Lab 1 – Install Linux VM
This Lab covered the basics of what Linux is, how to use it, and a few simple commands in a Linux terminal.
This assignment did a great job of introducing me to both Linux and the core structure of how this class would operate throughout the semester.
Lab 2 – Working with Command Line
This Lab covered displaying, navigating, and editing directories and files throughout the semester.
It was interesting to learn about how to narrow down which content from the file to output using commands like ‘cat /etc/group | tail -5’. Unfortunately, I had a tough time getting a hang of all the different options for filtering what was output, but I’m still working on it!
Lab 3 – Working with VI Editor
This assignment covered working in VI Editor in the Linux terminal. Some of the tasks included opening an existing file in vi-editor, traversing the file using the correct commands, editing or deleting existing file content, and adding in new content.
I actually really enjoyed getting to play around in the vi-editor and learning its any uses and functions. Unfortunately, even now I still often forget to switch into insert mode before I start trying to type new content I want to add.
Lab 4 – User and Group Accounts
This Lab involved practicing how to make, edit, and delete both user and group accounts. It also included working with memberships and permissions for groups as well.
Acting as the root user (using sudo), I created a new user that I also added to the sudo group. Acting as the new user; acting as the root user, I created a new group that was used to help practice group permissions.
Lab 5 – Password Cracking
This Lab was all about how the complexity of a password impacts it’s strength against a password cracking software called John the Ripper. I really enjoyed coming up with passwords to go along with each of the different qualifications and then being able to immediately test them against John the Ripper to see how they held up.
This assignment really highlighted how important it is to use strong, unique passwords on all accounts and devices. Even though it may have been intriguing to play the hacker for a few minutes, it was scary to see just how quickly weaker passwords were cracked using the given wordlist.
Lab 6 – File Permission
This lab included creating multiple groups and accounts with the purpose of practicing file permissions using octal method. It also involved changing permissions on directories as well.
I ended up having a really har time with learning the octal method. I am dyslexic and because of that, the different combinations of the small ‘rwx’s and dashes were extremely difficult to read and distinguish from one another. Thankfully, I am in a position where I can always ask for help and my family members never mind helping me distinguish between characters on assignments when I need it.
Lab 7 – Manage Local Storage
This lab contains managing hard disk devices and hard disk partitions through Linux. It also includes extra practice with the 3 commands used to check file systems.
The second part of this lab gave me a fair amount of trouble due to my own unfortunate error. Rather than attaching a new virtual hard disk to the current one like intended, I somehow replaced the original with the new one instead. I eventually figured out how to reset the settings so I could start over, but it took a while.
Lab 8 – Shell Scripting
This assignment went over writing shell scripts that perform simple tasks.
I had a lot of fun completing this lab because I have taken a few beginner Python courses so the writing style of shell scripting wasn’t completely unfamiliar. Even though there are obvious differences, like in syntax, I still feel that what I learned in those previous classes helped me to understand the basics of shell scripting.
Lab 9 – Task Automation
Lab 9 examined using shell scripting to automate a task. This specific scenario was to schedule a backup.
While my small amount of experience with coding in Python may have been beneficial in the previous lab, it was a bit more of a detriment during this one. As the scripts are starting to become more involved, I’m beginning to stumbling more over the small differences.
Lab 10 – Networking Basics and Subnetting
This Lab was about IP addresses and subnetting. Starting with an IP address and a netmask to determine the network address, broadcast address, first IP, last IP, and the maximum number of hosts in the network. Lastly each of the IP addresses were translated into binary.
While a bit tedious, I enjoyed that this assignment helped to reinforce how to break down the subnetting and to understand what that looks like in binary.
Lab 11 – Basic Network Configurations
This lab went over how to explore network configurations and what that can look like in the NAT network connection mode and the bridge mode.
I was actually quite ill at the time I completed this lab so I didn’t fully grasp the differences in the results between the two connection types. Now looking back it’s especially interesting to see the differences in speeds and to compare number of packets dropped.