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Linux Professional Institute (LPI) Linux Essentials 1.6 Exam 010-160 Overview

The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) Linux Essentials certificate exam (010-160) is designed to evaluate your fundamental knowledge in Linux and open-source technologies. This certification covers essential skills that are applicable across various Linux environments and deployment scenarios, making it a valuable credential for individuals entering the world of Linux or as a stepping stone to more advanced certifications within the LPI certification track.

To receive the Linux Essentials certificate, you must:

Possess knowledge about the Linux and open-source ecosystem, including familiarity with popular open-source applications.
Demonstrate proficiency in working with the Linux operating system, encompassing essential skills for effective command-line use.
Display a foundational grasp of security and administration aspects, including tasks like user and group management, command-line operations, and permissions management.

Exam Format

The Linux Essentials exam contains 40 questions and must be completed within 60 minutes.

Exam Objectives

Topic 1: The Linux Community and a Career in Open Source

1.1 Linux Evolution and Popular Operating Systems

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Distributions
Embedded Systems
Linux in the Cloud

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

Debian, Ubuntu (LTS)
CentOS, openSUSE, Red Hat, SUSE
Linux Mint, Scientific Linux
Raspberry Pi, Raspbian
Android

1.2 Major Open Source Applications

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Desktop applications
Server applications
Development languages
Package management tools and repositories

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

OpenOffice.org, LibreOffice, Thunderbird, Firefox, GIMP
Nextcloud, ownCloud
Apache HTTPD, NGINX, MariaDB, MySQL, NFS, Samba
C, Java, JavaScript, Perl, shell, Python, PHP
dpkg, apt-get, rpm, yum

1.3 Open Source Software and Licensing

Weight: 1

Key Knowledge Areas:

Open source philosophy
Open source licensing
Free Software Foundation (FSF), Open Source Initiative (OSI)

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

Copyleft, Permissive
GPL, BSD, Creative Commons
Free Software, Open Source Software, FOSS, FLOSS
Open source business models

1.4 ICT Skills and Working in Linux

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Desktop skills
Getting to the command line
Industry uses of Linux, cloud computing, and virtualization

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

Using a browser, privacy concerns, configuration options, searching the web and saving content
Terminal and console
Password issues
Privacy issues and tools
Use of common open source applications in presentations and projects

Topic 2: Finding Your Way on a Linux System

2.1 Command Line Basics

Weight: 3

Key Knowledge Areas:

Basic shell
Command line syntax
Variables
Quoting

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

Bash
echo
history
PATH environment variable
export
type

2.2 "Using the Command Line to Get Help

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Man pages
Info pages

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

man
info
/usr/share/doc/
locate

2.3 Using Directories and Listing Files

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Files, directories
Hidden files and directories
Home directories
Absolute and relative paths

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

Common options for ls
Recursive listings
cd
. and ..
home and ~

2.4 Creating, Moving, and Deleting Files

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Files and directories
Case sensitivity
Simple globbing

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

mv, cp, rm, touch
mkdir, rmdir

Topic 3: The Power of the Command Line

3.1 Archiving Files on the Command Line

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Files, directories
Archives, compression

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

tar
Common tar options
gzip, bzip2, xz
zip, unzip

3.2 Searching and Extracting Data from Files

Weight: 3

Key Knowledge Areas:

Command line pipes
I/O redirection
Basic Regular Expressions using ., [ ], *, and ?

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

grep
less
cat, head, tail
sort
cut
wc

3.3 Turning Commands into a Script

Weight: 4

Key Knowledge Areas:

Basic shell scripting
Awareness of common text editors (vi and nano)

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

#! (shebang)
/bin/bash
Variables
Arguments
for loops
echo
Exit status

Topic 4: The Linux Operating System

4.1 Choosing an Operating System

Weight: 1

Key Knowledge Areas:

Differences between Windows, OS X, and Linux
Distribution life cycle management

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

GUI versus command line, desktop configuration
Maintenance cycles, beta and stable

4.2 Understanding Computer Hardware

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Hardware

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

Motherboards, processors, power supplies, optical drives, peripherals
Hard drives, solid-state disks and partitions, /dev/sd*
Drivers

4.3 Where Data is Stored

Weight: 3

Key Knowledge Areas:

Programs and configuration
Processes
Memory addresses
System messaging
Logging

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

ps, top, free
syslog, dmesg
/etc/, /var/log/
/boot/, /proc/, /dev/, /sys/

4.4 Your Computer on the Network

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Internet, network, routers
Querying DNS client configuration
Querying network configuration

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

route, ip route show
ifconfig, ip addr show
netstat, ss
/etc/resolv.conf, /etc/hosts
IPv4, IPv6
ping
host

Topic 5: Security and File Permissions

5.1 Basic Security and Identifying User Types

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Various types of users on a Linux system

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

/etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/group
id, last, who, w
sudo, su

5.2 Creating Users and Groups

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Creating users and groups on a Linux system
User and group commands
User IDs

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

/etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/group, /etc/skel/
useradd, groupadd
passwd

5.3 Managing File Permissions and Ownership

Weight: 2

Key Knowledge Areas:

Understanding and manipulating file permissions and ownership settings

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

ls -l, ls -a
chmod, chown

5.4 Special Directories and Files

Weight: 1

Key Knowledge Areas:

Special directories and files on a Linux system including special permissions

Partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

/tmp/, /var/tmp/ and Sticky Bit
ls -d
ln -s

Disclaimer

This guide should not be the sole resource used as a means for passing the LPI Linux Essentials exam, nor should it be relied upon for its accuracy with regards to what may or may not appear on the exam. This guide is not endorsed, affiliated with or sponsored by the Linux Professional Institute ®.

Thorough research must be performed by all individuals wanting to take the exam, including but not limited to reviewing:

Material published by the Linux Professional Institute
man, info & /usr/share/doc files to confirm command options and configuration settings.

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