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(slightly skeptical) Educational society promoting "Back to basics" movement against IT overcomplexity and  bastardization of classic Unix

Notes on RHCSA Certification for RHEL 7

News Certifications Recommended links Lecture notes for RHSCA certification for RHEL 7 Red Hat Linux Essentials Reference Reviews RH133 (old, RHEL6 based info)  
Understanding and using essential tools Access a shell prompt and issue commands with correct syntax Finding Help Managing files in RHEL Working with hard and soft links Working with archives and compressed files Using the Midnight Commander as file manager Text files processing Using redirection and pipes
Use grep and extended regular expressions to analyze text files Finding files and directories; mass operations on files Connecting to the server via ssh, using multiple consoles and screen command RHCSA: Managing local users and groups RHCSA: Introduction to Unix permissions model Introduction to Process Management Configuring network in RHEL7 Installation and configuration of KVM in RHEL7  
Managing Software Packages with yum and rpm Using yum Using rpm            
The tar pit of Red Hat overcomplexity Systemd Red Hat history Sysadmin Horror Stories RHEL7 documentation Tips Unix History with some Emphasis on Scripting Humor Etc

Introduction

Red Hat has three major certifications for RHEL: Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA), Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE), and Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA).

RHCSA is the lowest level of certification. To quote the Red Hat site:

RHCSA is a subset of RHCE and defines the "slightly above entry level" sysadmin set of skill and Linux knowledge, a sysadmin without the knowledge of scripting, but with solid knowledge of classic Unix utilities and command line, as well as booting process, basic networking and somewhat deeper understanding Red Hat idiosyncrasies.

The holder of this certification is expected to possess the core Linux system administration skills (heavily tilted toward Red Hat, as you can expect ;-)  which gives him a possibility to install, maintain and troubleshoot servers with RHEL or CentOS installed.    To quote the Red Hat site:

As Red Hat states

An IT professional who has earned the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA�) is able to perform the core system administration skills required in Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments. The credential is earned after successfully passing the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) Exam (EX200).

It focuses instead on such routine systems administration topics as well as RHEL installation and configuration. The required skills include

  1. Understand and use essential tools for handling files, directories, command-line environments, and documentation
  2. Operate running systems, including booting into different run levels, identifying processes, starting and stopping virtual machines, and controlling services
  3. Configure local storage using partitions and logical volumes
  4. Create and configure file systems and file system attributes, such as permissions, encryption, access control lists, and network file systems
  5. Deploy, configure, and maintain systems, including software installation, update, and core services
  6. Manage users and groups, including use of a centralized directory for authentication
  7. Manage security, including basic firewall and SELinux configuration

RHCE is the next level and approximately corresponds to senior sysadmin level of qualification. It requires minimal knowledge of scripting (just bash, no  requirements for Perl or Python.) You must be RHCSA to become RHCE. The number of topics is wider and complexity of problems is higher too and includes installation and configuration of some applications such as MySQL and Apache.  To you need to accomplish more in the same amount of time.

The structure of RHCSA exam

You need to take the exam through one of the approved Red Hat testing center/course locations. Exams is given on a live machine. Which is a plus, and increases the value of certification. But at the same time makes in more vendor dependent. If you do not work with RHEL7 for a  least a year and is unable to spend a couple of months studying the book and doing all the labs, expect to fail the first attempt, as you do not know the requirements and can't anticipate them. 

Actually taking  exam two time is the most viable strategy of passing it, especially if you do not have RHEL 6 certification and will be new to the environment.

Skills gained with RHEL6 and earlier version does not translates directly in many areas, and introduction of systemd devalue pre-existing troubleshooting skills considerably. The second attempt with proper preparation should be successful. 

It might help to have watches with timer, like Casio. That helps to keep time and more evenly spread your activity to all tasks, which you are capable to accomplish.  Also take notes that might help to split a difficult task into subtasks, each of  which can be accomplished easier, and it also helps to understand dependencies between the questions.  Paper for notes is provided.  You can't take the with you though.

To determine your level of experience, you can take Red hat pre-assessment questionnaires. I would recommend doing this when you finish studying the book as a part of verification that you are ready to take the exam.

Preparing to RHCSA without taking Red Hat courses

It is difficult, but possible to prepare and pass the exam without attending RHEL courses. Much depends on your level of abilities and the level of expertise with RHEL7, especially in enterprise environment. Taking exam two times is the most vible strategy if you can';t affort taking the couse (and most companies now  are extremely screedgy as for training) 

Such things as ACL (which are bolted on subsystem and as such very difficult to understand, especially if you do not use of daily basis), RAID (especially very questionable implementation of software RAID included in RHEL 6 -- which calls itself enterprise distribution; any sysadmin that use it in enterprise environment should be fired on the spot) , networking (which include such topics as LDAP, and routing) are difficult to study on your own.

Some working experience with setting up routes can be acquired by  multiple labs, if you do not do it on your job on a regular basis.  Add to this VM issues (enterprises usually never use KVM), systemd issues, networking topics that you can't anticipate (routing, LDAP, etc)  and you might start to understand that post on the Internet in a style "bought the book and passed the exam" are probably fake, unless we are talking about very talented people with IQ far superior of a typical Linux  sysadmin.  Again you need at least one year of close working with RHEL 7 to start to understand (and hate) the nuts and bolt of this distribution.  In no way this is the next version after RHEL6 -- this  is a new flavor of Linux fraudulently marketed under the old label ;-)

I would think about RHEL7 as a Red Hat fiasco as for a regular sysadmin they dramatically raised the complexity of the OS without giving anything substantial to sysadmin in return. Not that all innovations are negative (XFS as default FS is a nice addition, but it was available in RHEL6 as well), but many are. 

So for sysadmins who worked with RHEL6 and other earlier version it is prudent to view this exam as a serious and somewhat unfair (due to excessive concentration of RHEL7 specific issues) test, when the odds are stacked against you as much of that you learned and know well is no longer applicable.  Also in real life sysadmin works in the environment where Internet is readily available and is a valuable tool:  you can search both topics and unclear to you diagnostic message on the WEB (actually Bing in some cases now is superior to Google on some of those topics, so do not limit yourself to Google).

For a person with  a regular level of abilities and some preexisting background in Linux (say three years usage as a hobby or couple of years at enterprise environment ) the preparation to the exam might take around two-three months of daily work for 4 hours a day (assuming that you try to learn one exam topic a week and do at lease a couple of labs for each topic  without looking into the solutions) to learn the volume of material in this exam as it is really huge.  The stress should be put on doing lab for testing environment. Several books provide such testing environment and labs. There are also separate books with such en environment and labs. Some are better then others, but it is the number of labs you accomplish that is decisive factor that distinguish people who pass exam from people who did not.

The stress should be put on doing lab for testing environment. Several books provide such testing environment and labs. There are also separate books with such en environment and labs. Some are better then others, but it is the number of labs you accomplish that is decisive factor that distinguish people who pass exam from people who did not.

Learning networking and routing might take more then a month as you can't anticipate what exactly are areas that are tested and this area is huge (CISCO certification covers just networking).  For example, you need to know how to use host-based routes and experiment with then to be sure that if this topic is included in exam you are ready.  Managing firewall is another huge topic and is unclear what is needed for the exam without having handouts of "fast track" course that Red Hat gives.  Here is the outline (RHCSA Rapid Track course with exam - RH200.)

