Red Hat Certified Engineer Exam Preparation

How to Prepare for the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Exam?

Aspired to become Red Hat Certified Engineer? Here we bring the comprehensive Red Hat Certified Engineer exam preparation guide, that will help you prepare and pass the certification exam.

Red Hat has been taking the world by storm. It has been providing software solutions to more than 90% of the Fortune 500 companies, which includes commercial banks, airlines,  healthcare companies, and internet service providers. The company has been providing with Red Hat Enterprise Linux distribution for over 20 years now. With this full open technology stack, you can choose and alter it as you like, without being restricted by the vendor’s stack components or vision for the software.

RHCE Online Course

With its ever-growing importance, more and more people are looking forward to becoming Red Hat Certified Engineer. If you are among one of them, you can find all the necessary information regarding Red Hat Certified Engineer exam preparation here.

Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Exam

The Red Hat Certification Programme is aimed to make the candidates proficient in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). It is done so by making them appear and pass the performance-based exams, which tests their ability. The most common exams that are available are Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA), Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) and Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE).

The RHCE certification is like a step up over the RHCSA (Red Hat Certified System Administrator). Red Hat Certified Engineer credential if for the Red Hat Administrator who possesses the specialized skills and knowledge that a senior system administrator must have, and he is responsible for Red Hat Linux systems. 

Therefore, here it is evident that in order to go for the Red Hat Certified Engineer certification, one must have a Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) certification exam. Though you can first take the RHCE exam before RHCSA, you will receive the Red Hat Certified Engineer certification only when you pass both the RHCSA and RHCE exams.

Unlike many other exams that require you to answer multiple choice questions, here Red Hat Certified Engineer certification exam tests the ability by asking you to perform real-world tasks that are based on Red Hat technologies. They test you on the basis of how you can do things, not on how well you can answer these things.

Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Exam Overview

For RHCE Certification you need to pass an exam that lasts 3.5 hours. This exam is known as the RHCE exam or the EX300, and it is based entirely on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. In the exam, you will be given 10-15 performance-based tasks that you need to perform.     

Let’s have a look at the basic information of the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) exam:

RHCE Exam Information

Like any other certification exam, there are some prerequisites/requirements for the Red Hat Certified Engineer certification exam. These are –

  • Real-world experience in Linux System Administration, or
  • RHCE Rapid Track Course for RHCE exam, or
  • Red Hat System Administrator I, II, III courses, and
  • Review the RHCE exam objectives

The exam objectives of the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) exam involves the following exam objectives:

  • System Configuration and Management
  • Network Services (HTTP/HTTPS, DNS, NFS, SMB, SMTP, SSH, NTP)
  • Database Services

Comprehensive Guide for Red Hat Certified Engineer Exam Preparation

Preparing for any exam can be a tedious task. But choosing the right preparation track only gets you ready for the exam. Although RHCE is categorized as an extremely difficult exam, it’s not so if you prepare well for it. So, to help you in your preparation, here we bring the RHCE exam preparation guide.   

  • Take RHCE Exam Training

Training is an important step that can prepare you for the exam. So, to analyze if you are even ready for the exam, you can judge it by your performance during the training. Although the exam will not be based entirely on the lab activities, it can still provide an insight into the concepts. To pass the test, focus only on learning the exam objectives. You can also take the Whizlabs RHCE Online Course that is fully focused on the RHCE exam objectives. 

In the exam, the questions asked may not be the same as the ones you learned during the training. You can only manage to handle these types of questions if you are well-versed with the basics. You don’t need to worry, just try to experiment with different features to widen your experience. You can also get some good books for RHCE exam preparation that will help you clear the concepts and get hands-on with the practice questions.  

  • Develop a Flexible Environment

To clear the RHCE exam good preparation is must, and for good preparation a flexible study environment is crucial. You will require a few spare servers or even virtual machines that are available. If you think you need to buy a subscription from Red Hat only, then you are mistaken. You can perform most of the tests on similar Linux Distributions like CentOs or Scientific Linux as well. To be at ease, look for one that is the most similar to the one you will get to work on during the actual exam. You must look for the following few things:

  1. Being able to quickly build the servers or virtual machines
  2. To avoid getting frustrated, keep the latency of the environment low
  3. Use applications like Workstation or VirtualBox
  4. If you are facing a shortage of time, opt for VMs from cloud providers
  • Prioritize doing Hands-on Practice

Red Hat Certified Engineer exam preparation is not considered easy. It is so because the exam is more of a hands-on exam. It does not involve multiple choice questions or essays; rather it is completely a practical exam. You will be given tasks to perform during the exam duration. Although the materials are full of information, they will only help you understand the basics.

