Activity Report 1 – Linux System Administration

What does 16, 04 and LTS mean in Ubuntu?

What does 16, 04 and LTS mean in Ubuntu?

16 is the year of the release while 04 is the month that was released. LTM means Long term support for   the Ubuntu that was release on that year. Ubuntu long term support is 5 years.

What is AMD64 vs i386?

 AMD64 is a 64 bit edition for AMD and Intel processors while i386 is a 32 bit edition for Intel and AMD

What are different Linux distributions?

• Debian,
• Fedora
• OpenSuse
• Mageia

How much RAM is needed for Ubuntu Server?

 256 MB

How big should the disk be?

The size of disk will depends on file system format for e.g. ext4 file system support volumes with sizes up to 1 exbibyte.

 Should dynamic or fix sized disks be used?

  Fixed size is recommended since it decrease the amount of defragmentation.

 How many CPUs does your computer have?

1 physical CPU 2 cores and 4 Logical processors

Do you need hardware virtualization, e.g. VT-x? NAT or Bridged or Internal network?

  Yes

 Can you change the MAC address for a machine?

   No. Mac address is hard-coded into a network card and can never be changed.

Questions

1. Responsibilities of System Administrator User administration – Setup user accounts and maintain them.Monitor system performances – By using utilities such as htop etc.

• Update system – As soon the new version release system admin will have to verify for compatibilities before upgrading.
• Implement policies to be used in the network
• Monitor server security. Keep system and applications up to date.

1. Summary of Installation of Virtual Box and Ubuntu Server 

VirtualBox Installation

• Download VirtualBox setup for windows from.
• Double click wizard and accept agreement
• Click Next and Finish Installation

Installation of Ubuntu Server

• Download Ubuntu Server ISO file Version 16.04.4 from.
• Open VirtualBox and Create New Virtual Machine
• Set Memory Size(RAM) for Virtual Machine
• Add Virtual Hard Disk to the new Virtual Machine
• Choose Hardisk File Type
• Choose Storage Type in the Hardisk
• Give a name of new Virtual Hardisk File, choose storage location and size
• Done creating Virtual Machine without Operating System
• Select the created virtual machine and click start
• Locate Ubuntu ISO file and select
• Choose preferred Ubuntu Server language
• Select the first option “INSTALL UBUNTU SERVER”
• Choose language to be used for installation process
• Configure your preferred Keyboard Language
• Select Preferred Keyboard Layout
• Configure hostname for the server
• Enter full name for the server and click continue
• Set up username and click continue
• Set up password [use strong password] and click continue
• Encrypt your home directory select No
• Select your time zone
• Use Guided partition
• Installation process start
• Configure Tasks – Set No Automatic Upgrades
• Select software to install – Select Openssh Server and click space
• Install Grub boot loader to the master boot record
• Installation of Ubuntu Server – Login using the set username and password 

1. Describe the following: Cloning, Snapshot and Copies/Backups

• Cloning: Involves creating a copy from an original copy but with different Hardisk UUID, VM UUID and Mac address of the network card. Cloning is used when you are deploying several virtual servers on a network. Instead of repeating installation process, you will just clone the existing and deploy.
• Snapshots: Involves taking a point in time of VM. Snapshots are used when you are installing a program that may break system kernel or behavior. In case the server failed you will just rolled back to the previous snapshot.
• Copies/Backups: This involves making a copy of original VM. Mac address for Network Card, Hardisk and VM UUID will not change. Copies are done for backup purposes.

1. Record details of virtual Machine include: Memory, Disk Size, Network Configuration

• Memory Size: 1024mb
• Disk Size: 10GB
• Network Configuration: NAT

WEEK 2

1. Describe basic information for putty options for putty and what each option does

• Host Name: This is where we put the IP address or hostname of the computer we are connecting to.
• Port: This is where we put the Openssh port number of the computer we are connecting to.
• Connection Type: This is the protocol that we use to connect through.
• Session logging: This stores session logs for every connection. 

1. Briefly describe the default information that byobu displays.

• Date and Time: Displayed in the lower bar on the far right in the default text and default background colors.
• Swap: Total swap space and total used as a percentage of the total available; displayed in the lower bar toward the right in black text ona light green background with a trailing ‘%’ sign.
• Session: Displayed in the lower bar on the left and underlined in black text on a white background.
• Release: – OS distribution is displayed in the lower bar in bold black text toward the left on a grey background.
• Memory: Total memory available in percentage and displayed in the lower bar toward the right in white text on a green background.
• Logo: Current operating system logo which is displayed in the lower bar on the far left of terminal.
• Updates Available: The number of updates  available  on  the  system is displayed  in  the  lower  bar  toward the right in white text on a red background with  a  trailing  ‘!’  sign;  if  any  updates  are  marked  ‘security  updates’,  then  there  will  be  a  total  of  two trailing exclamation points ‘!!’.
• Uptime: This is the total system uptime since the last boot and is displayed in the lower bar toward the right in blue text on a grey background.

WEEK 3

SOLUTION: Practical

WEEK 4 PART 1

1. What command would you use to check which process is using too many resources? Briefly describe what this command does.

• ps command: This command shows the user, amount of memory consumed, amount cpu consuming, PID and the location of the command of current process.

1. Assume that the misbehaving process might be legitimate and doesn’t deserve to die. Show the commands you would use to suspend the process temporarily while you investigate.

kill -STOP PID: Example. kill –STOP 3444

1. Later, you discover that the process was launched by your boss and must continue running. Show the commands you would use to resume the task.

kill -CONT PID: Example kill –CONT 3444

1. Much later, your boss tells you that the process now needs to be killed. What signal would you send, and why? What if you needed to guarantee that the process is killed?

Kill -9 PID: Example kill -9 3444

WEEK 4 PART 2

SOLUTION: Practical

WEEK 5 PART 1

1. Explain how passwords are stored on a Linux system (you don’t have to explain all files or the use of usernames, locks or user ids; focus only on the password). Include an example from your Linux machine to support the explanation.

• Password are stored in a /etc/shadow file. The password is salted, hashed and readable by the root user only. 

1. How to add users manually in Linux.

• Add an entry for the user in the /etc/passwd file using vipw.
• Add an entry for the group in the /etc/group file using vigr.
• Create the home directory of the user with mkdir.
• Copy the files from /etc/skel to the new home directory.
• Fix ownerships and permissions with chown and chmod.
• Use below commands to fix permissions

cd /home/newacc

chown -R newacc.group .

chmod -R go=u,go-w .

chmod go= .

• Set the password with passwd command

WEEK 5 PART 2

Implementing access control policy in Linux is hard for a novice, also it require more time to handle one file at a time. Also a command carries many arguments which is difficult to understand its functions. 

Reference

Linode Guides & Tutorials. (2018). Modify File Permissions with chmod. [online] Available at:

Linuxconfig.org. (2018). Bash scripting Tutorial – LinuxConfig.org. [online] Available at: [Accessed 30 Mar. 2018].

Kili, A. and Posts, V. (2018). 30 Useful ‘ps Command’ Examples for Linux Process Monitoring. [online] Tecmint.com. Available at:

slashroot.in. (2018). How are passwords stored in Linux (Understanding hashing with shadow utils). [online] Available at: 

Forums.virtualbox.org. (2018). virtualbox.org • View topic – Clone vs. Snapshot vs. Copy-a-Folder. [online] Available at: 

Help.ubuntu.com. (2018). Installation/SystemRequirements – Community Help Wiki. [online] Available at: 

Manpages.ubuntu.com. (2018). Ubuntu Manpage: byobu – wrapper script for seeding a user’s byobu configuration and. [online] Available at: