How to prepare for RedHat certification

[blueagle78]

hi everyone, I've been in IT industry for almost 10 years now. Most of this time has been spent around Windows world. However I've always liked LInux side of things but never had a chance to work in a place which used Linux. However at my current job Linux is the dominant force so I'm in good position to finally learn Linux in a commercial world. I've been using Linux (mainly OpenSuse) at home for a while now so I know the basics and my way around Linux somewhat.
What I would like to know is what would be the best way of preparing for Redhat certification? I can install any Linux distro (as long as its free) of my choice at work desktop. At home I've got laptop and desktop so I can do the networking at home. Shall I go for Fedora, CentOS or ScientificLinux?
Also I guess at this stage I would be aiming for Sys admin cert?
Any good reading/training material you could recommend?

[pradeeprajkumar]

Any good reading/training material you could recommend?

You can enrol in Red hat training course taught by Red hat or a Red hat certified training partner, and you will be getting the official training materials from them. Else you can make use of the online training programs.
redhat.com | FAQ
This official link of redhat gives the faq's of the certification!

[blueagle78]

Thanks Pradeep. I'm going to register for a Redhat training course soon. I want to install Redhat based linux on my workstation, home PC and laptop. I'm torn between CentOS, Scientific Linux and Fedora!

[Freston]

I don't recommend Fedora for your purpose. The certification process aims at the current Red Hat version.... Fedora is more bleedin' edge than that. Choose between CentOS or Scientific. Both are good alternatives, and you can't really go wrong with either.

In short, if you want to go for your RHCE then you must also go for RHCSA. Here are two links with the exam objectives:

redhat.com | RHCSA Exam Objectives
redhat.com | RHCE Exam Objectives

Note that the examination is not a written test. You will have to demonstrate the required skills in practice. This means you'll be spending MUCH more study time actually working on servers and workstations (physical or virtual) than reading dry materials.

Best advice I can give you, build build build. Build a DNS server, build a DHCP*) server, build LDAP authentication into your home network. Make sure you have a running (S)FTP server that's accessible from outside. SSH(D) goes without saying, it's probably the most important tool of the trade. Don't run it on port 22 or keep a close eye on `lastb`

And remember, Rome wasn't build in a day. Take small steps, and be prepared to start over for a thousand times if need be.

*) But don't install a DHCP server on your work machine, as this will make the IT department very unhappy when they encounter infrequent and unexplainable network problems... hihi

[elija]

^^ What he said ^^

If you are working in the environment then you are getting good preparation anyway but it won't hurt to back it up by practice and training.

[atreyu]

Also don't forget LVM. muy importante.

basic sendmail configuration should also be noted.

SELinux and the firewall, too, now that I think about it.

oh yeah, iscsi would be a good thing to study.

and make sure you are familiar with yum.

and if you get stuck, don't forget to man.

good luck!

[blueagle78]

Thanks a lot guys for providing me the priceless information. Its really appreciated. I've decided to install CentOS as a server and Scientific Linux as my workstation and on my laptop.