Who is the course for
- Experienced Linux IT professionals who currently have RHCSA certification
and are interested in earning an RHCE certification
- Experienced Red Hat Enterprise Linux system administrators seeking
validation of their skills
- Students who have attended the Red Hat System Administration I, II, and
III courses or the RHCE Certification lab
- Experienced Linux system administrators who require a certification either
by their organization or based on a mandate (DOD 8570 directive)
- An RHCE who is noncurrent and has passed the RHCSA exam
What you need to know
To earn the RHCE credential, one must also pass the Red Hat Certified System
Administrator (RHCSA) exam. Someone can enroll in and take the RHCE exam without
first having passed the RHCSA exam, but RHCE certification will not be issued
until both credentials are earned by a candidate. In the event that a candidate
has not yet earned RHCSA, Red Hat will retain the candidate's RHCE exam record
and will attach that record to a candidates' RHCSA record once it is earned at a
later date.
Red Hat encourages all candidates for RHCE to consider taking one or more of
its official training courses to help prepare. Attendance in these classes is
not required, and one can choose to take just an exam. Many successful
candidates who have come to class already possessing substantial skills and
knowledge report that the class made a positive difference for them.
To help you determine the best courses to take, Red Hat provides online
skills assessment.
While attending Red Hat's classes can be an important part of one's
preparation, attending class does not guarantee success on the exam. Previous
experience, practice, and native aptitude are also important determinants of
success.
Many books and other resources on system administration for Red Hat's
products are available. Red Hat does not endorse any as preparation guides for
any exams. Nevertheless, candidates may find additional reading deepens
understanding and can prove helpful.
Exam format
The RHCE exam is a 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.
The RHCE exam is a hands-on, practical exam that lasts 3.5 hours. Internet
access is not provided during the exam. Outside materials are not permitted.
Documentation that ships with Red Hat Enterprise Linux is available during the
exam. Red Hat reserves the right to make changes to the format, including timing
and the policies above. Such changes will be made public in advance through
revisions to this document.
Scores and reporting
Official scores for exams come exclusively from Red Hat Certification
Central. Red Hat does not authorize examiners or training partners to report
results to candidates directly. Scores on the exam are usually reported within 3
U.S. business days.
Exam results are reported as section scores. Red Hat does not report
performance on individual items, nor will it provide additional information upon
request.
Required skills
- RHCE Rapid Track Course, System Administration I, II, or III or equivalent
experience
- Real-world system administration experience
- Not sure if you have the correct skill-set knowledge? Find out by passing
the online skills assessment. Read the RHCE exam objectives for more
information on skills requirements.
Course outline
RHCE exam candidates should consult the RHCSA exam objectives and be capable
of RHCSA-level tasks, as some of these skills may be required in order to meet
RHCE exam objectives. Red Hat reserves the right to add, modify, and remove
objectives. Such changes will be made public in advance through revisions to
this document.
RHCE exam candidates should be able to accomplish the following without
assistance. These have been grouped into several categories.
System configuration and management
- Use network teaming or bonding to configure aggregated network links
between two Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems
- Configure IPv6 addresses and perform basic IPv6 troubleshooting
- Route IP traffic and create static routes
- Use firewalld and associated mechanisms such as rich rules, zones and
custom rules, to implement packet filtering and configure network address
translation (NAT)
- Configure a system to authenticate using Kerberos
- Configure a system as either an iSCSI target or 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
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
- Use SELinux port labeling to allow services to use non-standard ports
- 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
HTTP/HTTPS
- Configure a virtual host
- Configure access restrictions on directories
- Deploy a basic CGI application
- Configure group-managed content
- Configure TLS security
DNS
- Configure a caching-only name server
- Troubleshoot DNS client issues
NFS
- Provide network shares to specific clients
- Provide network shares suitable for group collaboration
- Use Kerberos to control access to NFS network shares
SMB
- Provide network shares to specific clients
- Provide network shares suitable for group collaboration
SMTP
- Configure a system to forward all email to a central mail server
SSH
- Configure key-based authentication
- Configure additional options described in documentation
NTP
- Synchronize time using other NTP peers
Database services
- Install and configure MariaDB
- Backup and restore a database
- Create a simple database schema
- Perform simple SQL queries against a database