I am fully satisfied with the book. It fully fill up my expectations. Hence I recommend to study also another sources such as The Linux Documentation Project, Distributions sites and so on. It is impossible to include knowledge for CompTia Linux+ exam only to one simple book.

The Linux+ exam is pretty rough and this book didn't cover it all. Still, it is better than the prior edition.

Sybex is one of the most requested and relied on publishers when it comes to certification exams. This book covers XK0-002, the most recent Linux+ xam. One word of warning, do not rely on just one book to pass the exam. Study well, combine this study guide with more books covering systems administration on Linux and you will be good to go.
The book covers such topics as: Installation, commands, user management, disk management, package and process management, security, networking, hardware and documentation.
Again, this is a study guide. If you need to review some topics in detail, supplement this material with live OS exercises and reference books.
Kudos to Roderick W. Smith on this solid study guide!

Last April I bought this book along with Linux+ 2005 by Jason Eckert to pass the Linux+ exam. I read both books twice over a 4 month period and passed the exam the first time. I am an MCSE and CCNA with minimal Unix/Linux experience, and I was pleased with the background the books provided for the test questions. For me, both books were worth the money and I keep them handy as reference material.

I bought this book because I had such good luck with Sybex. I got my A+ and Network+ with the Sybex books. But this one fell short....WAY short. I took the test after reading the book and taking the practice exams; and I also took 2 Linux classes (which is a year of Linux) at my school...and FAILED! I got a 570 (you need a 675 to pass). So I studied again for 3 more weeks and took the test for the second time...FAILED AGAIN! None of the questions on the test were covered in this book; this book is a great starter book. But, if you want to pass I recommend that you buy at LEAST one more book. Also I recommend that you download a Linux distrobution and use it everyday for at least 6 months. I'm going to buy another book, and possibly another one after that. Don't underestimate this test...It's WAY harder than the A+ and Network+ put together. Good Luck!

The book lacks clearly defined 'practice sections' where you can test some of the commands and features explained in the book.

I bought this book because I had such good luck with Sybex. I got my A+ and Network+ with the Sybex books. But this one fell short....WAY short. I took the test after reading the book and taking the practice exams; and I also took 2 Linux classes (which is a year of Linux) at my school...and FAILED! I got a 570 (you need a 675 to pass). So I studied again for 3 more weeks and took the test for the second time...FAILED AGAIN! None of the questions on the test were covered in this book; this book is a great starter book. But, if you want to pass I recommend that you buy at LEAST one more book. Also I recommend that you download a Linux distrobution and use it everyday for at least 6 months. I'm going to buy another book, and possibly another one after that. Don't underestimate this test...It's WAY harder than the A+ and Network+ put together. Good Luck!

I found the Sybex book to be full of all the information I need to study for the Linux+ exam. It is rather a dry read though, but it still takes time to explain things in simple concepts. I enjoy the fact that the practice exams will work in a linux environment, but I was a bit let down when the pdf version of the book would not work in FedoraCore 4 due to some security measure on the pdf. Overall this is a decent book for the price.

This book was the main focus of my studies... I have been doing administration for 4 years now, so it was mostly just to fill in blanks. It did well with that respect to things. 1 night of study of this book and one other, and I was good to go. After browsing through the chapter content a bit, I would suggest having a second book available to contrast this book. If you can't really afford it though, go through the book, and take time to actually perform the various functions and examples throughout the book. That should get you ready for the test.
Please note that the Linux + is a low-mid level linux test, but does require some amount of time in order to pass it. If you still use Windows or even X for things, you may want to hold off on this test until you are able to gain some experience with a *nix system command line and perform some base administration on that system.
Either way, good luck to you!

I have been a casual Linux user for about three years, and a serious student of Linux networking and programming for about a year, so I figured that all I would need to pass the Linux+ exam is a little time with study guide. So I studied this book for two weeks, then went and took the test, and failed. That was my own fault, I didn't apply myself. So I went back, worked through every step of every example in the book, memorized everything I could, and got to the point where I could correctly answer every end of chapter question and scored 89% the first time I took the sample exam included on the CD-ROM. I took the test again and failed again. There were many, many questions on the test that were nowhere to be found in this book, relating to both hardware and software.
I'm definitely not saying this is a bad book, because I learned a lot by studying it, and the style is clear and interesting. Mr. Smith's coverage of printing via lpr and CUPS is excellent and made those areas clear to me for the first time, and his coverage of package management was first rate. I'm just saying that if you are looking for a sure-fire way to pass the Linux+ exam you need a lot more than just this book. CompTIA recommends that you take the A+ and Network+ exams before taking Linux+, and based on my experience that seems like a good idea.

Or maybe I'm just stupid. But I thought I'd let everyone know.

