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Managing Key Services on RHEL 8 - systemd/Scheduling/Time Services

An important part of Linux system administration is managing scheduled tasks. Scheduled tasks can be used for system management, applications, reporting and more. In this hands-on lab, we will examine scheduling tasks using at and cron. Additionally, a key part of managing a RHEL 8 system is managing services using 'systemd'. With 'systemd' we can not only configure and manage services, but set and change system boot targets. In these tasks, we will not only start, stop and configure services to start automatically at boot, but will also configure systems to boot into a specific target automatically. Correct system time is critical for a properly functioning server. Important functions like authentication, logging and more depend on the system time being in sync. Finally, we will also examine how to configure time service clients on RHEL 8. *This course is not approved or sponsored by Red Hat.*

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Path Info

Level
Clock icon Beginner
Duration
Clock icon 30m
Last updated
Clock icon Aug 27, 2025

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Table of Contents

  1. Challenge

    Schedule Tasks Using at and cron

    1. Query and install needed packages.
    2. Configure at tasks and troubleshoot issues.
    3. Configure cron tasks to execute a script on a schedule.
    4. Troubleshoot any issues that occur.
    5. Verify the script performs properly.

  2. Challenge

    Start and Stop Services and Configure Services to Start Automatically at Boot

    1. Query status and troubleshoot a system service
    2. Configure it to start at boot and run persistently
    3. Verify the status of the service.

  3. Challenge

    Configure Systems to Boot into a Specific Target Automatically

    1. Query the system's default target.
    2. Set a different default target.
    3. Reboot the system to test the configuration.
    4. Verify the default target's state.

  4. Challenge

    Configure Time Service Clients

    1. Query the status of time services.
    2. Query the current configuration of time sources.
    3. Replace the time sources with your organizational ones.
    4. Verify and get statistics about time services.
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Pluralsight Skills

Pluralsight Skills gives leaders confidence they have the skills needed to execute technology strategy. Technology teams can benchmark expertise across roles, speed up release cycles and build reliable, secure products. By leveraging our expert content, skill assessments and one-of-a-kind analytics, keep up with the pace of change, put the right people on the right projects and boost productivity. It's the most effective path to developing tech skills at scale.

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