LPIC-2 Certification Guide: Advanced Linux Administration

LPIC-2 is the second level of the Linux Professional Institute certification program. It validates advanced system administration skills — the ability to plan, implement, and maintain a Linux network infrastructure.

You must hold a current LPIC-1 certification before taking the LPIC-2 exams.

Exam Overview

Exam	Code	Duration	Questions	Passing Score
Linux System Administrator 1	201-450	90 minutes	60	500 / 800
Linux System Administrator 2	202-450	90 minutes	60	500 / 800

Exam 201-450: Topics and Weighting

Topic 200: Capacity Planning (weight 6)

• Measure and troubleshoot resource usage
• Predict future capacity needs

Topic 201: Linux Kernel (weight 6)

• Kernel components and compilation
• Kernel runtime management and troubleshooting

Topic 202: System Startup (weight 6)

• Customizing system startup (systemd)
• System recovery and boot process troubleshooting

Topic 203: Filesystem and Devices (weight 9)

• RAID configuration and management
• Filesystem access and storage management
• Logical Volume Manager (LVM)

Topic 204: Advanced Storage Administration (weight 5)

• iSCSI configuration
• SAN and NAS integration

Topic 205: Networking Configuration (weight 12)

• Basic networking configuration and verification
• Advanced network configuration (bonding, bridging)
• Troubleshooting network issues

Topic 206: System Maintenance (weight 5)

• Backup and restore operations
• Backup strategy design

Exam 202-450: Topics and Weighting

Topic 207: Domain Name Server (DNS, weight 8)

• BIND configuration and management
• DNS troubleshooting and security

Topic 208: HTTP Services (weight 7)

• Apache and Nginx configuration
• HTTPS and SSL/TLS setup
• Reverse proxy configuration

Topic 209: File Sharing (weight 6)

• Samba configuration
• NFS server configuration

Topic 210: Network Client Management (weight 4)

• DHCP configuration
• PAM authentication

Topic 211: E-Mail Services (weight 5)

• Postfix configuration
• Mail delivery and filtering

Topic 212: System Security (weight 15)

• OpenVPN and IPsec configuration
• Firewall management (iptables, nftables)
• SSH server security
• Security auditing and hardening

Key Concepts by Topic

Topic 200 — Capacity Planning (Weight 6)

Managing system resources and planning for growth:

• vmstat — Virtual memory statistics: r (running processes), b (blocked), swpd, cache, si/so (swap in/out), bi/bo (block I/O).
• iostat — CPU and I/O statistics per device. iostat -x 2 for extended stats every 2 seconds.
• sar — Historical performance data collection. Requires sysstat package. Data in /var/log/sysstat/.
• netstat / ss — Network connection statistics. ss -tuln for listening ports, ss -s for summary.
• mpstat -P ALL — Per-CPU usage breakdown.
• pidstat — Per-process resource usage.
• Capacity planning involves collecting baseline data, identifying trends over weeks/months, and predicting when resources will be exhausted.

Topic 201 — Linux Kernel (Weight 6)

Managing the kernel at runtime and compilation:

• uname -r — Current kernel version. uname -a for full details.
• /proc/sys/ — Runtime kernel parameters. Persistent changes go in /etc/sysctl.conf or /etc/sysctl.d/.
• sysctl -a — List all kernel parameters. sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1 sets temporarily.
• Kernel modules: lsmod, modprobe, modinfo, insmod, rmmod. Module config in /etc/modprobe.d/.
• depmod — Generate modules.dep and map files for module dependency resolution.
• dmesg — Kernel ring buffer messages. dmesg -w for real-time tail.
• Compiling a kernel (less common now, but tested): make menuconfig, make -j$(nproc), make modules_install, make install.
• /boot/ — Contains vmlinuz-*, initrd.img-*, System.map-*, GRUB config.
• udevadm — udev management tool. udevadm info --query=all --name=/dev/sda, udevadm monitor.

