Linux/Unix entry level certification

opethdisciple

opethdisciple

opethdisciple

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I did a little bit of Linux study in 2006/2007 but due to lazyness/difficulty I gave up.

After a few years of IT support under my belt, and also a little bit of enterprise Linux exposure, I would like to pass an entry level Linux cert so as to become more marketable in the Job's market.

What is the most respected entry level Linux cert for the enterprise?

Also is it possible to play with linux at home?

Things like centos etc etc etc.......
 
Is it possible to train and learn these certs at home, using just books and simulations..... before tamking the exams?

The linux course I did back in 2006 was the Comptia linux stuff....

Rubbish?

I just want to do a basic course that is recognised and valued in the enterprise...
 
Having looked at Red Hat website I can see two certs:

RHCSA

RHCE

I dont see any RHCT...... have they discontinued it?

Regardless the Administration on is entry level and the Engineer is more advanced?

All the skills learnt in the RHCSA are transferrable generally speaking to other unix environments?

Is this something I can learn at home, by purchasing books/sims etc.... and then sitting exam?
 
tntcoder said:
I would go with LPIC for the vendor neutralness.
Click to expand...

Just had a look at this, and does indeed look like it is what im looking for!

Question remains, do I need to do this in 'class' or can I just buy the books the sim programs and then sit the exam in my own time?

LPIC-1 and LPIC-2 look like what I need.

Are this industry recognised?

Just had a look at the prices..... for class room training! 3k! lol

I can do this from books/simulations and then just sit the exam right?
 
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Yer you can just buy some books and pay a couple of hundred to do the exam :)

It is industry recognised, but obviously if your company is going to be using solely redhat it wont be as good as RHCE, but it's more generic with a wider focus. Very good cert though and some of it is fairly tricky.
 
Nah, we dont use Red Hat where I work, but all the stuff covered here: LPIC-1 and LPIC-2

I have heard of or overseen..... basically my linux skills are very elementary and basically I know what I need to know to do my job, which isnt just linux admin, as all our desktops are winxp\win7 and some macs...

Its just the servers beneath are all unix of varying flavours.....

Right so if I was to start with LPIC-1, I can see the books easily enough, but do they also have simulation programs you can buy?

The same sims you get with the ccna? (Self contained IOS rruns as an program in a window)
 
You don't need simulators you need Linux :)

Virtual Machines are the best way if you don't run it natively. Give VirtualBox a look, install something like Debian or Arch Linux and follow the books, put in a lot of time and practice and it should start fitting in to place.
 
If you don't have that much experience then LPIC1 and RHCSA are both good exams, (I have done both). The RHCSA is the replacement for the RHCT. Note that the LPIC certifications are normally time limited whilst the Red Hat ones last until after the N+2 major release comes out if I remember correctly, i.e. if you do it for RHEL6 it lasts until RHEL8 is out.

Red Hat and LPIC will have on their sites lists of things you should know going into the exams ... personally I found the LPIC one easier but your mileage may vary.

As tntcoder says though, the best way to learn is to have several VMs using something like virtualbox to break in various ways. When I was studying for my RHCE I had 3 or 4 virtualbox VMs running on my laptop, talking to each other, to help me revise.
 
Question is, however:

Can I pass the LPIC-1 from home and book study?

Download virtual box and play with the os's is a good idea but is it realistically doable to learn and pass the exam from home study alone?

Also the examination is it multiple choice?

The LPIC certs look really good, as I work in a IT department, and I see and hear this is what the other guys are doing, of course I cant pitch in becuase I dont have the knowledge.

Im thinking something like the LPIC 1 and then 2 would be great to have on the cv any way as it makes you more marketable and linux jobs do indeed pay more than Windows.

Lets say that the answer to "Is the LPIC1 doable from home" is yes, is the LPIC2 also doable from home as well?
 
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I can comment on LPIC 2, not having done it, but I would say that it should realistically be possible to pass LPIC 1 by self study, there appears to be lists of requirements on the LPIC site and study guides available from the Rainforest site.

There are example questions on the LPIC site as well; from memory for LPIC 1 some questions are multiple choice and others are write in the answer ... the exams are non-practical.

By "play" with VM's we mean use resources like the study guide(s) to learn how to do the requirements for the exams. Normally it's best to have at least two systems available so that you can see how network services are working.

But ... just because you get a certification doesn't mean that your CV is immediately more marketable. A certification with no experience is often worse than just experience given that it means that you have not been exposed to real world management of Linux systems. LPI's own FAQ indicates that there is a big difference between someone with 6 months experience and a certification and 5 years experience and a certification. This was the problem with the old Microsoft MCSE exams ... people would try and get certified quickly in them and then not have any real world skills when it came down to doing actual work ... this was why they were degraded.

I saw people just last week struggling to pass a certification test when what they should have really done was got, at least, another 6-12 months experience first. Certifications are bits of paper that say you have passed a test on how to remember things for a test on Linux ... they don't actually magically teach you how to competently apply things in the real world ... to do that you need proper training courses or experience.
 
memyselfandi said:
I can comment on LPIC 2, not having done it, but I would say that it should realistically be possible to pass LPIC 1 by self study, there appears to be lists of requirements on the LPIC site and study guides available from the Rainforest site.

