I want to retrain in Linux

janesssssy · 9 Jun 2011 at 11:11

I have a MCITP in Microsoft server 2008 and have been working with windows servers for 5 years. I want to carry on doing so as its bread and butter. But if in the future I want to specialise in Linux, where would a good place to start.

I did my MCITP self-study whilst doing the job. Can anyone give me any advice on what certification to take? Self-study would be preferable as my Employer probably won’t send me away on a Linux course.

My back ground as you can imagine is windows and MAC based, however I have 'dabbled' in Linux, SUSE, Ubuntu desktop a few times. Just to keep up with any developments.

inSilica · 9 Jun 2011 at 13:39

Hi,

Sure, why not, some Linux credentials would look nice on your CV.

Someone may correct me on this but at the enterprise level, it's RedHat and Novel.... and no one else.

Certification information:

RedHat
http://www.redhat.com/certification/

Novel:
http://www.novell.com/training/certinfo/

Not sure about Novel (SUSE Linux Enterprise) (I know there is an opensuse just not sure how far it is from their enterprise), but you can get hold of CentOS, which is pretty much RedHat without the cost.

i.e. "they modified the artwork and removed RedHat branding. They also remove the screen that ask you to register your installation for Redhat updates etc"

Get the CentOS on a Virtual Machine, make snapshots, and tinker to your hearts content.

Some of the things you need to learn obviously, not limited to:

Setting up user accounts, SAMBA stuff, CUPS printing, DNS, Database Server, Web server, LinuxSE, Raid configuration etc... and loads more

I suggest you do some reading at this time to understand what the philosophy behind Linux is, i.e. people in Linux think about security very differently to people in windows, and files are stored way way differently at the machine level in Linux than Windows

Once you learn RedHat, mainly, its just a question of changing tools for odd tasks on other distributions, like package managers: yum, portage, ports, aptitude ... etc..., where log files are by default, etc.... and default security levels.

And once you learn linux, you ultimately learn to use Unix and Unix is top for webservers on the net, last I checked at least, so something like FreeBSD (popular unix distribution) would have most of the bits and bobs you pick-up in RedHat.

Good Luck

sedmonds · 9 Jun 2011 at 13:57

inSilica said:
Hi,

Sure, why not, some Linux credentials would look nice on your CV.

Someone may correct me on this but at the enterprise level, it's RedHat and Novel.... and no one else.

Certification information:

RedHat
http://www.redhat.com/certification/

Novel:
http://www.novell.com/training/certinfo/

Not sure about Novel (SUSE Linux Enterprise) (I know there is an opensuse just not sure how far it is from their enterprise), but you can get hold of CentOS, which is pretty much RedHat without the cost.

i.e. "they modified the artwork and removed RedHat branding. They also remove the screen that ask you to register your installation for Redhat updates etc"

Get the CentOS on a Virtual Machine, make snapshots, and tinker to your hearts content.

Some of the things you need to learn obviously, not limited to:

Setting up user accounts, SAMBA stuff, CUPS printing, DNS, Database Server, Web server, LinuxSE, Raid configuration etc... and loads more

I suggest you do some reading at this time to understand what the philosophy behind Linux is, i.e. people in Linux think about security very differently to people in windows, and files are stored way way differently at the machine level in Linux than Windows

Once you learn RedHat, mainly, its just a question of changing tools for odd tasks on other distributions, like package managers: yum, portage, ports, aptitude ... etc..., where log files are by default, etc.... and default security levels.

And once you learn linux, you ultimately learn to use Unix and Unix is top for webservers on the net, last I checked at least, so something like FreeBSD (popular unix distribution) would have most of the bits and bobs you pick-up in RedHat.

Good Luck

+1 for CentOS, its compiled from the Redhat source, so for 99% of usage, its Redhat under the covers, and is widely used in the commercial world.
I trained myself in Redhat using the same method, although I'm actually an AIX administrator (IBM's UNIX).

janesssssy · 9 Jun 2011 at 14:44

A little search and I have this list:

Linux Professional Institute Certification (LPIC)
CompTIA Linux+
Novell Certified Linux Engineer
Red Hat

Xelene · 9 Jun 2011 at 16:50

The Redhat certs are probably the most useful.

memyselfandi · 9 Jun 2011 at 17:27

The LPIC certification isn't bad, I did the level 1 certification several years ago ... in fact my certification expires at the end of this year so I'll be doing my RHCE soon. Technically I do have a Novell certification at the moment due to a mutual paper work thing between LPIC and Novell for existing certified people

We, as the Linux/Unix department in a large international outsourcing company supporting many thousands of servers, would tend to look for the Red Hat certifications over Novell and LPIC and probably wouldn't take much notice of CompTIA. But that's because our RHEL/CentOS estates are massively larger than our SLES estates in most contries ... if our numbers were different then we may have considered Novell over RHCE.

With Red Hat we would look for a RHCE although if you are starting from scratch they do have the RHCSA to start with.

CentOS is very useful for learning RHEL and I would recommend that too ... but be aware that the Red Hat exams have been updated quite a bit at the beginning of the year to cover RHEL 6 and CentOS 6 is not (quite) out yet.

janesssssy · 9 Jun 2011 at 22:13

Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate the advice. So i Guess I shouldn’t bother doing the Comptia Linux+. More research needed - onwards....

sidethink · 10 Jun 2011 at 08:36

memyselfandi said:
CentOS is very useful for learning RHEL and I would recommend that too ... but be aware that the Red Hat exams have been updated quite a bit at the beginning of the year to cover RHEL 6 and CentOS 6 is not (quite) out yet.

