RHCSA Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Certification Study Guide, Eighth Edition (Exam EX200), 8th Edition

RHCSA Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Certification Study Guide, Eighth Edition (Exam EX200), 8th Edition

by Michael Jang, Alessandro Orsaria
Released December 2023
Publisher(s): McGraw-Hill
ISBN: 9781260462081

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Book description

Take the latest editions of the challenging RHCSA and RHCE certification exams with confidence

This comprehensive self-study guide clearly explains what you need to know—and gets you fully prepared—for the RHCSA and RHCE certification exams. Written by a pair of Linux certification experts and experienced authors, this new edition has been thoroughly revised for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and provides complete coverage of all exam objectives.

RHCSA/RHCE Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Certification Study Guide, Eighth Edition (Exams EX200 & EX294) is an integrated study system based on proven pedagogy. Each chapter includes step-by-step exercises, special “Exam Watch” and “On the Job” sidebars, “Two-Minute Drills,” self-tests, and hands-on lab questions. The companion website contains searchable glossaries, downloadable virtual machine files, four complete lab-based practice exams (two for each exam), and 100+ lab-based exercises with answers and explanations.

  • Features 100+ lab-based exercises with answers and in-depth explanations
  • Online content includes four complete lab-based practice exams—two for RHSCA and two for RHCE
  • Written by a pair of Linux certification experts

