Hi,

I am a Linux newbie and am learning Linux/ preparing for RHCE at home. Now I won't ask whether I should prepare on my own or prepare through an institute because people clear RHCE using both paths.
But what I'm interested in is-- what would I miss preparing at home that I would learn through the RH authorized institutes. How can I compensate at home for those missed aspects? How can I simulate those aspects?

I am currently reading rute and if am correct, then it's a good resource for preparing for RHCE. Also I shall use tldp later for learning Bash.

Any further suggestions or comments as to how can I better prepare for RHCE and hone my skills, additional to what I'm already doing??...

You'll miss the course material, tips and tricks, exam prep (brain dumps), interaction with other students and sharing some of their skills, skill sets in networking modules etc.

To offset for this, you will get a system for yourself. Get CENTOS - say since it's nearest to RedHat and learn to install, deinstall, etc.

IMO, you should NOT miss the classes of RHCE institutes.

That said, your first steps should be to understand and practice Linux at home, on a "computer". Mugging up things won't help ever.

0. Install CentOS.

1. Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Certified-Engi.../dp/0072264543

2. I'd suggest you should study Rute and the above mentioned Michael Jang's book "parallely". e.g. Pick first chapter of Michael Jang's book, read it, find the commands which you don't understand, look for them in Rute.

3. When you've finished up both, look for "administrative" threads here on LQ, try to answer them or learn from them.

4. Build Linux from Scratch: http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/lfs/
No copy pasting commands. Do NOT type commands unless you know what they mean. You won't learn otherwise.

And finally when YOU feel that you know enough about Linux, then join RHCE training courses. This way you'll have a feel of what's going on there, and because you would already be knowing so much, coping up with their courses would be a child's play for you, thus you'll grow confident.

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You can find all the manuals for RH free to read online here http://www.linuxtopia.org/online_boo...ion_index.html

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If you really cannot attend classes, here is what I recommend:

* Get the equivalent distro version of RHEL such as CentOS (or Scientific Linux)
* If you do not have access to at least 2 separate physical workstations, get VirtualBox and install at least 2 instances of the RHEL equivalent OS. One will be the server and the other(s) will be the client.
* Get all the relevant study materials you can get.

Studying on your own can be a real pain as you will need to setup services (such as NIS) which you are not expected to setup in the exam, the lab instructor sets them up for you.

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Thanx a lot chrism! This looks like it'll be very helpful!

Thanx a lot everyone! Thanks Anisha for the Michael Jang's book's info, and chrism for free books resources, and everyone else for inputs.
This is to everyone--
There are many books on Linux that claim to be very helpful in preparing for RHCE or in understanding Linux. At least some of them, I'm sure, are great! I've even heard of this Michael Jang's book on Anisha'a mention, now I come to think of it. But here's the dilemma-- though money's not much of an issue but I still want to avoid extra expenditures if possible. I obtained an ebook for the above mentioned Michael Jang's book as a result (it is the 5th edition).. but since ebooks can be misleading cos anyone can edit and put them on the internet, should I trust the one I got or should I go ahead and spend money on a hard copy? If buying a hard copy is unavoidable, I'm confused as to which book(s) to buy. I've also heard of Red Hat Unleashed and Michael Jang's is the latest addition.. And one book costs quite a lot if seen from a student's perspective..

If the need dictates that I buy more than one or two, then I shall do it..but if I have to buy only some essential one(s) then which one should they be? Please shed some light on this as well..

I wouldn't be worried about someone editing the e-book, too much.

That said, on LQ, talks about downloading pirated books/anything, is NOT appreciated.

If hard copy purchasing is an option for you, then I'd recommend Micheal Jang's book (w.r.t RHCE). After completing that book, I think, you'll yourself get an idea about what you are doing and whether you need to purchase new books or not.

I wanted to put a couple of things out there.

Firstly, the fifth edition book is out of date. RedHat changed the RHCE exam significantly when they came out with RHEL6. They renamed the RHCT to RHCSA and made it its own separate exam. They also added a requirement that in order to take the RHCE exam, you must pass the RHCSA exam first.

That being said, the new Jang book (the sixth edition) is coming out next month, and covers BOTH exams! They also changed the point system from 100 max to 300 max with 210 being the minimum passing score.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Ce...8467882&sr=1-1

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rhcs...bstudy%2bguide

I hope this helps you and good luck! I have now taken the RHCE exam twice and failed both times. First time I ran out of time, so I didn't answer a couple of questions, and I got a 208 (2 points away!).. Second time I finished with time to spare, and verified my work was all working after rebooting, but yet I somehow got a lower score!! (195)

So now, I am pre-ordering this sixth edition book and going to study hard for the next time I go to take it so I do not waste another $400 for something that I am obviously missing.

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So,

1. Looks like I'll purchase the Michael Jang's 6th edition..it sounds like a promising book.

2. Now I aim for RHCSA instead of RHCE. But if I'm correct then that doesn't change the study material..right? I'll continue using Rute and Michael Jang's..not to forget internet. Also the above mentioned resources at linuxtopia..

3. Since RHEL 6 isn't free, I'm assuming I can continue confidently practicing on Centos 5.5 Right?? (Though Centos 5.6 is out but it doesn't include major changes..)

Introduction of RHCSA does IMO lift a certain amount of pressure since it's expected to be easier than RHCE and carries promising job prospects as well..Sys Admin eh..??

I'll certainly keep that in mind and be careful in future.... though one cannot ignore that it is indeed a well-known fact that internet violates copyrights on almost everything....and also that everyone uses this to their causes..

Most of the things in rhel6 are also in rhel5 and centos5, however, rhel6 introduces iSCSI and uses NetworkManager by default (you can and should turn it off if you are comfortable with the non-NM way of doing it).

Neither of those is in rhel5 or centos5

I hope you have verified through reliable sources like Monster.in and Naukri.com that RHCSA is preferred over RHCE for jobs like system admins?

It seems so, the sixth edition Michael Jang covers both: http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Ce.../dp/0071765654

and I hope you have followed this: https://www.redhat.com/certification/rhcsa/objectives/

Yes, I did follow the RHCSA Exam Objectives. Also, there isn't much for RHCSA (just one on monster.in), I think it's cos the change is relatively new. Companies will catch up with time..

Anyway, Red Hat has made it mandatory to clear RHCSA before anyone can go for RHCE. So, the immediate goal is RHCSA..