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Before you start
Learn what these tutorials can teach you and how you can get the most from them.
The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) certifies Linux system administrators at two levels: junior level (also called "certification level 1") and intermediate level (also called "certification level 2"). To attain certification level 1, you must pass exams 101 and 102; to attain certification level 2, you must pass exams 201 and 202.
developerWorks offers tutorials to help you prepare for each of the four exams. Each exam covers several topics, and each topic has a corresponding self-study tutorial on developerWorks. For LPI exam 101, the five topics and corresponding developerWorks tutorials are:
| LPI exam 101 topic | developerWorks tutorial | Tutorial summary |
|---|---|---|
| Topic 101 |
LPI exam 101 prep (topic 101): Hardware and architecture | (This tutorial). Learn to configure your system hardware with Linux. By the end of this tutorial, you will know how Linux configures the hardware found on a modern PC and where to look if you have problems. |
| Topic 102 |
LPI exam 101 prep: Linux installation and package management | Get an introduction to Linux installation and package management. By the end of this tutorial, you will know how Linux uses disk partitions, how Linux boots, and how to install and manage software packages. |
| Topic 103 |
LPI exam 101 prep: GNU and UNIX commands | Get an introduction to common GNU and UNIX commands. By the end of this tutorial, you will know how to use commands in the bash shell, including how to use text processing commands and filters, how to search files and directories, and how to manage processes. |
| Topic 104 |
LPI exam 104 prep: Devices, Linux filesystems, and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard. | Learn how to create filesystems on disk partitions, as well as how to make them accessible to users, manage file ownership and user quotas, and repair filesystems as needed. Also learn about hard and symbolic links, and how to locate files in your filesystem and where files should be placed. See detailed objectives below. |
| Topic 110 | The X Window system | Coming soon. |
To pass exams 101 and 102 (and attain certification level 1), you should be able to:
- Work at the Linux command line
- Perform easy maintenance tasks: help out users, add users to a larger system, back up and restore, and shut down and reboot
- Install and configure a workstation (including X) and connect it to a LAN, or connect a stand-alone PC via modem to the Internet
To continue preparing for certification level 1, see the developerWorks tutorials for LPI exam 101. Read more about the entire set of developerWorks LPI tutorials.
The Linux Professional Institute does not endorse any third-party exam preparation material or techniques in particular. For details, please contact info@lpi.org.
Welcome to "Hardware and architecture," the first of five tutorials designed to prepare you for LPI exam 101. In this tutorial, you will learn about PC hardware and architecture.
This tutorial is organized according to the LPI objectives for this topic. Very roughly, expect more questions on the exam for objectives with higher weight.
| LPI exam objective | Objective weight | Objective summary |
|---|---|---|
| 1.101.1 Configure fundamental BIOS settings | Weight 1 | You will learn to configure fundamental system hardware by making the correct settings in the system BIOS. You will learn about configuration issues such as the use of LBA on IDE hard disks larger than 1024 cylinders, enabling or disabling integrated peripherals, and configuring systems with (or without) external peripherals such as keyboards. We also discuss correct settings for IRQ, DMA, and I/O addresses for all BIOS-administered ports and settings for error handling. |
| 1.101.3 Configure modem and sound cards | Weight 1 | You will learn how to ensure that devices meet compatibility requirements and how to set up both the modem and sound card. You will learn how to configure a modem for outbound dialup, and how to use it for outbound PPP, SLIP, or CSLIP connections. |
| 1.101.4 Set up SCSI devices | Weight 1) | You will learn how to configure SCSI devices using the SCSI BIOS as well as the necessary Linux tools. You will review the various types of SCSI. You will learn how to set up a SCSI boot device and how to set the desired boot sequence in a mixed SCSI and IDE environment. |
| 1.101.5 Set up different PC expansion cards | Weight 3) | You will learn about the differences between ISA and PCI cards with respect to configuration issues. You will learn how to check the settings of IRQs, DMAs, and I/O ports to avoid conflicts between devices. |
| 1.101.6 Configure communication devices | Weight 1 | You will learn how to install and configure different internal and external communication devices such as modems, ISDN adapters, and DSL switches. You will learn about compatibility requirements (especially important if that modem is a winmodem), necessary hardware settings for internal devices (IRQs, DMAs, I/O ports), and loading and configuring suitable device drivers. We will also cover interface configuration requirements. |
| 1.101.7 Configure USB devices | Weight 1 | You will learn how to activate USB support and how to use and configure different USB devices. You will learn about correct selection of your USB chipset and the corresponding module. We will also cover the basic architecture of the layer model of USB and the different modules used in the different layers. |
There are no formal prerequisites for this tutorial. To get the most from this tutorial, you should already have a basic knowledge of Linux and a working Linux system on which you can practice the commands covered in this tutorial.
Different versions of a program may format output differently, so your results may not look exactly like the listings and figures in this tutorial.
