Redhat says i should do RH124, but i cant find a book and Redhat say nothing
 

Hi Guys,

i did an assessment test on the Redhat site a week or two ago and Redhat responded that I should do Red Hat System Administration I (RH124)...apparently its their entry level certification and I would love to get going, i have now sent 3 mails asking questions about whether i can self study for this certification or do i have to take a Redhat course (big money, not even sure i can get training in Ireland)I would like to get the study guide and learn by doing myself...but i cant find a study guide for Red Hat System Administration I (RH124)
i know this is the first step in the RHCSA path, think there are two prior to the RHCSA..am i right?
the only book i can find is this one,

http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-RHCE-Red.../dp/0071765654

not even sure if this covers RH124, but Redhat are not answering me, just wondered if anybody had any experience on what I should do...or could recommend a good book to study RH124...

thanks in advance

RH124 and RH134 modules make up RHCSA (Basically system administration part I and part II). I would suggest going for training because of two reasons:

1. It will be pretty expensive.
2. If the training will be on RHEL 6 then it doesn't worth paying for.

The book that you pointed by Michael Jang is pretty good in terms of explanation and labs. However, it is on RHEL6 which will soon be replaced by RHEL7. Incase you are looking for official material from Red Hat then I would suggest getting in touch with Red Hat partners in your area or if there is any Red Hat office near by.

Red Hat is actually promoting self-study for entry level exams. I have heard that soon RHCSA and RHCE will be on RHEL 7 but am not sure when they will roll that out, if I have to guess it will be most probably by September end or October beginning.

At the end I would say that if you are planning to write exam within a month or so (basically on RHEL6) then you can go ahead with Michael Jang's book and write the exam as soon as possible. If you want to write it on RHEL7 then wait till September and the new exam on RHEL7 will be available.

thanks T3RM1NVT0R

but i dont understand what you mean...first you said:

I would suggest going for training because of two reasons:

1. It will be pretty expensive.
2. If the training will be on RHEL 6 then it doesn't worth paying for.

did this mean to say...i would suggest not going for training...

so is RHEL 6 training going to be a waste...am i better off waiting till september
or will there be an upgrade exam?

im battling to get any answer about self study from redhat...i have sent about 4 mails...no reply

thanks for your input

Red Hat JUST ANNOUNCED the updated exams and their training. A little research (one google search) shows that self study guides and books don't show up for nearly 6 months after a new RHEL comes out.

Why not go take the test, and if you fail, study what you think you didn't know.

szboardstretcher i have no redhat training and want to start from the beginning...so should i start reading the book i mentioned earlier...or wait till new material is released...is it not worth even doing rhel 6 anymore...

Sorry for the confusion, I didnt notice that. Yes, I mean to say that I wouldn't suggest going for training.

I wouldn't say RHEL6 will be waste of time the reason being whether you do RHCSA or RHCE on RHEL6 or RHEL7 it will be valid for 3 years from the date you got your certification. For example: If you do your RHCSA in August 2014 then it will be current till August 2017. However if you do RHCE sometime in January 2015 then your certification expiration will automatically change from August 2017 to January 2018.

Another way of preparing for RHCSA is to check RHCSA objectives on their site. Here they are: http://www.redhat.com/training/cours.../examobjective

You can prepare yourself by individually going through these objectives. You can search for relevant contents on google. For example: If objective says that you should know how to configure ftp server, then you can just google for configuring ftp server in RHEL.

I hope this helps.

Moved: This thread is more suitable in <Certifications> and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

You "took an assessment test on Red Hat's site" and ... (will miracles never cease?) ... they recommended that you should buy their very-expensive product?

"Imagine That!!™" :hattip:

And-d-d-d ... it "expires" after three years, which immediately causes all that knowledge to flow out of your brain and pile up on the floor as you are seized with an irresistible urge to use Microsoft Windows, unless you rush out and buy something else from Red Hat.

Wake up and smell the flowers, friend. All of these things are simply products, sold at near-100% profit to people who like to hang letters after their names. They are not a "Golden Ticket." (Only Willy Wonka actually had one of those ...)

Now, if you understand this, and approach it properly, these are a good source of professional education, and this is always a good thing to do ... but your employer should be the one paying for it, not you. You should not be paying for such things out of your own pocket, hoping against hope that this will be the "golden ticket" that magically gets you hired instead of the next guy. It won't.

