EX200 : Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA)

Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) - Exam EX200

Purchase your official exam voucher for the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) exam (EX200) and take the first major step in your Linux career. The RHCSA is a globally recognized, performance-based certification that proves your competency in the core system administration tasks required in Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments. Unlike multiple-choice exams, the RHCSA exam requires you to perform real-world tasks on a live system, making it the gold standard for validating practical Linux skills.

Overview

The Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) certification is earned by passing the EX200 exam, a hands-on test that evaluates your knowledge and skill in a wide range of system administration areas. Earning your RHCSA demonstrates that you are capable of performing the essential tasks needed to manage and maintain a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server. This credential is the foundation for advancing to the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) certification and other higher-level Red Hat qualifications. The exam is based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, ensuring you are tested on the latest, most relevant technologies in the enterprise space.

This voucher allows you to schedule and take the EX200 exam at a designated testing center or through a remote proctored session, giving you the flexibility to certify in a way that suits you best. By successfully navigating the challenges of this practical exam, you send a clear message to employers: you have the proven ability to handle the responsibilities of a Linux system administrator from day one.

Benefits

Achieving RHCSA certification offers numerous professional advantages:

• Validate Your Skills: Prove your abilities with a performance-based exam that simulates real-world challenges, not just theoretical knowledge.
• Enhance Career Prospects: The RHCSA is one of the most sought-after certifications for Linux administrators, opening doors to roles like System Administrator, Cloud Administrator, and DevOps Engineer.
• Increase Credibility: Gain recognition and respect from peers and employers by holding a credential from Red Hat, the world's leading provider of enterprise open source solutions.
• Build a Foundation for Advancement: RHCSA is the prerequisite for the more advanced Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) certification, putting you on a clear path for professional growth.
• Demonstrate Proficiency: Show you can manage users, configure storage, handle security, and maintain running systems efficiently and effectively on an enterprise-grade platform.

Who should take this exam

The RHCSA certification is ideal for a variety of IT professionals, including:

• Experienced Red Hat Enterprise Linux system administrators seeking to validate their existing skills with an official certification.
• IT professionals who have taken the Red Hat System Administration I (RH124) and Red Hat System Administration II (RH134) courses and are ready to get certified.
• System administrators from other platforms (like Windows or other Linux distributions) who are transitioning to or need to manage Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems.
• DevOps engineers, cloud administrators, and developers who need to demonstrate a fundamental understanding of Linux system administration for their roles.
• Recent graduates or IT professionals looking to begin a career in Linux system administration.

Prerequisites

While there are no formal prerequisites to take the exam, Red Hat strongly recommends that candidates have:

• Completed the Red Hat System Administration I (RH124) and Red Hat System Administration II (RH134) courses.

OR

• Possess equivalent real-world experience as a system administrator on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, with a solid understanding of the command line and the exam objectives.

Learning outcomes

A candidate who successfully passes the RHCSA exam has demonstrated the ability to perform the following tasks:

• Understand and use essential tools for handling files, directories, command-line environments, and documentation.
• Operate running systems, including booting into different runlevels, identifying processes, and managing services.
• Configure local storage using partitions and logical volumes.
• Create and configure file systems, including setting permissions, ACLs, and network file systems.
• Deploy, configure, and maintain systems, including software installation, updates, and core services.
• Manage users and groups, including password policies and access control.
• Manage security by configuring firewalls and implementing SELinux policies.
• Manage containers using basic podman commands.

Career opportunities

The RHCSA is a valuable asset for anyone pursuing a career that involves Linux. Certified professionals are qualified for a wide range of roles, such as:

• Linux System Administrator: The most direct career path, responsible for installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting Linux servers.
• Systems Engineer: Designing and implementing complex IT infrastructure that often includes Linux.
• IT Support Specialist: Providing technical support for Linux-based systems and applications.
• Cloud Administrator: Managing cloud infrastructure on platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, where Linux is the dominant operating system.
• DevOps Engineer: Working in CI/CD pipelines and automation, where strong Linux skills are essential.
• Cybersecurity Analyst: Securing and hardening Linux systems against threats.

Exam syllabus

The EX200 exam is a 3-hour, performance-based assessment. You will be required to complete a series of system administration tasks to meet the following objectives:

Understand and use essential tools

• Access a shell prompt and issue commands with correct syntax.
• Use input-output redirection (`>`, `>>`, `|`, `2>`).
• Use `grep` and regular expressions to analyze text.
• Access remote systems using SSH.
• Log in and switch users in multiuser targets.
• Archive, compress, unpack, and uncompress files using `tar`, `star`, `gzip`, and `bzip2`.
• Create and edit text files.
• Create, delete, copy, and move files and directories.
• Create hard and symbolic links.
• List, set, and change standard `ugo/rwx` permissions.
• Locate, read, and use system documentation including `man`, `info`, and files in `/usr/share/doc`.

Operate running systems

• Boot, reboot, and shut down a system normally.
• Boot systems into different targets manually.
• Interrupt the boot process to gain access to a system.
• Identify CPU/memory intensive processes and kill processes.
• Manage tuning profiles.
• Locate and interpret system log files and journals.
• Manage system journaling and configure persistent logging.
• Preserve system journals.
• Manage networking, including starting, stopping, and checking the status of network services.
• Securely transfer files between systems.

Configure local storage

• List, create, and delete partitions on MBR and GPT disks.
• Create and remove physical volumes, assign physical volumes to volume groups, and create and delete logical volumes.
• Configure systems to mount file systems at boot by 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 `vfat`, `ext4`, and `xfs` file systems.
• Mount and unmount network file systems (NFS).
• Extend existing logical volumes.
• Create and configure set-GID directories for collaboration.
• Configure disk compression and VDO.
• Manage layered storage.
• Diagnose and correct file permission problems.

Deploy, configure, and maintain systems

• Configure networking and hostname resolution statically or dynamically.
• Schedule tasks using `at` and `cron`.
• Manage software packages using `yum`, `rpm`, and Red Hat Network.
• Configure a system to use a remote repository.
• Work with the boot loader.
• Manage system services, including starting, stopping, enabling, and disabling services at boot.

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 superuser access using `sudo`.

Manage security

• Configure firewall settings using `firewall-cmd/firewalld`.
• Create and use file access control lists (ACLs).
• Configure `SELinux` to keep it enabled and functional.
• Diagnose and address routine SELinux policy violations.

Manage containers

• Find and retrieve container images from a remote registry.
• Manage container lifecycle including running, stopping, and checking status.
• Run a service inside a container.
• Configure a system to start containers automatically at boot.