CentOS Stream: Enterprise Linux Administration and Infrastructure Modernization Training Course

CentOS Stream Architecture and Release Strategy

• Exploring the CentOS Stream rolling-release model in contrast to point release distributions.
• The role of CentOS Stream in upstream development for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
• Conventions for naming, stream repositories, and content versioning strategies.
• Choosing and switching between multiple streams to ensure application compatibility.

Installation and Automated Deployment

• Detailed walkthrough of the interactive Anaconda graphical and text-based installers.
• Using Kickstart files to execute fully automated, unattended installations.
• Network boot via PXE and TFTP-based installation workflows.
• Provisioning for cloud environments using containerized and cloud-init-based methods.
• Partitioning strategies and filesystem selection, focusing on Btrfs and XFS defaults.

Package Management and Module Streams

• Advanced DNF operations, covering transaction management and dependency resolution.
• Utilizing module streams for flexible software versions and language runtimes.
• Configuring repositories, verifying GPG signatures, and creating custom repositories.
• Managing content views and tracking errata for enterprise update control.

System Service Management with systemd

• Comprehending systemd targets, units, and the dependency graph.
• Authoring, enabling, and troubleshooting custom service units.
• Implementing Journal logging, log rotation, and persistent log storage.
• Controlling resources through systemd slices and resource manager policies.
• Configuring kdump for crash dumps and handling kernel panics.

Modern Network Configuration

• Essentials of NetworkManager configuration via CLI and CUI.
• Setting up interface bonding, bridges, VLANs, and teaming configurations.
• Defining Firewalld rich rules, zones, services, and port forwarding.
• Managing IPv6 routing, firewall rules, and DNS resolution using systemd-resolved.
• Applying network debugging tools and packet capture techniques.

Container and Pod Infrastructure

• Comparing Podman and Docker: fundamentals of daemonless container workflows.
• Creating container images with Buildah without relying on Dockerfiles or daemons.
• Deploying rootless containers and mapping user namespaces.
• Using Red Hat Universal Base Images and Alpine-based lightweight containers.
• Managing storage drivers, volume mounts, and inter-container network communication.
• Overseeing container lifecycle and monitoring using skopeo and crun.

Security Hardening

• Configuring SELinux enforcing mode, managing policies, and troubleshooting audits.
• Designing hardened zones and composing rules in Firewalld.
• Hardening SSH, implementing key-based authentication, and setting up bastion hosts.
• Enforcing password policies, utilizing PAM modules, and managing privilege escalation via sudo.
• Configuring and validating FIPS 140-2/140-3 compliance.
• Implementing kernel live patching and CVE remediation workflows.

Storage and Filesystem Management

• Using LVM2 logical volume management for dynamic capacity planning.
• Managing Btrfs snapshots, subvolumes, and auto-decompression.
• Configuring NFS and Samba file sharing services.
• Implementing Multipath I/O for SAN storage redundancy and failover.
• Encrypting disks with LUKS and automating unlock processes via initramfs.

System Monitoring and Kernel Management

• Monitoring performance using sar, top, and perf profiling.
• Debugging system services with strace, ltrace, and GDB.
• Handling kernel updates, bootloader configuration, and GRUB2 customization.
• Managing system state and performing crash analysis.

Automation and Infrastructure as Code

• Designing Ansible inventories for managing CentOS Stream hosts.
• Creating workflows for automated patching and detecting compliance drift.
• Implementing IaC modules for scalable configuration management.
• Developing provisioning playbooks and orchestration strategies for deployment.