Topic 202 — System Startup (Weight 6)

Boot process management and recovery:

• systemd-analyze — Boot performance. systemd-analyze blame for per-service timing.
• systemd-analyze critical-chain — Shows the boot dependency chain and which service is slowest.
• journalctl -b — View logs from current boot. journalctl -b -1 for previous boot.
• GRUB configuration: /etc/default/grub, then update-grub or grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
• Recovery: Boot from rescue media → chroot into system → fix GRUB, initramfs, or packages.
• initramfs: Temporary root filesystem loaded before the real root. Rebuild with update-initramfs -u.
• Systemd targets: rescue.target (single-user), emergency.target (minimal shell), multi-user.target, graphical.target.
• systemctl mask <service> — Prevent a service from starting under any condition.
• reboot --force / systemctl reboot --force — Force reboot without clean shutdown.

Topic 203 — Filesystem and Devices (Weight 9)

RAID, LVM, and advanced filesystem management:

• Software RAID with mdadm: mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=5 --raid-devices=4 /dev/sd[b-e].
• mdadm --detail /dev/md0 — Check RAID status. --fail, --remove, --add for disk replacement.
• /proc/mdstat — Real-time RAID status and rebuild progress.
• LVM: pvcreate → vgcreate → lvcreate. Extend with lvextend -L +5G /dev/vg_name/lv_name.
• lvresize / lvreduce — Resize logical volumes (filesystem must be resized separately).
• pvmove — Move physical extents between PVs for storage migration.
• LVM snapshots: lvcreate -s -L 1G -n snap /dev/vg/origin — copy-on-write, ideal for backups.
• resize2fs / xfs_growfs — Grow filesystem to fill resized logical volume.
• fsck — Filesystem check. Never run on mounted filesystems (except read-only for some types).
• tune2fs -l /dev/sda1 — List ext2/3/4 superblock information.

Topic 204 — Advanced Storage Administration (Weight 5)

iSCSI, SAN, and NAS:

• iSCSI initiator: iscsiadm -m discovery -t sendtargets -p 192.168.1.100, then iscsiadm -m node --login.
• iSCSI target: targetcli on the server side creates backstores (fileio, block, ramdisk) and LUNs.
• iSCSI CHAP authentication: Configure mutual or one-way CHAP usernames/passwords in /etc/iscsi/iscsid.conf.
• multipath -ll — List active multipath devices. Requires device-mapper-multipath package.
• /etc/multipath.conf — Multipath configuration with aliases, blacklists, and failover policies.
• NAS vs SAN: NAS serves files (NFS/CIFS), SAN serves blocks (iSCSI/Fibre Channel).

Topic 205 — Networking Configuration (Weight 12)

Advanced networking:

• ip addr / ip link / ip route — Modern networking commands (replacing ifconfig).
• Network bonding: /etc/network/interfaces or nmcli to create a bond of two+ interfaces.
  • Modes: balance-rr (round-robin), active-backup (failover), 802.3ad (LACP), balance-tlb.
• Bridging: brctl addbr br0, brctl addif br0 eth0 (or ip link set dev eth0 master br0).
• VLAN tagging: ip link add link eth0 name eth0.100 type vlan id 100.
• Policy routing: ip rule and multiple routing tables in /etc/iproute2/rt_tables.
• ss -tuln — Replacement for netstat -tuln. Shows all listening TCP/UDP ports.
• tcpdump -i eth0 port 80 — Packet capture. -n for no DNS resolution, -w file to save.
• nmcli — NetworkManager command line. nmcli con show, nmcli dev status.
• IPv6: EUI-64, SLAAC, DHCPv6, privacy extensions. ip -6 addr, ip -6 route.

