Linux certifications

Tom Dunne · 11-02-2015 12:08pm #1

Just wondering what is considered decent introductory Linux certification these days?

Bit of a back story: I work in a third-level college, we generally sign up for academic partnerships with big-name IT companies (Oracle/Microsoft/Cisco, etc.) and use some of their materials in our courses (which is totally acceptable under the terms of the partnerships). This ensures relevance to the market, something I am quite insistent on and ensures students can go on to take the relevant certifications in their own time, outside of their degree studies.

We have an introductory unix course which I need to update, as we have a partnership with CompTIA, I was thinking of remodelling our course based on the Linux+ course. It is an introductory, 1st year, 2nd semester course, assuming no prior knowledge nor experience of Linux/Unix. The focus is hands-on, real-world skills, as opposed to a computer science operating system theory type courses.

Is there any other introductory Linux certification that I should be considering?

micko45 · 11-02-2015 12:32pm

Hi Tom,

I work in the Linux Administration area for a large company and am heavily involved in the recruitment of a large team of Linux Administrators, (unfortunately not in Ireland)

We have some levels that we recruit at.

Apprentice, little or no experience
Engineer, 3+ years experience
Specialist, 10+ years.

When reviewing CV's for either Engineer or Specialist we look for minimum of RHCE certification.
The RHCE sets a very high standard for Linux administrators and it means you are serious about your job.

Before you can get RHCE you must get RHCSA, which is much more basic, but still at a reasonably high level.
If someone applies for an Apprentice role has a RHCSA/RHCE he will get an interview guaranteed, regardless of his other qualifications.

Perhaps you should look into RHCSA?

My 2c.

Tom Dunne · 11-02-2015 12:39pm

Ha, that's funny, I'm not in Ireland either.

Some great info there, thanks for that. I had forgotten about Red Hat (my background is Oracle, so I would have done a lot on RH prior to taking the dive into academia).

Giuseppe90 · 11-02-2015 9:08pm

Linux Foundation have recently launched there own set of certifications that can be completed from any PC/laptop with decent internet and webcam.

Very similar to Red Hat but more broadly based - i.e. sames hands on examinations

I cant post links but search for Linux Foundation Certifications and you should find it easily - LFCSA and LFCE

Also search for edx and linux to find a free online Introduction to Linux course from the same people

dubhthach · 11-02-2015 9:57pm

If you can afford it I'd go Red Hat certification route. With regards to RHCSA and RHCE there's at least one course where you get to do both exams on the final day. Worse case (other then failing :P ) is that you get a RHCSA out of it.

http://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/rh255-red-hat-system-administration-iii-rhcsa-and-rhce-exams

Even if you just go for the RHCSA it's great for the CV.
http://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/rh135-red-hat-system-administration-ii-rhcsa-exam
or
http://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/rh200-rhcsa-rapid-track-course-rhcsa-exam

Obviously they've recently updated the course to focus on RHEL 7 so there's stuff like Systemd on it etc which wasn't present in RHEL 6.

Kinet1c · 11-02-2015 11:23pm

RHCSA is probably going to get them more interviews but as it's (more than likely) their first exposure and an introductory course then Linux+ is probably the best starting point imo.

Linux+ has seen my recruiter spam jump significantly since getting it last year. It could be the linux keyword or could be that they're looking for a certain standard. RHCSA beckons though.

In terms of resources, you could look at TheUrbanPenguin or Professor Messer. LPIC1 = Linux+ due to an arrangement between CompTIA and LPI. Also just to add that LPIC1 is changing syllabus very shortly so I would assume it's carrying over to Linux+ also.

Edit: With RHEL7 just around the corner, this is a decent resource from Red Hat.

excollier · 12-02-2015 12:18am

I was thinking a syllabus change would be in the pipeline, what with systemd seemingly taking over the whole show and all.
I have been holding off studying LPIC1 for that reason.

dubhthach · 12-02-2015 10:03am

excollier wrote: »

I was thinking a syllabus change would be in the pipeline, what with systemd seemingly taking over the whole show and all.
I have been holding off studying LPIC1 for that reason.

It's fairly big change in RHEL 7 that's for sure. I doubt we'll put any RHEL 7 boxes in production for at least a year (7.2/7.3 perhaps), RHEL 7.1 is in Beta at the moment.

Tom Dunne · 13-02-2015 5:55am

Hmmmm, the Red Hat seems a little too advanced for what I am looking for.

Remember, the vast majority of these students have never seen Linux before.

Although, now may be the time to create a second Unix/Linux course that I have always wanted to - System Administration.

L.Jenkins · 13-02-2015 9:51am

I suppose you could look at the LPIC Linux System Admin course notes or CompTIA Linux+.

syklops · 13-02-2015 12:19pm

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Hmmmm, the Red Hat seems a little too advanced for what I am looking for.