Accessing the command line
Log in to a Linux system and run simple commands using the shell.
Managing files from the command line
Work with files from the bash shell prompt.
Managing local Linux users and groups
Manage Linux users and groups and administer local password policies.
Controlling access to files with Linux file system permissions
Set access permissions on files and interpret the security effects of different permission settings.
Managing SELinux security
Use SELinux to manage access to files and interpret and troubleshoot SELinux security effects.
Monitoring and managing Linux processes
Monitor and control processes running on the system.
Installing and updating software packages
Download, install, update, and manage software packages from Red Hat and yum package repositories.
Controlling services and daemons
Control and monitor network services and system daemons using systemd.
Managing Red Hat Enterprise Linux networking
Configure basic IPv4 networking on Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems.
Analyzing and storing logs
Locate and interpret relevant system log files for troubleshooting purposes.
Managing storage and file systems
Create and use disk partitions, logical volumes, file systems, and swap spaces.
Scheduling system tasks
Schedule recurring system tasks using cron and systemd timer units.
Mounting network file systems
Mount network file system (NFS) exports and server message block (SMB) shares from network file servers.
Limiting network communication with firewalld
Configure a basic local firewall.
Virtualization and kickstart
Manage KVMs and install them with Red Hat Enterprise Linux using Kickstart.

Taking a trial exam from the books or any other books also can help (if you own two books try exams from both), but it is quantity and quality of labs that really matter.

If you have money you can "cheat" and take exam multiple times: each taken exam drastically improve your chances to pass as now you know exactly the environment, what to study and where are your weak spots. So paying $800 to Red Hat really guarantee that you pass, and it does not make sense to pay $400 to somebody else ;-)

Some self-taught people who come to the exam can do nothing because then did not attended fast track course which gives hints to what topics pay close attention and they stuck on the fist issue presented by the exam. In their cases the exam was wasted money.  and that only way to deal how to avoid "dead" questions (questions that prevent you for proceeding to the rest of exam) is to take the actual exam.  Again, the exam is unfair in a sense that it is highly specialized for Red Hat and some topics included are on little or no importance for the working sysadmin in most enterprise environments.

There are several more or less decent books for RHCSA exam suitable for self study:

I would start my study using the first book, using other three as a reference the first book, but your mileage may vary. You need all of them as they have different strength and weaknesses. As in case of failure you lose $400, it makes sense to buy them all. There are also cheap video courses that might help if you do not already work in enterprise environment. 

In no way certification exam for RHEL7 can be considered having the same level of complexity as exam for RHEL6

  bastard (adjective)

... ... ...

2 : of mixed or ill-conceived origin

... ... ...

4 : of a kind similar to but inferior to or less typical than some standard

Definition of Bastard by Merriam-Webster

RHEL7 generally should be  views as different flavor of Linux in comparison with RHEL 5 and 6. Complexities caused by systemd daemon which replaced init and  was introduced in RHEL 7 are such that they greatly devalue large part of sysadmin skills obtained during usage of RHEL4, 5 and 6. Add to this

  1. The new bootloader (grub2) which creates bunch of problems:  Installation and Boot - Red Hat Customer Portal
    1. the move to GRUB2 also removes support for installing the boot loader to a formatted partition on BIOS machines with MBR-style partition tables. This behavior change was made because some file systems have automated optimization features that move parts of the core boot loader image, which could break the GRUB legacy boot loader. With GRUB2, the boot loader is installed in the space available between the partition table and the first partition on BIOS machines with MBR (Master Boot Record) style partition tables. BIOS machines with GPT (GUID Partition Table) style partition tables must create a special BIOS Boot Partition for the boot loader. UEFI machines continue to install the boot loader to the EFI System Partition.
  2. The new role of Network manager (which now can't be disabled without taking substantial risks),
  3. The new firewall daemon,
  4. The new NTP daemon
  5. The new  registration subsystem (which is the only one which can be considered as genuine improvement over older system)

and you see my point. 

That means that to pass RHEL 7 exam is more difficult then RHEL 6 exam: Red Hat 7 is more complex, fragile and less sysadmin friendly then previous versions. 

Methods of performing key operations, for example root password recovery changed  and need to be relearned. I would call RHEL 6 the last "classic" RHEL distribution. In a way, RHEL 7 is a bastard distribution ;-)  Due to its weight  Red Hat it can push the changes and overcome the resistance of the community.

Now all enterprise sysadmins need to live in a new brave world of laptop friendly Red Hat :-).

In this sense RHEL7 favors a newbie sysadmin as he/she do not have any baggage that became useless from previous versions. But that also mean that the person  who passed RHEL7 exam will not be able work with RHEL6 and 5 on the same level as with RHEL7, as they are sufficiently different.

The structure of the exam

Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) is a two hour 30 min  (150 min) hands-on exam. You are given a set of tasks that you need to accomplish., Evaluation  of correctness of your execution of those tasks is automatic, and by definition favor those who took Red Hat crash course or similar two sysadmin courses. You are allowed to take one break during the exam. That might be useful if you are stuck.  Please note that coffee increases excitement and might negatively affect your results. You are by definition overexcited during the exam ;-). Also like with any exam you need to allocate some time for checking your answers.  One simple check is reboot: you config should continue to work after the reboot.

All test facilities allow you to make notes, but you won�t be allowed to take these notes from the testing room.

The exam can be taken at the end of one of the 4.5-day Red Hat fast track class or separately.  The cost is 400 USD (plus all applicable taxes) or 2 Training Units

RHCSA is an intermediate level certification. Objectives are described at Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) exam - EX200

The RHCSA exam is �closed book� type of exam. You get a computer connected to internal network (no Internet), access to RHEL7 ISO and a set of tasks. There is no Web access. No books are allowed in the room. man  pages are of course available, but they are manly useful for those who  can accomplish tasks without them as well ;-) 

RHEL ISO does not contain Red Hat manuals, but it does contain a couple of useful utilities that  can increase your productivity such as screen and Midnight  Commander.

Note: Red Hat may use tasks during the exam that are not included in Red Hat Enterprise Linux training course for the purpose of evaluating candidate's abilities to meet this objective.

Topics currently included in RHCSA exam

This list was downloaded from Red Hat web site in October, 2018. It might change later.

  1. Understand and use essential tools
    • Access a shell prompt and issue commands with correct syntax
    • Use input-output redirection (>, >>, |, 2>, etc.)
    • Use grep and regular expressions to analyze text
    • Access remote systems using ssh
    • Log in and switch users in multiuser targets
    • Archive, compress, unpack, and uncompress files using tar, star, gzip, and bzip2
    • Create and edit text files
    • Create, delete, copy, and move files and directories
    • Create hard and soft links
    • List, set, and change standard ugo/rwx permissions
    • Locate, read, and use system documentation including man, info, and files in /usr/share/doc
  2. Operate running systems
    • Boot, reboot, and shut down a system normally
    • Boot systems into different targets manually
    • Interrupt the boot process in order to gain access to a system
    • Identify CPU/memory intensive processes, adjust process priority with renice, and kill processes
    • Locate and interpret system log files and journals
    • Access a virtual machine's console
    • Start and stop virtual machines
    • Start, stop, and check the status of network services
    • Securely transfer files between systems
  3. Configure local storage
    • List, create, delete partitions on MBR and GPT disks
    • Create and remove physical volumes, assign physical volumes to volume groups, and create and delete logical volumes
    • Configure systems to mount file systems at boot by Universally Unique ID (UUID) or label
    • Add new partitions and logical volumes, and swap to a system non-destructively
  4. Create and configure file systems
    • Create, mount, unmount, and use vfat, ext4, and xfs file systems
    • Mount and unmount CIFS and NFS network file systems
    • Extend existing logical volumes
    • Create and configure set-GID directories for collaboration
    • Create and manage Access Control Lists (ACLs)
    • Diagnose and correct file permission problems
  5. Deploy, configure, and maintain systems
    • Configure networking and hostname resolution statically or dynamically
    • Schedule tasks using at and cron
    • Start and stop services and configure services to start automatically at boot
    • Configure systems to boot into a specific target automatically
    • Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems as virtual guests
    • Configure systems to launch virtual machines at boot
    • Configure network services to start automatically at boot
    • Configure a system to use time services
    • Install and update software packages from Red Hat Network, a remote repository, or from the local file system
    • Update the kernel package appropriately to ensure a bootable system
    • Modify the system bootloader
  6. Manage users and groups
    • Create, delete, and modify local user accounts
    • Change passwords and adjust password aging for local user accounts
    • Create, delete, and modify local groups and group memberships
    • Configure a system to use an existing authentication service for user and group information
  7. Manage security
    • Configure firewall settings using firewall-config, firewall-cmd, or iptables
    • Configure key-based authentication for SSH
    • Set enforcing and permissive modes for SELinux
    • List and identify SELinux file and process context
    • Restore default file contexts
    • Use boolean settings to modify system SELinux settings
    • Diagnose and address routine SELinux policy violations

Red Hat Learning subscription

Paying Red Hat for training definitely increase your chances for certification. Learning Subscription ($5K basic and $7K standard) provide an environment to conduct self-paced labs learning in the setup identical to classroom courses.

