Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration class scheduled for June 10 – 14

The Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration class has been scheduled for June 10 – 14, 2013.

This unique 5-day class, entitled Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration, covers a wide range of advanced topics in a manner never seen in other courses.

The topics covered in this course are:

 Administrative Tools  WordPress and MySQL
 IPTables  MailMan
BIND DNS  VNC
DHCP  NFS
Network Configuration  SAMBA
SSH  NTP
SendMail  CUPS
SpamAssassin  SELinux
MIMEDefang  Building RPMs
Apache Web Server

But it is how the class is structured as much as the specific subjects covered that makes it unique. Most classes that cover these subjects do not cover all of them, and they do not treat them as a part of an integrated whole system. The Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration class treats these as parts of a unified whole

By the end of the class each student will have a fully working Linux system with a firewall; a name server with forward and reverse zones; a DHCP server; an email server with integrated anti-spam; two working web sites with one a static HTML site and the other a complete WordPress site with a MySQL back end; A MailMan mailing list server; A VNC server; NFS and Samba shares. The student will also learn to build RPM packages.

In addition, students will learn advanced aspects of some of the system commands covered in my Theory and Practice of Linux System Administration course, as well as some interesting new commands that can be used for advanced system administration tasks and problem determination.

Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration – Seats for this 5-day course are available and costs $2995.00. Please contact us to sign up for classes as soon as possible. Our classroom facilities are very limited so class sizes are very small.

Posted in Announcements, Linux, Training

Analyst reports blame Windows 8 for “brutal” drop in PC sales

An article in ComputerWorld today has analysts blaming Windows 8 for much of the precipitous drop in PC sales for the 1st quarter of 2013.

Some analysts pointed out that other factors contributed to the drop but all agree that Windows 8 is a major factor. This is apparently due to the radical new, so-called “Modern” interface designed to be used best on touch type devices such as tablets. Other factors included saturation of the PC market, especially in the U.S., and the huge increase in tablet sales, where Microsoft is failing badly.

I also think that the lingering effects of the recession are partly to blame combined with the expense of upgrading both computers and operating systems. Few businesses care to pay for those changes in the current economic climate.

Read the article in ComputerWorld.

Is Linux the Answer?

Believe it or not Linux might be the answer if you are considering upgrading your computer systems.

First, it is free. You can purchase service contracts for it if you obtain it from Red Hat, for example. And even if you choose to pay for a service contract, that is still far less expensive than purchasing Windows and a service contract for it.

You can install Linux on your existing computers and get the advantages of a brand new operating system while only needing to upgrade the memory in some computers. Of course Linux will run on a computer with less memory than Windows can comfortably use. Memory is cheap these days and an upgrade to 2GB of RAM will cost only about $30 at Intrex, my local computer store. 8GB is only about $80.

You can also purchase computers without any operating system installed from places like Intrex and install it yourself. Some computer vendors such as Dell and HP also sell some computers with Linux preinstalled.

More Like Windows than Windows

Another interesting fact is that the Linux desktop can be made to look and work almost exactly like Windows.

So if you want your users to get a new operating system that looks and works more like your old one than Windows 8, Get Linux!

Training

Millennium Technology Consulting LLC is a small company and I cannot afford to print hundreds of copies of my class materials at a time. As a result my class materials are updated prior to each class so you know that you will be getting the very latest information in each training session.

Even when new features have not yet made their way from Fedora, which is my preferred training distribution, into Red Hat and then CentOS and other downstream distributions, many of them will eventually do so.

Will you be prepared when they do?

Contact Millennium Technology Consulting LLC to be ready.And check out my Training pages for descriptions of my classes.

Posted in Commentary, News, Opinion

Are You Ready for the Changes in Linux?

Linux has been constantly changing over the past few years. Linux is a very dynamic Operating System and is continuously moving forward with new innovations and improvements.

Many of these changes are under the covers. Even though the user interfaces, such as the KDE and GNOME desktops, have changed over the years, the basics have remained the same and users of older versions of those and other desktops will be able to transition easily to the newer ones.

The biggest changes to Linux have been hidden from most users and are only visible to System administrators. Many of these changes, however, translate into a better experience of Linux for end users.

