| Whilst Microsoft still dominates on the desktop, Linux | | | | held by less than 1000 people worldwide. To attain the |
| has a huge user base in business as a server | | | | RHCA qualification, one must pass a total of six |
| operating system. Almost all of the worlds major | | | | exams - the RCHE exam; RedHat Enterprise Security: |
| websites run on Linux - Google, Facebook, YouTube, | | | | Network Services, RedHat Enerprise Deployment, |
| Wikipedia to name just a few. It's therefore no surprise | | | | Virtualization and Systems Management; RedHat |
| that there is a growing demand for professionals with | | | | Directory Services and Authentication; RedHat |
| Linux skills, who can command up to 30% higher pay | | | | Enterprise Clustering and Storage Management; and |
| than their Microsoft-supporting counterparts. | | | | RedHat Enterprise Systems Monitoring and |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is the most popular | | | | Performance Tuning Expertise. Those who attain |
| Linux distribution amongst medium to large enterprises, | | | | RHCA qualification can expect to find themselves in |
| and Red Hat have developed their own training | | | | high demand, and command a sizeable salary. |
| courses and certifications to ensure that professional | | | | For those unfamiliar with Linux, the RHCT is a good |
| standards are high. | | | | initial goal to aim for. RHCT certification provides a |
| There are three levels of certification provided by | | | | good 'foot in the door' for would-be employees looking |
| RedHat - RHCT (Red Hat Certified Technician), RHCE | | | | to impress an employer and gain their first Linux |
| (Red Hat Certified Engineer) and RHCA (Red Hat | | | | System Administration job. |
| Certified Architect). | | | | For those looking to run an entire network, RHCE |
| RHCT is the entry-level certification, suitable for a | | | | certification should be sought. The RHCE course |
| junior-level system administrator looking after Linux | | | | provides a good level of knowledge, enough to be able |
| systems. Topics covered include package | | | | to cope with most challenges day-to-day |
| management, network configuration, file system | | | | administration can throw at them. The RHCE exam |
| administration and basic system troubleshooting. | | | | proves a high level of knowledge, and is a highly |
| RHCE is a well respected qualification, which shows a | | | | respected qualification. |
| good level of knowledge of use and troubleshooting of | | | | RHCA certification should only be pursued by those |
| Red Hat Enterprise. Topics covered include advanced | | | | hoping to forge a career as a professional Linux |
| package management, system services, kernel | | | | consultant and/or troubleshooter. Together, the |
| configuration, network configuration, advanced account | | | | examinations that make up the certification represent |
| management, web services, mail services, virtualization, | | | | more than 30 hours of test time - to say nothing of the |
| NFS and troubleshooting. | | | | preparation time required. As such, RHCA certification |
| RHCA is a very difficult to attain qualification, currently | | | | is only for the most dedicated and studious of people. |