Are you certifiable?
- Article 9 of 16
- LinuxUser & Developer, January 2006
Novell is hoping to catch up with Red Hat and win more customers through its new certification scheme, says Rob Buckley
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The first of these covers areas such as configuration of network services like DNS and Samba; infrastructure services like DHCP and OpenSLP; configuring Postfix, IMAP, POP3 and SpamAssassin to set up a mail server; and monitoring network traffic. The second looks at security concepts such as host security; network security; firewalls; packet filters; application-level gateways; Virtual Private Networks; and intrusion detection and incident response. Both the CLE9 and CLP will be upgraded to match future releases of SuSE Linux. Existing certificate holders will be able to retake future exams and courses at a discount.
Cost: SuSE Linux Network Services (3057) £1,495+VAT; SuSE Linux Security (3058) £1,495+VAT; Practicum: $195/£110+VAT
How the Red Hat certificates work
Red Hat has a number of certificates and training courses available. It is possible to study online, rather than attend the courses, but the company recommends attending the courses – something 95% of candidates end up doing. Since the exams and coursework are updated within two weeks of a new release of a Red Hat Linux update, people who already hold certificates will need to retake the exam every few years to ensure their skills are up to date. Those who do so are entitled to a 50% or more reduction in the cost of the exams.
Red Hat Certified Technician
The RHCT proves core system administrator skills. An RHCT can install and configure a new Linux system, and attach it to the corporate network. The RHCT certificate is granted upon passing the RHCT exam, which can be taken as a standalone exam or on the final day of the “RH133 Red Hat Linux System Administration” course, which lasts four and a half days. You can also get the certificate by passing all RHCT-specific areas in the RHCE exam. Red Hat Linux Essentials (RH033) is recommended for anyone without Linux experience.
Cost: Red Hat Linux Essentials (RH033) £1,295+VAT; Red Hat Linux System Administration (RH133) £1,450+VAT; Exam only £250+VAT
Red Hat Certified Engineer
The RHCE demonstrates senior system administrator skills. An RHCE has RHCT skills plus the ability to configure network services and security. An RHCE can make decisions about which services should be deployed on the corporate network and how. DNS, NFS, Samba, Sendmail, Postfix, Apache, and the key security capabilities are all covered in detail.
You earn the RHCE certificate by passing the RHCE exam, which you can take by itself or as the final day of the “RH300 RHCE Rapid Track” course, which lasts five days including the exam. There are three preparatory courses for those who are not already Red Hat Linux experts: RH033 and RH133 from the RHCT course; and RH253 (networking and security).
Cost: Networking and security (RH253) £1,295+VAT; RHCE Rapid Track (RH300) + exam £1,599+VAT; Exam only £485+VAT
Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA)
RHCA establishes architect skills. An RHCA has RHCE skills (and needs to have already passed the RHCE exam) plus additional skills needed to deploy and manage Red Hat Enterprise Linux throughout the enterprise in numerous and varied applications. The curriculum emphasises technology and processes for software deployment and systems management, directory services and authentication, storage management, system monitoring, performance tuning, and advanced network services and security. There are five exams to prove these skills.
The full RHCA curriculum consists of four advanced enterprise architect courses and an upper-level security course. All of these courses take four days to complete, with an additional day for the exam.
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