Softpanorama (slightly skeptical) Open Source Software Educational Society

May the source be with you, but remember the KISS principle ;-)

Red Hat Certification Program

Red Hat has several certifications:

• Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT) is a two-parts test on live systems. RHCT is a three-hour hands-on exam. The exam can be taken at the end of one of the 4.5-day Red Hat classes (RH133) , or separately (RH202 RHCT Exam ).

  RHCT is an intermediate level certification

  To quote the Red Hat site:

  • "RHCT certification indicates that the person has passed a realistic performance-based lab exam that tests his/her ability to: install and configure Red Hat Linux; understand limitations of hardware; configure basic networking and file systems for a single system attached to a network; configure the X Window System; perform essential Red Hat Linux system administration; configure basic host security, set up client-side networking services required to attach to a production network, and carry out basic diagnostics and troubleshooting."

  RHCT is a subset of RHCE. it ignores such RHCE topics as network services and network security. It focuses instead on such routine systems administration topics as installation and configuration. Because this exam is a subset of RHCE, it is possible for someone taking the RHCE exam to fail part of the test, pass the part relevant to RHCT, and still be granted RHCT status. If your goal is to become an RHCE, it makes sense to first become an RHCT before undertaking the larger battery of exams.

  The RHCT exam is given on a live machine. You need to take the exam through one of the approved Red Hat testing center/course locations.
   

• Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) is also a test on live systems. the number of topics is wider and comlexity of problems is higher too.

Level of Linux Expertise

To determine your level of experience, take our pre-assessment questionnaires or read the descriptions below for the Standard and Rapid Tracks.

Exam Preparation

The Standard Track consists of three courses -- RH033, RH133, RH253 -- and is aimed at persons who need more review of key concepts or who are new to both UNIX and Linux.

• RH033 Red Hat Linux Essentials targets IT professionals with no prior UNIX or Linux experience, and covers skills to prepare for RH133, including shell and command line essentials.
• RH131 and RH133 Red Hat System Administration are designed for those wanting to prepare for professional responsibilities as a Linux systems administrator at the Technician level. You'll learn all the skills required to manage a Linux workstation and attach it to a corporate network, including configuration of client-side network services. Prerequisites include networking fundamentals and internetworking with TCP/IP, widely available from reputable training vendors or through self-study. RH133 now includes the RHCT Exam on the last half of the last day.
• RH253 Red Hat Linux Networking and Security Administration is designed for those who desire to build skills at configuring and administering a Red Hat Linux server running key enterprise network services and security. Prerequisites include RH133 or equivalent skills.

** Rapid Track

The Rapid Track consists of one course -- RH300 Red Hat Rapid Track Course (and RHCE Exam) -- and is aimed at persons who are experienced UNIX and Linux users, networking specialists, and system administrators and need specific Red Hat Enterprise Linux training to pass the RHCE Exam (which is included).

Success Pack

Increase your chances for certification. The RHCE Success Pack acts as insurance in a way, providing a re-take of the exam for a discounted price, if you fail the first exam. Find out more.

Live Access Labs

Prerequisites for RH300 include:

• UNIX systems administration experience
• Networking concepts and technology
• Intel x86 architecture computers
• UNIX filesystems
• UNIX / Linux shell programming and configuration
• Basic kernel configuration
• Basic security
• Basic TCP/IP networking
• IP routing
• Standard networking services
• Basic network security

Old News ;-)

developerWorks Linux Technical library view

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. Tutorial 20 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

UnixReview.com

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.

See also

• Certification
• LPI Certification

RH133 Red Hat Linux System Administration and RHCT Exam

Course Outline

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

The RHCT 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 RHCT Certification Lab Exam. It is highly recommended that all prospective RHCT 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

• Objectives
• Boot Sequence Overview
• Boot Loader Components
• GRUB and grub.conf
• Starting the Boot Process: GRUB
• Kernel Initialization
• init Initialization
• Run Levels
• /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit
• /etc/rc.d/rc
• System V run levels
• /etc/rc.d/rc.local
• Controlling Services
• Hands-on Lab 1: Managing Startup

Unit 2 - Package Management

• RPM Package Manager
• Installing and Removing Software
• Updating a Kernel RPM
• rpm Queries
• rpm Verification
• About yum
• Using yum
• Searching packages/files
• Configuring Additional Repositories
• Creating a private repository
• Red Hat Network
• Red Hat Network Server
• Entitlements
• Red Hat Network Client
• Hands-on Lab 2: Working with packages

Unit 3 - Kernel Services

• Objectives
• The Linux Kernel
• Kernel Images and Variants
• Kernel Modules
• Kernel Module Utilities
• Managing the initrd Image
• Accessing Drivers Through /dev
• Device Node Examples
• Managing /dev With udev
• Adding Files Under /dev
• Kernel Configuration With /proc
• /proc Examples
• sysctl : Persistent Kernel Configuration
• Exploring Hardware Devices
• Monitoring Processes and Resources
• Hands-on Lab 3: Configuring the kernel

