If there's one major star in the vendor-specific Linux certification
firmament, it's got to be Red Hat. Where Novell has history and deep
knowledge of certification programs to its credit, Red Hat has major market presence and serious duration as a commercial provider of Linux platforms and technologies.
Like so many other certification programs, Red Hat offers a typical administrator -- engineer -- architect ladder; unlike many other such programs, however, it offers highly-regarded and -- valued credentials at each rung, along with demanding and hands-on oriented exams and an excellent training curriculum to match. All exams for the following Red Hat certifications are performance based, and last 2 hours or longer.
The giveaway for Red Hat certifications is that all come with acronyms that start with RH, as follows:
Table 4: Red Hat Administrator, Engineer and Architect Credentials
Like so many other certification programs, Red Hat offers a typical administrator -- engineer -- architect ladder; unlike many other such programs, however, it offers highly-regarded and -- valued credentials at each rung, along with demanding and hands-on oriented exams and an excellent training curriculum to match. All exams for the following Red Hat certifications are performance based, and last 2 hours or longer.
The giveaway for Red Hat certifications is that all come with acronyms that start with RH, as follows:
- Red Hat Certified Systems Administrator (RHCSA): The foundation Red Hat certification, which vets essential skills in handling files, working at the command line, and using system documentation, along with managing systems (boot-up, identifying processes, start/stop virtual machines, controlling systems), configuring storage partitions and logical volumes, and more. $400
- Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE): The cornerstone Red Hat certification, it is designed to test and validate the skills and knowledge necessary to work as a senior level Linux system administrator. Topics covered include advanced IP routing and services, managing runtime kernel behavior, working with iSCSI, automating maintenance tasks with shell scripts, and working with networking services for Web, FTP, NFS, SMB, SMTP, SSH and more. An RHSCA is a pre-requisite for the RHCE. $400
- Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA): Red Hat’s pinnacle certification takes the RHCE as a pre-requisite, and also requires candidates to earn certificates of expertise in Deployment and Systems Management, Directory Services and Authentication or Virtualization, Clustering and Storage Management, Security: Network Services or Server Hardening, and Performance Tuning (5 in all). Each of the certificates has its own exam, where each is performance based and is up to 6 hours in length. This is a grueling, difficult, expensive, and time-consuming credential to earn, but is valued highly.
Table 4: Red Hat Administrator, Engineer and Architect Credentials
| Certification Name: | Red Hat Certified Systems Adminsitrator (RHCSA) Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA) |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites & Required Courses: | After the RHCSA, each subsequent level takes the preceding level as a pre-requisite, courses are not mandated, but exams are often bundled with and taken immediately after their conclusion (as seniority climbs, more candidates take the classes). |
| Number of Exams: | 1 practical hands-on exam for RHCSA and RHCE; the RHCA requires 5 exams. See preceding certification links for exam ID details and sign-up. |
| Cost per Exam: | RHCSA and RHCE exams cost $400; each of the RHCA exams costs $600 ($3,000 total). |
| URL: | www.redhat.com/training/certifications/#certifications |
| Self-study Materials: | Red Hat offers online and in-class training for its credentials, with excellent coverage for most of them on the aftermarket. Start with Amazon searches on RHCSA and RHCE to get a sense for what’s available. See also the Red Hat Training Resources links. |