Topic 206 — System Maintenance (Weight 5)

Backup and recovery:

• Backup tools: tar, rsync, dd, dump/restore, s3cmd, duplicity.
• rsync -avz /source/ user@host:/dest/ — Incremental remote sync. --delete removes destination files not in source.
• dd if=/dev/sda of=/backup/mbr.img bs=512 count=1 — Backup MBR (first 512 bytes).
• Backup strategies: Full, incremental, differential. GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) rotation scheme.
• du -sh /var / df -h — Disk usage and free space monitoring.

Topic 207 — DNS (Weight 8)

BIND configuration, zones, and troubleshooting:

• BIND configuration: /etc/named.conf (or /etc/bind/named.conf). Zone files in /var/named/.
• Zone types: master (primary), slave (secondary, replicates from master), forward (forwards queries).
• dig example.com A / dig -x 192.0.2.1 (PTR lookup). dig +trace example.com follows delegation chain.
• nslookup / host — Simpler DNS lookup tools.
• rndc reload — Reload BIND configuration without restart. rndc status for server state.
• DNSSEC: dnssec-keygen, dnssec-signzone, DS records, trust anchors.
• Split-horizon DNS: Different views in BIND serve different answers based on client IP.
• /etc/resolv.conf — Client-side resolver configuration. search, nameserver, options rotate.
• nscd / systemd-resolved — DNS caching services.

Topic 208 — HTTP Services (Weight 7)

Apache and Nginx:

• Apache: Virtual hosts (<VirtualHost>), modules (a2enmod/a2dismod on Debian), .htaccess.
  • MPMs: prefork, worker, event. Check with apachectl -V | grep MPM.
  • SSL: SSLEngine on, SSLCertificateFile, SSLCertificateKeyFile.
• Nginx: Server blocks, location blocks, reverse proxy with proxy_pass.
  • nginx -t — Test configuration before reloading. nginx -s reload for graceful reload.
  • SSL: ssl_certificate, ssl_certificate_key, ssl_protocols, ssl_ciphers.
• Reverse proxy: Apache ProxyPass / Nginx proxy_pass forwards requests to backend servers.
• TLS/SSL: Let's Encrypt automation with certbot, OpenSSL commands for CSR generation and key management.
• Performance tuning: KeepAlive, caching, gzip compression, worker processes/connections.

Topic 209 — File Sharing (Weight 6)

Samba and NFS:

• Samba: /etc/samba/smb.conf. Global settings in [global], shares in [sharename].
  • smbpasswd -a user — Add Samba user. pdbedit -L to list users.
  • security = user / ads / domain — Authentication modes.
  • testparm — Validate smb.conf before restarting.
  • smbstatus — Active connections and locked files.
• NFS: /etc/exports defines exported directories. exportfs -r to reload.
  • NFSv4: mount -t nfs4 server:/export /mnt. Uses rpc.idmapd for UID/GID mapping.
  • showmount -e server — List NFS exports on a server.
  • rpcinfo -p server — List RPC services (portmapper, nfs, mountd, nlockmgr).
• autofs: Automatic mount-on-access. Config in /etc/auto.master and map files.

Topic 210 — Network Client Management (Weight 4)

DHCP and PAM:

• DHCP server (ISC DHCP): /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf. Define subnet, range, options (routers, DNS).
  • dhcpd -t — Test configuration. dhcpd -f for foreground/debug mode.
  • Relay agent (dhcrelay) forwards DHCP requests across subnets.
• PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules): /etc/pam.d/ controls authentication for each service.
  • Module types: auth, account, session, password.
  • Control flags: requisite, required, sufficient, optional.
  • Common modules: pam_unix.so, pam_ldap.so, pam_krb5.so, pam_limits.so.
  • pam_tally2 / pam_faillock — Account lockout after failed attempts.