Major Changes

The following partial list of changes to recent releases of Fedora Linux are indicative of the rapid pace of development occurring. Most of these changes will appear in future releases of Red Hat Linux and other downstream descendants of Red Hat such as CentOS; some already have. You need to be prepared when they show up.

systemd

The Linux SystemV start scripts and the init program that have been used to manage the startup and shutdown sequence for all versions of Linux has been showing its age. The init program manages the startup sequence using the SystemV start scripts. This combination has been around since Unix was developed in the late 1960′s. System services were started serially and had to be started in the correct sequence or errors would occur.

The init program and the SystemV start scripts have given way to systemd. This new daemon, while compatible with the old SystemV start scripts, start the system services in parallel, and it only starts the ones that are needed. This results in a much speedier startup as well as saving considerable memory and CPU resources by not starting services until they are actually needed.

systemd requires learning a new set of commands and new ways of dealing with service management.

DBUS

DBUS is an internal communication system for Linux. It enables Linux to communicate with various services about changes taking place in the system.

For example when a new hardware device is plugged in, this is detected and a message sent on DBUS to all services and programs that listen to DBUS messages. Thus when a USB storage device is plugged in, the Device Notifier in the System Tray on the desktop can notify the user that a new device has been added and allow the user to click on an icon to mount that device, as well as to open an application appropriate for the task at hand such as downloading photos from that device.

Another example is when a network cable is unplugged, the Network Manager can display that fact in another icon in the System Tray.

Although DBUS runs in the background, knowledge of DBUS  is critical to understanding how and why services deal with changes in dynamic Linux environments.

NetworkManager

The NetworkManager is a relatively new service that replaces the old network service. Using DBUS messages to receive notifications when network cables are plugged and unplugged, it can automatically make the correct connections. When a laptop is turned on NetworkManager seeks available wireless connections and automatically connects to known wireless networks using stored security configurations.

firewalld

This new firewall service replaces the older IPTables firewall. It offers a more secure firewall because the IPTables had to restart every time a change was made. Despite the fact that this occurred very quickly, even a small window of opportunity can allow a cracker access to your system.

firewalld closes this tiny chink in the armor of your computer system and makes it harder for the bad guys to gain access. It also has a new set of commands to learn and a different structure from IPTables.

IPTables

Despite the fact that firewalld is now available, IPTables will continue to coexist with it for the foreseeable future. But there are also changes in some rule syntax that improves IPTables but also means that upgrading to Fedora 18 will require learning that new syntax.

Installation

With Fedora 18, Anaconda, the installation program for Red Hat based distributions, has changed significantly. Instead of a serial wizard-like progression through the installation options, it is now menu-based and some sections can be skipped entirely. Many of the checks that take place after completing a menu section are done in parallel while you are making  selections in the next menu item.

Once you understand the defaults and options of the new installation procedures you can make only the changes you need thus making the installation procedure significantly faster.

Training Options

The vast majority of training classes available today do not cover most of these changes. Those that do only cover the ones that have been around since their last development refresh cycle—usually multiple years behind the times.

That is to be expected from the large corporate training houses because courses and certifications such as the LPI are only revisited once every few years. I have taught some of these classes and even the newest was developed from objectives that are now over two years old and use Linux distributions for their lab projects that are well past end of life.

Of course this obsolescence is determined in part by the need to sell the large numbers of class materials that are published at the beginning of each course revision cycle. Discarding huge numbers of preprinted materials would be wasteful on multiple levels and would detract from the bottom line.

The Millennium Difference

Millennium Technology Consulting LLC is a small company.

I cannot afford to have hundreds of copies of my course materials printed at one time. I have turned this into a competitive advantage because I only print my course materials when I plan to run a course. This not only saves trees, it saves me money and allows me to update my class materials prior to each class.

Whenever you attend one of my personally developed courses you can be sure that it will contain the very latest information available. Even when new features have not yet made their way from Fedora into Red Hat and then CentOS and other downstream distributions, many of them will eventually do so.

Will you be prepared when they do?

Contact Millennium Technology Consulting LLC to be ready.

