RHCSA
Author: Stefan Waldvogel
What you have to know to get RHCSA certified
Overview
This and the related articles are about the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA). The articles follow this book loosely: RHCSA Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (UPDATED): Training and Exam Preparation Guide (EX200), Second Edition (www.amazon.com/gp/product/1775062147/).
The book uses Windows as host and VirtualBox as a hypervisor. I will use RHEL (as host) and Virtual Machine Manager (as a hypervisor). I will not cover all relevant topics, but I use this website to learn and you can follow if you want (you need the book, too). I will highlight my own path and write about of what is different to the book.
Why this certification?
I am not so focused on the certification itself, but I want the knowledge. As a blue teamer, I defend systems, and I want to understand Linux servers enough to do this task.
You might google for the salary... you see numbers >80K. Do not trust this number too much, but it is a valuable certification. We have about 1,100 open jobs in the US with this cert as a requirement. -> This is a low number. Do not take this certification if you are looking for a job unless you know what you are doing.
One positive side is: In the US, we have about 7,900 RHCSA certification holders (according to LinkedIn). This is a small number, and with this certification, you stand out. It shows you have a strong background in Linux as an Administrator.
A huge advantage over other Linux certs is, RHCSA does not expire, it "only" becomes "non-current". This means, you can list RHCSA on your resume after 3 years and you do not have to pay to keep the certification. This is one reason why I picked RHCSA over Linux+/LPIC-1.
Alternatives
CompTIA's Linux+ ($319) is an alternative and about the same level. The same counts for LPIC-1. LPIC-1 needs two exams to pass and each exam is $200. Linux+ and LPIC-1 are "paper" exams, you answer a bunch of questions. RHCSA is a hands-on exam and therefore it prepares you better for a job.
What next?
RHCE is the next level and in the US we have about 860 open positions.
RHCSA skill path
If you want you can take RH024. This is a free introduction course (videos) and the book follows this path.
The exam
The exam is performance based. You get 2 VMs and you have to perform some tasks. This is a very realistic approach and I like it a lot.
Price for RHCSA
$400 +tax.
Exam objectives
Configurations must persist after reboot without intervention.
This and the related articles are about the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA). The articles follow this book loosely: RHCSA Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (UPDATED): Training and Exam Preparation Guide (EX200), Second Edition (www.amazon.com/gp/product/1775062147/).
The book uses Windows as host and VirtualBox as a hypervisor. I will use RHEL (as host) and Virtual Machine Manager (as a hypervisor). I will not cover all relevant topics, but I use this website to learn and you can follow if you want (you need the book, too). I will highlight my own path and write about of what is different to the book.
Why this certification?
I am not so focused on the certification itself, but I want the knowledge. As a blue teamer, I defend systems, and I want to understand Linux servers enough to do this task.
You might google for the salary... you see numbers >80K. Do not trust this number too much, but it is a valuable certification. We have about 1,100 open jobs in the US with this cert as a requirement. -> This is a low number. Do not take this certification if you are looking for a job unless you know what you are doing.
One positive side is: In the US, we have about 7,900 RHCSA certification holders (according to LinkedIn). This is a small number, and with this certification, you stand out. It shows you have a strong background in Linux as an Administrator.
A huge advantage over other Linux certs is, RHCSA does not expire, it "only" becomes "non-current". This means, you can list RHCSA on your resume after 3 years and you do not have to pay to keep the certification. This is one reason why I picked RHCSA over Linux+/LPIC-1.
Alternatives
CompTIA's Linux+ ($319) is an alternative and about the same level. The same counts for LPIC-1. LPIC-1 needs two exams to pass and each exam is $200. Linux+ and LPIC-1 are "paper" exams, you answer a bunch of questions. RHCSA is a hands-on exam and therefore it prepares you better for a job.
What next?
RHCE is the next level and in the US we have about 860 open positions.
RHCSA skill path
If you want you can take RH024. This is a free introduction course (videos) and the book follows this path.
The exam
The exam is performance based. You get 2 VMs and you have to perform some tasks. This is a very realistic approach and I like it a lot.
Price for RHCSA
$400 +tax.
Exam objectives
Configurations must persist after reboot without intervention.
source:www.redhat.com/en/services/training/ex200-red-hat-certified-system-administrator-rhcsa-exam?section=Objectives
Creating the lab environment
Download RHEL and set up the network for our lab. The book suggests a 192.168.0.0/24 subnet, but I do not like the idea to use a standard network range. This particular subnet is probably reserved for your home network. Separate these networks if you can. I use 192.168.20.0/24 but you can pick every other class C range.
Creating the lab environment
Download RHEL and set up the network for our lab. The book suggests a 192.168.0.0/24 subnet, but I do not like the idea to use a standard network range. This particular subnet is probably reserved for your home network. Separate these networks if you can. I use 192.168.20.0/24 but you can pick every other class C range.
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Now, we have the network and we can install RHEL. Follow the book, the steps are very similar.
If you set up the network, you have to save it. Sometimes it does not work, check it again. The book uses putty to connect to both VMs. We have RHEL and we can use ssh to connect to the test VMs.
The book introduces some basic Linux commands and vim. Vim is (in my opinion) a painful software and as long as you not work with binaries I would go for nano (or gedit if you have a gui).
Most books go far beyond an exam and have a lot of details. I wouldnd spend too much time on ls, pwd, cd and other commands unless you are an absolute beginner.
If you are unsure about a command use the manual. It could look like this: man vim.
Most books go far beyond an exam and have a lot of details. I wouldnd spend too much time on ls, pwd, cd and other commands unless you are an absolute beginner.
If you are unsure about a command use the manual. It could look like this: man vim.
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