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. About the Authors
  6. Contents at a Glance
  7. Contents
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. Preface
  10. Introduction
  11. RHCSA Exam Readiness Checklist
  12. 1 Prepare for the Red Hat RHCSA Certification
    1. The RHCSA Exam
      1. The Exam Experience
      2. Evolving Requirements
    2. Basic Hardware Requirements
      1. Hardware Compatibility
      2. Architectures
      3. RAM Requirements
      4. Storage Options
      5. Networking
      6. Virtual Machine Options
    3. Get Red Hat Enterprise Linux
      1. Get a Subscription at No Cost
      2. Purchase a Subscription
      3. Third-Party Rebuilds
      4. Check the Download
      5. Exercise 1-1: Get Red Hat Enterprise Linux
    4. An Environment for Practice Labs
      1. System Roles
      2. Getting VMware Workstation Player
      3. Virtual Networks on a Hypervisor
      4. Configure a Virtual Machine on VMware Workstation Player
    5. RHEL 9 Installation
      1. Boot Media
      2. Basic Installation Steps
      3. The Installation Perspective on Partitions
      4. Partition Creation Exercise
      5. Exercise 1-2: Partitioning During Installation
      6. Wow, Look at All That Software!
      7. Baseline Packages
      8. During the Installation
      9. Initial Setup
      10. Certification Summary
    6. Two-Minute Drill
    7. Q&A Self Test
      1. Lab Questions
      2. Self Test Answers
      3. Lab Answers
  13. 2 Fundamental Command-Line Skills
    1. Shells
      1. Other Shells
      2. Virtual Consoles
      3. GUI Shell Interfaces
      4. Differences Between Regular and Administrative Users
      5. Standard Streams and Command Redirection
    2. Standard Command-Line Tools
      1. File and Directory Concepts
      2. File Lists and ls
      3. File-Creation Commands
      4. Wildcards
      5. File Searches
    3. File Permissions
      1. File Permissions and Ownership
      2. Commands to Change Permissions and Ownership
      3. A Basic Introduction of User and Group Concepts
    4. Managing Text Files
      1. Commands to Read Text Streams
      2. Commands to Process Text Streams
      3. Edit Text Files at the Console
      4. Exercise 2-1: Using vi to Create a New User
      5. If You Don’t Like vi
      6. Edit Text Files in the GUI
    5. Accessing the Documentation
      1. When You Need Help
      2. A Variety of man Pages
      3. The info Manuals
      4. Detailed Documentation in /usr/share/doc
      5. Certification Summary
    6. Two-Minute Drill
    7. Q&A Self Test
      1. Lab Questions
      2. Self Test Answers
      3. Lab Answers
  14. 3 Managing Basic Networking
    1. A Networking Primer
      1. IPv4 Networks
      2. Networks and Routing
      3. Tools and Commands
    2. Network Configuration and Troubleshooting
      1. Network Configuration Services
      2. Network Configuration Tools
      3. Exercise 3-1: Configure IPv4 Settings on a Network Interface
      4. Configure Name Resolution
      5. Hostname Configuration Files
    3. An Introduction to IPv6
      1. Basic IPv6 Addressing
      2. Troubleshooting Tools
      3. Configure IPv6 Addresses
    4. Administration with Secure Shell and Secure Copy
      1. Command-Line Access
      2. More SSH Command-Line Tools
      3. Graphical Secure Shell Access
      4. Certification Summary
    5. Two-Minute Drill
    6. Q&A Self Test
      1. Lab Questions
      2. Self Test Answers
      3. Lab Answers
  15. 4 Software Management
    1. The RPM Package Manager
      1. What Is a Package?
      2. What Is the RPM Database?
      3. What Is a Repository?
      4. Install an RPM Package
      5. Uninstall an RPM Package
      6. Install RPMs from Remote Systems
      7. RPM Installation Security
      8. Updating the Kernel
    2. More RPM Commands
      1. Package Queries
      2. Package Signatures
      3. File Verification
      4. Exercise 4-1: Practice with rpm Commands
    3. Dependencies and the dnf Command
      1. An Example of Dependency Hell
      2. Relief from Dependency Hell
      3. Red Hat Subscription Management
      4. Exercise 4-2: Subscribe a System to Red Hat Subscription Management
      5. Basic dnf Configuration
      6. Exercise 4-3: Create a dnf Repository from the RHEL 9 DVD
      7. Third-Party Repositories
      8. Exercise 4-4: Configure Access to the EPEL Repository
      9. Basic dnf Commands
      10. Installation Mode
      11. Security and dnf
      12. Updates and Security Fixes
      13. Package Groups and dnf
      14. More dnf Commands
    4. Module Streams (*)
      1. Certification Summary
    5. Two-Minute Drill
    6. Q&A Self Test
      1. Lab Questions
      2. Self Test Answers
      3. Lab Answers
  16. 5 systemd and the Boot Process
    1. The Boot Process
      1. Basic System Configuration
      2. Startup Menus
      3. Access to Linux Bootloaders
    2. Bootloaders and GRUB 2
      1. GRUB, the GRand Unified Bootloader
      2. Exercise 5-1: Boot into a Different Target
      3. Exercise 5-2: Recover the Root Password
      4. Modify the System Bootloader
      5. How to Update GRUB 2
      6. The GRUB 2 Command Line
      7. Exercise 5-3: Using the GRUB 2 Command Line
      8. An Option for Booting from GRUB 2: Rescue Mode