Unit 4 - System Services

• Network Time Protocol
• System Logging
• syslog Configuration
• XOrg: The X11 Server
• XOrg Server Configuration
• XOrg in runlevel 3
• XOrg in runlevel 5
• Remote X Sessions
• SSH: Secure Shell
• VNC: Virtual Network Computing
• cron
• Controlling Access to cron
• System crontab Files
• Daily Cron Jobs
• The anacron System
• CUPS
• Hands-on Lab 4: System Services

Unit 5 - User Administration

• Adding a New User Account
• User Private Groups
• Modifying / Deleting User Accounts
• Group Administration
• Password Aging Policies
• Switching Accounts
• sudo
• Network Users
• Authentication Configuration
• Example: NIS Configuration
• Example: LDAP Configuration
• SUID and SGID Executables
• SGID Directories
• The Sticky Bit
• Default File Permissions
• Access Control Lists (ACLs)
• SELinux
• SELinux: Targeted Policy
• SELinux: Management

Unit 6 - Filesystem Management

• Objectives
• Overview: Adding New Filesystems to the Filesystem Tree
• Device Recognition
• Disk Partitioning
• Managing Partitions
• Making Filesystems
• Filesystem Labels
• tune2fs
• Mount Points and /etc/fstab
• Mounting Filesystems with mount
• Unmounting Filesystems
• mount By Example
• Handling Swap Files and Partitions
• Mounting NFS Filesystems
• Automounter
• Direct Maps
• gnome-mount
• Hands-on Lab 6: Adding New Filesystems to the Filesystem Tree

Unit 7 - Advanced Filesystem Management

• Configuring the Quota System
• Setting Quotas for Users
• Reporting Quota Status
• What is Software RAID?
• Software RAID Configuration
• Software RAID Testing and Recovery
• What is Logical Volume Manager (LVM)?
• Creating Logical Volumes
• Resizing Logical Volumes
• Logical Volume Manager Snapshots
• Using LVM Snapshots
• Archiving tools: tar
• Archiving Tools: dump/restore
• Archiving Tools: rsync:
• Hands-on Lab 7: Advanced Filesystem Mangement

Unit 8 - Network Configuration

• Objectives
• Network Inferfaces
• Driver Selection
• Speed and Duplex Settings
• IPv4 Addresses
• Dynamic IPv4 Configuration
• Static IPv4 Configuration
• Device Aliases
• Routing Table
• Default Gateway
• Configuring Routes
• Verify IP Connectivity
• Defining the Local Host Name
• Local Resolver
• Remote Resolvers
• Verify DNS Connectivity
• Network Configuration Utilities
• Transparent Dynamic Configuration
• Implementing IPv6
• IPv6: Dynamic Interface Configuration
• IPv6: StaticInterface Configuration
• IPv6: Routing Configuration
• New and Modified Utilities
• Hands-on Lab 8: Manage Network Settings

Unit 9 - Installation

• Anaconda, the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Installer
• First Stage: Starting the Installation
• First Stage: Boot Media
• Accessing the Installer
• First Stage: Installation Method
• Network Installation Server
• Second Stage: Installation Overview
• Configuring File Systems
• Advanced Partitioning
• Package Selection
• First Boot: Post-Install Configuration
• Kickstart
• Starting a Kickstart Installation
• Anatomy of a Kickstart File
• Kickstart: Commands Section
• Kickstart: Commands section
• Kickstart: Packages Section
• Kickstart: %pre, %post
• Hands-on Lab 9: Installation and System-Initialization

Unit 10 - Virtualization with Xen

• Virtualization with Xen
• Hardware Considerations
• Preparing Domain-0
• Virtual Resources
• Domain-U Configuration
• Installing a new Domain-U
• Domain Management with xm
• Activating Domains on boot
• Hands-on Lab 10: Exploring Virtualization

Unit 11 - Troubleshooting

• Method of Fault Analysis
• Fault Analysis: Gathering Data
• Things to Check: X
• Things to Check: Networking
• Order of the Boot Process
• Filesystem Corruption
• Filesystem Recovery
• Recovery Run-levels
• Rescue Environment
• Rescue Environment Utilities
• Rescue Environment Details
• Hands-on Lab 11: System Rescue and Troubleshooting

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

   Basic vi usage  Opening, closing, writing, and abandoning files Moving around in vi Basic text editing	../Tools/vi
   Understanding simple Bourne shell scripts [essentially Shell101 -- nnb] Script execution, permissions, and file magic Variables and parameters The inherited environment The if, else, elsif constructs Conditional tests The case statement construct 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

• Review: RHCE/RH300 Training (from slashdot) by version conflict (cat /proc/kcore > /dev/audio) on Saturday April 17, @12:49PM EDT

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.

Last modified: August 27, 2008