This course runs for a duration of 5 Days.
The class will run daily from 9 AM MT to 5 PM MT.
Class Location: Virtual LIVE Instructor Led - Virtual Live Classroom.
Build the diagnostic instincts and root-cause analysis skills that separate reactive firefighters from effective Linux troubleshooters. This lab-intensive course dedicates roughly 75 percent of class time to hands-on exercises, with over 120 independent troubleshooting scenarios organized by topic and progressive difficulty, giving students real practice diagnosing and resolving failures across the full systems administration stack.
Course content spans troubleshooting methodology, essential diagnostic tools such as strace, tcpdump, lsof, and Wireshark, rescue and recovery procedures, boot process diagnosis, filesystem and storage troubleshooting including LVM and software RAID, network configuration and connectivity issues, firewall analysis with iptables, nftables, and FirewallD, and service-level troubleshooting for DNS, NFS, Samba, Apache, Postfix, MariaDB, and other enterprise services. Students also cover kernel module management, performance analysis with vmstat and iostat, user authentication with PAM and LDAP, and SELinux policy troubleshooting.
Each topic group includes self-paced lab scenarios with progressive hints, allowing students to work at their own level and focus on areas most relevant to their environment. Labs run on your choice of RHEL or SLES, with courseware cross-reference where the distributions differ.
Audience:
Intermediate to advanced Linux system administrators, DevOps engineers, site reliability engineers, and IT professionals responsible for maintaining enterprise Linux servers who want to strengthen their diagnostic and problem-resolution skills across system, network, and service domains.
Objectives:
Apply structured troubleshooting methodology to diagnose and resolve Linux system problems
Use strace, ltrace, lsof, and fuser to trace system calls, library calls, and open files
Boot into rescue environments and recover unbootable systems using chroot, fsck, and grub2-install
Troubleshoot the Linux boot process including GRUB 2, systemd targets, and kernel initialization
Diagnose and resolve filesystem problems including full disks, exhausted inodes, and corruption
Troubleshoot network connectivity using ip, ss, nmap, netcat, tcpdump, and Wireshark
Identify and resolve firewall issues with iptables, nftables, FirewallD, and Netfilter rule analysis
Troubleshoot network services including DNS, NFS, Samba, Apache, Postfix, and MariaDB
Diagnose performance bottlenecks using vmstat, iostat, pidstat, and top
Manage and troubleshoot kernel modules, LVM volumes, and software RAID arrays
Troubleshoot user authentication problems involving PAM, LDAP, and account expiration
Analyze system and application logs using journalctl and rsyslog to isolate root causes
1. Troubleshooting Methodology
The Troubleshooting Mindset
Evaluating Possible Solutions
Identifying and Implementing Change
Define and Follow Policies
Working with Others
Finding Documentation
Finding Help Online
2. Troubleshooting Tools
Common Troubleshooting Tools
RPM Queries
RPM Verification
SRPM and spec Files
Hardware Discovery Tools
Configuring New Hardware with hwinfo
strace and ltrace
lsof and fuser
ipcs and ipcrm
iostat, mpstat, and vmstat
Using hdparm to Measure
Troubleshooting with the ip command
Name Resolution
ss/netstat and rpcinfo
nmap
Netcat
tcpdump and wireshark
Lab Tasks
Determining the System's Configuration
Troubleshooting with rpm
Process Related Tools
Network Tools
3. Rescue Environments
Diagnostic/Recovery
Rescue Procedures
Recovery: mount & chroot
Recovery Examples
Recovery: Network Utilities
Lab Tasks
Recovery Runlevels
Recovering Damaged MBR
Recover from Deleted Critical Files
4. Topic Group 1
Linux Boot Process
Booting Linux on PCs
Troubleshooting With GRUB 2
Boot Process Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting: Linux and Init
Process Management
Process Management Tools
Troubleshooting Processes: top
Filesystem Concepts
Filesystem Troubleshooting
Backup Concepts
Backup Troubleshooting
Backup Troubleshooting
Lab Tasks
Troubleshooting Problems: Topic Group 1
5. Topic Group 2
Networking Tools
Networking Commands Review
Networking Troubleshooting
Networking Troubleshooting
Virtual Interfaces/IP Aliases
Xinetd Concepts
Xinetd Troubleshooting
TCP Wrappers Concepts
TCP Wrappers Concepts
TCP Wrappers Troubleshooting
Netfilter/iptables Concepts
Netfilter/iptables Troubleshooting
Lab Tasks
Troubleshooting Problems: Topic Group 2
6. Topic Group 3
X11 Concepts
X11 Server Operation
X11 Troubleshooting
Syslog Concepts
Syslog Troubleshooting
RPM Concepts
RPM Troubleshooting
Common Unix Printing System (CUPS)
CUPS Troubleshooting
CUPS Troubleshooting
at & cron
at & cron Usage
at & cron Troubleshooting
Lab Tasks
Troubleshooting Problems: Topic Group 3
7. Topic Group 4
Users and Groups
Users and Groups Troubleshooting
PAM Concepts
PAM Troubleshooting
Filesystem Quotas
Quotas Troubleshooting
File Access Control Lists
FACL Troubleshooting
SELinux Concepts
SELinux Troubleshooting
SELinux Troubleshooting Continued
Lab Tasks
Troubleshooting Problems: Topic Group 4
8. Topic Group 5
Kernel Modules
Kernel Modules Troubleshooting
Logical Volume Management
Creating Logical Volumes
LVM Deployment Issues
VG Migration, PV Resizing & Troubeshooting
Software RAID Overview
RAID Troubleshooting
LDAP and OpenLDAP
Troubleshooting OpenLDAP
NIS and NIS+ (YP)
NIS Troubleshooting Aids
Lab Tasks
Troubleshooting Problems: Topic Group 5
9. Topic Group 6
DNS Concepts
DNS Troubleshooting
DNS Troubleshooting
Apache Concepts
Apache Troubleshooting
Apache Troubleshooting
FTP Concepts
FTP Troubleshooting
Squid Concepts
Squid Troubleshooting
Lab Tasks
Troubleshooting Problems: Topic Group 6
10. Topic Group 7
Samba Concepts
Samba Troubleshooting
Postfix Concepts
Postfix Troubleshooting
Postfix Troubleshooting
IMAP & POP Concepts
IMAP/POP Troubleshooting
MariaDB
MariaDB Troubleshooting
Lab Tasks
Troubleshooting Problems: Topic Group 7
Solid experience with Linux system administration including package management, networking, storage, and service management.