Currently I'm on the sixth chapter of this book and so far so good. For those who are pursuing CompTIA's Linux+ certification I believe, according to CompTIA, that this book will provide all the help and resources that you need to pass the exam. One qualm though, grammatical errors and a few incorrect verbage.It would have been best that they were omitted. The author uses,"however," and, "though," so much and incorrectly that it makes reading difficult and not very enjoyable. So far I believe his, "however," means, "for example," you can try that and see if it helps, I have not figured out, "though" as yet. "However," if you can get around these quirks, then you'll be rewarded to know that this book is complete for the Linux+ certification and very informative, "though."

I just finished the 4th chapter and took the review test. Like all the other chapters, I missed 50%. I might as well be studying klingon. I barely have a clue what they are talking about. I'm A+, Network+ certified, using study guides from Que publishing. These study guides were a walk in the park compared to Linux+ from Sybex. I'll go ahead and finish the book because I paid good money for it, but I can see now, I'll never pass the exam with this study guide. This guide was written for people who already know Linux, not for someone trying to figure it out. If you already know Linux, this guide would be great reference material, as it has hundreds of commands and switchs, but very vague explanations of what these commands and switchs do. I'm also using CBT Nuggets Linux+ video training and have Red Hat 9 installed on a box I built from scratch. Even with all this, I'm still only obtaining about 50% of what I'm studying. I'll still need more and better explanation of linux to ever pass the exam.

The paper 3rd edition has very tiny print. Also, needlessly verbose quite often. Otherwise good.

Sybex recently released a revised edition of the Linux+ Study Guide, with added coverage of exam objectives related to hardware issues, and updated test engine on the CD with updated review questions. The ISBN is 0782143121. Enter that number in the search field to go to the correct page.--Neil Edde, Associate Publisher, Sybex, Inc.

I've been a fan of certification books from Sybex for some time and this one is up to the usual standards of quality and content. One of the things that I like best about their books is that they are one of the few publishers who provide both the information needed to pass the exam and the information needed to actually work in the real world. Generally my experience has been that there are good books that provide practical knowledge and good books that provide the information to pass the certification exams. But there are very few that provide the information to do both.

All the common networking and administrative tasks are covered in detail including installation methods and problems, security, file services, and troubleshooting. The author does an excellent job of walking the reader through all the various processes step by step and explaining each item in detail including little quirks to be careful of. In addition each chapter ends with a chapter summary, as section on exam essentials that summarize exam critical items, a summary of commands covered in the chapter, a key terms list, and review questions and answers. The book even includes a CD with a test engine, two exam preparation exams, and flashcards. I've taught Linux at the college level both for certification and for practical application purposes and this is one of the best books available for the new or only minimally experienced Linux user who is seeking to pass the certification exam.

Although I do consider this one of the best certification exam books on the market I do have a few items that I did not like. First, the graphical installation instructions in the book are for the Mandrake distribution of Linux. This is not a problem for exam preparation and since that is the purpose of the book it is really not a problem. However, in the real world, at least here in Florida, RedHat is a much more common distribution and I would have preferred to see the screen shots reflect a RedHat distribution than Mandrake. The graphical installation method is the only place where this makes any difference of consequence and even the novice can figure it out with a little patience and thought. The second item is that the index is rather skimpy given the amount of material in the book and all the items covered. All the major items are in the index but many of the important minor items are not. For example, if you wanted to know what ipchains is about or iptables then you would not find them in the index at all. For purposes of the certification exam the main thing you need to know about them is that they are related to setting up a firewall. Well, there is an entry in the index for firewall but not for ipchains or iptables. If you knew to look up firewalls to know about ipchains then you would have gotten the question right and would not need the entry in the index. If you missed it and wanted to know what they are you are out of luck. Finally, it does not cover hardware well enough to pass the exam. While this is a shortcoming of this book, I have not found any other Linux+ study guides that do any better of a job, this is a problem with all of them.

Even with the small index shortcoming, the "Linux+ Study Guide" is still one of the best sources for learning what you need to know to pass the certification exam. Since all the guides are too shallow on hardware, the only factor that keeps this one from being the best of the best in this category is the skimpy index.

A few months ago, i've taken the Linux+ exam. I've passed the Exam just reading this book and some Troytech exam crams. But wait! don't go out running to buy this book, I'm a CompTIA A+ too. So, i've experience with Hardware details. The exam is 60% Linux and 40% Hardware. Just take this book and an A+ book and you'll be ready!
Good Luck!