But to do it well, you will require continuous practice in setting up the services. If you have plenty of time, do focus on reading the stuff, but your priority must always be on practicing the techniques. 

  • Focus on Understanding the Logic

There is a plethora of study materials available for the RHCE certification. With the extent of the vastness of the material, comes the abundance of commands to repair any problem or to bring service online. So, the question arises here, how to remember all of them? Well, the only way to do so is by understanding the importance of each step of the process.

If you go by memorizing each and every command, you will achieve nothing in the end. But, if you try to look for the reason behind it, you will not only understand the logic behind the steps but also learn the usage which makes it very easy for you to operate it. You will be able to practice it regularly, and it will become make the red hat certified engineer exam preparation easier.   

  • Join Red Hat Learning Community

Learning alone can become boring after a certain point, but to do well it becomes necessary to maintain the flow. Here, you can take the help of others who are going through the same process. Confused? We are talking about the other candidates like you who are toiling hard for red hat certified engineer exam preparation.

Red Hat has recently launched a Red Hat Learning Community, with the primary motive of helping candidates to learn together. You can interact with fellow members and make the most of this platform provided to you. It is a good alternative to learn for the ones who are using the self-paced training option. Make sure you only stick to the information provided by Red Hat and don’t go beyond it, as it can only cause harm to your credibility and even eligibility to sit for the exam.

Also Read: Job Trends for Linux Professionals

Expert Tips that will Help in Your Red Hat Certified Engineer Exam Preparation

Besides following the preparation guide, there are some expert tips that will surely help you in your Red Hat Certified Engineer exam preparation. Follow the preparation guide, take care of the following points, be prepared, and get ready to pass the exam.

  • Know the Resources Available in the Exam

During the exam, you will not be allowed to carry your notes, notebooks or any other study material along with you. Using the web or any other external source is also not allowed while giving the exam. We know that by now you must be wondering how will you manage without any help. Fret not, for this, you will get manual pages and product descriptions to be used for the exam.

These are the documents that generally come along with the product. You must be smart enough not to waste much time trying to understand how to do it in the exam. You would not have time to go deeper into teaching yourself the basics, as this is only to help you as a reference. It will only help you remember the tricky parts.    

  • Be Physically and Mentally Prepared

This holds true for every exam and applies here as well. To be able to perform well in an exam, you must be well rested. It will not just keep your body fit but also boost the activeness of your mind. Your brain needs to be properly rested to be able to solve the tricky questions. Therefore, take proper diet and get sound sleep a day before your exam.

  • Make it a Habit to Check Your Work

Yet again, it is a common tip that we have been listening to since our school days. Be it your maths exam or the RHCE exam; it becomes utmost important to check your work once it is done. During the exam period, make sure you plan accordingly and have ample time to revise and check your work for mistakes. Make it a habit to actively stop, check and rectify the mistake. This will help you rectify the mistakes on time and further help you in achieving good scores. If you have a critical VM, your precision might win you brownie points.

  • Be Smart and Move on

For professionals of any technical field, it becomes absolutely impossible to leave a task unsolved. We get stuck on the problem, until and unless we find the right solution to the problem. This obsession of trying to solve it might be your tendency while taking an exam. However, it can certainly get you caught up during the exam and waste your precious time. In situations like these, it is always wiser to let go and move on.  This will help you to focus on other tasks and complete them, rather than wasting all your time on that one task where you are stuck.

Are you a Linux professional going for an interview? Go through these top Linux interview questions and get ready to ace the interview.

Final Words

With the advent of technology and the changing demands, it is becoming essential for developers and engineers to be up-to-date with the latest developments. They must have the know-how of the new technologies being used and new products that are being developed all around the globe.

To have the advanced knowledge in Linux, Red Hat Certified Engineer certification can be a prerequisite. It not only gives you the required information but also equips one with the basic skills that are required as an engineer.

This emerging field brings with a multitude of opportunities to grow and evolve. There are plenty of jobs waiting out there. So, if you are one among the many, who are planning to get the RHCE certification, follow this Red Hat Certified Engineer exam preparation guide and start your preparation now with the Red Hat Certified Engineer online course.

Join us today and get yourself ready to become a Red Hat Certified Engineer!

About Pavan Gumaste

Pavan Rao is a programmer / Developer by Profession and Cloud Computing Professional by choice with in-depth knowledge in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform. He helps the organisation figure out what to build, ensure successful delivery, and incorporate user learning to improve the strategy and product further.

2 thoughts on “How to Prepare for the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Exam?”

  1. dear brother Amit Verma

    i am Bangladeshi ,may 3 time rhce exam bat no pass continue, i have no idea where is my fault, please if have no problem , please help me, how i pass this exam,
    i have q question but all time i full fell exam question ,but all time exam result is 185. why why,
    please help me

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