NEWS CONTENTS

Old News ;-)

[Apr 18, 2019] Scheduling tasks using at and cron

[Apr 11, 2019] Creating Your Own Repository

Revised and updated

[Mar 28, 2019] Managing Software Packages with yum and rpm

[Mar 18, 2019] KVM

[Mar 11, 2019] Introduction to Process Management

[Mar 04, 2019] Networking Fundamentals

[Feb 18, 2019] RHCSA: Managing local users and groups

[Feb 11, 2019] RHCSA: Understanding and using essential tools

[Oct 26, 2018] RHCSA Rapid Track course with exam - RH200

The cost is $3,895 USD (Plus all applicable taxes) or 13 Training Units
Oct 08, 2018 | www.redhat.com
Course overview On completion of course materials, students should be prepared to take the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) exam. This version of the course includes the exam.

Note: This course builds on a student's existing understanding of command-line based Linux system administration. Students should be able to execute common commands using the shell, work with common command options, and access man pages for help. Students lacking this knowledge are strongly encouraged to take Red Hat System Administration I (RH124) and II (RH134) instead.

Course content summary Outline for this course
Accessing the command line
Log in to a Linux system and run simple commands using the shell.
Managing files from the command line
Work with files from the bash shell prompt.
Managing local Linux users and groups
Manage Linux users and groups and administer local password policies.
Controlling access to files with Linux file system permissions
Set access permissions on files and interpret the security effects of different permission settings.
Managing SELinux security
Use SELinux to manage access to files and interpret and troubleshoot SELinux security effects.
Monitoring and managing Linux processes
Monitor and control processes running on the system.
Installing and updating software packages
Download, install, update, and manage software packages from Red Hat and yum package repositories.
Controlling services and daemons
Control and monitor network services and system daemons using systemd.
Managing Red Hat Enterprise Linux networking
Configure basic IPv4 networking on Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems.
Analyzing and storing logs
Locate and interpret relevant system log files for troubleshooting purposes.
Managing storage and file systems
Create and use disk partitions, logical volumes, file systems, and swap spaces.
Scheduling system tasks
Schedule recurring system tasks using cron and systemd timer units.
Mounting network file systems
Mount network file system (NFS) exports and server message block (SMB) shares from network file servers.
Limiting network communication with firewalld
Configure a basic local firewall.
Virtualization and kickstart
Manage KVMs and install them with Red Hat Enterprise Linux using Kickstart.

[Oct 08, 2018] RHCSA Exam Training by Infinite Skills

For $29.99 they provide a course with 6.5 hours of on demand video
Oct 08, 2018 | www.udemy.com

Description

This Red Hat Certified Systems Administrator Exam EX200 training course from Infinite Skills will teach you everything you need to know to become a Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) and pass the EX200 Exam. This course is designed for users that are familiar with Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments.

You will start by learning the fundamentals, such as basic shell commands, creating and modifying users, and changing passwords. The course will then teach you about the shell, explaining how to manage files, use the stream editor, and locate files. This video tutorial will also cover system management, including booting and rebooting, network services, and installing packages. Other topics that are covered include storage management, server management, virtual machines, and security.

Once you have completed this computer based training course, you will be fully capable of taking the RHCSA EX200 exam and becoming a Red Hat Certified System Administrator.

*Infinite Skills has no affiliation with Red Hat, Inc. The Red Hat trademark is used for identification purposes only and is not intended to indicate affiliation with or approval by Red Hat, Inc

What I did to pass the RHCE exam

This was in RHEL 6 times ;-) Long gone.
Nov 13, 2010

... I picked up a copy of the Red Hat Certified Engineer Linux Study Guide and read it from cover-to-cover. Michael Jang did a great job with the book, and it shed some light on things I never use (e.g., Linux printing).

Once I finished reading Michael's book I printed the RHCE objectives. For each objective I did the following:

  1. Researched which packages are needed to support each objective.
  2. Installed the software from a local yum repository I created.
  3. Read through the configuration files for each service and looked up each directive to see what it did.
  4. Configured the service and integrated it with my home network.
  5. Broke the service various ways and tried to figure out what I needed to do to fix it.
  6. Figured out how SELinux integrated with each service. Also did a lot of SELinux debugging!

I used two virtual machines to study with, one acting as a server and the other a client. The items listed above took quite a bit of time to master, but I can definitely say I'm a better admin because of it.

I learned a bunch of new things about RHEL/CentOS, and can definitely troubleshoot things faster now. Best of luck if you decide to take the exam!

Learn Linux, 101 A roadmap for LPIC-1

This is essentially a free book provided by IBM for the preparation for a similar (competing) certification. Most of those article by Ian Shields were written in 2005-2006 so they are slightly outdated, but still useful

LPI exam 101 prep, Topic 101: Hardware and architecture
In this tutorial (the first in a series of five tutorials), Ian Shields introduces you to configuring your system hardware with Linux, and in doing so, begins preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Junior Level Administration (LPIC-1) Exam 101. In this tutorial, you learn how Linux configures the hardware found on a modern PC and where to look if you have problems. Tutorial 08 Aug 2005

LPI exam 101 prep, Topic 102: Linux installation and package management
In this tutorial (the second in a series of five tutorials), Ian Shields introduces you to Linux installation and package management, and in doing so, continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Junior Level Administration (LPIC-1) Exam 101. In this tutorial, you learn how Linux uses disk partitions, how Linux boots, and how to install and manage software packages.

LPI exam 101 prep, Topic 103: GNU and UNIX commands
In this tutorial (the third in a series of five tutorials), Ian Shields introduces you to the Linux command line and several GNU and UNIX commands, and in doing so, continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Junior Level Administration (LPIC-1) Exam 101. This tutorial helps you learn to use commands on a Linux system. Tutorial 15 Nov 2005

LPI exam 101 prep, Topic 104: Devices, Linux filesystems, and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
In this tutorial (the fourth in a series of five tutorials), Ian Shields introduces you to Linux devices, filesystems, and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, and in doing so, continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Junior Level Administration (LPIC-1) Exam 101. This tutorial shows you how to create and format partitions with different Linux filesystems and how to manage and maintain those systems. Tutorial 28 Dec 2005

LPI exam 101 prep, Topic 110: The X Window System
In this tutorial (the last in a series of five tutorials), Ian Shields introduces you to the X Window System on Linux, and in doing so, continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Junior Level Administration (LPIC-1) Exam 101. In this tutorial, you learn how to install and maintain the X Window System. This tutorial covers both major packages for X on Linux: XFree86 and X.Org. Tutorial 14 Feb 2006

LPI exam 102 prep, Topic 106: Boot, initialization, shutdown, and runlevels
In this tutorial, Ian Shields continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Junior Level Administration (LPIC-1) Exam 102. In this second in a series of nine tutorials, Ian introduces you to startup and shutdown on Linux. By the end of this tutorial, you will know guide a system through booting, set kernel parameters, and shut down or reboot a system. Tutorial 04 Apr 2006

LPI exam 102 prep, Topic 107: Printing
In this tutorial, the third of a series of nine tutorials on LPI exam 102 topics, Ian Shields introduces you to printing in Linux. By the end of this tutorial, you will know how to manage printers, print queues, and user print jobs on a Linux system. Tutorial 22 Aug 2006

