covers a wide range of services, troubleshooting, and to top it off, its all hands on. I think this is a great way to demonstrate one’s ability to preform the tasks that a certification claims to cover.
I have taken multiple choice exams in the past ( Comptia’s A+, and Network+), while a bit of a challenge, I did not feel capable of completing the objectives in the real world. The reason for this, I was able to cram for those exams and pass. In preparing for those exams, I did not touch much hardware or preform any of the tasks covered by the exams.
Not the same with the RHCE. So far in my preparation I have set up a staging server at home and configured things like SELinux, Apache, Bind, Squid, and IPtables. Using the excellent documentation provided by Red Hat and a few O’Reilly books I was able to install, configure, and understand the usage of those applications. Having to do this stuff on a live system changes the way I prepare this time around.
In short cramming won’t cut it.
Plan of attack
My first plan was to sign up for the “official” Red Hat training course, but I feel that $2000.00 for 4 days of training was not for me. What to do with the money saved? Well, it went to Dell, Red Hat and Amazon.
Even with all that is available on-line I like a book on my desk. Right now I am reading “Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Administration Unleashed” by Tammy Fox. This great book covers a lot of information with examples in an easy to read format, I highly recommend it. I also ordered the “RHCE Red Hat Certified Engineer Linux Study Guide“, by Michael Jang, updated for RHEL 5. The last edition which covered RHEL 3, though outdated, the step-by-step examples and explanations are priceless.
Next a Dell Optiplex 320 dedicated as a server running RHEL5 AS (Educator Discount). For a client I am using an existing Macbook Pro. I am one of the rare people that has removed OS X completely and installed RHEL5 Workstation instead (I will save that for another post).
Putting it all together, lots of documentation ($140), a test lab ($449), and I was able to register for the exam ($749) with money left over. Sitting for the exam mid August gives me a couple of months to take my current experience, fill in the gaps, and become a RHCE.
Today I became a Red Hat share holder. I like its business model, and ability to take the best that open source has to offer, package it, support it, and turn a profit.
With the introduction of The Red Hat Command Center and the Red Hat Exchange, Red Hat is headed in the right direction, building a complete business ecosystem along the way.
What makes a good business ecosystem?
There has to be something in it for everyone. For IT professionals, Red Hat provides training and certification. For the fast moving, “free” Linux community, there is Fedora. RHEL and JBOSS target corporations that rely on enterprise software, and doubles as a platform for independent software companies to develop, certify, and deliver “enterprise” grade, open source solutions.
The key word here is profit. In order for this ecosystem to survive, people have to turn a profit. We go to work to make a profit, and volunteer our spare time to help others for free. Most people work more hours than they volunteer, and there is nothing wrong with that. I believe Red Hat has taken this approach to free software. Red Hat earns a living, meaning the employees that clock in and support their families, and volunteers by giving back to the community (Fedora, code, etc ).
That’s a healthy ecosystem. No one is left out.
I promote Red Hat, and have invested at lot of time learning GNU/Linux “the Red Hat way”. So I took a position in the company, and put my money where my mouth is.