Remember, the vast majority of these students have never seen Linux before.

What exactly are your requirements? You mention students who have never seen Linux before..

Although, now may be the time to create a second Unix/Linux course that I have always wanted to - System Administration

The RHCSA is the Red Hat Certified Systems Administrator. It covers things like starting and stop daemons, permissions and basic shell scripting. There is a lot in it, but I wouldnt call it impossible.

Are you maybe looking for a course, more than, an actual certification.

Tom Dunne · 13-02-2015 12:50pm

syklops wrote: »

What exactly are your requirements? You mention students who have never seen Linux before..

Exactly - an intro to Unix for those that have never seen it before, that will allow them to take an industry certification on their own time, outside of regular academic classes.

syklops wrote: »

The RHCSA is the Red Hat Certified Systems Administrator. It covers things like starting and stop daemons, permissions and basic shell scripting. There is a lot in it, but I wouldnt call it impossible.

Perhaps I wasn't clear - I was merely thinking out loud that I could create a follow-on course using the RH material, the pre-requisite being the introductory course above. We touch on shell scripting in the introductory course.

syklops wrote: »

Are you maybe looking for a course, more than, an actual certification.

See my initial post - this is an academic course, within a degree programme.

dubhthach · 13-02-2015 1:28pm

Well with regards to Red Hat, back in 2009 when I did the RHCT (now RHCSA) as a refresher I did "System Admin I" and "System Admin II" courses, I would have been grand with just "System Admin II" but having worked in Windows only environment for previous two years figured I could do with a refresh. (well that and get official brainwash from Red Hat

)

Anyways I do think "System Admin I" course is quite good for total new users to Linux admin, generally it's aimed at people with little to no *nix experience:

http://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/rh124-red-hat-system-administration-i

It's a 5 day course with following topics
Access the command line

Log in to a Linux system and run simple commands using the shell.

Manage files from the command line

Copy, move, create, delete, and organize files from the bash shell prompt.

Get help in Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Resolve problems by using online help systems and Red Hat support utilities.

Create, view, and edit text files

Create, view, and edit text files from command output or in an editor.

Manage local Linux users and groups

Manage local Linux users and groups, and administer local password policies.

Control access to files with Linux file system permissions

Set Linux file system permissions on files and interpret the security effects of different permission settings.

Monitor and manage Linux processes

Obtain information about the system, and control processes running on it.

Control services and daemons

Control and monitor network services and system daemons using systemd

Configure and secure OpenSSH service

Access and provide access to the command line on remote systems securely using OpenSSH

Analyze and store logs

Locate and accurately interpret relevant system log files for troubleshooting purposes.

Manage Red Hat Enterprise Linux networking

Configure basic IPv4 networking on Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems.

Archive and copy files between systems

Archive files and copy them from one system to another.

Install and update software packages

Download, install, update, and manage software packages from Red Hat and yum package repositories.

Access Linux file systems

Access and inspect existing file systems on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system.

Use virtualized systems

Create and use Red Hat Enterprise Linux virtual machines with KVM and libvirt.

Comprehensive review

Practice and demonstrate the knowledge and skills learned in this course.

---

The KVM stuff is new enough, wasn't part of course back in RHEL5 days. As mention that's a 5 day course with about 30-35 hours of lecture/lab. I'd imagine the bulk of that could be spilt out over a semester or two. Some of stuff like virtualisation or SELinux could be removed etc.

L.Jenkins · 13-02-2015 4:21pm

When I first took the course in College, it began with a fresh install on a machine, partitioning the drive, setting up swap space and so on. Then we moved on to Command Line commands and basic Bash scripting before moving onto more complicated services, which all seem trivial now, such as task scheduling, adding users/group/domain control, web/mail/samba servers etc.

I would say if no course suits you down to a tee Tom, then have a look through each course, then pick and choose what you think might suit the scope of the course, that then might direct students to go further with self study and certification.

Verwolff · 16-02-2015 1:52am

Please point me to the right direction. I am rather experienced Linux user. I love CLI and I'm hosting many websites on my dedi as well as running my mail and names servers. Because I'd love to get administrator's job I started to prepare to get certification. LPIC-1 seems quite easy so I am going to switch to RHCSA in order to save some money.

Soon or later I'll get it. The only problem is I don't have IT university degree and have ZERO knowledge about windows. I had two conversation with work consultants already and after my confession about Windows they hanged up phone.

So, from your professional experience, is this Windows knowledge necessary in Ireland? Should I stop proceeding with RHCSA and back to Windows basics to get their cert first? Or maybe would be better to get Cisco cert (I heard that this is usually first cert picked by IT professionals). Let me know what do you think.

Linux certifications

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