LPI exam 102 prep, Topic 108: Linux documentation
In this tutorial, the fourth of a series of nine tutorials on LPI exam 102 topics, Ian Shields introduces you to Linux documentation. By the end of this tutorial, you will know how to use and manage local documentation, find documentation on the Internet, and use automated logon messages to notify users of system events. Tutorial20 Sep 2006

LPI exam 102 prep, Topic 109: Shells, scripting, programming, and compiling
In this tutorial, Ian Shields continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Junior Level Administration (LPIC-1) Exam 102. In this fifth in a series of nine tutorials, Ian introduces you to the Bash shell, and scripts and programming in the Bash shell. By the end of this tutorial, you will know how to customize your shell environment, use shell programming structures to create functions and scripts, set and unset environment variables, and use the various login scripts.
Tutorial 30 Jan 2007

LPI exam 102 prep, Topic 111: Administrative tasks
In this tutorial, Ian Shields continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Junior Level Administration (LPIC-1) Exam 102. In this sixth in a series of nine tutorials, Ian introduces you to administrative tasks. By the end of this tutorial, you will know how to manage users and groups, set user profiles and environments, use log files, schedule jobs, back up your data, and maintain the system time. Tutorial 10 Jul 2007

LPI exam 201 prep, Topic 201: Linux kernel
In this tutorial, David Mertz begins preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 201. In this first of a series of eight tutorials, you will learn to understand, compile, and customize a Linux kernel. Tutorial 29 Aug 2005

LPI exam 201 prep, Topic 202: System startup
In this tutorial, David Mertz continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 201. In this second of a series of eight tutorials, you will learn the steps a Linux system goes through during system initialization, and how to modify and customize those behaviors for your specific needs. Tutorial 30 Aug 2005

LPI exam 201 prep, Topic 203: Filesystem
In this tutorial, David Mertz continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 201. In this third of eight tutorials, you will learn how to control the mounting and unmounting of filesystems, examine existing filesystems, create filesystems, and perform remedial actions on damaged filesystems.Tutorial 31 Aug 2005

LPI exam 201 prep, Topic 204: Hardware
In this tutorial, David Mertz and Brad Huntting continue preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 201. In this fourth of eight tutorials, you learn how to add and configure hardware to a Linux system, including RAID arrays, PCMCIA cards, other storage devices, displays, video controllers, and other components. Tutorial 01 Sep 2005

LPI exam 201 prep, Topic 209: File and service sharing
In this tutorial, Brad Huntting and David Mertz continue preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 201. In this fifth of eight tutorials, you learn how to use a Linux system as a networked file server using any of several protocols supported by Linux. Tutorial 02 Sep 2005

LPI exam 201 prep, Topic 211: System maintenance
In this tutorial, David Mertz continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 201. In this sixth of eight tutorials, you learn basic concepts of system logging, software packaging, and backup strategies. Tutorial 02 Sep 2005

LPI exam 201 prep, Topic 213: System customization and automation
In this tutorial, David Mertz and Brad Huntting continue preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 201. In this seventh of eight tutorials, you learn basic approaches to scripting and automating system events, including report and status generation, clean up, and general maintenance. Tutorial 02 Sep 2005

LPI exam 201 prep, Topic 214: Troubleshooting
In this tutorial, Brad Huntting and David Mertz continue preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 201. The last of eight tutorials, this tutorial focuses on what you can do when things go wrong. It builds on material already covered in more detail in earlier tutorials. Tutorial 02 Sep 2005

LPI exam 202 prep, Topic 205: Networking configuration
In this tutorial, David Mertz begins preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 202. In this first of a series of seven tutorials on network administration on Linux, you learn to configure a basic TCP/IP network, from the hardware layer (usually Ethernet, modem, ISDN, or 802.11) through the routing of network addresses. Tutorial 08 Nov 2005

LPI exam 202 prep, Topic 206: Mail and news
In this tutorial, David Mertz continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 202. In this second of a series of seven tutorials on network administration on Linux, you learn how to use Linux as a mail server and as a news server. This tutorial covers mail transport, local mail filtering, and mailing list maintenance software. It also briefly discusses server software for the NNTP protocol. Tutorial 22 Nov 2005

LPI exam 202 prep, Topic 207: Domain Name System (DNS)
In this tutorial, David Mertz continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 202. In this third of a series of seven tutorials on network administration on Linux, you get an introduction to DNS and learn how to use Linux as a DNS server, chiefly using BIND 9. You learn how to set up and configure the service, how to create forward and reverse lookup zones, and how to ensure that the server is secure from attacks. Tutorial 30 Nov 2005

LPI exam 202 prep, Topic 208: Web services
In this tutorial, the fourth in a series of seven tutorials covering intermediate network administration on Linux, David Mertz continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 208. Here, David Mertz discusses how to configure and run the Apache HTTP server and the Squid proxy server. Tutorial 25 Apr 2006

LPI exam 202 prep, Topic 210: Network client management
In this tutorial, the fifth in a series of seven tutorials covering intermediate network administration on Linux, David Mertz continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 210. Here, David Mertz examine several protocols' centralized configuration of network settings on clients within a network. This tutorial also discusses PAM, which is a flexible, networked, user authentication system. Tutorial 24 May 2006

LPI exam 202 prep, Topic 212: System security
In this tutorial, the sixth of seven tutorials covering intermediate network administration on Linux, David Mertz continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 202. By necessity, this tutorial touches briefly on a wide array of Linux-related topics from a security-conscious network server perspective, including general issues of routing, firewalls, and NAT translation and the relevant tools. It addresses setting security policies for FTP and SSH; reviews general access control with tcpd, hosts.allow, and friends; and presents some basic security monitoring tools and shows where to find security resources. Tutorial 13 Jun 2006

LPI exam 202 prep, Topic 214: Network troubleshooting
In this tutorial, the last of a series of seven tutorials covering intermediate network administration on Linux, David Mertz finishes preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC-2) Exam 202. This tutorial revisits earlier tutorials in the series, focusing on how to use the basic tools you've already covered to fix networking problems. The tool review is divided into two categories: configuration tools and diagnostic tools. Tutorial 28 Jun 2006

LPI exam 301 prep, Topic 301: Concepts, architecture, and design
In this tutorial, Sean Walberg helps you prepare to take the Linux Professional Institute Senior Level Linux Professional (LPIC-3) exam 301. In this first in a series of six tutorials, Sean introduces you to Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) concepts, architecture, and design. By the end of this tutorial, you will know about LDAP concepts and architecture, directory design, and schemas. Tutorial 23 Oct 2007

LPI exam 301 prep, Topic 302: Installation and development
In this tutorial, Sean Walberg helps you prepare to take the Linux Professional Institute Senior Level Linux Professional (LPIC-3) exam. In this second in a series of six tutorials, Sean walks you through installing and configuring a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server, and writing some Perl scripts to access the data. By the end of this tutorial, you'll know about LDAP server installation, configuration, and programming. Tutorial 04 Dec 2007

LPI exam 301 prep, Topic 303: Configuration
In this tutorial, Sean Walberg helps you prepare to take the Linux Professional Institute Senior Level Linux Professional (LPIC-3) exam. In this third in a series of six tutorials, Sean walks you through configuring a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server, including access control, security, and performance. By the end of this tutorial, you'll know about LDAP server configuration. Tutorial 04 Mar 2008

LPI exam 301 prep, Topic 304: Usage
In this tutorial, Sean Walberg helps you prepare to take the Linux Professional Institute Senior Level Linux Professional (LPIC-3) exam. In this fourth in a series of six tutorials, Sean walks you through searching your LDAP tree and using the command-line tools. You'll also learn how to set up Microsoft Outlook to query your LDAP tree. Tutorial 25 Mar 2008

LPI exam 301 prep, Topic 305: Integration and migration
In this tutorial, Sean Walberg helps you prepare to take the Linux Professional Institute Senior Level Linux Professional (LPIC-3) exam. In this fifth in a series of six tutorials, Sean walks you through integrating LDAP with your system's logins and applications. He also details the procedure to integrate your server into a foreign Microsoft Active Directory. Tutorial 08 Apr 2008

LPI exam 301 prep, Topic 306: Capacity planning
In this tutorial, Sean Walberg helps you prepare to take the Linux Professional Institute Senior Level Linux Professional (LPIC-3) exam. In this last in a series of six tutorials, Sean walks you through monitoring your system resources, troubleshooting resource problems, and analyzing system capacity.