Posted in Information, Training

Linux Malware Embedded in Windows Attacks on S. Korea

The recent attacks on S. Korean computers has led to an interesting discovery. An article appearing in InfoWorld today says that the attackers who targeted the S. Korean computer systems have embedded a bit of malware aimed at Linux hosts inside the code that attacks Windows systems

Read the complete article here: Symantec finds Linux wiper malware used in S. Korean attacks.

Primary Attack

The primary target in these attacks is Windows computers and the attack vector is through a vulnerability in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE).  The vulnerability in IE has been known since July of 2012.

The malware overwrites a portion of the boot record of an infected system with one of two strings thus making it impossible to boot. It also randomly overwrites locations on the hard drive.The string used to overwrite with is either “PRINCPES” or “PR!NCPES.”

Remember that this attack only works on Windows hosts.

Linux Malware Embedded

The attackers have embedded a BASH script that attempts to erase partitions on Linux and HP-UX (Unix) systems within the code targeted at Windows computers. The purpose of embedding this Linux script inside Windows malware is unclear.

Analysis

It is unclear to me, and the InfoWorld article does not discuss it, how a bit of Linux shell script embedded inside a bit of Windows malware can affect a Linux computer or why the shell script would even be there.

In the first place, the attack vector is through a Windows vulnerability. Getting the bit of Linux shell script into a Linux host is therefore problematic and unlikely. Even if the computer were dual-boot with both Windows and Linux installed, the Windows malware makes the computer unbootable. This means that it would be impossible to boot the computer and run the Linux script—which is still located on the Windows partition.

Secondly, the Linux shell script, even if it were introduced into a Linux host somehow, would have to be run as root in order to perform the desired (or undesired if your computer is the target) actions. This is also unlikely as most users with the knowledge to be root would not run an unknown script. And Linux does not just automatically run scripts when they are introduced into the system in any manner.

The only purpose I can see for embedding that Linux shell script in a bit of Windows malware that was used to target computers in S. Korea would be for a test. Perhaps that part of the malware is a test to see if Linux malware can be somehow spread via a Windows infection.

I doubt it, but one never knows these days.

While Linux is not impervious to malware, is seems highly unlikely that this particular malware could do any damage. Just be sure to follow normal practices, keep your Linux systems updated with the latest patches, run clamscan, an Open Source Linux antivirus program, and chkrootkit occasionally to check for known rootkits and your Linux hosts should be fine.

And if you feel really strongly about it, purchase some commercial antivirus software for your Linux hosts.

 

Posted in Linux, News, Opinion, Security

Windows Patch Flurry

I don’t usually write about Windows here. But after Microsoft released a patch for Windows last month that contained fixes for 57 security vulnerabilities, there is a new patch this month that tells me a good deal about all versions of Windows.

Next week (as of this writing) Microsoft will release what is being called the “Update All Things update security patch”. There is an article at the Register that briefly discusses this patch and the fact that, one particularly troublesome vulnerability occurs in every version of Windows from XP on to Windows 8 and Windows RT.

Forever Vulnerable

That little bit of information tells me something that I have known for quite some time, but that is still quite frightening, nevertheless. The fact that one specific security vulnerability—and a bad one at that—exists in every version of Windows currently in widespread use indicates that the newer versions of Windows are really not all that different from the earlier ones. I would bet that this same vulnerability existed in Windows 3.1, too.

The same vulnerability across so many releases of a major operating system should be quite troubling to those who use any of the affected versions. It should signal that most of what has changed between versions is the user interface and the addition of a few new features. No one is looking deeply into the older code to verify that it is working correctly or even to determine whether it is actually secure.

The fact that this older code even still exists in the newest versions of Windows should be telling in and of itself. In my opinion, and put plainly, it means that Microsoft simply puts a new face on very old software and adds a few new features. None of the really old code goes away. This is probably because of the massively monolithic nature of the Windows code. It has become impossible to cut through the cruft and weed out the bad code from the good.

This situation simply highlights the strength of Open Source Software like Linux, LibréOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird and much more. Not that they never have security or functional flaws, but that their code, all of it, is constantly being reviewed by many programmers around the world. It would be nearly impossible for a bug that serious to stay hidden in an Open Source product for so long. And no one would wait for the next “patch release cycle” to distribute a fix for it.

