ExamFinch.com My Study

Study guide

5.2 System Documentation: man, info, and /usr/share/doc

Practice this exam

Red Hat Certified System Administrator RHCSA

Track your progress as you read

Finished sections get a check mark.

1 Introduction & Exam Overview

1.1 Current Exam Facts 1.2 Lab Setup & Performance-Based Study Strategy

2 Essential Tools: Shell, Redirection & Text Analysis

2.1 Shell Prompt and Command Syntax 2.2 Input-Output Redirection and Pipes 2.3 grep and Regular Expressions for Text Analysis

3 Essential Tools: Remote Access, Users & Text Editing

3.1 Access Remote Systems Using SSH 3.2 Log In and Switch Users in Multiuser Targets 3.3 Create and Edit Text Files

4 Essential Tools: Files, Links & Archives

4.1 Create, Delete, Copy, and Move Files and Directories 4.2 Hard and Soft Links 4.3 Archive and Compress with tar, gzip, and bzip2

5 Essential Tools: Permissions & System Documentation

5.1 List, Set, and Change Standard ugo/rwx Permissions 5.2 System Documentation: man, info, and /usr/share/doc

6 Manage Software: RPM and Flatpak

6.1 Configure Access to RPM Repositories 6.2 Install and Remove RPM Software Packages 6.3 Configure Access to Flatpak Repositories 6.4 Install and Remove Flatpak Software Packages

7 Create Simple Shell Scripts

7.1 Conditional Execution: if, test, and [] 7.2 Looping Constructs for Files and Input 7.3 Process Script Inputs ($1, $2, and Beyond) 7.4 Process Shell Command Output in Scripts

8 Operate Running Systems: Boot and Recovery

8.1 Boot, Reboot, and Shut Down a System Normally 8.2 Boot Systems into Different Targets Manually 8.3 Interrupt the Boot Process to Gain Access

9 Operate Running Systems: Processes and Tuning

9.1 Identify and Kill CPU/Memory Intensive Processes 9.2 Adjust Process Scheduling 9.3 Manage Tuning Profiles

10 Operate Running Systems: Logs, Services & File Transfer

10.1 Locate and Interpret System Log Files and Journals 10.2 Preserve System Journals 10.3 Start, Stop, and Check Status of Network Services 10.4 Securely Transfer Files Between Systems

11 Configure Local Storage: Partitions and LVM

11.1 List, Create, and Delete Partitions on GPT Disks 11.2 Create and Remove Physical Volumes 11.3 Assign Physical Volumes to Volume Groups 11.4 Create and Delete Logical Volumes

12 Configure Local Storage: Mounting and Expansion

12.1 Mount File Systems at Boot by UUID or Label 12.2 Add Partitions, Logical Volumes, and Swap Non-Destructively

13 Create and Configure File Systems: Local FS and Permissions

13.1 Create, Mount, and Use VFAT, ext4, and XFS File Systems 13.2 Extend Existing Logical Volumes 13.3 Diagnose and Correct File Permission Problems

14 Create and Configure File Systems: NFS and autofs

14.1 Mount and Unmount Network File Systems Using NFS 14.2 Configure autofs

15 Deploy and Maintain: Scheduling, Services & Targets

15.1 Schedule Tasks with at, cron, and systemd Timers 15.2 Start, Stop, and Enable Services at Boot 15.3 Configure Systems to Boot into a Specific Target

16 Deploy and Maintain: Time, Software Updates & Bootloader

16.1 Configure Time Service Clients 16.2 Install and Update Software from CDN, Remote Repos, and Local Files 16.3 Modify the System Bootloader

17 Manage Basic Networking

17.1 Configure IPv4 and IPv6 Addresses 17.2 Configure Hostname Resolution 17.3 Configure Network Services to Start Automatically at Boot 17.4 Restrict Network Access Using firewalld and firewall-cmd

18 Manage Users and Groups

18.1 Create, Delete, and Modify Local User Accounts 18.2 Change Passwords and Adjust Password Aging 18.3 Create, Delete, and Modify Local Groups and Memberships 18.4 Configure Privileged Access

19 Manage Security: Firewall, umask & SSH Keys

19.1 Configure Firewall Settings with firewall-cmd and firewalld 19.2 Manage Default File Permissions 19.3 Configure Key-Based Authentication for SSH

20 Manage Security: SELinux Modes and Contexts

20.1 Set Enforcing and Permissive Modes for SELinux 20.2 List and Identify SELinux File and Process Contexts 20.3 Restore Default File Contexts

21 Manage Security: SELinux Ports and Booleans

21.1 Manage SELinux Port Labels 21.2 Use Boolean Settings to Modify SELinux Settings

5.2 System Documentation: man, info, and /usr/share/doc

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

man displays Manual pages by section; use man topic, man section topic, and man -k keyword (apropos) when you forget a command name on the exam.

