Hello, and a big warm welcome to you to this Pluralsight presentation.
My name is Andrew Mallett,
and I'm absolutely delighted to be here to help guide you through the
module where we take a look at studying and taking the exam.
And of course,
all of this is to do with our Linux+ exam and the latest incarnation,
the XKO‑005.
When we take a look at how you can study and practice for the exam,
then, of course, we're going to suggest that you go through all four topic
courses that make up the Pluralsight playlist for this. By doing so,
you're going to get the very best experience. But if all you do is watch
the videos, then you don't really have that hands‑on experience and that
full learning process. You really need to go through and practice and
research each demo. Yes, don't just practice it,
research it. Think of some of your own ideas. But at the very
least, don't just copy and paste the code,
write it yourself so what you write is really going to then
be cemented into your memory. Especially when we come and
look at some of the scripts, some of the YAML files,
so definitely related to what we look at within our automation
course. And also, build your own scenarios,
thinking okay,
well, the demonstration is doing this. What if I wanted to install
this software? Or what if I wanted to block this through my firewall?
Anything that you do that you have thought of is also going to really
stick. And that's what we want, is for what you are learning to
really be cemented into your long‑term memory. It's going to work
both on the exam,
but also for your own workplace and your experience and promotion at work.
I want you to be the expert in your environment.
You can then go through and show that you have the
knowledge and what it takes to succeed.
So to demonstrate, you're going to be able to build your own labs.
Our labs that we use throughout the course are going to
be built on Vagrant and VirtualBox.
This is free and open source software that is available on Windows,
Linux, and macOS, so there really shouldn't be a problem
installing it. For a demonstration of the installation of Vagrant
and VirtualBox, we actually do cover this.
It's not part of the absolute objectives, but we put it into the CompTIA
Linux+: Scripting, Containers, and Automation course.
So just jump ahead and take a quick look at that.
It's the first element that you'll see from the course. Run
through that and make sure that you've got it up installed
and you understand how it works.
We use three virtual machines, so Ubuntu 20.04,
openSUSE 15.2, and AlmaLinux 8.5.
We also provide you with the Vagrant file.
The Vagrant file becomes the script, if you like. It's written in Ruby, but it's
the script that sets up your virtual machines in Vagrant. So you don't need to
know that much about Vagrant to get it up and running, but as I said, we'll
demonstrate this and show you how to get it up and running and provide you with
the Vagrant file in the automation course. The exam itself, so XKO‑005, was
released on July 12, 2022.
So it has some multi‑choice elements, some practical elements.
The practical side of things mimics the Linux console where
you can configure elements as required.
So it's not a Linux console, but it mimics it, so you're going to be able to
then go through and carry out whatever task the exam sets. It's this practical
side, or what the CompTIA call the performance side, that really gives it value
because you're not just trying to work out what the answer is from a choice in
front of you. You can actually demonstrate your skills by carrying out the task
as it is laid before you.
It's 135 minutes that you get for the exam, and it costs 348 US dollars.
Now in the UK, I'm based in the UK, for us, that works out to
be £248, including taxes. You might find you have taxes to pay
in your own geographic region.
Now again,
the best way to find out some of the exam details and the
recommendations is to actually go through and visit the website.
So why don't we come back in the next clip and take a look at how we navigate and what needs to be done to set up the exam.