Franske CNT-2311 Labs

Chapter 1

• Demonstrate directory navigation and other basic shell tasks
• Demonstrate use of environment variables
• Demonstrate methods of getting help for a command in Linux
• Demonstrate redirection and piping
• Demonstrate use of all text processing commands

Chapter 2

1. Install Fedora as a second virtual machine
   1. Download an RPM file for a program in Fedora
   2. Use the RPM utility to query for information about the RPM package
   3. Install a program using RPM in Fedora
   4. Download and install a program using YUM in Fedora
2. Download and install a program using apt-get or aptitude in Ubuntu
3. Use ldd to get information about what libraries a program uses
4. Use ps and top to view processes running on the system
5. Use job control to start and stop jobs as well as run jobs in the background and list all currently running jobs

Chapter 3

1. Experiment with viewing data about system hardware and driers using the following utilities
   • cat /proc/interrupts
   • cat /proc/ioports
   • cat /proc/dma
   • lspci
   • lsmod
   • lsusb
   • dmesg
2. Create a new virtual hard drive file and add it as a secondary hard drive to your Linux VM
3. Partition the second hard drive into multiple partitions
4. Format the partitions on the second hard drive
5. Mount and unmount the formatted partitions to various mountpoints you have created within your filesystem

Chapter 4

1. Use the ls command to list files in a directory
   • Use the -a and -l options to get a long file listing and one that includes hidden files
   • Display the file types as part of the listing
2. Use the cp command to try copying files and entire directories from one location to another
3. Use the mv command to try moving files and entire directories from one location to another
4. Use the rm command to try deleting files and entire directories
5. Use the touch command to modify file access times
6. Use the tar utility to backup a folder and all the files it contains into a single gzipped tar file
   • Extract your gzipped tar file to some other location on your drive
7. Use the ln utility to create hard and soft links to files in other places on your system
8. Use the mkdir and rmdir commands to create and remove directories on your system
9. Use the chown command to change the owner AND group of a file and of a directory plus all the files it contains (recursively)
10. Use the chgrp command to change just the group of a file
11. Use the chmod command to change the permissions on a file or directory using both octal and symbolic modes
12. Use the locate, find, whereis, which and type commands to try finding files on your system

Chapter 5

1. Identify and explore the GRUB configuration file on your system
2. Use the dmesg utility to display the kernel ring buffer on your system
3. Use the init command to switch between text-mod and GUI interfaces on a Fedora system
   1. Use the runlevel command to display the current runlevel and verify that it is changing
4. Explore the inittab file (and it's Upstart replacement used in Ubuntu)
5. View the SysV startup scripts installed on your system and check which ones are setup to start and stop at each of the runlevels
6. Use the chkconfig command to list services running at each runlevel on your system
7. Try shutting down and restarting your system using the shutdown command in combination with a shutdown timer
8. Use Vi to create and edit a file, including:
   • Yanking and pasting lines and groups of lines
   • Deleting groups of lines at a time
   • Searching and replacing text
   • Saving and quitting

Chapter 6

1. Use the Xorg -configure command to create a xorg.conf file and review the sections found in that file
2. Attempt to change the X resolution through the xorg.conf file
   • If you are unable to change the resolution in the xorg.conf file try changing it through a GUI monitor resolution tool
3. Try out several accessibility options in X, for example:
   • Sticky Keys
   • Slow Keys
   • Bounce Keys
   • Mouse Keys / Mouse Navigation Emulation
   • Dwell Click / Simulated Mouse Clicks
4. Check the locales installed on your system with the locale -a command
5. Change the current locale (including switching the character encoding method if you have a locale with a different encoding method installed) and timezone of your system
   1. Create a new text file while in a different character encoding mode
   2. Change your locale and timezone back to their original settings
   3. Use the iconv program to convert the text file you created to your default character encoding method

Chapter 7

1. Users and Groups
   1. Create new users on the system
   2. Create new groups on the system
   3. Explore the /etc/passwd, /etc/group and /etc/shadow files
   4. Change the password of the current user
   5. Change the password of another user as Root
   6. Use the chown and chgrp commands to change the owner and group associated with files and folders
   7. Remove users from the system
2. Explore the system logging settings in /etc/syslog.conf and /etc/logrotate.conf
3. Review system logfiles
4. Manually set the system date and time
5. Configure NTP to automatically update the system date and time
6. Setup a system and user cron job to run a scheduled task

Chapter 8

1. Check network interface configurations with ifconfig
2. Set the system hostname (temporairly with hostname and permanently with /etc/hostname)
3. Resovle DNS names with nslookup, host and dig
4. Explore system name resolution settings in /etc/hosts, /etc/resolv.conf and /etc/nsswitch.conf
5. Configure a network interface in both Ubuntu and Fedora using graphical and text only modes for DHCP and for a static address
6. Stop and start a network interface to apply settings
7. Explore the system routing table
8. Enable IP Forwarding
9. Test system connectivity
   1. With the ping command
   2. With the traceroute command
   3. With the netstat command
   4. With the telnet or ftp utilities
10. Examine network traffic with the tcpdump utility

Chapter 9

1. Try viewing some of the predefined environment variables
2. Try setting an environment variable of your own and then viewing it
3. Create an alias for a command and they try using it
4. Explore the global and per-user shell configuration files
5. Write a basic shell script, make it executable and test it out
6. Try writing a shell script using conditionals, loops or functions and then test it out
7. Setup one of the email server programs such as Postfix on your system for local mail delivery
8. Try sending messages between users of your system using the command line as well as a graphical client
9. Create an e-mail alias which directs mail to one or more users on your system and test it out
10. Install the MySQL server on your system and work through all the MySQL commands from p.456 to p.465

Chapter 10

1. Install the xinetd super server and explore the configuration files
2. Use the netstat and lsof commands to check open ports on your system
3. Install the nmap scanner and try running a scan on your own system (127.0.0.1)
4. Setup the sudo program to allow limited access to run commands as root for various users on your system and try this out
5. Search your system for all SUID/SGID files
6. Install the SSH server on your systems and try SSHing from one system to another
7. Try copying files between systems with SCP
8. Try to setup SSH to use authorized_keys instead of passwords for one of your users
9. Install GPG and create a key for your user
10. Try encrypting and decrypting a text file using GPG