How it Should Work

Several years ago some of the Linux developers were attempting to resolve some problems with the IDE PATA disk drive subsystem code. Unfortunately the code had been poorly maintained and was becoming difficult to fix. Well actually, nearly impossible.

So the folks who were working on that problem looked around at the well-written and maintained code for the SCSI disk subsystem. That code was so well designed that it was only necessary to create a relatively small code module that can plug into the SCSI code in order to perform what was essentially a complete rewrite of the IDE code.

This was done quickly. And since that time all hard drives, including IDE PATA hard drives now use SCSI identifiers, such as sda1 instead of the old hda1 identifiers that were used in the old IDE code.

This, of course, is quite in line with the Linux/Unix philosophy that “good programmers write good code; great programmers borrow good code.” That would not be possible in a closed, proprietary environment.

Posted in Information, Security

Office 2013 Tied to One—and Only One—Computer

What would you do if your computer died and you had to purchase a new one and reinstall all of your old applications? Up to now, your only cost would be for the new computer—and probably someone to reinstall all of the software you had previously, legitimately purchased.

Microsoft has just changed that. In this article at ComputerWorld, it has been revealed that current versions of Office 2013 are permanently and irrevocably tied to the first computer on which you install it. Even if that computer dies, you can never reinstall Office 2013 on another computer. You must purchase another license in order to install Office 2013 on any other computer you already own or purchase new.

Read the whole story: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9236818/Office_2013_retail_licensing_change_ties_suite_to_specific_PC_forever

If this disturbs you or makes you angry—as it should—you might just consider LibréOffice instead. Not only is if free of cost, but you can install it on as many computers as you wish, as many times as you wish.

I chose my Free Open Source office suite many years ago.

Posted in Articles, Commentary, Freedom, LibréOffice, Linux, Opinion

Millennium Technology Consulting LLC Adds “Introduction to Linux” Class

Millennium Technology Consulting LLC announces the availability of the newest class in its training line-up.

The Introduction to Linux course provides a two-day survey of various aspects of using Linux with both the desktop and the command line interface (CLI). It is an introduction to Linux for someone who intends to be more than a casual user of Linux and covers some basic non-privileged administrative tasks. It also introduces a few of the basic concepts and some of the basic tools used by the root user.

View the Introduction to Linux course page for additional details about this course.

Posted in Announcements, News, Training

Fedora 18 Review

I have just completed my review of Fedora 18. Read it here.

Posted in Linux

Linux Class Schedules for Q1, 2013

Millennium Technology Consulting LLC has finalized its class schedules for the first quarter of 2013.

As you can see our newest class, Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration, has been added to the lineup after its successful test in December 2012.

Theory and Practice of Linux System Administration

This course is intended for trainee or  junior Linux Systems Administrators who wish to advance their knowledge, and administrators of other Unix versions or Windows who wish to become Linux System Administrators. This class is heavily oriented towards hands-on activities. At least half of the class time is allotted to lab projects. The class is based on Fedora because it is the upstream distribution for Red Hat Linux. Many of the more experienced Linux System Administrators who have taken this course also find it very valuable.

See the Theory and Practice of Linux System Administration page for a complete course description and prerequisites.

Class Schedule for Theory and Practice of Linux System Administration.

Dates Length Cost
January 14 – 18, 2013 5 Days $2495
February 4 – 8, 2013 5 Days $2495
March 11 – 15, 2013 5 Days $2495

 

Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration

This course is intended for experienced Linux System Administrators who wish to learn advanced troubleshooting techniques and server installation and configuration. By the end of the class each student will have a fully working Linux system with a firewall; a name server with forward and reverse zones; a DHCP server; an email server with integrated anti-spam; two working web sites with one a static HTML site and the other a complete WordPress site with a MySQL back end; A MailMan mailing list server; A VNC server; NFS and Samba shares. The student will also learn to build RPM packages.

See the Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration  page for a complete course description and prerequisites.

