Unique among business class Linux distributions, CentOS stays true to the open-source nature that Linux was founded on. The first Linux kernel was developed by a college student at the University of Helsinki (Linus Torvalds) and combined with the GNU utilities founded and promoted by Richard Stallman. CentOS has a proven, open-source licensing that can power today’s business world.

CentOS has quickly become one of the most prolific server platforms in the world. Any Linux Administrator, when seeking employment, is bound to come across the words: “CentOS Linux Experience Preferred”. From startups to Fortune 10 tech titans, CentOS has placed itself amongst the higher echelons of server operating systems worldwide.

What makes CentOS stand out from other Linux distributions is a great combination of −

• Open source licensing

• Dedicated user-base of Linux professionals

• Good hardware support

• Rock-solid stability and reliability

• Focus on security and updates

• Strict adherence to software packaging standards needed in a corporate environment

Before starting the lessons, we assume that the readers have a basic knowledge of Linux and Administration fundamentals such as −

• What is the root user?

• The power of the root user

• Basic concept of security groups and users

• Experience using a Linux terminal emulator

• Fundamental networking concepts

• Fundamental understanding of interpreted programming languages (Perl, Python, Ruby)

• Networking protocols such as HTTP, LDAP, FTP, IMAP, SMTP

• Cores that compose a computer operating system: file system, drivers, and the kerne