1. ECU ACM Student Chapter
ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Mr Lee W Toderick, RHCE, RHCx
19 March, 2013, Austin, Rm 304

2. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Agenda
Why Linux, Why Now?
RHCE Overview
RHCSA (Red Hat Certified Systems Administrator) exam objectives.
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) exam objectives.
ICTN2530 (RHCSA) and ICTN3540 (RHCE) crosswalk.
Miscelaneous
Questions??

3. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Why Linux, Why Now?
RHCE Overview
RHCSA (Red Hat Certified systems administrator) objectives.
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) exam objectives.
ICTN2530 (RHCSA) and ICTN3540 (RHCE) crosswalk.
Miscelaneous
Questions??

4. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Why Linux? Why Now?
“It's been clear for some time now not only that IT professionals face better-than-average prospects in today's tough marketplace for jobs, but also that those with Linux skills tend to fare even better [1].”
"The 2013 Linux Jobs Report shows that there is unlimited opportunity for college graduates and technology professionals who want to pursue careers in Linux, said Amanda McPherson, vice president of marketing and developer programs at the Linux Foundation [2].”
IT Professional Linux Certification [3]:
Red Hat (RHCSA, RHCE, RHCA)
Novell
The Linux Professional Institute (CompTIA Linux+)
[1]
[2]
[3]

5. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Why Linux, Why Now?
RHCE Overview
RHCSA (Red Hat Certified systems administrator) objectives.
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) exam objectives.
ICTN2530 (RHCSA) and ICTN3540 (RHCE) crosswalk.
Miscelaneous
Questions??

6. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
RHCE Overview
RHCE - globally recognized Linux certification.
External accessment that demonstrates superior Linux knowledge and skills.
RHCE exams: “performance-based evaluation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux system administration skills and knowledge. Candidates perform a number of routine system administration tasks and are evaluated on whether they have met specific objective criteria. Performance-based testing means that candidates must perform tasks similar to what they must perform on the job. [4]”
ECU has been a Red Hat Academy (RHA) and taught RHCT/RHCSA and RHCE courses since 2005, and proctored certification exams since 2006.
[4]
Cont’d

7. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
RHCE Overview
RHCE certification requires of successful mastery of two exams:
RHCSA
2.5 hour performance-based exam.
*Cost- $400 (US).
**Closest testing site is RTP.
RHCE
2 hour performance-based exam.
*- Free for ECU students??
**- BUT- ECU students may take the exam at ECU!!
Technical References:
Official RHEL 6 Knowledge Base and Documentation
RHEL 6 Installation Guide
RHEL 6 Deployment Guide

8. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Why Linux, Why Now?
RHCE Overview
RHCSA (Red Hat Certified systems administrator) objectives.
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) exam objectives.
ICTN2530 (RHCSA) and ICTN3540 (RHCE) crosswalk.
Miscelaneous
Questions??

9. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
RHCSA (Red Hat Certified systems administrator) objectives. [5]
Understand and use essential tools, such as text editors, redirection, grep and regular expressions, manage permissions, use on-board documentation, manage SSH and VNC, etc.
Use a live host and manage run levels, adjust process priorities, interpret log files, manage a virtual machine, and manage network services.
Cont’d
[5]

10. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
RHCSA (Red Hat Certified systems administrator) objectives.
Configure local storage (partitions and LVM management).
Create and configure local filesystems (extx and LUKS, format and persistently mount filesystems).
Deploy, configure, and maintain systems (install a RHEL operating system & manage services).
Manage users and groups (local and centralized authentication with LDAP).
Manage security (Firewall & SELinux).
Cont’d
Configure local storage
List, create, delete, and set partition type for primary, extended, and logical partitions.
Create and remove physical volumes, assign physical volumes to volume groups, and create and delete logical volumes.
Create and configure LUKS-encrypted partitions and logical volumes to prompt for password and mount a decrypted file system at boot.
Configure systems to mount file systems at boot by Universally Unique ID (UUID) or label.
Add new partitions and logical volumes, and swap to a system non-destructively.
Create and configure file systems
Create, mount, unmount, and use ext2, ext3, and ext4 file systems.
Mount, unmount, and use LUKS-encrypted file systems.
Mount and unmount CIFS and NFS network file systems.
Configure systems to mount ext4, LUKS-encrypted, and network file systems automatically.
Extend existing unencrypted ext4-formatted logical volumes.
Create and configure set-GID directories for collaboration.
Create and manage Access Control Lists (ACLs).
Diagnose and correct file permission problems.
Deploy, configure, and maintain systems
Configure networking and hostname resolution statically or dynamically.
Schedule tasks using cron.
Configure systems to boot into a specific runlevel automatically.
Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux automatically using Kickstart.
Configure a physical machine to host virtual guests.
Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems as virtual guests.
Configure systems to launch virtual machines at boot.
Configure network services to start automatically at boot.
Configure a system to run a default configuration HTTP server.
Configure a system to run a default configuration FTP server.
Install and update software packages from Red Hat Network, a remote repository, or from the local file system.
Update the kernel package appropriately to ensure a bootable system.
Modify the system bootloader.
Manage users and groups
Create, delete, and modify local user accounts.
Change passwords and adjust password aging for local user accounts.
Create, delete, and modify local groups and group memberships.
Configure a system to use an existing LDAP directory service for user and group information.
Manage security
Configure firewall settings using system-config-firewall or iptables.
Set enforcing and permissive modes for SELinux.
List and identify SELinux file and process context.
Restore default file contexts.
Use boolean settings to modify system SELinux settings.
Diagnose and address routine SELinux policy violations.

11. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
RHCSA (Red Hat Certified systems administrator) objectives.
Manage access to host resources (permissions, FACLs, etc).
Configure networking and client services (web, ftp, mail, etc).
Manage a default-configured FTP and HTTP server.
Modify the system bootloader.
Manage package updates and new package installations with YUM and RPM.
Configure local storage
List, create, delete, and set partition type for primary, extended, and logical partitions.
Create and remove physical volumes, assign physical volumes to volume groups, and create and delete logical volumes.
Create and configure LUKS-encrypted partitions and logical volumes to prompt for password and mount a decrypted file system at boot.
Configure systems to mount file systems at boot by Universally Unique ID (UUID) or label.
Add new partitions and logical volumes, and swap to a system non-destructively.
Create and configure file systems
Create, mount, unmount, and use ext2, ext3, and ext4 file systems.
Mount, unmount, and use LUKS-encrypted file systems.
Mount and unmount CIFS and NFS network file systems.
Configure systems to mount ext4, LUKS-encrypted, and network file systems automatically.
Extend existing unencrypted ext4-formatted logical volumes.
Create and configure set-GID directories for collaboration.
Create and manage Access Control Lists (ACLs).
Diagnose and correct file permission problems.
Deploy, configure, and maintain systems
Configure networking and hostname resolution statically or dynamically.
Schedule tasks using cron.
Configure systems to boot into a specific runlevel automatically.
Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux automatically using Kickstart.
Configure a physical machine to host virtual guests.
Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems as virtual guests.
Configure systems to launch virtual machines at boot.
Configure network services to start automatically at boot.
Configure a system to run a default configuration HTTP server.
Configure a system to run a default configuration FTP server.
Install and update software packages from Red Hat Network, a remote repository, or from the local file system.
Update the kernel package appropriately to ensure a bootable system.
Modify the system bootloader.
Manage users and groups
Create, delete, and modify local user accounts.
Change passwords and adjust password aging for local user accounts.
Create, delete, and modify local groups and group memberships.
Configure a system to use an existing LDAP directory service for user and group information.
Manage security
Configure firewall settings using system-config-firewall or iptables.
Set enforcing and permissive modes for SELinux.
List and identify SELinux file and process context.
Restore default file contexts.
Use boolean settings to modify system SELinux settings.
Diagnose and address routine SELinux policy violations.

12. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Why Linux, Why Now?
RHCE Overview
RHCSA (Red Hat Certified systems administrator) objectives.
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) exam objectives.
ICTN2530 (RHCSA) and ICTN3540 (RHCE) crosswalk.
Miscelaneous
Questions??

13. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) exam objectives. [6]
System configuration and management (neat, fun tasks):
Firewall configuration and network routing.
Configure kernel run-time parameters.
Kerberos authentication.
RPM package construction.
System utilization management.
Shell scripts that automate system tasks.
Remote logging.
[6]
Cont’d
System configuration and management
Route IP traffic and create static routes.
Use iptables to implement packet filtering and configure network address translation (NAT).
Use /proc/sys and sysctl to modify and set kernel runtime parameters.
Configure a system to authenticate using Kerberos.
Build a simple RPM that packages a single file.
Configure a system as an iSCSI initiator that persistently mounts an iSCSI target.
Produce and deliver reports on system utilization (processor, memory, disk, and network).
Use shell scripting to automate system maintenance tasks.
Configure a system to log to a remote system.
Configure a system to accept logging from a remote system.
Network services
Network services are an important subset of the exam objectives. RHCE candidates should be capable of meeting the following objectives for each of the network services listed below:
Install the packages needed to provide the service.
Configure SELinux to support the service.
Configure the service to start when the system is booted.
Configure the service for basic operation.
Configure host-based and user-based security for the service.

14. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) exam objectives.
Network Services:
HTTP/HTTPS- manage a web server, virtual servers, secure access, CGI scripts, and authentication to protected directories.
DNS- caching-only name server configuration.
FTP services- configure an anonymous-only FTP server.
NFS- configure network sharable storage with restrictions.
SMB- configure network shares.
SMTP- configure an MTA and relayed .
SSH- manage an SSH server and configure key-based authentication.
NTP- manage the Network Time Protocol on a host.
HTTP/HTTPS
Configure a virtual host.
Configure private directories.
Deploy a basic CGI application.
Configure group-managed content.
DNS
Configure a caching-only name server.
Configure a caching-only name server to forward DNS queries.
Note: Candidates are not expected to configure master or slave name servers.
FTP
Configure anonymous-only download.
NFS
Provide network shares to specific clients.
Provide network shares suitable for group collaboration.
SMB
SMTP
Configure a mail transfer agent (MTA) to accept inbound from other systems.
Configure an MTA to forward (relay) through a smart host.
SSH
Configure key-based authentication.
Configure additional options described in documentation.
NTP
Synchronize time using other NTP peers.

15. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Why Linux, Why Now?
RHCE Overview
RHCSA (Red Hat Certified systems administrator) objectives.
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) exam objectives.
ICTN2530 (RHCSA) and ICTN3540 (RHCE) crosswalk.
Miscelaneous
Questions??

16. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
RHCSA and RHCE Crosswalk
RHCSA maps to ICTN2530/31 Network Environment II
Available for Spring, Summer (11 weeks), Fall semesters
RHA030 and RHA130 Red Hat Academy Curriculum
ECU Moodle Course Platform
RHCE maps to ICTN3540/41 Network Environment III
Available during Fall semesters

17. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Why Linux, Why Now?
RHCE Overview
RHCSA (Red Hat Certified systems administrator) objectives.
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) exam objectives.
ICTN2530 (RHCSA) and ICTN3540 (RHCE) crosswalk.
Miscelaneous
Questions??

18. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Miscelaneous
Successful ICTN3540/41 students are eligible to take the $400 exam for FREE at ECU!!
Successful ICTN2530/31 students are eligible to take the $400 exam for FREE at ECU (depending on availability)!!
ICTN2530/31 and ICTN3540/41 are part of the ICT minor.
Both courses are Lab-intensive. TECS provides VMWare Workstation (free)/ Fusion (free) and RHA provides a free RHEL 6.1 VMWare virtual machine (VM) and RHEL 6.1 DVD binary OS! A remote lab environment gives students the opportunity to complete lab work from anywhere in the world- whether from Mendenhall Student Center or the IRAQ Green Zone.
Cont’d

19. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Miscelaneous
Automated grading scripts provide students with immediate feedback on lab work, 24/7! Most labs may be graded more than once, without penalty!
Download a free version of CentOS 6.2 x86_64 (64 bit OS) VMWare Image from [7] (requires VMWare Player, or Workstation, or Fusion), good for production / testing environments.
For More Information about ACM, RHA courses, RHCE/RHCSA certification:
ACM ECU Faculty Advisor: Dr Qin Ding,
ICT advisor :Mr David Bucci, phone:
ICTN2530/31 | ICTN3540/41 course lead, Mr Lee Toderick,
[7]
Demo RHA wkbk 1, ch 1 lab.
Demo CentOS 6.2x86_64 64 bit OS

20. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
RHCE Overview
RHCSA (Red Hat Certified systems administrator) objectives.
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) exam objectives.
ICTN2530 (RHCSA) and ICTN3540 (RHCE) crosswalk.
Miscelaneous
Questions??
Give a brief overview of the presentation. Describe the major focus of the presentation and why it is important.
Introduce each of the major topics.
To provide a road map for the audience, you can repeat this Overview slide throughout the presentation, highlighting the particular topic you will discuss next.

21. ECU – Red Hat Academy and RHCE
Questions??
Thank You!