Welcome Aboard
Welcome to the online modules used in the Linux workstations administation taught in the Information Technology Division at the University of South Florida.
The videos, web resources & assignments in this mini-site are meant to allow students who took our User-Level Intro to Linux to explore the Linux operating system & to learn system administration tools and techniques suitable for managing their own Linux workstation or standalone server.
This offering will go much more into Linux system administration than the previous. It is therefore suitable for any student interested in working as a Linux system administrator. However, it is also relevant to students who will work in any capacity on a Linux environment and want to, or might be in charge of, administrating their own environment. With the advent of virtualization, it is not unlikely for developers to deploy several Linux environment to test their software even without being administrators.
This material is using the CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide from Roderick W. Smith, published by Wiley.
Take a look at the "About..." section for more information about other offerings you might be interested in to further develop different Linux skills after this introductory material.
What will you find on this site?
Before we start, it is worth mentioning that this material is meant to be used in an actual offering, either fully online or hybrid with some face-to-face teaching time. Therefore, you will find that many practice activities are meant for students to ask questions to their instructor instead of simply working on them in isolation.
If you are browsing this material without such a support setting, you might find it benefitial to work with others in order to make the best out of our practice assignments or discussion activities.
You will find eleven modules in the left navigation panel. Each is expected to be tackled in about a week of work, e.g. about 12 hours of work part time.
Inside each modules, you will find the following types of material;
- Videos either lecturing on the topic or demonstrating the use of some of the tools mentioned.
- Reading assignments from the textbook we are using
- DF discussion forums assignments meant to help students without prior experience with Linux to grasp key concepts such as open source, GUI vs. CLI...
- PA practice assignments which supplement the readings & videos by having students explore independently some specific topics. This kind of exploration requires a lot of trial & error but is essentials in developing the students ability to retrieve relevant technical information and leverage it to address a never-seen-before problem. This skill is quintessential to the Linux professional & needs to be honed with lots of practice, not by just lecturing about how to do it. This being said, as you work on your PAs, your instructor is a resource you should use frequently! He or she will be able to help you with technical issues which might hinder you along the way but, more importantly, also correct the manner in which you are working on these problems. This is how you will progressively acquire the target skills.
- study guides which provide you with a series of questions on reading assignments or other material from the module. These are essentials in helping you take a more active learning stance when studying. Everyone misses something when reading a chapter or watching a video. Besides reviewing the material several times, it is also a good idea to look at it critically. Since you are new to Linux, you will have problems coming with critical questions on the material for the first weeks. These study guides list already-prepared questions to not only allow you to test your understanding of the material but also help you develop the ability to formulate questions about the material you study. This skill is also invaluable in IT where most professionals spend a lot of time learning on their own, from technical references, new skills.
Welcome again to the world of Linux & Open source, enjoy your learning