Topic 211 — E-Mail Services (Weight 5)

Postfix configuration and mail handling:

• Postfix: /etc/postfix/main.cf. Key parameters: myhostname, mydomain, myorigin, mydestination.
  • postfix check — Verify configuration. postfix reload for safe reload.
  • mailq — View mail queue. postsuper -d ALL to delete all queued messages.
  • Relay control: mynetworks (trusted clients), relayhost (smart host).
• Spam filtering: SpamAssassin with amavisd-new, or rspamd.
• DKIM: opendkim-genkey → DNS TXT record → opendkim filter in Postfix.
• Mail retrieval: Dovecot (IMAP/POP3), mailx/mutt for local mail reading.

Topic 212 — System Security (Weight 15)

Firewalls, VPNs, SSH, and auditing:

• nftables (modern replacement for iptables): nft add rule inet filter input tcp dport 22 accept.
  • Tables, chains, rules: nft list ruleset shows all rules. Configuration in /etc/nftables.conf.
• iptables (legacy but still tested): iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT.
  • iptables-save / iptables-restore for persistence. iptables -L -n -v to list rules.
• firewalld: Zones, services, rich rules. firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-service=http --permanent.
• OpenVPN: TUN/TAP interfaces, certificates, server.conf/client.conf.
  • openvpn --genkey --secret static.key for static key. PKI with EasyRSA for full CA.
• IPsec with strongSwan or libreswan: IKEv1/IKEv2, certificates, PSK.
• SSH hardening: PermitRootLogin no, PasswordAuthentication no, PubkeyAuthentication yes.
  • Key types: RSA (4096+), Ed25519 (preferred), ECDSA. ssh-keygen -t ed25519.
  • sshd -T — Test current SSH server configuration.
• fail2ban: Ban IPs after repeated failures. Jails for SSH, Apache, Postfix.
• Security auditing: auditd with audit rules in /etc/audit/audit.rules.
  • ausearch / aureport — Search and report on audit logs.
  • chkrootkit / rkhunter — Rootkit detection.
  • aide — File integrity monitoring. Initialize: aide --init, compare: aide --check.
• openssl: openssl s_client -connect host:443 for TLS testing.
  • openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout key.pem -out csr.pem — Generate CSR.

Study Plan

6-Week Intensive Plan

Week	Focus	Topics	Time
1	Kernel + Startup + Capacity	200, 201, 202	10 hours
2	Storage (RAID, LVM, iSCSI)	203, 204	10 hours
3	Networking + Maintenance	205, 206	8 hours
4	DNS + HTTP	207, 208	10 hours
5	File Sharing + DHCP + PAM + Mail	209, 210, 211	10 hours
6	Security + Full Review	212 + all topics	12 hours

Lab Setup

LPIC-2 requires hands-on practice. Set up:

1. At least 3 Linux VMs (recommended: Debian/Ubuntu + CentOS/Rocky)
2. A separate network for them (NAT + host-only)
3. Practice scenarios: Set up a mail server from scratch, configure BIND with DNSSEC, build a RAID5+LVM storage array, configure firewalld with rich rules, set up OpenVPN site-to-site

Exam Registration

1. Register at LPI's website or Pearson VUE
2. Cost: Approximately $200 per exam. LPI offers bundle pricing for both exams.
3. Prerequisite: You must hold a current LPIC-1 certification
4. Delivery: Pearson VUE test centers or online proctoring
5. Validity: LPIC-2 certification is valid for 5 years from the pass date of the second exam
6. Retake policy: 24-hour wait after first failure, 7 days after subsequent failures

Study Recommendations

Prerequisites

Before attempting LPIC-2, you should have solid LPIC-1 knowledge, including:

• Confident command-line proficiency
• Understanding of filesystem hierarchy and permissions
• Basic shell scripting ability
• Networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS)

Recommended Approach

1. Review LPIC-1 material if you haven't practiced recently — LPIC-2 builds on everything
2. Set up a lab network — at least two Linux VMs in a private network
3. Practice every service — BIND, Apache, Postfix, Samba, OpenVPN
4. Use practical projects — set up a mail server, configure a firewall from scratch, build a RAID array with LVM

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