Dates Length Cost
January 21 – 25, 2013 5 Days $2995
February 18 – 22, 2013 5 Days $2995
March 25 – 29, 2013 5 Days $2995

 

Discounts

Discounts are available to members of the Triangle Linux Users Group (TriLUG) of $500 per class. You must have and show your TriLUG membership card to obtain this discount. This discount may be used in conjunction with other discount offers.

Custom Class Scheduling

Millennium Technology Consulting LLC can provide customized scheduling for classes. If you do not see a class scheduled within your desired time frame we can work with you to schedule one that meets your needs. We also offer on-site training at your location. Please contact us to schedule a class for you.

Posted in Announcements, Training

Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration Class Undergoes Testing

The latest course developed in-house at Millennium Technology Consulting LLC, Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration, undergoes its live test class this week, December 3 through 7, 2012.

This deep technical course has been under development for over 18 months. It is intended for experienced Linux System Administrators who wish to learn advanced troubleshooting techniques and server installation and configuration.

By the end of the class each student will have a fully working Linux system with a firewall; a name server with forward and reverse zones; a DHCP server; an email server with integrated anti-spam; two working web sites with one a static HTML site and the other a complete WordPress site with a MySQL back end; A MailMan mailing list server; A VNC server; NFS and Samba shares. The student will also learn to build RPM packages.

Registration for the test class is closed. Please check the Training page for future class schedules and seat availability. New classes start in January.

Please contact us to sign up for classes as soon as possible. Our classroom facility is limited so class sizes are very small.

Posted in Linux, News, Training

Some Companies Use False Open Source Claims to Lock You in to Proprietary Products

Some companies are falsely advertising the benefits of Open Source for their products which are definitely not Open Source. This is an attempt to mislead customers into thinking that they have Open Source freedoms with respect to those products when they in fact do not.

Read the entire article at InfoWorld: http://www.infoworld.com/d/open-source-software/beware-these-open-source-lock-in-schemes-207568

Posted in Freedom, Information, News

Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration Class to be Held December 3 – 7

The advanced class I have been working on for over a year will be ready for a test class that will be held December 3 – 7. This unique class, entitled, Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration covers a wide range of advanced topics in a manner never seen in other courses.

The topics covered in this course will be:

 Administrative Tools  WordPress and MySQL
 IPTables  MailMan
BIND DNS  VNC
DHCP  NFS
Network Configuration  SAMBA
SSH  NTP
SendMail  CUPS
SpamAssassin  SELinux
MIMEDefang  Building RPMs
Apache Web Server

But it is how the class is structured as much as the specific subjects covered that makes it unique. Most classes that cover these subjects do not cover all of them, and they do not treat them as a part of an integrated whole system. The Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration class treats these as parts of a unified whole

By the end of the class each student will have a fully working Linux system with a firewall; a name server with forward and reverse zones; a DHCP server; an email server with integrated anti-spam; two working web sites with one a static HTML site and the other a complete WordPress site with a MySQL back end; A MailMan mailing list server; A VNC server; NFS and Samba shares. The student will also learn to build RPM packages.

In addition, students will learn advanced aspects of some of the system commands covered in my Theory and Practice of Linux System Administration course, as well as some interesting new commands that can be used for advanced system administration tasks and problem determination.

This course will be held in my Raleigh, NC, training facility.

The class will normally cost $2995. There will be a discount of $700 available for only that session because it will be a test class. As always, the additional $500 discount for TriLUG members will apply. Please contact Millennium Technology Consulting LLC for details.

Posted in Announcements, News, Training

Ernie Ball vs the Software Police

This article about Ernie Ball, maker of guitar strings, describes how they were targeted by Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance for a few dozen unlicensed copies of software. The cost to Ball? A whopping $65,000 settlement plus $35,000 in legal fees.

The software police do exist and they can hurt you and your company. Be sure you keep your licenses up to date and have paid licenses for all copies of software you have.

Ernie Ball switched to Open Source Software within six months because CEO Sterling Ball said he did not want any more Microsoft products. Now they do not have to worry about the software police and are saving money as well.

Posted in FOSS - Free Open Source Software, Freedom, News, Open Source Software

“Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration” Class Status

The advanced class I have been working on for over a year is nearly ready. This unique class, entitled, Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration covers a wide range of advanced topics in a manner never seen in other courses.