There are example questions on the LPIC site as well; from memory for LPIC 1 some questions are multiple choice and others are write in the answer ... the exams are non-practical.

By "play" with VM's we mean use resources like the study guide(s) to learn how to do the requirements for the exams. Normally it's best to have at least two systems available so that you can see how network services are working.

But ... just because you get a certification doesn't mean that your CV is immediately more marketable. A certification with no experience is often worse than just experience given that it means that you have not been exposed to real world management of Linux systems. LPI's own FAQ indicates that there is a big difference between someone with 6 months experience and a certification and 5 years experience and a certification. This was the problem with the old Microsoft MCSE exams ... people would try and get certified quickly in them and then not have any real world skills when it came down to doing actual work ... this was why they were degraded.

I saw people just last week struggling to pass a certification test when what they should have really done was got, at least, another 6-12 months experience first. Certifications are bits of paper that say you have passed a test on how to remember things for a test on Linux ... they don't actually magically teach you how to competently apply things in the real world ... to do that you need proper training courses or experience.
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Fully agree.

I think certs are more valuable if you treat them as a way of gaining experience as opposed to a line on your CV. Paying £1000s for someone to spoon feed you exam answers in a class room wont help you in the long run whatsoever. There are numerous places online where you can ask all the questions you need.

If however you sit down and say I need to fully understand syllabus requirement X and do so by recreating the problem in VMs and play around till it makes sense and study all the documentation etc then it will make the cert significantly more valuable to you (as valuable as real world experience, but not for CV purposes).
 
This iswhat I plan to do to be honest:

"If however you sit down and say I need to fully understand syllabus requirement X and do so by recreating the problem in VMs and play around till it makes sense and study all the documentation etc then it will make the cert significantly more valuable to you (as valuable as real world experience, but not for CV purposes). "

I have looked through the sylabus for LPIC 1 and 2, and to be honest it is bang on what the other guys in my department are doing and chatting about.

However, I cant chip in much because my practical knowledge is limited, to only the things I have picked up to do my job.

For instance, recently they changed the proxy server to squid. Now obviously I had next to no idea what squid was etc...... I still dont really.... but I saw in the LPIC 2 they cover squid.

This is just an example, I get it certs are generally meaning less, if you dont have the experience to back it up.

However if I pass my LPIC 1, it would help me understand a bit more, and if I was to ever pass the LPIC 2, I could say to my boss, look this is what I have done could you maybe pass to me or involve me in some of the linux projects your doing even though I have never done it before....

I mean, how does one get a break here?

I do not want to pay £3000 for class tuition for a six day course!! Thats ridiculous. I will do it all from home.

But honestly am I being realistic thinking I can do this from home?

I do agree with the whole certs before experience thing, however I have been in my job (Systems Administrator) for 3.5 years now.

The servers are all unix 2-3 windows servers and about 150 windows clients (winxp - 95%, Win7 - 3%, and Mac 2%)

I know a little on how to do the administrative side of things, but know nothing about the architetural side and maintainance of the servers them selfs.
 
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The trouble is that just studying for a certification isn't the same as doing a proper training course in a subject, (for <<£3000).

If we take Squid for example, you'll get a very high level view of the subject if you need to do anything with it in the real world then you'd have to research it further anyway.

Just doing a certification doesn't mean that you suddenly know enough to be a competent administrator.
 
memyselfandi said:
The trouble is that just studying for a certification isn't the same as doing a proper training course in a subject, (for <<£3000).

If we take Squid for example, you'll get a very high level view of the subject if you need to do anything with it in the real world then you'd have to research it further anyway.

Just doing a certification doesn't mean that you suddenly know enough to be a competent administrator.
Click to expand...

But I can install it and play with it at home?

At least I get a taste for it and know what lies beneath, rather than just hearing the name squid and not being able to visualise what squid looks like on the command line...
 
Of course you can ... as we have said, you install virtualbox, (or it's ilk), and install Linux into it. That gives you a full linux system you can do whatever you want with.
 
opethdisciple said:
But I can install it and play with it at home?

At least I get a taste for it and know what lies beneath, rather than just hearing the name squid and not being able to visualise what squid looks like on the command line...
Click to expand...

Training courses are like russian roulette, I've been on courses where the tutors have known less about what the product is supposed to do than I have, there is no substitue for field experience, talking and theory is great but in the field it doesnt mean anything.

Sign up at redhat.com for the 30 day trial and get a decent book on the RHCE, install as a VM and study but dont just read play around with it too and try different software, you dont learn until things break (which they do often, probably less so on Linux than Windows though huh! :D )
 
Having done the RHCE I would say that if you are new then definitely look at getting the RHCSA first. WHilst you could learn things for both exams on your own they are very wide ranging with a lot of content which you do need to know well (Red Hat do have lists on their website of areas which you need to know for the qualifications). THey are not the sort of tests you can just run through a book and then sit the exams.

Going in for the RHCSA you probably should have a year or so's experience behind you and a thorough understanding of the topics otherwise you are just wasting your time and money sitting the exam. The RHCE even more so .... I know several very good, senior, linux admins with easily 5+ years experience who are familiar with the requirements but have still failed this exam even after doing the fasktrack revision course.

In my experience trainers who work for Red Hat are generally pretty good ... third party linux course trainers tend to vary in quality enormously and some are really pretty bad.
 
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