Advice for PC and KVM for the RHCSA

Hi all,

I'm new to this site but not IT. I have my AA in Information Systems, A+ and Net+, and currently studying to earn my BS in Systems and Network Administration. I also work as Desk Side Support Tech II.

I just bought the RHCSA/RHCE Red Hat Linux Certification Study Guide 6th Ed. By Micheal Jang

While reading through the book, I got about midway through the 1st chapter and realized that I need a computer which can handle a 64 bit version of RHELS 6, CENTOS, or Scientific Linux in order to complete the labs while using KVM.

All of my computers are 32 bit except of my HP ProBook 4710s. However, I tried installing both 64 bit versions of CENTOS 6.3 and Scientific linux but neither would work.

I did manage to install Scientific linux on a Virtualbox VM where the host computer is the HP Probook 4710s running Windows 7. The Probook does have VT capabilities enabled in the bios.

I am wondering if I would be ok by just using the 1st Scientific guest VM as the host machine for the KVM guess, or would this cause problems for me while trying to follow along in the book and complete labs?

If not, can someone please recommend a fairly cheap PC that is capable of running 64 bit CENTOS or Scientific?

Also, I'm planning on going through this book thoroughly at least times making sure to complete every steps so that I can sit for the RHCSA exam. But do you all feel this would be enough as long as I feel confident after and while taking different practice exams and completing hands on labs, or do you all think I should use additional study material?

I apologize if I asked too many questions or wasn't thorough in my explanations/questions, as well as posting this here and its not in the correct forum.

Thanks in advance,
Jwalk33

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Comments

log32

just install two VMs of Scientific Linux / CentOS and that's enough for the RHCSA. use one of the network services (ftp vnc http iptables etc) and the other client as a test machine.
I don't see how 64 or 32bit matters for the exam

jwalk33

What do you mean by this: "use one of the network services (ftp vnc http iptables etc)"?

Thanks,
Jwalk33

log32

the RHCSA exam needs 2 machines for several subjects
VNC Server/Client
HTTP Server
Kickstart
iptables
and more
and most of the topics you need to set up the service on 1 VM (Server) and test the functionality with the other VM (Client)
so you basically just need 2 VMs.

lordy

You should be fine with two VMs for starters.

If you wanna step it up a notch you could go for a HP MicroServer N40L. I just bought one including 16 GB of RAM and a 250 GB HDD for 250 EUR (~320 USD). It also runs VMware ESXi just fine and uses only 35 Watts.

jwalk33

Thanks guys,

I will really have to do some research and find the cheapest possible compatible hardware, in the mean time I will see what I can accomplish with VMs.

Jwalk33

jwalk33

Hi again,

I've decided to use VMWare Workstation 9 as the Scientific main/host server that will hold the test VMs. How big of an HDD space should I allocate to the VMWare host server, and how should the HDD be partitioned?

For example, / 10000, /home 20000, /boot 2000, /swap 2500, extended ???

Thanks,
Jwalk33

W Stewart

Dolev wrote: »

just install two VMs of Scientific Linux / CentOS and that's enough for the RHCSA. use one of the network services (ftp vnc http iptables etc) and the other client as a test machine.
I don't see how 64 or 32bit matters for the exam

KVM only works on a 64 bit version of RHEL/CentOS/Scientific Linux. It's probably straightforward enough to where you can figure out where everything is on the test if you're familiar with VMs but depending on how much time you have on the exam you may want to already be familiar with the KVM interface ahead of time. Plus it's pretty cool to learn how to setup a VM from the command line in KVM.

jwalk33

Hi all,

I've gave up on this path until I can afford the appropriate hardware, thanks for all of the help and feedback!

Jwalk33