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New Day, a New Certification: Red Hat

Certified Technician 

A New Approach to Red Hat Certification 

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols Thursday, January 16, 2003 11:15:12 AM 

So you know something about Unix or Linux, but you're not quite up for a Red HatCertified Engineer (RHCE) or a Linux Professional Institute LPI Certification (LPIC) Level

2 certification? Well, then, Red Hat has a certification for you: the Red Hat CertifiedTechnician. 

This certification, according to Red Hat, is a mid-level, lab-based title is for anyone"transitioning to Linux from other UNIX operating systems, or who want to prove theircompetencies at a midway point on the way to RHCE."

What that means in practice is that to get this certification you have to pass a pass/failhands-on examination. In this three hour RHCT Certification Lab Exam, you'll face twochallenges. In the first one-hour part, you're presented with a Red Hat 8.0 system thatyou must diagnose and troubleshoot. In the second, two-hour part of the exam, youmust install a Red Hat system and attach it to a network with such services as DNS,DHCP, and NFS.

The skills you'll be tested on include: creating and maintaining the Linux file system,user and group administration use RPMs for new software and updating the kernel andconfiguring the X Window System and GNOME. The exact details will vary, but thebottom line is that to pass the exam you must be able to install a Red Hat system in atypical network environment and show that you know how to find and fix commonplace

Red Hat operating systems problems.

The overall goal of the RHCT, according to Peter Childers, vice president of GlobalLearning Services at Red Hat is to, "prepare a new cadre of certified Linux technicians--

 journeymen system administrators who set up and support Linux systems throughoutproduction networks, who have earned RHCT and are on their way to an RHCE."

The last comment is a telling one. You see, the RHCT, while a new certification and anew exam, can also be thought of as just a subset of the RHCE. The major prerequisiteto taking the RHCT test is the RH133 Red Hat Linux System Administration class. Peoplewho've already know the RHCE path will find that it's essentially the same course as themid-level RH131 Red Hat Linux System Administration class.

In short, if you're trying to get ready for a RHCT, you can use the sections in any guidesto the RHCT up to and including the RH131 for your study. If you feel you're alreadyready for the RHCT test, you can simply take the RH202 RHCT Exam, for $349.

Indeed, according to one Red Hat representative, a candidate that takes the RHCE exam

and only passes some of its sections will have those passed sections counted toward theRHCT--so a failed RHCE candidate could end up with a RHCT.

It, like any Linux certification, may or may not help you get a job. As a new certification,it will take a while before employers get to know it and trust it. As Rob Jones, presidentof HotLinuxJobs says, "We have not received any specific comments about the RHCT

from our clients. Most are just learning about the RHCE."

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Still, Jones thinks that, "Since the RHCT is a hands-on certification, like the RHCE, wethink it is a good standard for companies to use. It will demonstrate a candidate's base

knowledge of Linux in a networked environment. We think it is much more valuable to acompany to know the candidate has hands-on experience with a product than justpassing a multiple choice type test." I expect that we will "see quite a few RHCTs."

And, you might be one of them, Announced in November 2002, the testing for the RHCTbegins this month, starting on January 13th 2003 at Red Hat Certified Training Partnerslocations. For a full listing of sites in Canada and the US, see the Red Hat's CourseLocation guide. If you live outside these areas, see Red Hat's Worldwide TrainingContacts.