Linux Professional Institute (LPI) exam prep LPIC-3 exams

Exam 301 is the senior-level system administrator certification exam offered by the Linux Professional Institute (LPI). The six tutorials below help you prepare for the six topics in LPI exam 301. To attain certification at the senior level, you must pass exam 301 and have an active advanced-level certification (by passing LPIC-2 exams 201 and 202). You may also need to pass additional specialty exams at the senior level.

See all LPI exam-prep tutorials on developerWorks.

UnixReview.com by Emmett Dulaney

A Look at the Red Hat RHCE Exam

In the past, I've looked at Linux certification offerings from LPI, Sair, and CompTIA. This month, I'll turn to another Linux certification option: the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE). Note that this certification differs from all other Linux certifications in some key ways:

  1. It is not vendor-neutral as all the others mentioned are. It focuses on Red Hat's implementation of the operating system, and is kept current with the latest version (presently 7.1). Previous exams were tailored for versions 5.2, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, and 7.0, respectively. All who passed under those versions are still RHCEs, and there is currently no requirement to retake under the latest version.
  2. While all other exams focus on your passing one or more computer-administered tests to become certified, that is but a small component of the RHCE certification. The multiple-choice test is one hour in length (40-50 questions), while two hands-on labs constitute five hours of exam time.
  3. The other exams are given daily through VUE and/or Prometric testing centers (numbering in the thousands) around the world. Because of the lab component, RHCE exams are given on a scheduled basis in a few locations (currently about 20 worldwide).
  4. With the other exams (excluding any now in beta), candidates are able to find out whether they passed as soon as they finish the exam. However, instant results are not possible with the RHCE because the lab work must be checked. All three components (two labs and one multiple-choice exam) are computed on a single pass/no-pass basis, and candidates are notified by email within 5 days. Certifications are mailed within approximately 8 weeks. To pass, an overall score of 80% or better must be achieved without scoring less than 50% in any one of the three individual components.
  5. The cost of the other exams (LPI and Sair) is around $100. The cost of the RHCE exam is $749. Many take the exam as the last day of a week-long official Red Hat prep class (Rapid Track), which costs $2,498 and includes the cost of the exam. (All prices are subject to change.)

These elements combine to make the certification one of great value, because it essentially weeds out those who are just good at guessing exam answers. Before you consider the RHCE certification, you should make certain that you are an "experienced" administrator with significant experience with all aspects of Linux. If you are not, you'll want to fill in the gaps in your knowledge before ever considering the exam.

[Feb 25, 2018 ] RHCSA: Introduction to Unix permissions model

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See also

RHEL7 documentation

Release Notes

7.6 Release Notes

Release Notes for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.6

7.5 Release Notes

Release Notes for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5

7.4 Release Notes

Release Notes for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4

7.3 Release Notes

Release Notes for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.3

7.2 Release Notes

Release Notes for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.2

7.1 Release Notes

Release Notes for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.1

7.0 Release Notes

Release Notes for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.0

Package Manifest

Package Listing for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Getting Started

Information that helps you start using software quickly

Installation Guide

Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 on all architectures

Getting Started with Cockpit

Getting Started with Cockpit

Migration Planning Guide

Migrating to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Desktop Migration and Administration Guide

A guide to the GNOME 3 Desktop migration planning and administration on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.

How do I migrate from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 to 7?

Major differences between version 6 and version 7 of Red Hat Enterprise Linux

How do I migrate from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 to 7?

Major differences between version 5 and version 7 of Red Hat Enterprise Linux

System Administration

Deployment, administration, and tuning

System Administrator's Guide

Deployment, Configuration, and Administration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Common administrative commands

Networking Guide

Configuration and Administration of Networking for Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Kernel Administration Guide

Examples of Tasks for Managing the Kernel

Performance Tuning Guide

Optimizing subsystem throughput in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Power Management Guide

Managing power consumption on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Resource Management Guide

Managing system resources on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

SystemTap Beginners Guide

Introduction to SystemTap

SystemTap Tapset Reference

For SystemTap in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Storage

Storage and filesystems

Storage Administration Guide

Deploying and configuring single-node storage in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Logical Volume Manager Administration

LVM Administrator Guide

DM Multipath

DM Multipath Configuration and Administration

Development

Developer Guide

An introduction to application development tools in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

RPM Packaging Guide

Basic and Advanced RPM Packaging

Anaconda Customization Guide

Customizing and enhancing the installer

Virtualization

Deployment, administration, and tuning of virtual machines

Virtualization Getting Started Guide

An introduction to virtualization concepts

Virtualization Deployment and Administration Guide

Installing, configuring, and managing virtual machines on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux physical machine

Virtualization Tuning and Optimization Guide

Optimizing your virtual environment

Virtualization Security Guide

Securing your virtual environment

Clustering

Deployment and administration of clusters

High Availability Add-On Overview

Overview of the High Availability Add-On for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

High Availability Add-On Administration

Configuring and Managing the High Availability Add-On

Load Balancer Administration

Load Balancer for Red Hat Enterprise Linux

High Availability Add-On Reference

Reference Document for the High Availability Add-On for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Global File System 2

Red Hat Global File System 2

Identity Management

Identity management and policy

System-Level Authentication Guide

About System-Level Services for Authentication and Identity Management

Using Containerized Identity Management Services

Overview and Installation of Containerized Identity Management Services

Linux Domain Identity, Authentication, and Policy Guide

Using Red Hat Identity Management in Linux Environments

Windows Integration Guide

Integrating Linux Systems with Active Directory Environments

Security

Security Guide

A Guide to Securing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

SELinux User's and Administrator's Guide

Basic and advanced configuration of Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux)

Linux Containers and Atomic Host

Linux Containers and Atomic Host

Product Documentation for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Atomic Host

Reference

RH133 Red Hat Linux System Administration and RHCSA Exam

(this is RHEL6 outline)

Course Outline

The following is an outline of the skills and knowledge represented in the training elements (four days) and in the RHCSA Certification Lab Exam (one-half day) of the RH133 Red Hat Linux System Administration course.

The RHCSA training elements and Certification Lab Exam will also review and test on certain prerequisites for the course, listed on the RH133 course page.

This outline, together with the prerequisites listing, can serve as a study outline for those planning to attend the RH133 course and take the RHCSA Certification Lab Exam. It is highly recommended that all prospective RHCSA participants review these outlines in preparation for the course and exam.

Note: Technical content subject to change without notice. Significant changes in course content will generally be available in posted outlines at least two months prior to being implemented in scheduled courses, to allow enrolled students adequate prep time. Reload this page regularly to insure up-to-date information.

Unit 1 - System Initialization

Unit 2 - Package Management

Unit 3 - Kernel Services

Unit 4 - System Services

Unit 5 - User Administration

Unit 6 - Filesystem Management

Unit 7 - Advanced Filesystem Management

Unit 8 - Network Configuration

Unit 9 - Installation

Unit 10 - Virtualization with Xen

Unit 11 - Troubleshooting

Red Hat Linux Essentials

A Tour of Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Note: Technical content subject to change without notice. Significant changes in course content will generally be available in posted outlines at least two months prior to being implemented in scheduled courses, to allow enrolled students adequate prep time. Reload this page regularly to insure up-to-date information.

