:(
After I spent a stressful 45 minutes going through 98 questions, I manage to get by with a 780. I don't care if these only go up to 900, this is the first sub-800 score I got 
I can only describe this exam as the black void that spawns the nightmares which haunt your dreams.
I would rather do a 500 question version of 291 than take this one again. Some of the questions were ridiculously easy. Such as,
What's edible:
a. A tennis ball
b. Pizza
c. A garbage truck
d. A brick
But the vague wording will even make you second-guess yourself on simple questions like that. I mean, I could probably eat a tennis ball if I had to. Doesn't that make it edible? Argh!
There were only two questions on the exam that I felt were good questions. Questions that gave me a little information and asked me to choose the best course of action based on that. I made my way through a great deal of this with educated guesses; this really seemed beyond an entry-level exam. I've never been so happy to get a question regarding port numbers before. Finally, something I was certain of!
If you want to do well on this, know all the commands and a majority of their options, know the inner workings of the all config files, know where all the config files and executables are located, and other obscure things like the specific names of drivers for hardware. Give me a break...
Some of these suggestions probably seem kind of obvious, but I'll give you an example along the lines of something I got in Transcender. If you had a command that took a user as an option, would the flag be -u, -U, -usr, or -user. A decent number of the exam questions were just as bad; stuff like that can be extremely difficult to recall off the top of your head! The hardest thing for me was there is little consistency between the commands. Sometimes -e is erase (uninstall), sometimes it's edit, -f can be force, file, or flush, etc. You really have to take a lot of time to pound this stuff into your head.
This is absolutely a test in memorization. It doesn't matter how well you understand the technology. If you can't differentiate between extremely similar options, you're going to do poorly.
I used the McGraw-Hill CompTIA Linux+ Certification guide, Transcender, and various Linux VMs, although I spent most of my time in Fedora. If anyone wants that book (it's heavily highlighted), speak up. First poster (US only, sorry) gets it.
This experience definitely has me nervous about going after the RHCE. Though, I think I'll enjoy the hands-on aspect much more than memorizing command options. As long as you know something's possible, a quick glance at the man will help you get on your way quickly.
Oh well, I'm glad it's behind me. Quick celebration then it's back to it...













I can only describe this exam as the black void that spawns the nightmares which haunt your dreams.
I would rather do a 500 question version of 291 than take this one again. Some of the questions were ridiculously easy. Such as,
What's edible:
a. A tennis ball
b. Pizza
c. A garbage truck
d. A brick
But the vague wording will even make you second-guess yourself on simple questions like that. I mean, I could probably eat a tennis ball if I had to. Doesn't that make it edible? Argh!
There were only two questions on the exam that I felt were good questions. Questions that gave me a little information and asked me to choose the best course of action based on that. I made my way through a great deal of this with educated guesses; this really seemed beyond an entry-level exam. I've never been so happy to get a question regarding port numbers before. Finally, something I was certain of!
If you want to do well on this, know all the commands and a majority of their options, know the inner workings of the all config files, know where all the config files and executables are located, and other obscure things like the specific names of drivers for hardware. Give me a break...
Some of these suggestions probably seem kind of obvious, but I'll give you an example along the lines of something I got in Transcender. If you had a command that took a user as an option, would the flag be -u, -U, -usr, or -user. A decent number of the exam questions were just as bad; stuff like that can be extremely difficult to recall off the top of your head! The hardest thing for me was there is little consistency between the commands. Sometimes -e is erase (uninstall), sometimes it's edit, -f can be force, file, or flush, etc. You really have to take a lot of time to pound this stuff into your head.
This is absolutely a test in memorization. It doesn't matter how well you understand the technology. If you can't differentiate between extremely similar options, you're going to do poorly.
I used the McGraw-Hill CompTIA Linux+ Certification guide, Transcender, and various Linux VMs, although I spent most of my time in Fedora. If anyone wants that book (it's heavily highlighted), speak up. First poster (US only, sorry) gets it.
This experience definitely has me nervous about going after the RHCE. Though, I think I'll enjoy the hands-on aspect much more than memorizing command options. As long as you know something's possible, a quick glance at the man will help you get on your way quickly.
Oh well, I'm glad it's behind me. Quick celebration then it's back to it...













Comments
Exactly how I felt on it.
You had that question too huh? I remembered it only because I saw it somewhere and was like, "Why are they telling me the specific driver?"
I don't agree with that. I do not feel I did great on it, but passed it on the first try with only studying for it for 3 days because I have used linux for years and truly knew the commands. Now if you are new to linux then yeah, the whole test will be memorization for you.
Congrats!
profile: linkedin.com/in/astorrs
Scheister, maybe I didn't explain that well. I'm not sure what the Cisco tests are like, but with the MS tests, you are given a scenario and you have to decide how to best apply the technology. You have to think critically. I felt like I could have passed this by simply going through flashcards and memorizing the commands and switches while skipping a lot of the underlying concepts and theory. I think this was more a test of memorization instead of real-world capabilities, if that makes sense. I am a Linux noob though
Yeah, I do see how they don't really allow you to work your way through it on the linux+. It is a much more you know it or you don't type test.
I'm now fairly convinced you are part machine.............
Good luck on the next ones!
Your score looks great. I wouldn't expect so much out of yourself. It's what you learn, not what you score.
Oh you had that question too?
This is a pretty annoying thing in the linux world I think. There are actually quite a few inconsistencies in Linux period that get under my skin. But the commands just start to get memorized the more you work with Linux. That does make it easier since you type it many many times.
I win
You may learn something!
I wanted to do this before maybe going for a solaris cert but i never use linux so i dont know if it will be worth going that far.
Bsc (hons) Network Computing - 1st Class
WIP: Msc advanced networking
Congrats again. Don't feel bad about the score, if you haven't been using Unix/Linux for at least a few years prior to the exam, you're showing extraordinary retention capability in passing. A lot of the memorization aspects, (just like with the LPI exams,) have a lot to do with the "muscle memory" of having used sh and bash as naturally as most people use DOS and the Windows GUI interface and "just knowing" these tools and their weird options. Good luck on your RHCE studies, you'll definitely get more out of the hands-on approach that Red Hat takes, from the sounds of it.
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Let it never be said that I didn't do the very least I could do.
On towards the RHCE!
Also, if you guys haven't seen this post (might want to consider making this a sticky Mark), check out this practice test: http://techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35375
Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to go through the entire thing (I probably would have broken 800 if I had
I was planning on doing the LPIC exams, but time and finances have taken those off the table for now. I'll definitely be reading the O'Reilly LPIC book as I progress through the RHCE.
If anyone is interested in that study group, let me know. I think we're planning on starting with the Jang book and doing one chapter a week for four weeks, taking one week off, and repeating until we get through all sixteen chapters. Then it's heavy lab/exercise time for four-six weeks. It's a little more realistic than what we were originally thinking. We're starting that the week of August 3rd, so let me know if you're interested.
Also, the book has been spoken for.
(I bet you would, Undomiel. I think a tennis ball would sort of be on par with your extremely rigid diet.)
:study: Current 2015 Goals: JNCIP-SEC JNCIS-ENT CCNA-Security
damn, too late!
Congrats on passing though!
Let me know about your impression on the LPIC exams Dynamik. I've been thinking about trying for that cert later this year or early next year. Grats on your pass!
Thanks!
You should follow Beaver's progress though. He'll probably get through them sooner than me. I'll definitely talk about them if I ever get around to them, but I have a lot of other things to do first.