A Look at the Red Hat RHCE Exam
A Look at the Red Hat RHCE Exam
by Emmett Dulaney
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.
Before You Start Studying
Before you start to study in earnest, you should assess your current knowledge to see how close, or far off, you are from other RHCE candidates. The best way to do this is to look at the skills required of a candidate for acceptance into the Rapid Track class. You should have the same set of skills before beginning RHCE study.
The prerequisites for the RHCE Rapid Track course are knowledge and mastery of the following skills and topics. You should be able to:
* Administer the Linux printing subsystem
* Automate tasks with at, cron, and anacron
* Back up filesystems to tape and tar archive
* Communicate and transfer files securely
* Configure a workstation as a client to NIS, DNS, and DHCP services
* Configure an NFS client and autofs
* Configure basic host security
* Configure, customize, and use the X Window System and GNOME desktop environment
* Configure, compile, and install the Linux kernel
* Connect processes and files using standard I/O and pipes
* Control common system hardware
* Control system processes
* Copy files to and from a floppy disk
* Create and maintain the Linux filesystem
* Filter and process text
* Install Red Hat Linux interactively and with Kickstart
* Install, update, query, and remove software packages with RPM (Red Hat Package Manager)
* Integrate a workstation with an existing network running common network services
* Issue essential Linux commands from the bash shell command line
* Launch applications from the command line and GNOME interface
* Maintain and interpret system logs
* Open, edit, and save text documents using the vi editor
* Perform basic bash shell scripting with sed, awk, and perl
* Perform basic performance, memory, and process management
* Perform basic troubleshooting
* Perform common file maintenance tasks
* Perform common tasks using GNOME GUI applications
* Perform security administration using Red Hat Linux
* Perform user and group administration
* Query packages on your system
* Set up, configure, and administer common networking services on Red Hat Linux:
o Apache Web Server
o DHCP
o DNS/BIND Domain Name Service
o ftp
o NFS
o NIS
o pppd
o SAMBA file and print sharing to Windows clients
o sendmail
* Understand and maintain file access permissions
* Understand and use email and related applications
* Understand system and service initialization
* Understand system tools available to the user
* Understand the Linux file system
* Use network applications and utilities
* Use printing commands and utilities
* Use regular expression pattern matching
Keep in mind that these are prerequisites and should be mastered before you consider studying for the RHCE. Two things should immediately jump out at you as you scan this list:
1. For the most part, the skills listed here are vendor-neutral. Regular expression pattern matching, for example, works the same in Red Hat as it does in any other version of Unix or Linux (assuming the same shell is used).
2. The list closely resembles the required knowledge to become certified in any of the other certifications. This is so much so, in fact, that you could almost make the blanket statement that LPI/Sair/Linux+ certification is a prerequisite to RHCE. If you truly want to test your knowledge and see that you meet the prerequisites, take and pass the two LPI exams. Red Hat also offers three courses (RH033, RH133, and RH253) to help bring your skills up to their expectation level.
What to Study
Having met and exceeded the prerequisites, you are ready to start studying in earnest for the RHCE exam. The best way to approach the exam topics is to look at the material covered in the Rapid Track course. Eight major areas are addressed in a lab setting:
1. Hardware and Installation
2. Configuration and Administration
3. Alternate Installation Methods
4. Kernel Services and Configuration
5. Standard Networking Services
6. X Window System
7. User and Host Security
8. Routers, Firewalls, Clusters, and Troubleshooting
A number of subtopics exist within each unit, and a complete list can be found at: http://www.rhce.com/training/rhce/rhce_content.html.
What to Expect
As mentioned, the multiple-choice exam lasts one hour and consists of 40-50 questions. It covers general Linux topics, such as regular expressions, as well as topics specific to Red Hat. Next month, I will look at the top 50 topics to know for this part of the exam.
The two lab components are the “Server Install/Network Services” exam and the “Debug” exam. The former focuses on installation and configuration aspects on the Intel platform. You should know how to install Linux and configure it to run in every possible role (workstation, Internet server, and everything in between). An implied part of installing
is configuring and administering — not only for services, but also for users and all that they entail (quotas, scripts, and so on).
The Debug exam lasts two and a half hours, during which time you must correct 2-4 problems. The problems can range from a service failing to start, all the way to Linux failing to boot, and might include anything in between. You are allowed to use anything on the machine to help you solve the problem (man documentation, syntax prompts, etc.), but you cannot bring anything external with you.
Red Hat offers a detailed listing of 31 things to be comfortable with before taking the exam. It can be found at: http://www.redhat.com/training/rhce/examprep.html.
How to Learn More
Next month, I will examine this certification again, focusing on the multiple-choice component. In the meantime, there are a number of locations not previously mentioned from which additional information can be obtained:
Red Hat's main site: http://www.redhat.com
An overview of the RHCE program: http://www.redhat.com/training/rhce/courses/
Details on the Rapid Track course: http://www.redhat.com/training/rhce/courses/rh300.html
“Unofficial Exam Site,” offering reviews of study materials: http://www.rhce2b.com