Thoughts on LFCS course and learning process.

startale

Hello there, i just started learning LFCS course with the Linux foundation and i am very excited to complete the course and do the exam. however, i noticed that there is a lot of slides that contain theory and definitions, while i understand the importance of understanding it, i am under the impression that here in the LF they tend to focus more on practicality,so i was wondering if i should memorize it word by word. example: in 02. LINUX FILESYSTEM TREE LAYOUT there are lot of information that explains the file system directories, as a student do i need to know each category by heart for the exam? i am assuming that understanding and knowing the concepts is enough.

luisviveropena

Hi @startale ,

I don't think there is somebody who knows everything. But you need to know where you can find the information in case you don't remember it. So, if you need to know something about /proc, and you don't remember the details, you always can do "man proc" or "man 5 proc", so you can consult the available documentation about it.

I hope that helps.

Many regards,
Luis.

coop

Please keep in mind all LF created certification exams (including LFCS, LFCE, CKA, CKAD) are performance based. i.e., no mulitiple choice, true false, etc. Unlike certain other certification exams we won't mention So memorizing trivia is useless. LFS201 has something like 90 practical exercises in it, so it is really the labs you have to work on for the most part. The more you work on practical "doing things" the more you will remember things like where things are on the system etc. Plus you will have full access to a real environment on the exam including man pages etc..

So concentrate on doing and that will reinforce the concepts. For example, I just kind of know where things are in the filesystem layout (what is in bin, lib, home etc) because I'm all over those places all the time.

startale

Thank you all for the clarification.

BupeMvula

Well explained guys!

WarrenUK

I would recommend going straight to the Labs and doing them and keep bashing them until it is in your head. I kind of agree with the OP in that I found the course a bit too heavy on computer science and not enough on day to day examples. I found I wasted too much time going through the 40 lessons twice and writing notes.

I would also like to ask the staff why have you go rid of Jerry's videos for the new training platform? If anything I would have preferred more videos and less text in each lesson. I like reading but I found it a bit text heavy and a bit too skewered towards computer science.

WarrenUK

I tried to re-edit my previous post but it wouldn't let me.

I would like to take back the 'not enough examples' bit. There is plenty of command line examples but I found each of them were in isolation from the bigger picture or only skimmed over.

I would definitely say that this course is comprehensive but on the flip side I am worrying that it is spread too thin and when it comes to the exam I will be a jack of all trades and master of none. I have gone over the course and put all the command line examples and labs in a word document and it has come to 60 pages of terminal work. I know this is good but it is a lot to remember for someone that only progressed from the EdX LSF101.

I bought the LSF201 and LSF211 bundle and even though I have been working hard everyday I feel I might not be able to sit LSF211 as LSF201 took too much of my time and that there is a lot to revise and remember.

Also, as I mentioned in my previous post I would like some more videos, maybe an admin settings up a disk for LVM from start to finish or setting up some accounts and putting ACL's on the system. Just stuff an admin would be doing day to day.

fcioanca

@WarrenUK Jerry's videos are still in the course, they have not been removed.

coop

As Fcioanca said, no videos have been removed, so I'm not sure where that comes from.

As far as the "jack of all trades, master of none" that is kind of unavoidable. While the course prepares for the LFCS exam, it is explicitly not a narrowly-focused exam preparation course. There is a lot of areas to cover and the course is already over 700 slides/pages in its LFS301 form (Instructor led) and is the longest e-learning course the LF offers. I'm sure there are areas covered that will never be in in an LFCS exam; we do try to cover all areas that are publicly advertised as domains for LFCS, but I am sure we do not do enough detail on quite a few of them for
questions that might come up.

In my experience and from what I hear, anyone who has been using Linux for quite some time, even as a non-expert, probably can handle the LFCS exam, although there will be holes in their knowledge; a perfect score is not required to pass. For someone new there is just a lot to learn.

WarrenUK

Cool.

When I posted the 'jack of all trades' comment I realised it probably describes a Linux admin to a tee

There is a lot of work in this course and it's a little overwhelming but I will keep working hard and practising. I only have two months till my exams so I am a little worried. Hopefully it will be OK.

For the life of me I cannot see the videos when I view the new course portal but I will have another look.

startale

I think its very important for a certified system administrator to know theory but also perfectly mastering practical things that applies in a work environment. LF focuses on this aspect and their aim is to create well versed system administrator (theory and labs) thats why the course is very long. therefore ,I’ve decided to go along with Sanders Van Vugt courses as a preparation for the LFCS exam. And then doing all LF labs while reading and understanding theory. I am personally comfortable with this path As i feel i also need to know how linux work in theory.

WarrenUK

I'm just wondering can any other student see videos just before the labs? Mine are gone unless they have been moved elsewhere?

luisviveropena

Hi @WarrenUK ,

The videos are being kept for one day, perhaps that's why you are not seeing them.

Many regards,
Luis.

startale

hello @luisviveropena what videos are you talking about and why are they kept only for one day ?

luisviveropena

Hi @startale , I was talking about the recorded sessions for the Cloud Engineer Bootcamp. I thought we were there. And it seems it's related to another thing.

Regards,
Luis.

startale

Hi @luisviveropena thanks for the info.

mstepien

Hi @WarrenUK,

Not all chapters have videos and some chapters don't have videos right before the labs exercises (videos can be also located within the lecture part, such as in Chapter 15 - I/O Scheduling).

Thank you,
Magda
The Linux Foundation Team

coop

He was talking about the videos that are part of the course and as far as know they re working for everyone else. He's not asking about the help videos

startale

thanks again

GSQS

I ran into the video display issue as well. If you are running Firefox on a Linux distro, the "Play DRM-controlled content" option in your browser settings will need to be enabled or the videos won't show up.

douglukas

While I'm only in Section 19 of LFS201, I can most certainly echo the emphasis on Labs and even more the exploration into the MAN and --help pages for commands. That is not to say that the theory behind the slides is not valuable as it leads you to the practical usage found in the labs.

My personal trail through this course leads from the slides to further investigation via outside sources (YouTube, Web, etc...) and then back to the labs. Ya... it takes a bit longer, but the lasting knowledge of "doing" as Coop explains is invaluable. At the end of the day, the Labs are all comprised of "DOING" and I'm finding that the more I fine tune understanding the MAN pages, the better I'm doing at the "doing" exercises. Mastering the MAN and HELP pages I believe will go a long way in assisting through the labs.

If anyone has other suggestions to mastering Linux, I am wide open to the suggestions.

TresFilosophios

Re: LFS201:

• An expand all twistie control to expand all content would be a great UI enhancement,
• A menu option/url to the forums page from the LFS201 content page would also be helpful,
• Is there a pdf that lists what will be on the LFS201 exam? Or a forum reference?