TODOs

TODOs

Immediate (This Week)

  • Complete Phase 0 baseline assessment — score all 6 domains

  • Install strace if not present (pacman -S strace)

  • Read man 7 inode completely

  • Read man 2 intro (system call overview)

  • Practice man navigation: section numbers, /search, man -k

  • Discuss prep plan with CHLA colleague — coordinate study sessions

Phase 1 — Filesystem (Weeks 2-4)

  • Complete all Phase 1 drills (1.1-1.5)

  • Memorize stat -c format strings without reference

  • Practice find -inum, find -links, find -exec patterns

  • Understand df vs du discrepancy cold

  • Navigate /proc filesystem confidently

  • man debugfs — ext4 inode inspection

Phase 2 — Process & Syscalls (Weeks 4-7)

  • Complete all Phase 2 drills (2.1-2.7)

  • Memorize syscall sequence: fork → exec → open → read → write → close → exit → wait

  • Memorize file descriptor basics: 0=stdin, 1=stdout, 2=stderr

  • Practice strace interpretation under time pressure

  • Signal handling in bash scripts — trap patterns

  • Zombie creation and diagnosis

Phase 3 — Networking (Weeks 5-8)

  • Write Phase 3 curriculum partial

  • ss flags from memory

  • ip route, ip addr, ip link fluency

  • Socket state diagnosis under perturbation

  • Network namespace isolation

Phase 4 — Security (Weeks 7-10)

  • Write Phase 4 curriculum partial

  • AppArmor profile writing (not just aa-status)

  • SELinux context management, booleans, restorecon

  • nftables rule writing (not iptables)

  • Privilege boundary validation

Phase 5 — Automation (Weeks 9-12)

  • Write Phase 5 curriculum partial

  • Python os, subprocess, pathlib — stdlib only, no pip

  • Bash strict mode + idempotent operations

  • Timed scripting challenges (5-minute limits)

Phase 6 — Network Architecture (Weeks 10-13)

  • Write Phase 6 curriculum partial

  • Subnetting under time pressure (3-minute limit)

  • RFC1918 space planning with justification

  • NAT strategy documentation

Phase 7 — Integration (Weeks 13-17)

  • Write Phase 7 integration scenarios

  • Full timed mock scenarios (15-45 min individual, 2 hr team)

  • Live perturbation response practice

  • Documentation under pressure — AsciiDoc with tee, includes

Phase 8 — Man Page Mastery (Continuous)

  • Memorize man section numbers (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8)

  • Practice man -k (apropos) for discovery

  • Navigate info pages — different keybindings than man

  • Read /usr/share/doc for installed packages

Meta

  • Schedule weekly timed practice sessions

  • Build air-gapped practice environment (VM with no network)

  • Track progress in weekly worklogs