RHCSA Path

Verities

So I've been studying a little RedHat here and there, since I've become a Unix/Linux sysadmin. My question pertains to which RHCSA I should go for....RHEL 6 or RHEL 7? At work we're on RHEL 5 and not upgrading to 6 until sometime next year. Which means we probably won't upgrade to RHEL 7 for another 2 years. From what I've been working with and studying with, there are huge differences in the versions, so I'm torn between getting certified in the latest and greatest or one version behind it.

Given the situation, which one version should I go for? I would like to hear from fellow RedHat admins or those who have gone down the RHCSA path before.

NightShade03

The RHEL7 will obviously last longer given that it just came out. That being said it also just came out...which means books/training/etc are going to be limited. Now you can study based on online materials and put together your study materials, but obviously the RHEL6 is going to have more widely available materials.

My opinion is that if you have the time and *some* experience with RHEL that you focus on RHEL7 since that is where the market is going.

brombulec

IIRC RHCSA/RHCE 6 exams will be available until Dec 31,2014. So hurry up if you want to get the RHCSA/RHCE 6 cert.
Of course - the exams on RHEL6 are much easier than on RHEL7 but to be honest - I'd rather go for RHCSA7. The book is written quite well and if you had a previous experience with linux you should spend about month or two (2h/day) and pass the EX200.

Verities

Thanks for your responses. I think I'll go for the RHCSA RHEL 7 version since 6 is going to be retired so soon.

Bombulec, what book are you referring to?

asummers

If possible try and learn both 6 and 7. The major areas for difference is startup/shutdown (init vs systemd) and firewall (iptables vs firewalld). Printed books are likely to be based on v6

Verities

asummers wrote: »

If possible try and learn both 6 and 7. The major areas for difference is startup/shutdown (init vs systemd) and firewall (iptables vs firewalld). Printed books are likely to be based on v6

I'll probably just focus solely on RHEL 7 until I obtain the RHCSA, then I'll review RHEL 6. Since I already have the foundation knowledge, my game plan is to use the guides that RedHat provides, and lab with them, focusing on the RHEL 7 exam objectives.

bigdogz

Yes,
It is obvious that you should upgrade to the newest version.
At this point you are better off labbing 2 or 3 VM's and going through the exam objectives and make sure you know them. I do not think that books will not be out until June.

I am studying/labbing and will be testing for the RHCSA as well. It will be my first practicum exam.

Verities

bigdogz wrote: »

Yes,
It is obvious that you should upgrade to the newest version.
At this point you are better off labbing 2 or 3 VM's and going through the exam objectives and make sure you know them. I do not think that books will not be out until June.

I am studying/labbing and will be testing for the RHCSA as well. It will be my first practicum exam.

It really wasn't obvious when I initially asked the question. We don't work with the latest and greatest, which is why I was asking which version to go for. Anyways, my mind is made up now.

brombulec

I'm referring to official course books for RHCSA7 and RHCE7 - if you combine them you'll have to read almost 900 pages but it's REALLY good stuff.
I'd go for RHCE7 next year - I'm stuck with SDNs now

bigdogz

Verities wrote: »

It really wasn't obvious when I initially asked the question. We don't work with the latest and greatest, which is why I was asking which version to go for. Anyways, my mind is made up now.

I was just making the statement after you have already made your decision.
I think you have a good Idea looking at RHEL 6 as well.

Good Luck!

Verities

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all of your input!

dirkxxvi

Right now a lot of companies are still using RHEL 6/CentOS 6 but it probably won't be a shock if RHEL 7 catches on in the near future. Then again if there's one thing a lot of people fear in IT, its upgrades where old software doesn't readily work with a new OS. Heck even kernel updates can result in chaos. Honestly though I would suggest which one you feel more comfortable with.

The differences obviously aren't major but they're still noteworthy. You probably know a lot of these by now but I'll just throw these out there in case someone else comes across this thread in the future.

You can still use iptables in RHEL 7 but if you don't disable FirewallD your changes won't survive a reboot even with the service iptables save command. Not to mention that in RHEL 7 service commands usually get redirected to their systemctl counterpart.

firewall-cmd is good to learn. I found it annoying at first but once I got more comfortable with it I kind of liked it. Kind of sucks that everything needs to be spelled out for the options but by the same token the auto complete features are readily available and it makes reviewing the commands easier before you press enter.

I think I mentioned the differences in resetting the root password

Instead of using something like tail /var/log/messages you'll be prompted to use journalctl.

Per the objectives there's no setting up and HTTP or FTP server for RHEL 7's RHCSA of course candidates may have to pull resources from an external HTTP or FTP server (Regardless still good practice for anyone to know how to set up a basic HTTP and FTP server).

Also if I remember correctly features like NFS might be more readily available 'out of the box' with RHEL 7. For example I don't recall ever having to turn on rpcbind with RHEL 7 to mount an NFS share like I do with a new RHEL 6 system (don't hold me to that though).

dirkxxvi

Verities wrote: »

Thanks for your responses. I think I'll go for the RHCSA RHEL 7 version since 6 is going to be retired so soon.

