[plug] Sysadmin training courses for Linux?

[David Campbell]

Appologies in advance for the broadcast email (and the size of this 
message). I would like some input from the other Linux User Groups in 
Australia on the subject of sysadmin (and related areas) training for 
Linux.

Background
=====================

During the discussions of the Perth Linux User Group on Monday night 
(25th Jan), there was a heated discussion (not quite a heated debate 
but coming close) on how to promote Linux in the general comunity. In 
the previous week there had been a small segment (1 min 36 sec) on 
Channel 10 News about Linux which generated mixed responses (the Prez 
[Chris Cornish] was fuming at the way the footage was edited although 
he had a marked increase in queries [and sales] at his day job about 
Linux). Check http://www.cantech.net.au/plug/ for the .avi of the 
Channel 10 segment and make up your own mind.

One line of thought was that the article promoted Linux as a drop in 
replacement for Win95 causing people to rush out and "try it" 
possibly getting burnt and giving Linux a bad reputation. General 
concensus was that a little bit of instruction (training) could go a 
long way.

Two personal comments here is that people think they know enough 
(about Linux) but actually only enough to be dangerous, secondly 
[Linux/Unix] "If you want this kind of computing power you must 
realise it doesn't come easily" [although it is becoming easier every 
year :-]. If you wish to flame me on the above views, see the flame 
thrower section later...  

    (I will be playing "Devil's Advocate" for some of the following sections).

Education - Industry
=====================

Observations to date, Linux has achieved "critical mass" for a 
segment of the network server market (internet servers) approximately 
two years ago. I would expect that Linux should have "all the fruit" 
required for decent office desktop within 12-18 months. The 
improvements in "office applications" area in the past 12 months is 
somewhere between dramatic and miraculous, however there is still an 
air of "not quite there yet".  

One area where Linux should be able to hold its own is the file/print 
server section. I have seen numerous emails on the finer points of 
samba configuration which would leave competing products for dead. If 
Samba is so good, why aren't more companies using it?  

The answer is that there are a LOT of people who do not fully 
understand Samba (Linux or other applications such as Apache). 
Without proper understanding, people will be unprepared to "stick 
their neck out" and take the risk (fear of the unknown). I am well 
aware the existence of the fine book "Samba: Integrating UNIX and 
Windows", however simply having a book/online documentation does not 
meet the requirements of some corporate organisations.  

To meet the training requirements of some companies requires 
attendance of courses which issue a "certificate of attendance", not 
necessarily passed - for example I have a certificate which states 
"This is to certify that xxxx has completed a course of instruction 
in yyyy". Providing there is a course fits the requirement (for 
example install a web server) that is reasonably priced, recognised 
to deliver the goods then getting managerial approval will be easy 
(compared to finding a suitable course from my experience!)  

For example a new web server, Case 1:
	Platform		Software Cost	Training cost
	NT 4.0		@$1000		5 days (@$200/day)
	Linux		$30			$50 (read from the book)	

My experience of management is that they will not persue the Linux 
option (unless they are extremely short of cash or do not have to 
answer to anyone for their actions). The NT option would be 
considered "safe" despite the $2000 price difference, there is no 
guarantee that "Johnny" will be able to get a Linux web server 
running. The training covers relevant OS basics, web server install 
and quick internet security rundown - I think 5 days is reasonable.

Case 2:
	Platform		Software Cost	Training cost
	NT 4.0		@$1000		5 days (@$200/day)
	Linux		$30			5 days (@$200/day)

Just by adding the training component into the system, management 
will now feel "safe" since they can justify the expenditure since 
there is some guarantee of seeing an end result. (eg: "John Citizen 
went to the training course and was able to install a web server 
there, so he should be able to install it at the office, besides he 
has the course notes to help him").  

The fly in the oitment here is the ability of "recognised to deliver the goods", often 
a manager will base his opinion on this matter by:
   a) is the company/organisation delivering the course a reputable training company
   b) is the course recognised by professional bodies
	(eg: Australian Computer Society as part of their on-going training requirements
	for membership, or similar)

  !!! IF YOU KNOW OF ANY SUCH TRAINING COURSES, PLEASE LET ME KNOW !!!

I am currently looking for help to kick start these courses, there is 
a lot of unknowns here which is more than I can handle (If courses 
are available, I would like to put web links to them. No point re-
inventing the wheel). For example:

a) What courses would industry be looking for?
b) How could we get these courses accredited?
c) How could local Linux User Groups be involved?

Or do we just say "It is just all too hard!"?

Education - Home user
=====================

One interesting development is the sale of pre-installed Linux boxes 
for the home market. The PLUG Prez [Chris Cornish] is one of these 
people getting involved in this segement of the market. To ensure 
that the customer is satisfied he sends the proud owner to a quick 
training course on Linux.  

The question I have is what courses currently exist which would 
gently ease a computer neophyte into the world of Linux? One 
suggestion would be for local Linux user groups to be involved with 
local TAFEs (In Western Australia, TAFE runs "Adult Comunity 
Education" such as "Intro to Excel" etc) to conduct night classes. If 
we follow the TAFE line of thought, how much course material is 
currently available and how much would need to developed (naturally 
the first week would end up being a "this is a mouse, this is a hard 
drive..." session).   

Some work is currently underway with the computerbank project. For more info, you could 
check out the ComputerBank WA homepage at 
http://www.q-net.net.au/~buddrige/computerbank/ and specifically the
documentation project that is a part of it:
http://www.q-net.net.au/~buddrige/computerbank/doco/

Flame Thrower
=====================

The above are the views of David Campbell and may not reflect the 
views of the Perth Linux User Group (http://plug.linux.org.au/) or 
its comittee. I am willing to be corrected providing you have some 
constructive comments to add, this way the whole Linux community  
moves forward.

David Campbell