Common man sections include 1 user commands, 5 file formats, 8 admin commands—know which section you need when names collide (for example printf or crontab).

info often provides navigable, multi-node GNU manuals that are deeper than a single man page; learn basic node movement and quitting.

/usr/share/doc holds packaged upstream and distro documentation (README, examples, HTML, copyright)—critical offline reading when the exam network is limited.

RHCSA is closed-book for external web search: local man, info, --help, and /usr/share/doc are legitimate ways to confirm syntax under time pressure.

Last updated: August 2026

RHCSA (EX200) is a performance exam . You will not browse arbitrary websites for answers, but you do have the system itself. Red Hat Enterprise Linux ships extensive local documentation : man pages, info manuals, short --help summaries, and files under /usr/share/doc . The official essential-tools objective expects you to locate, interpret, and use that documentation while solving tasks—especially when a flag, unit file field, or config syntax slips your mind.

Why Documentation Skills Are Graded Indirectly

Graders score the end state of the machine (service enabled, mode correct, network up). They do not score whether you memorized every tar option. Candidates who finish on time almost always open man mid-exam. Treating documentation as a first-class tool—not a last resort—reduces syntax errors and rework.

Typical uses:

  • Confirm chmod symbolic grammar or find predicates
  • Look up sshd_config keyword names (man section 5)
  • Discover package example configs under /usr/share/doc
  • Search which command relates to “logical volume” when the name escapes you
  • man: The Primary Manual Browser
  • Basic invocation man ls
  • man chmod
  • man systemd.unit
  • man 5 passwd # section 5: file format for passwd, not the passwd command
  • man 1 passwd # section 1: the passwd user command

Inside man (less-based pager on RHEL):

  • Key Action
  • Space / f Forward one page
  • b Back one page
  • /pattern Search forward
  • n / N Next / previous search hit
  • g / G Top / bottom
  • h Help
  • q Quit

Exam habit: Search inside the page for a keyword ( /recursive , /example ) instead of reading every line under time pressure.

Manual sections

Pages live in numbered sections . The same name can exist in more than one section with different content:

  • Section Contents (common on Linux)
  • 1 Executable programs or shell commands
  • 2 System calls
  • 3 Library functions
  • 4 Special files (devices)
  • 5 File formats and conventions (configs)
  • 6 Games
  • 7 Miscellaneous (including overviews)
  • 8 System administration commands
  • 9 Kernel routines (where provided)
  • Examples that matter for admins: man 1 crontab # crontab command
  • man 5 crontab # crontab file format
  • man 8 mount
  • man 5 fstab
  • man 7 systemd.directives

If you omit the section, man shows the first match according to a configured section search order (often user commands before formats). When the page feels “wrong” (command vs file format), specify the section explicitly .

Header lines look like CHMOD(1) or PASSWD(5) —the number is the section. That teaches you what kind of page you are reading.

  • man -k and apropos: Find by keyword
  • When you remember the task but not the binary name: man -k password
  • apropos password
  • man -k 'logical volume'
  • man -k fstab

man -k / apropos search short descriptions in the whatis database. Results list names with sections, for example passwd (1) , passwd (5) . Then open the right page.

If keyword search returns nothing unexpected, the database may need rebuild after heavy package installs (historically mandb ); on a standard exam image it should already be populated. Still, prefer exact man command when you know the name—it is faster than scanning long apropos output.

  • Related tools whatis chmod # one-line description from the database
  • man -f chmod # same idea as whatis on many systems
  • man -a printf # show all matching sections sequentially
  • man -w ls # path to the man page file on disk

whatis is excellent for a quick sanity check that you have the right command before diving into a long page.

  • -help and Short Usage
  • Most GNU/CLI tools support: chmod --help
  • systemctl --help
  • ssh -h # some use -h instead of --help

--help is shorter than man and often enough for flag spelling. For configuration file syntax and behavioral notes, man section 5 or packaged docs beat --help .

info: Navigable GNU Manuals

info displays Texinfo documentation used heavily by GNU projects (coreutils, bash, grep, and others). Some topics have richer hierarchical manuals in info than in a single man page. info

  • info coreutils
  • info coreutils 'ls invocation'
  • info bash
  • info libc

Basic navigation (standalone info browser):

  • Key Action
  • n / p Next / previous node at this level
  • u Up to parent node
  • l Last node (history back)
  • Enter on a menu link Follow menu item
  • ] / [ Next / previous node in the file (common bindings)
  • /pattern Search
  • q Quit
  • h Help tutorial

If info feels awkward, start with info coreutils and follow the menu to a specific utility. Many admins still prefer man for day-to-day flags; use info when man says “this is only a summary” or when you need tutorial-style chapters.

