Overview of Red Hat Certified Engineer Program
Welcome! The following is an overview of the Red Hat Certified Engineer
(RHCE) program, the RH300 RHCE course, and the RHCE Exam.
New! Updated for Red Hat Linux 6.1!
SCHEDULE of RH300 RHCE courses, HOW TO REGISTER,
and other details.
- The RHCE Certificate:
The RHCE certificate is designed to fit in a specific place within the computer industry spectrum of UNIX/Linux user levels:
| RH033 |
RH133 |
RH253 |
RH302 |
Red Hat Certified Engineer |
|
| On-the-job practical experience |
RH300 |
| User |
Operator |
System Administrator
System Engineer |
Expert |
The RHCE certificate certifies Red Hat Linux skills at approximately
the level shown above. The RHCE Exam can be taken alone as RH302 RHCE Exam Only or as the final day of the RH300 RHCE course. The course consists of 4 days of intensive training, emphasizing
hands-on lab workshops with realistic configuration and administration
tasks using Red Hat Linux 6.1, plus the Certification Lab Exam on day 5.
- Audience for the RH300 RHCE Course
The RH300 RHCE course is aimed at those who already possess significant systems
administration experience and knowledge in a UNIX or Linux environment,
and who desire to become certified at the level indicated above.
Good candidates for RHCE consist of individuals who fit the following profiles:
- Experienced UNIX systems administrators and UNIX system engineers
- Experienced UNIX or Linux network engineers, NOC and ISP technical staffers
- Experienced Linux systems administrators and engineers
- Other UNIX and/or Linux power-users who may want focused training
and certification on Red Hat Linux
- Prerequisites for the RH300 RHCE course
The prerequisites consist of skills and concepts required
in order to be a good candidate for entering the RH300 RHCE
course. These prerequisites are listed in some detail in a separate
document, which, together with the detailed outline for RH300 RHCE itself, serve
as a useful study outline for those planning to enroll:
- Goal of RHCE Certification
The primary goal of RHCE certification is to meet the demand of individuals
and employers for a useful metric of individual skills and knowledge, particularly
with Red Hat Linux,
the largest-selling distribution of Linux.
RHCE Certification is also an important metric for Red Hat's
Certified Solution Partners and System Builders, who need to maintain quality when pre-installing
Red Hat Linux and when delivering Red Hat Linux-related consulting
services. The RHCE certificate will be required for persons working
in Red Hat's Support Partner program, and other channel programs for service solutions.
- Meaning of RHCE Certification
RHCE certification is a metric (hopefully one of many) of use to both
individuals and employers to assess individual preparation for roles involving
Red Hat Linux computing.
RHCE certification indicates that the person has passed a realistic performance-based
lab exam that tests his/her ability to: install and configure Red
Hat Linux; understand limitations of hardware; configure basic networking
and file systems; configure the X Window
System; configure basic security, set up common network (IP) services, carry out basic diagnostics and troubleshooting, and perform essential Red Hat Linux
system administration.
The readiness objective of RHCE is to assure a minimum level of systems administration skills so that a person is "ready from a technical point of view for professional responsibilities in managing a Red Hat Linux system for common uses."
- Certification in the context of professionalism
Becoming a successful systems administrator requires years of experience
in heterogenous, networked computing environments, coping with day-to-day
issues, and developing best practices. This kind of experience does
not result from taking one course or exam, but it can be measured during
training and in a certification exam, especially if these are administered
using hands-on exercises in a lab. That's why the RHCE
exam is a lab-based, performance-based practical exam.
Red Hat is benchmarking the Red Hat Certified Engineer certificate
to be a useful metric for measuring experience and skills with Red Hat
Linux, and for demonstrating preparedness for professional responsibilities
in Red Hat Linux systems administration.
- Training Elements in the RH300 RHCE Course
The RH300 RHCE course consists of four days of training on Red Hat Linux-specific
issues. There are eight units and eight hands-on lab workshops,
approximately two per day, requiring completion of realistic tasks and
workshops. Each lab itself is an opportunity to validate and test
certain Red Hat Linux-specific skills as well as essential system
administrator and networking skills. At the end of each lab there
is a skills checkout, which enables students to track tasks completed and
concepts understood.
- The RHCE Certification Lab Exam
The RHCE certificate requires passing the Certification Lab Exam.
The Certification Lab Exam will be composed of three elements: a
written test (1-2 hours); a server install and network services configuration lab (2 hours);
and a diagnostics and troubleshooting lab (3 hours). The two performance based parts of the Lab Exam
present realistic problems that require planning, diagnosis, and development
of complete solution.
Fair game for the Certification Lab Exam consists of: the prerequisites
for RHCE, plus everything covered during the four days of RHCE training
and lab workshops. The exam is closed book; no notes.
- Certificates
The exam is pass or non-pass. Individuals who complete all
training elements but do not pass the Exam will receive a Certificate
of Achievement. Individuals who complete all training and pass
the Certification Lab Exam will receive in addition a Red Hat Certified
Engineer certificate. Certificates will mention the specific
release of Red Hat Linux. Certificates remain current for at least 1 year.
Red Hat releases new OS versions often, and there will be a sliding window of
current RHCE certificates (5.2, 6.0, and 6.1 are all current).
- Courses and Certification at Other Levels
See Skills Courses
Red Hat currently plans only two levels of certification: RHCE
and RHCE II. The RHCE II program, a higher level
of training and certification, will be introduced later in 2000. RHCE
II will deal with advanced skills and concepts in
server administration, networking, integration and security issues on Red Hat Linux.
The outline for this is still being developed, and will be available at
least two months before start of the first scheduled RHCE II courses.
- Other resources for developing skills and best practices
There exist numerous institutions and resources for learning the skills,
concepts, and best practices in UNIX and Linux systems administration,
such as The Systems Administrators'
Guild,
and many others. These resources provide useful information for all
users, system administrators, and engineers in UNIX and Linux environments
who seek to improve and maintain their skills and professionalism.
For questions other than schedules and registration, please contact the appropriate
country or region manager:
- Red Hat Training Contacts: U.S. and Canada
- Red Hat Training Contacts: Europe, Japan, & Worldwide
- On-Site and Custom Training from Red Hat
- Training Locations
- Registration & Cancellation Policies
Note: All schedules, policies, rules,
prices, and content subject to change without notice.
Last Updated: 11/18/99
back to training main page
Home | Products & Services | Store | Download | Product Support | Training | Partners & Programs
Community Center | News & Views | Application Marketplace | Join | My Account
About Red Hat | Legal Statement | Privacy Statement | Y2K Statement | Feedback
Copyright © 1999 Red Hat, Inc. All rights reserved.