These certification programs sell mostly to three kinds of people, and you can guess which ones are the most profitable:

1. Employees, taking employer-paid-for training.
2. Recently-unemployed people who still have a little money in their pocket.
3. Young folks who are still used to going to classes and taking tests and thinking that the piece of vellum they'll get at the end of all that will automatically be worth the (very large) amounts of time and money that they put into it.

sundialsvcs i beg to differ...i hear this a lot on this forum...and frankly i dont believe it...i dont expect to get hired with just a RH124...i realize that, but you cant tell me that somebody without RH124, and i say have it...is going to get a position before me...i dont believe that...every certification must have a benefit of some sort...what would you have me do???

Sorry, but you SHOULD believe it. 'Certifications' are near meaningless to me, and plenty of others. EXPERIENCE and KNOWLEDGE is what counts, not a 'certification'.

Don't believe me? Then do a search on this very site...I can't tell you how many threads there are, asking for exam dumps, answers, and flat-out cheats, so someone can 'get a cert'. Go to Google and look up how many sites there are that do NOTHING but prime people to do the bare minimum to get a 'certification'. A piece of paper is pointless...the KNOWLEDGE is what is important. Have that, and you'll have confidence in an interview, and be able to easily answer any question they throw at you, and you'll get a job.

If people with certifications actually had the knowledge to back them up, then you'd have a point. But there are LEGIONS of people who have that piece of paper, and shouldn't be operating something more complicated than the copy machine. If you think a 'certification' is going to get you much (if anything), that's your call. All I can tell you is that I'm in a position to hire and recommend lots of folks, and anyone who leads with their certifications goes to the bottom of the stack...because that's what they usually DEPEND on. Those with real knowledge let it show.

If you're certain that we're all wrong, then by all means, go ahead. No one is discouraging you or stopping you.

I have 0 certifications active, and the guys under my supervision have many. I've been in IT for 16 years, so employers look at my accomplishments and not my lack of certs.

That is NOT to say that certs are worthless. Getting into your first gig, a cert will certainly not hurt your chances.

"That is NOT to say that certs are worthless. Getting into your first gig, a cert will certainly not hurt your chances"...exactly! thats how i got my first job...with an A+...is the linux world that different??? surely some sort of linux cert would get me into a position that i can work for free for a period to build up valuable experience? Sorry TBone, i understand what you are saying...but i dont have a linux based job...if i cant learn via certs what would you have me do? just read what requirements are on job listings and just tackle them and learn completely hands on??? thanks for all the input...would like more

No, you did NOT get your first job with an A+. You got it because you passed the interview....unless your boss ever specifically said "The only reason we hired you was because of your A+".
Yes, that's EXACTLY what you should do, and take advantage of. There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING stopping you from loading a server-grade distro like CentOS on a machine, and configuring services, and learning how to troubleshoot them. There is no shortage of how-to guides, documentation, and forums like this, where you can post questions like "I'm trying to get my Samba server into an Active domain, and am having xxx issue...". THAT gives you experience, freedom to learn, and to APPLY that knowledge. When you apply for a Linux position, you will be able to say with CONFIDENCE that you've got hands-on experience with whatever you learned...and it WON'T be limited to what's on a test, only by your desire to learn.

Saying that you are going to 'learn via certs' makes about as much sense as saying "I'll learn to drive AFTER I pass my driving test! Surely I'll learn what I need during the exam!".

There are differnt kind of people you will come across in IT industry. If I have to categorize on the basis of skills and certification, I would put it as follows:

1. Certification + Skills :- I have seen guys who have certifications and they have the skills as well. This means they have not done certification for the sake of job. When I asked them why they do certification they simply said they took it as a challenge. There is no harm in holding certification along with the skills, it just adds up to your resume.

2. No certification + Skills: These are the guys who have all the skills which a certified person have (I am here talking about the guys I mentioned in point 1 not about the guys which I will put in point 3 ;-) ). The only difference that I have observed (obviously I am just talking about the people I have met) is that certified people or people who have gone under trainings are bit stronger on theoratical part. Basically they have logical approach when they have to say why certain thing is working as per design and what is the reason behind it. When it comes to practical knowledge it all depends on the exposure you have got in handling the infra.

3. Certification + No Skills: These are the guys who will just mug up the stuff written in some books and vomit it during the exam. I am saying this for even practical exam whether it is Red Hat's practical exam or VCAP or NCLP. These guys are pretty good at mugging up the stuff and know how to get their way around during the exam. If you ask them why a particular service is configured in this way they will not have the answer. They will simply say that this is how it works, no logical reasoning behind it.

4. No Certification + No Skills: I don't think we need a discussion for this category.

I will not say certifications are bad. As long as you are doing it with full understanding and taking it as a challenge, fair enough. If you are doing it for the sake of putting it on your resume then you are wasting your time and money.

Enjoy Linux!!!!

Absolutely spot-on.