The Linux Professional Institute’s LPIC1 - Junior Level Administration is an entry level certification for IT professionals who want to show a base level of “vendor independent and distribution neutral” knowledge of Linux.

The LPIC1 certification emerged in January 2000 and has been revised as of March 2003. There are no specific prerequisites for the LPIC1, although candidates should be able to perform these tasks: work at the Linux command line; perform easy maintenance tasks: help out users, add users to a larger system, backup and restore, shutdown and reboot; and install and configure a workstation (including X) and connect it to a LAN, or a stand-alone PC via modem to the Internet

Job roles of those pursuing this certification typically include: system administrators and network administrators. Some of these administrators will be junior ones while others may be quite experienced in other operating systems, such as Windows, NetWare and UNIX, but new to Linux.

In terms of recertification, this is what the LPI says: “We made the decision then that we would not expire the certifications. We do recommend that our alumni consider voluntarily recertifying every few years as technology changes but we do not require it.”

To achieve the LPIC1, a candidate must pass two exams.