Is Scientific Linux a useful substitute for RH since it has been brought up to 6.0? I realise that CentOS is where all the cool kids have been learning RedHat for years but they seem to have slipped behind in their release schedule somewhat (or is that just my impression?).

tntcoder · 10 Jun 2011 at 09:24

janesssssy said:
Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate the advice. So i Guess I shouldn’t bother doing the Comptia Linux+. More research needed - onwards....

Linux+ is not that bad, im biased as I have it of course

but it's a good half way point and will teach you a lot.

The syllabus is nice, extensive and vendor neutral, so if you put the time in you will learn a lot of applicable skills. It's also very cheap to comparatively, so depending on your time frame I would say there is no harm in doing it before RHCE or LIPC as a half way point.

ZuG · 10 Jun 2011 at 10:51

I did LPIC. It had good content and is very good if you want a general linux course. Unfortunately I do not think it is as 'recognised' as a Red Hat or Novell qualification so if you want to do a course to get a qualification that is more useful when applying for a job you may want to look at something other than the LPIC.

janesssssy · 10 Jun 2011 at 11:28

tntcoder said:
Linux+ is not that bad, im biased as I have it of course but it's a good half way point and will teach you a lot.

The syllabus is nice, extensive and vendor neutral, so if you put the time in you will learn a lot of applicable skills. It's also very cheap to comparatively, so depending on your time frame I would say there is no harm in doing it before RHCE or LIPC as a half way point.

Thanks, I may do it as an introduction to Linux Certs. Thanks

Hulkster · 13 Jun 2011 at 10:12

janesssssy said:
Thanks, I may do it as an introduction to Linux Certs. Thanks

I think one thing worth noting is that Linux+, LPIC1 and Novel Certified Linux Administrator are pretty much the same thing.

It's already been touched upon...but this is demonstrated by the fact you get Novel certification for free if you pass the LPIC1 exams.

So, they are all good starting points - but my advice would be do to the LPIC because then you get a branded cert for no extra effort.

VeNT · 14 Jun 2011 at 16:21

tbh novell is used in the NHS a lot so it's a good one to have if you fancy working for them

Huw · 14 Jun 2011 at 16:49

This seems like a good thread for something bugging me at the moment. I don't have any computer-related qualifications. However if I were to train for, and pass, Linux+ and LPIC1, would it be possible to start a career in sysadmin? Or do I absolutely have to have industry experience if I don't have a degree?

tntcoder · 14 Jun 2011 at 17:54

Huw said:
This seems like a good thread for something bugging me at the moment. I don't have any computer-related qualifications. However if I were to train for, and pass, Linux+ and LPIC1, would it be possible to start a career in sysadmin? Or do I absolutely have to have industry experience if I don't have a degree?

To be honest you will struggle to get to an interview without either experience or a degree, certs alone are fairly limited.

Huw · 14 Jun 2011 at 18:45

tntcoder said:
To be honest you will struggle to get to an interview without either experience or a degree, certs alone are fairly limited.

Balls. Well considering I'm nowhere near in a position to go back to uni, and I obviously can't get experience, that would appear to be that.

Are there no other ins?

GhostlyPea · 14 Jun 2011 at 18:54

Start doing certs of any type yourself (probably best with some Windows stuff in all honesty) and then just keep applying for some first line jobs. Get one and do it for 6 - 12 months and you'll be fine to move on

- Pea0n

Huw · 15 Jun 2011 at 15:21

Thanks mate. I may as well give it a go; I've nothing to lose but my time.

Shure · 19 Jun 2011 at 09:39

I'm going through the RedHat certs at the minute and can definitely recommend the courses. I have my RHCE booked this week. Not looking forward to it

101001101 · 8 Jul 2011 at 21:29

inSilica said:
Hi,

Sure, why not, some Linux credentials would look nice on your CV.

Someone may correct me on this but at the enterprise level, it's RedHat and Novel.... and no one else.

Certification information:

RedHat
http://www.redhat.com/certification/

Novel:
http://www.novell.com/training/certinfo/

Not sure about Novel (SUSE Linux Enterprise) (I know there is an opensuse just not sure how far it is from their enterprise), but you can get hold of CentOS, which is pretty much RedHat without the cost.

i.e. "they modified the artwork and removed RedHat branding. They also remove the screen that ask you to register your installation for Redhat updates etc"

Get the CentOS on a Virtual Machine, make snapshots, and tinker to your hearts content.

Some of the things you need to learn obviously, not limited to:

Setting up user accounts, SAMBA stuff, CUPS printing, DNS, Database Server, Web server, LinuxSE, Raid configuration etc... and loads more

I suggest you do some reading at this time to understand what the philosophy behind Linux is, i.e. people in Linux think about security very differently to people in windows, and files are stored way way differently at the machine level in Linux than Windows

Once you learn RedHat, mainly, its just a question of changing tools for odd tasks on other distributions, like package managers: yum, portage, ports, aptitude ... etc..., where log files are by default, etc.... and default security levels.

And once you learn linux, you ultimately learn to use Unix and Unix is top for webservers on the net, last I checked at least, so something like FreeBSD (popular unix distribution) would have most of the bits and bobs you pick-up in RedHat.

Good Luck

^^^ this - great reply

You dont need to go on a course for Linux.