Note: Some packages install man pages only; others emphasize info. Being able to open either without panic is the skill.

  • /usr/share/doc: Packaged Documentation Trees
  • Almost every RPM can drop files under: /usr/share/doc/<package-name>-<version>/

or a simplified directory name depending on packaging. Typical contents:

  • README , README.md , NEWS , TODO
  • AUTHORS , COPYING / license texts
  • example/ or examples/ sample configs
  • HTML or text guides for complex services
  • Explore: ls /usr/share/doc | less
  • ls /usr/share/doc | grep -i httpd
  • ls /usr/share/doc/openssh*
  • ls /usr/share/doc/coreutils*
  • find /usr/share/doc -iname '*example*' 2>/dev/null | head

On RHEL, package names match RPM names closely. After installing a package for an exam task, check whether /usr/share/doc includes sample configuration you can copy and adapt— faster and safer than inventing syntax from memory.

  • Also related: rpm -qd package_name # list documentation files owned by a package (when rpm is available)
  • rpm -ql package_name | grep /usr/share/doc

Software management chapters cover RPM deeply; here, know that docs are files on disk you can less or cat offline.

Documentation Hierarchy for Exam Speed

Use this decision order under time pressure:

  • Command you know, flag forgotten → command --help or man 1 command , search with /
  • Config file syntax → man 5 filename or man service.conf style pages; then check examples in /usr/share/doc
  • Forgot the command name → man -k keyword / apropos
  • Deep GNU tool behavior → info topic menus
  • Package-specific samples → /usr/share/doc/<pkg>/

Avoid endless scrolling. Extract the option, write the command, test , then re-check the system state.

Interpreting What You Read

Man pages use conventional notation:

  • Bold or plain command names for literals to type
  • Italic or angle brackets for replaceable arguments
  • [optional] square brackets for optional syntax
  • ... for repeated elements
  • | for alternatives

Synopsis lines are dense—read them slowly once, then jump to EXAMPLES (many pages have that section) or search for a known option name.

Admin pitfalls:

  • Copying an example meant for a different distribution path
  • Using a section 1 command synopsis when you needed section 5 file format
  • Applying an optional flag that changes destructive defaults without reading the description
  • Offline Reality of EX200

Expect no general internet for looking up blogs or external cheat sheets. The installed image’s man pages, info files, and /usr/share/doc are the allowed reference library. Help systems that require online connectivity are not a plan. Practice in a network-restricted lab: complete tasks while using only local docs.

  • Also available on systems: help type # bash builtin help (shell builtins)
  • help [[
  • compgen -c | less # not docs, but discovery of command names

Bash builtins ( cd , type , read , job control) often document better via help builtin than via external man pages—though many also have man pages.

  • Practical Scenario: “Configure X; syntax forgotten”
  • Task: restrict SSH and you forget the exact sshd_config keyword. man 5 sshd_config
  • # inside pager: /PasswordAuthentication
  • # or: /PermitRootLogin
  • sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config
  • sudo sshd -t && sudo systemctl reload sshd
  • Task: need find to locate setuid files—flag spelling uncertain. man find
  • # /perm
  • # or: man -k setuid
  • find / -perm -4000 2>/dev/null
  • Task: package installed, need example unit or config. ls /usr/share/doc | grep -i nginx
  • less /usr/share/doc/nginx*/README*
  • Common Pitfalls
  • Reading passwd(1) when you needed passwd(5) field definitions
  • Quitting without noticing you were in info vs man (different keys)—remember q exits both in normal setups
  • Ignoring EXAMPLES sections that show the exact pattern you need
  • Wasting time on web habits that do not exist on the exam network

Forgetting documentation packages: minimal installs might omit some docs; exam environments are usually doc-friendly, but man missing for a topic means the package providing that page is not installed

RHEL 10 Notes

RHEL continues the standard Linux documentation layout: man-db tooling, less as pager, Texinfo/ info for GNU manuals, and RPM-owned trees under /usr/share/doc . systemd-related topics often use multi-part man pages ( systemd.unit , systemd.service , systemctl ). When man systemctl is not enough, open the specific unit-type page named in SEE ALSO.

Section Checkpoint

You should open man and navigate with search, force the correct section , use man -k to rediscover tools, open info when a GNU manual is the better source, list and read /usr/share/doc for packaged examples, and fall back to --help for quick flags. On EX200, documentation fluency is time management: the system already contains the reference material—practice retrieving it without hesitation.