Unit 1 - Linux Ideas and History

Unit 2 - Linux Usage Basics

Unit 3 - Running Commands and Getting Help

Unit 4 - Browsing the Filesystem

Unit 5 - Users, Groups and Permissions

Unit 6 - Using the bash Shell

Unit 7 - Standard I/O and Pipes

Unit 8 - Text Processing Tools

Unit 9 - vim: An Advanced Text Editor

Unit 10 - Basic System Configuration Tools

Unit 11 - Investigating and Managing Processes

Unit 12 - Configuring the Bash Shell

Unit 13 - Finding and Processing Files

Unit 14 - Network Clients

Unit 15 - Advanced Topics in Users, Groups and Permissions

Unit 16 - The Linux Filesystem In-Depth

Unit 17 - Essential System Administration Tools

Unit 18 - So... What Now?

RH300 Curriculum

Below I annotated the program with links available on the Softpanorama site. Probably some of them are useful, although most are very raw.

  1. Basic hardware knowledge
    Intel and Intel clone architectures /Hardware/architecture
    IRQs and IRQ settings for standard serial ports /Lang/assembler, /Hardware/index
    Disk subsystems (IDE, EIDE, SCSI) /Hardware/architecture
    Disk partitioning /Internals/filesystems, /Hardware/architecture
  2. Basic UNIX/Linux knowledge
    1. Basic vi usage
      1. Opening, closing, writing, and abandoning files
      2. Moving around in vi
      3. Basic text editing
    		../Tools/vi
    1. Understanding simple Bourne shell scripts [essentially Shell101 -- nnb]
      1. Script execution, permissions, and file magic
      2. Variables and parameters
      3. The inherited environment
      4. The if, else, elsif constructs
      5. Conditional tests
      6. The case statement construct
      7. The for construct
    		../Scripting/shells
  3. UNIX Filesystem Hierarchy and Structure ( ../Internals/filesystems)
    UNIX/Linux filesystems: main directories
    SCSI, floppy, CDROM, and IDE devices
    Partitioning and referencing /dev devices
    ISA and PCI hardware issues
    Filesystem formatting and checking, fdisk, mkfs, fsck
    Span multiple partitions with root filesystem
    Mount misc partitions with mount
  4. Basic file operations and manipulation [essentially Unix101 -- nnb]
    1. Basics: cp, mv, ls, more, less, cd, pwd, tar, find, etc.
    2. Filters: cat, grep, egrep, wc, cat, tail, head, sort, etc.
    3. Editors: Basic file editors like vi, emacs, vim, etc. ----------------------------- ../Editors/vi.shtml
    4. File Name wildcards: *, ?, [ ], etc. ----------------------------------------------../Scripting/regex
  5. Printing
    1. lpq, lprm, lpr, lpstat, lp, printercap
    2. adding local and remote printers
  6. UNIX/Linux Shell [essentially Shell101 continuation --nnb] (../Scripting/shells)
    1. Basic Shell Programming
    2. Piping, I/O and error redirection ../Scripting/pipes.shtml
    3. Loops, exit codes, etc.
  7. Basic shell configuration for Bourne and bash shells [essentially Shell101 continuation --nnb]
    1. ~/.bashrc
    2. ~/.bash_profile
    3. ~/.profile
  8. Basic kernel configuration and recompiling (internal, kernel)
    8.1. Kernel concepts
    8.2. The kernel source tree and documentation kernel
    8.3. Obtaining the kernel tar file from ftp.kernel.org
    8.4. Recompiling a kernel
  9. Basic security [essentially Unix security 101 --nnb]---------------------------------- ../Security/index
    9.1. Shadow passwords ../Security/shadow_passwords.shtml
    9.2. File permissions
    9.3. Understanding users, groups and umask
    9.4. Suid
  10. UNIX System Administration [essentially Unix admin 101 --nnb] (index)
    10.1. /etc/skel/... and home directories
    10.2. Daemons
    10.3. Cron
    10.4. Superuser
    10.5. Syslogd and logging
    10.6. Backup and Restore Tasks
    10.7. Control of Network Services and Daemons
    10.8. System crontab
    10.9. Using and managing the system log files
    10.10 Basic system backup and restore operations
  11. TCP/IP Fundamentals [essentially TCP/IP 101 --nnb]
    1. TCP/IP vs OSI layer model............................................. TCP Protocol Layers OSI Protocol Layers
    2. TCP and UDP packet internals .......................................TCP Protocol User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
    3. ICMP Packet types ..........................................................Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
    4. Priveleged and unpriveleged ports
    5. Standard service ports and /etc/services
  12. Basic TCP/IP Networking [essentially TCP/IP 101 --nnb] -------------------------
    1. IP numbers and classes
    2. The network address, broadcast address and subnet mask
    3. Understanding CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing) --------------------../Net/routing.shtml
    4. Tools and commands for tracing network problems -----------------------------../Net/net_tools
      1. ping
      2. traceroute
      3. ifconfig
      4. route
    5. Understanding static routes ---------------------------------------------------../Net/routing.shtml
    6. The netcfg tool and network interface configuration
    7. Name resolution configuration -----------------------------------------------../Net/nfs_links.shtml
      1. /etc/hosts
      2. /etc/resolv.conf
      3. /etc/host.conf
      4. /etc/nsswitch.conf
  13. IP routing - [essentially continuation of TCP/IP 101 --nnb] ---------------------------- ../Net/routing
    1. CIDR (Classless InterDomain Routing)
    2. IP sub-networking
    3. arp, rip and rarp
    4. ICMP packet types
    5. Static routing
    6. The default route
  14. Standard Networking Services [TCP/IP Application protocols 101 --nnb]
    1. NFS and remote filesystems-------------------------------------------------------- ../Net/nfs_links
    2. Sendmail -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------../Mail/mta
    3. POP, IMAP
    4. FTP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ../Net/ftp
    5. DNS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------../Net/dns_links
    6. DHCP---------------------------------------------------------------------------------../Net/dhcp
    7. Samba ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ../Net/samba
    8. httpd ---------------------------------------------------------------------------../WWW/http_and_cgi
    9. YP, Nis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ../Net/nis_links
    10. Inetd
  15. Basic Network Security (continuation of security isuues) ----------------------------- ../Security/index

Reviews

As a person who just returned from RedHat, after completing the RHCE course, I think I have to put forth my opinion to those who are making theirs known here.

The RHCE training course is well-designed, well-rounded and complete with a mildly-difficult lab exam. The RedHat employees are friendly and helpful, the amenities are gracious and complete. Over all, the experience was great.

The concerns that I and others in my class had regarding course material (ambiguous questions and the occasional too easy lab) were listened to by the Training Coordinator (Peter Childers, a very intelligent and good person) personally, and all concerns were met with questions that showed intent to change the course material to the better. The course is in a state of continual improvement, and each class will be better than the last. Soon, there may be divergent levels of difficulty to accomodate the wide spectrum of Linux users. This is a good thing.

To those who believe that the RHCE is a bad thing, take the course and decide unbiasedly. You cannot shout from the rooftops to the Linux community (slashdot) about something that you have no credible knowledge of. Go visit RedHat and talk to the people there. It will surprise you to find how much work puts into the Linux community, that is outside the scope of RedHat. They evidently have their heads screwed on straight, they are out to make a profit (what company is not?) and are doing it the right way.

In conclusion, I recommend that people of all skill levels go and take the RHCE course. If you are a knowledgeable user, the class will teach you quite a bit. If you are a very well versed Linux developer, you might not learn quite as much, but it will be a good experience, and it will confirm your knowledge, not to mention give you "RHCE" after your name.

History

RedHat was one of the first Linux distributors that introduced a certification program. It is oriented mainly on corporate clients and resellers. The exam for RedHat Certified Engineers is $749 -- quite expensive (more expensive than all 6 Microsoft certification exams). Tuition is even more expensive ($2500) -- it is oriented on Certified Resellers, not Certified Engineers. But on positive side probably as there will be more and more RedHat Certified Resellers, more people would trust in Linux at the enterprise environment. So even if your cannot afford it and/or your company will not pay for it, it makes sense to prepare yourself for this exam, anyway.

