• Online, Self-Paced
Course Description

A Linux system administrator needs to know how to configure the time, e-mail, printing, and logging features of a Linux system. In this course, you will learn about four of the essential services almost all Linux servers and clients will have configured: NTP time synchronization for accurate time, Mail Transfer Agents for e-mail, CUPS for printing, and the system logger to manage log messages. This course also covers configuring GUI interfaces using X server. This course is one of a series in the Skillsoft learning path that covers the objectives for the CompTIA Linux+ exams LX0-104.

Learning Objectives

Maintain System Time

  • start the course
  • configure the system date and time
  • set the hardware clock to the correct time in UTC
  • configure the timezone for a system
  • configure the basic settings for the NTP daemon
  • use the pool.ntp.org resource to maintain the time on a system
  • describe the basic use of the ntpq command

System Logging

  • describe the basic function of syslog and its configuration files
  • describe the purpose for Facility, Priority, and Actions for parsing log messages
  • configure logrotate to manage log file rotating
  • describe the purpose and usage of journalctl
  • distinguish between the different Syslog alternatives Rsyslog and Syslog-ng

Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) Basics

  • describe a Mail Transfer Agent and create e-mail aliases
  • use the basic mail reader tool and configure e-mail forwarding
  • distinguish between different MTA alternatives postfix, sendmail, qmail, and exim

Manage Printers and Printing

  • describe how to do basic CUPS configuration for local and remote printers
  • use CUPS tools and utilities to manage user print queues
  • describe how to troubleshoot general printing problems
  • use CUPS tool and utilities to add and remove jobs from configured printer queues

Install and Configure X11

  • describe how to determine if a video card and monitor are supported by an X server
  • describe the purpose of the X Font server
  • perform DISPLAY redirection and use X tools to display information about windows
  • identify and distinguish the sections of the X configuration file

Set up a Display Manager

  • describe how to configure the Light Display Manager (LightDM)
  • perform the actions required to turn the display manager on or off
  • configure the greeting properties for the display manager
  • identify the differences between the X, KDE, and Gnome Display Managers (GDM)

Practice: Manage Systems Services

  • configure system time, e-mail, printing, and logging in Linux

Framework Connections

The materials within this course focus on the Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs) identified within the Specialty Areas listed below. Click to view Specialty Area details within the interactive National Cybersecurity Workforce Framework.