Common Questions About Guru Labs Linux Training
Remote Classroom Training
Distributions
Courseware
Instructors
Training
Certification
Facilities
Remote Classroom Training
Q: Is Remote Classroom training the same as physically being in the classroom?
A: Students receiving Guru Labs training through the Remote Classroom Training environment will have the same great Guru Labs Linux courseware and the same great instructors as they would in a physical class. Guru Labs uses Elluminate Live! to provide the Remote Classroom Training lecture environment and the Guru Labs Remote Classroom Training Labs to provide the lab environment for the hands-on learning. These two world-class systems allow for students to receive the same training over the Internet as they would in a physical classroom.
Q: What are the system requirements for Remote Classroom Training?
A: The system requirements for the Remote Classroom Training environment can be found here. Generally speaking any system that has Java installed and is connected to the Internet will work with Remote Classroom Training. However the system should be tested to make sure Java and audio are working.
Q: How does the audio and video work for participating in Remote Classroom Training?
A: Audio is available to the students and instructor over the Internet (no phone lines are required). Students will access the audio of the classroom through their computers. This involves wearing a headset that has a microphone. Video (via web cams) is an optional feature in the classroom. The instructor may broadcast a video feed for presentations and lecture. Students who have working web cams may choose to broadcast a video feed back to the Remote Classroom Training environment.
Q: Do I need a phone to participate in the training?
A: No. Audio communications for the Remote Classroom Training will happen over the Internet. Student will need a headset connected to their computers to be able to hear and communicate with the instructor and other students.
Q: Will I be able to see the instructor during the training?
A: Most of the time students will not see the instructor via video. However there may be moments during lecture sessions where the Instructor chooses to broadcast a video feed. Even though video may not be always active students will still see the instructional slides and graphics. The instructor may also use the white board and application sharing features of the virtual classroom to provide additional visual reference to the materials taught.
Q: Will I be able to see the other students while receiving the training?
A: Although the Remote Classroom Training environment is capable of broadcasting video feeds, most of the time this feature will be disabled.
Q: What happens if I have a question for the instructor?
A: The Remote Classroom Training interface is very robust in communication and collaboration tools. Student who wish to interact with the Instructor may do so by any number of methods. The primary method to ask questions is to just speak to the instructor through your headset microphone. Other commonly used collaboration tools are classroom chat (public and private), "raise hand", emoticons (laughter, applause, disapproval, confusion), and polling.
Q: Can I participate in Remote Classroom Training with my computer system running Linux?
A: Yes. The Remote Classroom Training environment can be accessed from a Linux system. Please refer to the system requirements page for more information.
Q: Will I have access to lab exercises after or before class start and ending times?
A: Students will have access to lab exercises before and after class throughout the week of training.
Q: What if I have difficulty with my Internet connection beyond my control, can I get a refund for the days I missed?
A: In the event that students have technical difficulty with their Internet connection that is beyond their control, they can show us a trouble ticket from their ISP provider for the days and times they were without a connection. This will help us determine whether to reschedule class for that student or provide a partial refund of class tuition.
Q: What time does class start and what time zone?
A: Class start time and time zone are indicated in the class registration form. The class registration form can be accessed by clicking the 
button next to any scheduled class.
Distributions
Q: Which distributions are covered in Guru Labs training courses?
A: Guru Labs targets the latest versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) , SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) and with some titles Ubuntu LTS. Because of the close correlation of RHEL and CentOS we also support CentOS.
For most of our courses we let the student select which of the supported distributions they would like to have on their workstation during training. You can see the lasted supported distribution on the specific course page.
Courseware Curriculum
Q: What curriculum (courseware) is used for Guru Labs training?
A: All of Guru Labs Linux training courses use courseware developed by Guru Labs. We do not use curriculum provided by the distribution vendors (RHEL, SLES, etc.). This makes Guru Labs Linux training courses unique in that no one vendor influences the topics covered in class. Students receive during training a wonderful perspective on Linux as a whole rather than from the perspective of one vendor.
Guru Labs Linux courseware is highly acclaimed and used by many other educational organizations. Guru Lab provides courseware to corporations, training centers, and academic institutions. More information about our Partner Program can be found here.
Instructors
Q: Do you have good instructors?
A: Our instructors have been carefully picked for their real world experience and ability to convey complex technical topics in a manner easy to understand and follow. There are many, many system administration professionals that know Linux and security topics but few can teach and convey those topics to students. Likewise, there are many quality instructors that lack the experience and depth of technical topics on Linux specifically.
Guru Labs instructors are active participants in the open source community and make many contributions to various projects. They have a contagious enthusiasm for Linux and technology in general.
Our instructors are friendly people and solid communicators with exceptional technical skills.
Training
Q: Who should come to training?
A: Guru Labs Linux training courses are designed to help people become power users of the Linux operating system to learn best practices. Usually this means system administrators are most interested in our Linux training but our training can be for almost any IT professional. Our courses range from fundamentals of the Linux operating system to advanced administration and security.
Q: Why should I choose Guru Labs Linux training instead of some other organization?
A: At Guru Labs, Linux is our passion. The company was founded over 10 years ago by active participants in the Linux community specifically to offer Linux classes. We are not hopping on the bandwagon, we helped build the wagon.
Since we are not owned by a Linux distributor we are able to offer unbiased training without any pressure to toe a company line or up-sell other products.
Our students tell us the top reasons they love Guru Labs training are:
- Great "Guru" Instructors
- Un-matched topic coverage with real-world, in-depth labs
- Excellent student manuals that double as reference manuals with an index and a table of contents
Q: What do I need to bring to class?
A: Not much. You will be provided a workstation for the week to perform lab exercises. Also provided is the courseware learning manual. Pens, pencils, and paper for taking notes are available upon request. Students will be on their own for Lunch. Restaurants are close to the facility.
Q: How will I know class is confirmed or canceled?
A: Students will receive an email or phone call from a Guru Labs sales representative indicating class confirmation or rescheduling.
Q: If the course is above my comprehension, can I reschedule for another level class or get a refund?
A: If a student determines on the first day of class he or she is in a class that is beyond their aptitude to learn may reschedule for another lower level class. If a lower level class is not available then the student may request a refund. If rescheduling arrangements have not been made during the first day of class, students will be charged full tuition of the registered class.
Certification
Q: Does Guru Labs provide certification tests?
A: No, Guru Labs is not a certification testing facility. However upon request pre-class and post-class assessment exams can be administered to students looking to validate their learning comprehension.
Facilities
Q: Are your facilities good?
A: Yes, top notch. Each classroom is equipped with modern computers so each student has their own workstation. Each workstation is connected to a Gigabit switched network. High-end, bright projectors are mounted in the ceiling and project onto the center of generous 30 foot wide white boards. The student desks were custom fabricated to our exact specifications and have power and cabling internally routed for a mess free environment. Check out photos of our classrooms.
We have a large break-room with soda pop, coffee, tea, and filtered water. Light refreshments are served in the morning and afternoon.
Q: What Internet and phone access do you provide?
A: We have a multiple full point-to-point T1 and business class DSL for our Internet connections. All the student computers have connectivity to the Internet. For students who need Internet access for their personal devises we provide and an open wireless connection. Student access phones are in our lobby for inbound and outbound phone calls.
Q: I'm traveling to Guru Labs, what do I need to know?
A: Please check our travel information page with airport, hotel, car, and distance information.