I'm an MCSE, A+, and passed all of those with ease. This book lacks hardware troubleshooting, hardly talks about it at all except for a couple of questions on SCSI in the practice questions. On the CD, chaper 7 doesn't work, and the bonus exams cover material not even in the book. IMO this book was quickly put together with the demands of the publishing house, and/or the author wanting to go on vacation. It doesn't cover the objectives and the practice questions are easy and don't explain why every wrong answer is wrong, just why the right answer is right, very incomplete. I failed the test by 35 points out of 900, a real kick in the teeth for a guy who graduated CS Summa Cum Laude. There were many questions on the test which had no mention in the book, even a flavor of Linux not covered. The only value the book has to me now is as a decorative peice in my bookcase, a paperweight, or emergency toilet paper should a nuclear holocaust occur. The people who gave it 5 stars IMO probably liked it because it's casual in it's writing and easy to read, especially for an experienced Linux Admin, but without that experience you're unprepared. Just my 2 cents.
Ryan

This book is not that bad for understanding Linux, but it is very weak on the hardware side of the exam. 19% of the Linux+ exam is on hardware and this book pretty much left if all out.

I wish Sybex would check the objectives with the text to make sure everything is there. If you are using this book for the Linux+ exam make sure you pick up another book that does not leave out the hardware section. Happy Studying.

I took the Linux+ test recently and passed it with ease using only Roderick Smith's Study Guide to pass the test. I have been using Linux for nearly two years now, and I used "Special Edition Using Caldera OpenLinux" and "Running Linux" to teach myself the Linux operating system. Although they gave me an excellent grounding in basic Linux, I still wasn't comfortable sitting for the test since my knowledge was rather sporadic and haphazard, like that of many self-taught users, so I tried this book out to round out my knowledge and get some idea of where the exam topics were focused. And this book was right on the money. Every topic that I saw on the exam was fully covered in this book. System logging, basic administration, command line syntax, UNIX utilities . . . everything. The only weak point of the book is the hardware section, and that is not so much a weakness of the book as it is a weakness of the test. About 1/4 of the test is hardware-related topics, many of which have nothing directly related to Linux. I already had my A+, so this was not an issue for me, but for some people it may be. I STRONGLY suggest that you do not take this exam unless you have your A+ or CST or the equivalent level of knowledge. The hardware topics were diverse enough that any book on Linux would have trouble filling in all of the extra details that you need to know to get past the hardware section of the exam. So, do the A+ first, then soon after, use this book to ace your test. And most of all, USE Linux instead of just reading about it. There is no reason for a "paper cert" with regards to this exam. Install and configure it yourself, spend some time hacking and then get certified.

Thanks, Rod!

I have been a Linux user for about a year and a half now. I use Red Hat Linux 7.2 exclusively on my home box, use SuSE Linux 7.2 at work and have used Caldera OpenLinux eDesktop 2.4 as well, so by the time I registered to take this exam, I was certainly not a Linux newbie. All the same, I was reluctant to take the test without some sort of guide. I bought this guide as I have always been fond of Sybex books (they successfully got me through my A+, Network+ and i-Net+ certifications) and it was just what I needed. The book breaks down the objectives on the exam chapter by chapter and does an excellent job of highlighting just what is important, allowing you to focus your efforts more.

The Linux+ exam does cover hardware very heavily, especially SCSI, ATA disks, and peripherals, with most of the emphasis on SCSI. The hardware objectives take up about 20% of the exam material and this book, while covering hardware, does not quite cover it extensively enough for the Linux+ exam. Having said that, I think that any A+ exam guide would, and thus I suggest that only people who have successfully completed their A+ or CST exams, or have the equivalent level of knowlegde, should attempt to take the Linux+ exam.

I also used "Running Linux" and "Special Edition Using Linux" by O'Reilly and Vue, respectively and found that those books did a much better job of helping me to learn Linux in general, whereas this book focuses squarely on the test.

After studying intenesely for one month with Mr. Smith's book, I scored an 800 out of a possible 900 on the exam this morning. So, if you are not a newbie and have a good bit of general Linux experince (just like CompTIA suggests, by the way), this book should be all that you need to get you ready to take the exam.

Thanks, Rod!

I have not yet taken the exam and am planning on reading a couple of other study guides and the exam cram first. I have only been using linux for about 4 or 5 months and use it as my primary desktop operating system. This study guide is easy to understand and appears to cover all of the objectives of the exam except for the hardware objectives. The book does not, however, go into a lot of detail. Linux+ is supposed to be an entry level exam (with LPI and SAIR being mid-level) so this may be sufficient. If the test goes very far into detail (such as asking what ps -aux does rather than what ps does), there might be a problem. I would stronly suggest that test-takers read this book and then follow it with a more in-depth book.

This book covers all of the Linux objectives for the CompTIA exam but all but ignores the hardware objectives. Teh Linux+ exam has many detailed hardware questions including stuff like IRQ assignments that are simply not found in this book. I passed this test using this book but I recently wrote my A+ exam. If I had not, I would not have passed with this book alone. Definately do not use this book as your only study guide.