Course Pre-requisites And Outcomes
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Course Pre-requisites And Outcomes

A theory that works

In the technical world of computers today it is no longer really enough to just know or specialise in one area of technology. With the emphasis being on networking, you will need to know something of everything to really get by. (e.g. operating systems, routers and other networking equipment, system and network administration, system and network design, latest technology trends etcetera.)

You will also need knowledge of the business structure in your company. Become a technical person able or capable of enhancing the business of the company or companies that you work for - almost operating as a business yourself (self-sustaining and self-enhancing).

Some examples would be:

  • Regular operating system maintenance will ensure good solid and consistent performance - this could save the business a lot of money.

  • Another example would be that if you know the Open Source and Free Software products available you could advise your company to go with that solution rather than a propriety solution and this could go a long way to ensuring that the business saves money.

  • Think laterally and carefully when supporting and Operating System like Linux or Unix, being so powerful means that there is more to it than a simple stream of instructions.

  • Become aware of what is happening around you in the computer industry and in business and become a real asset.

A note aside:- “Whilst working as a Unix technician, a new "client" phoned me one day and asked me to install another disk drive on the Unix server for them as their first hard drive was full. They had been running this server for 4 years and I asked them to wait until I arrived before purchasing another disk but I was too late they had ordered one already. When I arrived I cleaned up the primary hard disk drive from 100% full to 40% full just by doing thorough house-keeping (could have been handled with a Shell Script running automatically each week/month), tidying up the log files, temporary directories, superfluous software versions etcetera.” Simone Demblon

Once you have learnt one operating system in the way that we have structured this course, it is much easier to pick up other knowledge on hardware / operating systems, system configuration and even development.

As it would be almost impossible to learn everything about all technology available, cultivate a technical way of thinking laterally, it will be a decided advantage to you.

Pre-requisite knowledge and outcomes

The text below is a mere guideline to equivalent knowledge, as you know if you have a talent for working with computers OR if you are an extremely hard-worker who is prepared to play with the operating system until you are sure of yourself, then you are likely to not need to follow these guidelines and you will exceed the qualification levels that are suggested here.

Therefore when I say below that your knowledge would be equivalent to a System Administrator, what I am really saying is that although you will have an extensive knowledge of Linux (we have structured the courses to ensure that there are sufficient labs and Exercises), the additional knowledge - the knowledge of specific company set-ups or specific pieces of hardware - will still have to be gained by your experience.

Now let's look at each course or course range and discuss the relevant issues:

  1. In order to successfully complete the Fundamentals course you will need to have knowledge of PC Computers (operating systems and hardware).

    After completion on the Fundamentals course (approximately 18 hours of study), you would have a basic grounding of the Linux Operating System.

    Please note however that although an introductory course to Linux it is not an introduction to computers or operating systems. We assume that you have some technical knowledge already.

    In this course, some internal operations of the operating system are covered simply, and this is in order to ensure that you are able to think a problem through laterally. This will also assist if wishing to complete the range all the way through to the Internals course, by giving you a grounding in simple terms to build on throughout the other courses.

  2. In order to successfully complete the System Administration course you would need enough knowledge to install an operating system.

    After completion of the Fundamentals and System Administration courses (18 + 30 hours), you would have the equivalent knowledge of a Junior Administrator in Linux. You will have enough knowledge and experience (through intensive labs) to assist a fully qualified System Administrator in a commercial business situation. (RHCT)

    At this stage all you will lack is further experience to enable you to perform the function of System Administrator.

  3. After further completing the Network Administrators course (30 hours), and this would include all associated Exercises, labs and simulated problem labs, you would be able to work as a Junior Network Administrator.

  4. After completing the Elective course subjects, affiliated to the Networking course, (18 hours) you would be qualified to do System and Network Administration including monitoring and maintaining your network. (RHCE)

  5. Shell Scripting (20 hours) is a course that will clarify the power of Linux for you and will also excite you as pieces of the "operating system puzzle" fall into pace at an alarming rate. This is a stunning course and no matter what you intend to do with your Linux knowledge this course is a must.Ensure that you have completed the following courses or that you have equivalent knowledge prior to attempting this course: Fundamentals, System Administration and Networking Introduction.

  6. Internals^-1 is a technical course written to enable a System Administrator to become a visionary systems engineer able to attend a full internals course if so inclined. A cautionary note would be that although we have kept it as generically inclined as possible you may have to check up the variances with the Linux or Unix kernel that you are working with.

    As we have said from the beginning, support of such an operating system is going to take a fair amount of lateral thinking, and as not all of us are interested in the nitty-gritty details of how an operating system was written (see reference material used if you are interested), so internals^-1 will give you the workings in a more simple technical form.

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