LPI BSD Specialist study plan
LPI BSD Specialist · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Basic BSD System Administration & Basic Unix Skills
Install FreeBSD (or GhostBSD/OpenBSD if you prefer) on a spare machine or VM and complete the post-install configuration wizard without outside help.
Create at least three user accounts, assign them to the wheel group where appropriate, and verify privilege escalation with su and doas/sudo.
Navigate the filesystem hierarchy from memory: locate rc.conf, /etc/rc.d, /usr/local/etc, /var/log, and the boot loader configuration files.
Practise the core Unix toolbox (grep, find, sort, uniq, cut, awk, sed, pipes, redirection, job control) on real log files and confirm each result.
Your checkpoint
A one-page cheat sheet of the FreeBSD directory layout and rc.conf/rc.d service control commands, written from memory then checked against man pages.
Basic Unix Skills & Basic BSD System Administration
Set and explain file permissions in both octal and symbolic notation, including setuid, setgid, and sticky bits.
Manage users and groups with pw and adduser, then verify entries in master.passwd and group.
Edit text confidently in vi: insert, delete, search, substitute, and save without a mouse.
Schedule recurring and one-off jobs with cron and at, and read the resulting mail/log output.
Your checkpoint
A scripted permission lab: a directory tree with three users sharing a group-writable folder, with a transcript showing each permission change and its effect.
Storage Devices and BSD Filesystems & BSD Installation and Software Management
Partition a disk with GPT using gpart and label the slices meaningfully.
Create, mount, and tune UFS2 and ZFS filesystems, and record the exact commands used.
Install packages with pkg and ports (or OpenBSD packages), including searching, installing, upgrading, and removing.
Configure /etc/fstab and verify mounts survive a reboot.
Your checkpoint
A working second disk with a UFS2 partition and a ZFS pool (or two UFS2 partitions), mounted via fstab, with df and zpool status output captured as proof.
Storage Devices and BSD Filesystems & BSD Installation and Software Management
Take and restore a ZFS snapshot; demonstrate rollback and explain send/receive.
Configure a swap partition and verify it is active with swapinfo.
Build a package from ports (or equivalent) and explain where the result lands.
Diagnose a deliberately broken fstab entry and recover the system into single-user mode.
Your checkpoint
A recovery log: break the boot, fix it from single-user mode, and document each step with the commands and error messages you saw.
Basic BSD Network Administration & Basic BSD System Administration
Configure static IPv4 and IPv6 addressing in rc.conf and verify with ifconfig and netstat.
Set up a working resolver in /etc/resolv.conf and test name resolution with drill or host.
Enable and test the SSH daemon, including key-based login and disabling password auth.
Read the routing table and add/remove a static route.
Your checkpoint
A network configuration file set (rc.conf, resolv.conf, sshd_config) plus ifconfig, netstat -rn, and a successful key-based SSH login transcript.
Basic BSD Network Administration & BSD Installation and Software Management
Configure PF (or OpenBSD pf.conf) with a minimal default-deny ruleset and verify with pfctl.
Enable a simple service (e.g., a web server) and confirm it survives reboot and is reachable.
Inspect firewall logs and blocked connections.
Update the base system and installed packages, then verify versions with freebsd-version and pkg info.
Your checkpoint
A tested pf.conf with at least one allow and one deny rule, plus pfctl -sr output and a log line proving a blocked connection.
Basic BSD System Administration & Storage Devices and BSD Filesystems
Read and act on system logs: /var/log/messages, dmesg, and the security log.
Manage rc.d services: enable, disable, start, stop, and check status.
Back up and restore a filesystem or dataset with dump/restore or zfs send/receive.
Monitor disk and memory usage and identify a full filesystem.
Your checkpoint
A backup and restore demonstration: back up a dataset or partition, delete the original, restore it, and diff the contents to prove integrity.
BSD Installation and Software Management & Storage Devices and BSD Filesystems & Basic BSD System Administration & Basic BSD Network Administration & Basic Unix Skills
Take two full timed practice exams and record every missed question by domain.
Re-read man pages for every command you missed and write a one-line explanation of each.
Rebuild your weakest lab (storage or networking) from scratch without notes.
Review your cheat sheets and consolidate them into a single reference.
Your checkpoint
A scored practice-exam report with a per-domain error tally and a list of re-drilled commands, all resolved before exam day.
Milestones
Week 2: You can create a user, set permissions, and schedule a cron job from memory in under ten minutes.
Week 4: You have created, mounted, snapshotted, and recovered a filesystem, and can boot into single-user mode to fix fstab.
Week 6: Your machine survives reboot with static networking, SSH key auth, and a default-deny firewall, all verified by command output.
Week 8: Two timed practice exams completed with a per-domain error tally, and every missed command re-drilled and explained.