The topics covered in this course (still subject to change) will be:

 Administrative Tools  WordPress and MySQL
 IPTables  MailMan
BIND DNS  VNC
DHCP  NFS
Network Configuration  SAMBA
SSH  NTP
SendMail  CUPS
SpamAssassin  SELinux
MIMEDefang  Building RPMs
Apache Web Server

But it is how the class is structured as much as the specific subjects covered that makes it unique. Most classes that cover these subjects do not cover all of them, and they do not treat them as a part of an integrated whole system. The Linux Servers and Advanced System Administration class treats these as parts of a unified whole

By the end of the class each student will have a fully working Linux system with a firewall; a name server with forward and reverse zones; a DHCP server; an email server with integrated anti-spam; two working web sites with one a static HTML site and the other a complete WordPress site with a MySQL back end; A MailMan mailing list server; A VNC server; NFS and Samba shares. The student will also learn to build RPM packages.

In addition, students will learn advanced aspects of some of the system commands covered in my Theory and Practice of Linux System Administration course, as well as some interesting new commands that can be used for advanced system administration tasks and problem determination.

I expect this course to be ready for a test class in December of 2012. It will be held in my Raleigh, NC, training facility. The exact date is still a bit uncertain but, at this time, I expect it to be the first week of December.

The class will normally cost $2995. There will be discounts available for that session because it will be a test class. As always, the additional $500 discount for TriLUG members will apply. Please contact Millennium Technology Consulting LLC for details.

Posted in Linux, News, Training

A Real Keyboard at Last

I have been getting sick and tired of the terrible keyboards being produced these days — you know, the made-in-China rubber dome ones that make no noise and that drop keystrokes or generate multiple entries for a single keystroke.

I hate having to go back and retype stuff several times because the $10 keyboard (and yes, there are even cheaper ones) failed to register a single character for a single keystroke. Now me hitting the wrong key, that is not the fault of the keyboard.

I really felt the need for one of the original IBM “buckling spring” mechanical keyboard that sounds like the keyboards you hear people using on TV and in the movies, except that the keyboards they have in front of them are the $5 crappy noiseless kind. I find it amusing that Abby in NCIS is typing away on her flat roll-out crummy rubber dome keyboard and making noises like the old-fashioned real IBM keyboards.

Anyway, I worked for IBM for 21 years and wrote the training course for IBM Customer Engineers for the original IBM PC. So I had been using a real IBM keyboard for many years and missed the feel and certainty that comes with using a top-quality product.

I tried getting a couple keyboards from a local member of the Triangle Linux Users Group (TriLUG) but too many people do not understand what a real mechanical keyboard is because the ones I got were rubber dome. I appreciated the donation of the keyboards but they were not what I needed.

So I did a bit of Googling and found several overseas companies that make mechanical keyboards, but none were the original. I did one more search and found Unicomp, the company that had been making them for IBM for many years before the cheap lousy keyboards became all the rage. Fortunately they still make and sell them.

So Monday this week I ordered two original design IBM keyboards, the Ultra Classic Black USB (Part#UB40P4A). The REAL ones that go clickity-clack and everything.

The best part about Unicomp is that it is an American company based in Kentucky and they make their keyboards right here in the United States.

My new keyboards came yesterday afternoon. I installed one last night for myself, and the other for my wife, who has a background officer role at Millennium Technology Consulting LLC.

Well my productivity has already improved significantly. I really like the feel of the new keyboard. I can tell when a keypress has been recorded by the keyboard with both audible and tactile feedback. This feedback comes well before I hit the end of travel of the keys so that I do not have to hit the keys nearly so hard. And the thing is heavy so it does not slide around on my work surface.

If you have never tried a real keyboard, you should get one of these. They are not cheap, but your improved productivity will make up for that quickly. It will make a huge difference in your computer face-time, especially if you sit in front of it all day long, as many of us do.

 ______________________________________

Disclaimer: I have no interest in Unicomp. I hold no stock positions in it. I am not an employee and have not been provided any compensation of any kind for this review.

Posted in Hardware, Rant, Review, Thoughts