RH considers training as one of the most important avenues of growth (see Dan Barkin A price of going public and http://www.sec.gov). For a company that had almost no money two years ago, Red Hat has made a tremendous progress. It now has more than $10 million in cash (mostly from preferred stock sales). The IPO is expected to raise a hundred million dollars.

And Red Hat plan to spend a lot of them for building-up of its training program. Red Hat's needs to convince investors that it has a strong business model based on impressive market share, while assuring Linux fans that it's not like "some other companies."

Until recently the company has grown very quickly: from March 1, 1998, to the end of last month, its work force tripled (from 36 to 127). Now Red Hat is paying $900,000 a year in rent -- nearly as much as its revenue in 1996. In the fiscal year 1998, Red Hat had revenue of about $10.8 million, much of it from sales of its retail boxes. Whither this revenue stream possess big potential for growth remains to be seen, but the company clearly need a diversification and training is a perfect candidate here.

The course includes 4 days of training and 1 day Certification Lab Exam. The course and certificate are based on Red Hat Linux 6.0.

RH recommends that all prospective RHCE participants review prerequisites in preparation for the course and exam.

Technical content

Introduction

  1. Open Source Software
    1. History
    2. Linux
  2. Free Software Foundation
    1. GPL
    2. GNU
    3. Services and applications
  3. About Linux
    1. Current support for all networking services and protocols
    2. Flexibility of OSS
    3. R & D processes and practices
    4. Future development
  4. Starting out
    1. What are your needs? What do you want to do?
    2. Types of servers, workstations, uses
      1. WWW, FTP, NEWS, ISP, Intranet/Internet
      2. development workstation
      3. thin client
      4. enterprise server, application, db
    3. Choosing your hardware
      1. Intel flavors, clones
      2. HW compatibility lists
      3. What to avoid
      4. Reference sources on hardware that is compatible
      5. Planning your installation and configuration

UNIT 1: Installation (Intel architecture)

  1. Deciding how you will use your system
  2. Planning your installation
    1. What packages will you be installing?
    2. How to partition your drive
  3. Intel CPU hardware selection and configuration issues
    1. Hardware compatibility issues
      1. The Linux hardware HOWTO
      2. The Red Hat supported hardware list
    2. RAM sizing and cache issues
    3. Disk subsystems (IDE, EIDE, SCSI)
      1. Primary, extended and logical partitions
      2. Cylinder/head/sector geometry and re-mapping issues
      3. Multiple controllers
      4. RAID and MD systems
    4. IRQ settings
      1. Planning the IRQ layout - standard IRQs
      2. IRQs and the PCI architecture
    5. Plug and Play
      1. Plug and play support in Linux
      2. Handling jumperless cards
    6. IRQs and standard serial ports
    7. Serial and other interface mice
    8. PC-Card (PCMCIA)
      1. Supported chip sets
      2. Supported cards
  4. Disk partitioning strategies for server and workstation installations
    1. Linux filesystems: /tmp /boot /usr/local /var /home
    2. Why separate file systems?
    3. Possible target file systems for separate file system placement
    4. Swap space partition sizing and placement
    5. disk drive, fdisk LBA
  5. The LILO boot process and Intel hardware/BIOS issues
    1. LILO parameters
    2. LILO errors
    3. /etc/lilo.conf
  6. Using loadlin
  7. Choosing an installation class: workstation, server, custom
  8. The installation processes in detail
    1. CDROM installation
    2. FTP installation
    3. NFS installation
    4. SAMBA installation
    5. Hard disk installation
    6. The installation log file
    7. Viewing boot time information
      1. dmesg and using page up/page down at the console
      2. the console install screens
      3. Virtual console
  9. Understanding the standard boot process
    1. The /boot directory and files
  10. Validating the installation
    1. Login as root
    2. View dmesg
    3. How you know when your hardware is not supported

UNIT 2: Basic Configuration and Administration

  1. The basic user environment
    1. /etc/skel/... and home directories
    2. Window manager configuration file locations
  2. File system configuration
    1. File system types
    2. /etc/fstab layout and meanings
  3. Using rpm
    1. Validating a package signature
    2. To add and remove components
    3. To add updates, security fixes etc.
    4. To verify one of more packages
    5. To see what packages are installed
    6. To see what package a file is in
    7. Creating and Using Custom RPMs
      1. Installing source rpms
      2. The /usr/src/redhat/... directory structure
      3. Changing compile time options for a source RPM
      4. Rebuilding custom source and binary rpms
      5. Building an rpm from a tar archive
  4. Basic networking
    1. The /etc/sysconfig/... files used in network set up
      1. /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ files (parameter files and scripts)
      2. /etc/sysconfig/ files for clock, mouse, static-routes, keyboard, network and pcmcia
    2. ifup / ifdown
    3. ifconfig
    4. netstat -r
    5. arp as a diagnostic tool
  5. Adding, deleting, and modifying users
  6. Daemons; netsysv; chkconfig
  7. virtual consoles
  8. kbdconfig; time config; mouseconfig
  9. mounting floppy disks and removable media
  10. Sounds cards sndconfig utility

UNIT 3: Advanced Installation

  1. Dual boots: Linux and NT
  2. Raid configuration
  3. Using kickstart to automate installation
  4. Hardware conflicts
  5. Plug and play
  6. Laptops
    1. PCMCIA
    2. X caveats
    3. Automatic Power Management system (APM)
  7. Understanding /etc/inittab
    1. Run levels and the default run level
    2. System start-up script /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit
  8. Understanding kernel modules
    1. The kernel daemon
    2. /etc/conf.modules and module parameters
    3. The /lib/modules/... directory structure and contents

UNIT 4: Advanced Configuration

  1. Setting up and managing disk quotas
    1. Kernel configuration
    2. The installing the quota RPM
    3. The /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit quota handling section
    4. Modifications to /etc/fstab
    5. Creating the quota.user file for each partition
    6. Using edquota to set up per user disk quotas
    7. Creating default quota settings
    8. Quota reports
    9. Quotas on nfs filesystems
  2. System initialization scripts
    1. /etc/rc.d/rc.serial
    2. /etc/rc.d/rc.local
    3. /etc/issue and /etc/issue.net
    4. /etc/rc.d/rcl.d ... /rcl2.d ... (discuss entire tree)
    5. Starting up to X windows automatically
  3. Kernel re-compilation and installation
    1. Best practices
    2. Kernel concepts:
      1. Monolithic vs modular
      2. Relation to rest of system
      3. Updating the kernel
    3. /boot partitions
    4. /etc (most files not otherwise covered should be talked about here)
    5. The kernel source tree and documentation
    6. The kernel rpm's and the Linux kernel tar file
    7. Understanding kernel version numbers
    8. The kernel configuration scripts
    9. Understanding kernel configuration options
      1. The standard Red Hat kernel configuration
      2. Code maturity level options
      3. Loadable module support options
      4. General set up options
      5. Floppy, IDE and other block device options
      6. Non IDE/SCSI CDROM support options
      7. Networking and network device options
      8. SCSI support options and low level drivers
      9. ISDN options
      10. File system options
      11. Character device options (serial and parallel ports, mice, QIC tapes, APM)
      12. Sound system support options
      13. Kernel profiling support
    10. Compiling and installing a custom kernel
    11. Compiling and installing kernel modules
    12. Mkinitrd
    13. Updating LILO
    14. mkbootdisk
  4. PAM
  5. The Cron system
    1. The system crontab and components
    2. User crontabs
  6. System-wide shell configuration for Bourne and bash shells
    1. /etc/bashrc
    2. /etc/profile
    3. /etc/profile.d

