Category: Linux

Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) objectives:

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.

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:

• Provide network shares to specific clients.
• Provide network shares suitable for group collaboration.

SMTP:

• Configure a mail transfer agent (MTA) to accept inbound email from other systems.
• Configure an MTA to forward (relay) email through a smart host.

SSH:

• Configure key-based authentication.
• Configure additional options described in documentation.

NTP:

• Synchronize time using other NTP peers.

Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) objectives:

Understand and use essential tools:

• Access a shell prompt and issue commands with correct syntax. (A nondescript requirement, requires no discussion)
• Use input-output redirection (>, >>, |, 2>, etc.).
• Use grep and regular expressions to analyze text.
• Access remote systems using ssh and VNC.
• Log in and switch users in multiuser runlevels.
• 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 soft 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 runlevels manually.
• Use single-user mode to gain access to a system.
• Identify CPU/memory intensive processes, adjust process priority with renice, and kill processes.
• Locate and interpret system log files.
• Access a virtual machine’s console.
• Start and stop virtual machines.
• Start, stop, and check the status of network services.

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 ageing 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.