Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification (Linux)
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Average Customer Rating: 4.67Customer Rating: 4
Summary: Great for learning Linux
Comment: I've had the opportunity to review several Linux+ certification guides and they run the gamut from poor to excellent. Among these the "Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification" is one of the best. If you are a complete novice to Linux this is one of only two books that I could recommend. The primary reason that it is ranked as one of the best is because it starts from the absolute beginning and explains things in easy to understand terms. It includes a copy of RedHat Linux that can be installed so you can work through the lab exercises in the book on a real system if you have an extra computer available. This has the added advantage of giving the reader experience with one of the most popular distributions of Linux. Some of the other guides provide copies of Mandrake, Suse, Slackware or other distributions of Linux. I would prefer to learn on the same distribution that I would be most likely to be working with in the real world. This is not a real big problem for the exam because it deals primarily with text based administration and that is pretty much the same for all distributions. It is with the graphical interfaces that there can be a significant difference between them.
This particular study guide is very strong on Linux installation, administration, X-Windows, networking, and most of the major areas where you really need to know what you are doing in order to pass the exam or work with a real world Linux system. On the other hand it is a little weak on the hardware side. While most people, including myself, feel that the book covers hardware sufficiently for learning Linux and using Linux in the real world, it is a Linux+ certification guide and so should cover hardware in the same detail required for the exam. The exam may include questions like showing four different interfaces and asking the test-taker to identify which one is a SCSI3 interface. This is not covered in that level of detail in the book. In my opinion that sort of question belongs on a hardware exam and not in a Linux+ exam, but the fact of the matter is that sort of question is on the exam and so should be covered in any exam preparation book. If this were a guide to learning and using Linux I would not treat this as a problem at all.
When comparing the book to other Linux+ study guides I consider it to be one of the top choices. The other recommended guide (from Sybex) doesn't do any better of a job in dealing with the hardware problem. This is a problem consistent throughout all the study guide books. It does use RedHat and include a copy, which is a positive point. And finally, it has one of the best indexes of all the Linux+ study guides. This can be very important if you don't pass the exam the first time and need to study some specific areas. If you are looking for a keyword that you were unsure about on the exam then you need to be able to look it up. For example, when I took the exam there were some basic questions on Squid and iptables. All you really needed to know was that Squid is a proxy server and iptables is related to firewall services. This is the only book I've reviewed that actually had entries in the index for Squid and iptables. The others had the information but no index entry and so no knowledge of where to look for the information. There is really no excuse for a poor index in any book that seeks to help the reader become certified and this is the one with the best index. If you want to pass the exam on the first try you should add a hardware book like one of the certification guides for the CompTIA A+ hardware exam. "Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification" is a recommended purchase for people new to Linux seeking to learn the system and pass the exam.
Customer Rating: 5
Summary: Strongly Recommended
Comment: As I mentioned in my previous review, I have never been disappointed with books Thomson Learning/Course technology.And I finally bought the book. This is an excellent textbook for complete beginners who have no prior knowledge of Linux. The approach used in the book is really user friendly starting right from the 'birth'/history of Linux. One will have an enjoyable experience with the illustrative way of presenting clear concepts while slowly building from previously learnt concepts. Also, at the end of each chapters there is a summary of the core concepts presented, review Multiple Choice Questions, Practical Hands- On Projects and Short case Scenarios to ensure full mastery of theoritical concepts learnt. By the way, the book comes with two CD's(Disk 1 and Disk 2) of Red Hat Linux Publisher's Version 7.2. Thus, an excellent text book for Comptia's Linux+ Examiniation which gives users a rich and enjoyable journey through discovering Linux from its basic to detailed concepts. The first chapter provides a detailed introduction to Linux operating system (helping the reader to get acquainted to terminologies used in Linux), history of Linux, its distribution and common uses of Linux. The second Chapter prepares the user to Linux Installation by first understanding Hardware( CPU, Physical Memory, Disk Drives ,Mainboards and so on) and then gathering pre-installation Information for Hardware and Software, still accompanied by review questions and discovery exercises (Short Scenarios. Finally the third chapter actually deals with the practical installation and builds there on in subsequent chapters.
The following hardware is required for the Hands-On Project (as Red Hat will have to be installed on your PC).
Also, check the Hardware compatibility List at www.redhat.com:
Pentium II 200 or Higher CPU(most of the recent CPU should be compatible )
4 GB hard Disk (which can be an existing free space on your hard disk)
CD_ROM DRIve
3.5" floppy diskette Drive
Network Interface Card(for the networking configurations but can do without one for the other chapters)
Internet Connection for downloading software for
Hands- OnProject
Throughout the book, where appropriate web site resources are provided for additional reading and a glossary of Web Resources on the Internet is provided at the end fo the book. The Linux+ Certification Objectives in Appendix A of the book provides a detailed table to identify where certification topics are covered in this book.Each table represents a seperate domain measured by the exam.
That's all about the book!Hope you enjoy it the same way I am in case you decide to purchase it.
Customer Rating: 5
Summary: Products from Course Technology can be trusted
Comment: As of now, I haven't yet used the book, but will soon order it.I have bought many books written by Thomson Learning(Blue Highlightened Font on the Book) and their products can be trusted.In fact, what I have found with Thomson Learning Products(with reference to their published books which I have purchased) is the simple and illustrative ways of explaining in-depth concepts. So, even without having read the book, I will definitely advise one to first read the table of contents of the book (which can be found at www.course.com by typing Linux Certification in the search box) and thereon buy it.Of course, no matter how excellent a text book is, everyone has his/her opinion about what really "excellent" means. This book is meant as a study guide to passing the Linux Certification, and therefore for complete beginners and the table of contents must be checked first to verify if it meets specific user/organizational needs. I am sure no regret will be felt in buying the book!