As you all know Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 is officially released and out in the IT space and now provides more robustness, security, developers tools, etc., so it becomes necessary for System Administrator to learn all the new features of RHEL 8 to administer it properly. In this article, you will see what you should know to pass the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) and Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) exam for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.
Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) exam (EX200) and Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) exam (EX294) for RHEL 8 are both performance-based exam and you have to actually give the exam in a pre-configured server for your exam in a classroom which is monitored by Red Hat examiner. There are no objective questions in these exams.
RHEL 8 RHCSA exam is still 2.50 hrs like RHEL 7, but now the RHCE exam is of 4 hours instead of 3.5 hours. This is a very big change. Seating for 4 hrs for the RHCE exam is very tiring I believe.
Also, you will be surprised to know that there is major change in RHEL 8 RHCE exam. Now you should know how to manage multiple systems using Red Hat® Ansible® Engine and executing common system administration tasks across a number of systems with Ansible to pass the RHCE exam for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.
Red Hat® Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) Objectives for RHEL 8
According to Red Hat, a certified system administrator (RHCSA) should be able to perform the below task without any help as he/she would perform in the real world.
- Understand and use essential tools for handling files, directories, command-line environments, and documentation. RHCSA should also be able to access remote systems via SSH, use input-output redirection, list & change permission, etc.
- Operate running systems, including booting system into different targets manually, locate and interpret system log files and journals, process scheduling, securely transfer files, manage network services, etc.
- Configure local storage using partitions and logical volumes.
- Create and configure file systems and file system attributes, such as permissions, encryption, compression, access control lists, manage NFS and correct file permission problems.
- Deploy, configure, and maintain systems, including schedule tasks using at and cron, software installation, update, and core services.
- Manage basic networking like configuring IPV4 & IPv6 addresses, configure hostname resolution, use of firewall-cmd/firewall
- Manage users and groups, including the configuration of superuser access, Create, delete, and modify local user accounts & groups, and adjust password aging.
- Manage security, including basic firewall and SELinux configuration, restore default file contexts.
If you will compare above objective from the RCHSA exam for RHEL 7, you will notice that Red Hat has added: “Manage basic networking” in this exam, which was not there earlier.
Red Hat® Certified Engineer (RHCE) Syllabus for RHEL 8
You should know and able to perform the below tasks if you want to clear the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) exam (EX294).
- Be able to perform all tasks expected of a Red Hat Certified System Administrator.
- Understand core components of Ansible.
- Install and configure an Ansible control node.
- Configure Ansible managed nodes.
- Script administration tasks.
- Create Ansible plays and playbooks.
- Use Ansible modules for system administration tasks that work with: Software packages and repositories, Services, Firewall rules, File systems, File content, etc.
- Work with roles.
- Use advanced Ansible features.
From the above objectives of the RHCE exam for RHEL 8, it is clear that Red Hat is now focused more on Ansible (Red Hat Ansible Engine 2.8) and wants engineers to know about this useful DevOps tool. I think this is a good opportunity for the system administrator to learn about Ansible and automate their tasks.
These were the objectives/syllabus of Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) and Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) exam for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. If you have any doubt or question, please let me know through your comments.
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References:
1. https://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/ex200-red-hat-certified-system-administrator-rhcsa-exam
2. https://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/ex294-red-hat-certified-engineer-rhce-exam-red-hat-enterprise-linux-8