UNIT 5: X Windowing System

  1. X Server
    1. Supported hardware
    2. Hardware: X server selection
      1. different servers of XFree86.org
    3. Tools for X configuration
      1. RH Xconfigurator
      2. XF86setup
    4. /etc/X11
  2. X clients
    1. Windows managers
    2. fvwm, Windows Maker
    3. Desktops, Gnome, KDE
  3. Startup
    1. startx
    2. XDM
    3. X security
  4. Remote display of X apps
    1. X security
    2. x remote

UNIT 6: Standard Networking Services

  1. HTTP / Apache
    1. Basic Apache configuration for a simple web server
    2. Configuring ftpd for a simple (anonymous) ftp server
    3. Time synchronisation
    4. PPP configuration (as a client) using netcfg and the files generated
    5. Basic SMB configuration to act as a client and server for file and print services
    6. Basic NFS configuration as a client and server
  2. Mail services
    1. SMTP
      1. Basic sendmail configuration for a work station or simple mail hub
      2. Where is sendmailm file for Red Hat Linux
      3. anti-spam turned on, turning it off
      4. Do not tinker with /etc/sendmail.cf
    2. POP
    3. IMAP
  3. DNS (Bind)
  4. FTP wu-ftpd
  5. NFS
    1. Configuring a server to act as a boot and NFS host for Linux clients
    2. starting and stopping nfs services
    3. /etc/exports
    4. nfs options
    5. nfs version 3
    6. bootp and dhcp operational overview (including client issues)
    7. exporting and mounting critical file systems via NFS
    8. File locking issues
  6. Other filesharing
    1. SMB (Samba)
    2. IPX (mars_nwe)
  7. DHCP / Bootp
  8. Printing (LPD)
    1. The printing subsystem
      1. The /etc/printcap file
      2. Adding local and remote printers
      3. The /etc/hosts.lpd file
      4. The print filter system for local printers
      5. Using lpc, lpq and lprm
    2. SAMBA printing
    3. Mars-nwe
  9. Configuring innd (leafnode service)
  10. Time services
    1. xntp
    2. rdate
  11. Squid proxy server, web cache
  12. NNTP

UNIT 7: Systems Administration and Security I

  1. Configuring NIS (Yp)
    1. NIS components on Red Hat Linux
    2. /etc/nsswitch.conf
  2. Basic host security
    1. tcp_wrappers and /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny
    2. /etc/securetty and PAM
    3. Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) and the /etc/pam.d/... files
    4. Buffer overruns and security problems
    5. Configuring and using process accounting
  3. Inetd
  4. IP aliasing and virtual hosts
  5. Firewall policies--elements ipfwadm
  6. NAT Network Address Translation
    1. IP masquerading
    2. IP forwarding
  7. Routing, static routes

UNIT 8: Systems Administration and Security II

  1. Services should run as users or nobody, not root
  2. Sgid redhat scheme
  3. cops
  4. Interaction of CMOS clock time and Linux system time
  5. System logging
    1. syslog and klog
    2. /etc/syslog.conf
    3. Remote logging
    4. Monitoring logs (swatch)
    5. Managing logs (log rotate)
  6. tmpwatch
  7. Emergency boot procedures
  8. Understanding the system log entries
  9. Understanding and tailoring /etc/syslog.conf
  10. Using syslog for debugging and tracking problems
  11. Obtaining encryption packages in rpm format
    1. Import and export restrictions on encryption software
    2. The ftp.replay.com site
    3. Validating RPMs with pgp
  12. Linuxconf

Note: Technical content subject to change without notice. Significant changes in course content will generally be available in posted outlines at least two months prior to being implemented in scheduled courses, to allow enrolled students adequate prep time. Reload this page regularly to insure up-to-date information.

Etc

Society

Groupthink : Two Party System as Polyarchy : Corruption of Regulators : Bureaucracies : Understanding Micromanagers and Control Freaks : Toxic Managers :   Harvard Mafia : Diplomatic Communication : Surviving a Bad Performance Review : Insufficient Retirement Funds as Immanent Problem of Neoliberal Regime : PseudoScience : Who Rules America : Neoliberalism  : The Iron Law of Oligarchy : Libertarian Philosophy

Quotes

War and Peace : Skeptical Finance : John Kenneth Galbraith :Talleyrand : Oscar Wilde : Otto Von Bismarck : Keynes : George Carlin : Skeptics : Propaganda  : SE quotes : Language Design and Programming Quotes : Random IT-related quotes :  Somerset Maugham : Marcus Aurelius : Kurt Vonnegut : Eric Hoffer : Winston Churchill : Napoleon Bonaparte : Ambrose Bierce :  Bernard Shaw : Mark Twain Quotes

Bulletin:

Vol 25, No.12 (December, 2013) Rational Fools vs. Efficient Crooks The efficient markets hypothesis : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2013 : Unemployment Bulletin, 2010 :  Vol 23, No.10 (October, 2011) An observation about corporate security departments : Slightly Skeptical Euromaydan Chronicles, June 2014 : Greenspan legacy bulletin, 2008 : Vol 25, No.10 (October, 2013) Cryptolocker Trojan (Win32/Crilock.A) : Vol 25, No.08 (August, 2013) Cloud providers as intelligence collection hubs : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : Inequality Bulletin, 2009 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Copyleft Problems Bulletin, 2004 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Energy Bulletin, 2010 : Malware Protection Bulletin, 2010 : Vol 26, No.1 (January, 2013) Object-Oriented Cult : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2011 : Vol 23, No.11 (November, 2011) Softpanorama classification of sysadmin horror stories : Vol 25, No.05 (May, 2013) Corporate bullshit as a communication method  : Vol 25, No.06 (June, 2013) A Note on the Relationship of Brooks Law and Conway Law

History:

Fifty glorious years (1950-2000): the triumph of the US computer engineering : Donald Knuth : TAoCP and its Influence of Computer Science : Richard Stallman : Linus Torvalds  : Larry Wall  : John K. Ousterhout : CTSS : Multix OS Unix History : Unix shell history : VI editor : History of pipes concept : Solaris : MS DOS :  Programming Languages History : PL/1 : Simula 67 : C : History of GCC development :  Scripting Languages : Perl history   : OS History : Mail : DNS : SSH : CPU Instruction Sets : SPARC systems 1987-2006 : Norton Commander : Norton Utilities : Norton Ghost : Frontpage history : Malware Defense History : GNU Screen : OSS early history

Classic books:

The Peter Principle : Parkinson Law : 1984 : The Mythical Man-Month :  How to Solve It by George Polya : The Art of Computer Programming : The Elements of Programming Style : The Unix Hater�s Handbook : The Jargon file : The True Believer : Programming Pearls : The Good Soldier Svejk : The Power Elite

Most popular humor pages:

Manifest of the Softpanorama IT Slacker Society : Ten Commandments of the IT Slackers Society : Computer Humor Collection : BSD Logo Story : The Cuckoo's Egg : IT Slang : C++ Humor : ARE YOU A BBS ADDICT? : The Perl Purity Test : Object oriented programmers of all nations : Financial Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : The Most Comprehensive Collection of Editor-related Humor : Programming Language Humor : Goldman Sachs related humor : Greenspan humor : C Humor : Scripting Humor : Real Programmers Humor : Web Humor : GPL-related Humor : OFM Humor : Politically Incorrect Humor : IDS Humor : "Linux Sucks" Humor : Russian Musical Humor : Best Russian Programmer Humor : Microsoft plans to buy Catholic Church : Richard Stallman Related Humor : Admin Humor : Perl-related Humor : Linus Torvalds Related humor : PseudoScience Related Humor : Networking Humor : Shell Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2012 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2013 : Java Humor : Software Engineering Humor : Sun Solaris Related Humor : Education Humor : IBM Humor : Assembler-related Humor : VIM Humor : Computer Viruses Humor : Bright tomorrow is rescheduled to a day after tomorrow : Classic Computer Humor

The Last but not Least Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand ~Archibald Putt. Ph.D

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Last modified: June 13, 2021