I wouldn't say that. Technically the expiration date for RHEL 6 is November 30, 2023 per Redhat. Of course how many companies will still be using RHEL 6 in 2023 is another story entirely

When I was looking for work last month I occasionally came across a couple of job listings looking for people that knew how to use RHEL 5 and obviously your current employer uses RHEL 5. I don't recall seeing one for RHEL 7 (which is the one I got certified in). Tons though looking for RHEL 6 when the version number was specified in the job listing. Then again now that I think about it a good portion of them simply stated they were looking for people familiar with RHEL or CentOS without citing the version number.

In regards to your current employer, try and ask management to see if you can get a feel as to weather or not they'll be inclined to upgrade to RHEL 7 by 2016 like you suspect though I'm guessing that you might have already been given that impression after reading the prediction in your opening post.

Still I think employers simply respect employees having the Red Hat cert. The version number is more of a nice to have which is why I suggested in the post above to go with the one you feel more comfortable with.

Remedymp

It also looks as if the RHCSA book will be available sometime in June 2015 here.

Verities

dirkxxvi wrote: »

I wouldn't say that. Technically the expiration date for RHEL 6 is November 30, 2023 per Redhat. Of course how many companies will still be using RHEL 6 in 2023 is another story entirely

When I was looking for work last month I occasionally came across a couple of job listings looking for people that knew how to use RHEL 5 and obviously your current employer uses RHEL 5. I don't recall seeing one for RHEL 7 (which is the one I got certified in). Tons though looking for RHEL 6 when the version number was specified in the job listing. Then again now that I think about it a good portion of them simply stated they were looking for people familiar with RHEL or CentOS without citing the version number.

In regards to your current employer, try and ask management to see if you can get a feel as to weather or not they'll be inclined to upgrade to RHEL 7 by 2016 like you suspect though I'm guessing that you might have already been given that impression after reading the prediction in your opening post.

Still I think employers simply respect employees having the Red Hat cert. The version number is more of a nice to have which is why I suggested in the post above to go with the one you feel more comfortable with.

My boss doesn't care which version I get and I'm more focused on which one is worth investing in, for my current position. I don't plan on leaving my current job anytime soon.

We are not upgrading to RHEL 7 for a while (2016-2017 maybe), so RHCSA for RHEL 6 would be the best bet. Also, I didn't talk about the RHEL OS lifecycle retirement, I said RHCSA RHEL 6 exam retirement. Anyways, my initial decision was based on second hand information since there was no source provided for the expiration date of RHCSA RHEL 6 exam. I've tried looking around for the actual date of expiration, but my Google Fu has failed me.

D113

Found a reference to the RHEL6 exam retirement date of 31Dec2014, although it is from a third-party training company.

http://www.sunsetlearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/RHEL7_TrainingExamFAQ.pdf

darkerosxx

Jump with glee as ye read the merry story provided below from a most reputable source:

Red Hat special offer on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 curriculum | Red Hat Services

For the lazy:

We will continue to offer training and exams on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 through February 28, 2015.
You can also save 15% when you purchase 2 courses or exams together before February 28, 2015. In order to receive the discount, you must use the code CERT15YEARS at checkout.

Verities

Excellent - Thank you Dark!!

wolfinsheepsclothing

That's great news. Thanks darkerosxx!

rzswordfish

Just a heads up guys, sadly this (RHEL 6 exams extension upto 28 Feb 2015) only applies to people in US.

Verities

Well...I'm going to try and squeeze in RHEL 6 exam before the retirement date. That gives me about 70 something days, so that should be plenty of time to get myself spun up and ready for the exam. Resources: Michael Jang's book, RedHat Rapid Track course notes from a co-worker, Virtual Box + CentOs 6.6, and VTC's RedHat video course.

bigdogz

I just finished the 255 course for RHEL 7 which includes both RHCSA and RHCE exams. I only used the objectives from the exam and ran CentOS VM's to get each task down pat as much as possible. It turns out I was successful. I think if you have the experience you can do the same but YMMV.
Everything was straight forward so I did not slip up. This was my first practicum exams that I took which made me a little nervous but when I sat in the chair and started to type, I was comfortable. I just made sure I had plenty of food and drinks available.

I wish you luck in whichever version you choose to take for certification I am sure you will pass.

Verities

Thanks for the info BigDogz, I'll keep that in mind. Congratulations on passing!

kly630

I recently squeezed in the rhcsa exam on rhel6 at an exam kiosk and passed. The only resource I used was Michael Jang's book, so I think there's excellent exam topic coverage there. I probably would have given the rhel7 version a shot, except there's no materials to really help you prepare yet. I kind of hope there's an option to take the rhce on rhel7 in the future for people with a current rhcsa on rhel6, but it looks like i'm getting mixed messages out there.

teancum144

kly630 wrote: »

I recently squeezed in the rhcsa exam on rhel6 at an exam kiosk and passed. The only resource I used was Michael Jang's book, so I think there's excellent exam topic coverage there.

Do you feel like studying for and passing the LPIC-1 exam helped with foundational preparation for the RHCSA?

kly630

Yes, the LPIC-1 was the perfect foundational knowledge for the RHCSA. The RHCSA is certainly entry level, but I do think it's a lot to consume without enough know how at the command line. And the lpic-1 is better equipped to give that know how to people completely new to linux. It's almost like the RHCSA exams take the lpic-1 101 exam info as given.