    3. Between GRUB 2 and Login
      1. Kernels and the Initial RAM Disk
      2. The First Process, Targets, and Units
      3. Switch Between Targets
      4. Reboot and Shut Down a System Normally
      5. systemd Replaces Upstart and SysVinit
      6. systemd Units
      7. Virtual Consoles and Login Screens
    4. Control by Target
      1. Functionality by Target
      2. The Innards of systemd Units
      3. Service Configuration
    5. Time Synchronization
      1. Time Zone Configuration
      2. Sync the Time with chronyd
      3. Certification Summary
    6. Two-Minute Drill
    7. Q&A Self Test
      1. Lab Questions
      2. Self Test Answers
      3. Lab Answers
  17. 6 User Administration
    1. User Account Management
      1. Different Kinds of Users
      2. The Shadow Password Suite
      3. Command-Line Tools
      4. Exercise 6-1: Add a User with Cockpit Web Console
      5. Exercise 6-2: Real and Fake Shells
      6. Modify an Account
    2. Administrative Control
      1. The Ability to Log In
      2. The su Command
      3. Limit Access to su
      4. The sg Command
      5. Superuser Access with the sudo Command
    3. User and Shell Configuration
      1. Home Directories and /etc/skel
      2. Exercise 6-3: Another Way to Secure a System
      3. Shell Configuration Files in User Home Directories
      4. Login, Logout, and User Switching
    4. Special Groups
      1. Standard and Red Hat Groups
      2. Shared Directories
      3. Exercise 6-4: Control Group Ownership with the SGID Bit
      4. Certification Summary
    5. Two-Minute Drill
    6. Q&A Self Test
      1. Lab Questions
      2. Self Test Answers
      3. Lab Answers
  18. 7 Storage and Filesystem Administration
    1. Storage Management and Partitions
      1. Current System State
      2. The fdisk Utility
      3. The gdisk Utility
      4. The parted Utility
      5. Using parted: Starting, Getting Help, and Quitting
      6. Graphical Options
      7. Exercise 7-1: Work with fdisk and parted
    2. Filesystem Formats
      1. Standard Filesystems
      2. Journaling Filesystems
      3. Filesystem Format Commands
      4. Swap Volumes
      5. Filesystem Check Commands
      6. Exercise 7-2: Format, Check, and Mount Different Filesystems
    3. Basic Linux Filesystems and Directories
      1. Separate Linux Filesystems
      2. Directories That Can Be Mounted Separately
    4. Logical Volume Manager (LVM)
      1. Definitions in LVM
      2. Create a Physical Volume
      3. Create a Volume Group
      4. Create a Logical Volume
      5. Make Use of a Logical Volume
      6. More LVM Commands
      7. Remove a Logical Volume
      8. Resize Logical Volumes
    5. Filesystem Management
      1. The /etc/fstab File
      2. Universally Unique Identifiers in /etc/fstab
      3. The mount Command
      4. More Filesystem Mount Options
      5. Virtual Filesystems
      6. Add Your Own Filesystems to /etc/fstab
      7. Removable Media and /etc/fstab
      8. Network Filesystems
    6. The Automounter
      1. Mounting via the Automounter
      2. Exercise 7-3: Configure the Automounter
      3. Certification Summary
    7. Two-Minute Drill
    8. Q&A Self Test
      1. Lab Questions
      2. Self Test Answers
      3. Lab Answers
  19. 8 Linux Security
    1. Basic Firewall Control
      1. Standard Ports
      2. The firewalld Service
      3. Exercise 8-1: Adjust Firewall Settings
      4. Exercise 8-2: Firewall Configuration with the Cockpit Web Console
    2. Securing SSH with Key-Based Authentication
      1. SSH Configuration Commands
      2. SSH Client Configuration Files
      3. Basic Encrypted Communication
      4. Set Up a Private/Public Pair for Key-Based Authentication
    3. A Security-Enhanced Linux Primer
      1. Basic Features of SELinux
      2. SELinux Status
      3. SELinux Configuration at the Command Line
      4. Configure Basic SELinux Settings
      5. Configure Regular Users for SELinux
      6. Manage SELinux Boolean Settings
      7. List and Identify SELinux File Contexts
      8. Restore SELinux File Contexts
      9. Exercise 8-3: Configure a New Directory with Appropriate SELinux Contexts
      10. SELinux Port Labeling
      11. Identify SELinux Process Contexts
      12. Diagnose and Address SELinux Policy Violations
      13. The GUI SELinux Administration Tool
      14. Certification Summary
    4. Two-Minute Drill
    5. Q&A Self Test
      1. Lab Questions
      2. Self Test Answers
      3. Lab Answers
  20. 9 System Administration Tasks
    1. Resource Management and System Tuning
      1. System Resource Management Commands
      2. System Tuning Profiles
    2. Archives and Compression
      1. gzip and bzip2
      2. tar
      3. star
    3. Running Tasks on a Schedule: cron and at
      1. The System crontab and Components
      2. Hourly cron Jobs
      3. Regular anacron Jobs
      4. Setting Up cron for Users
      5. Exercise 9-1: Create a cron Job
      6. Running a Job with the at System
      7. Secure cron and at
    4. Bash Scripts
      1. A “Hello, World” Script
      2. Bash Variables
      3. Bash Control Structures
      4. Exercise 9-2: Create a Script
    5. Local Log Files
      1. System Log Configuration File
      2. Log File Management
      3. A Variety of Log Files
      4. Service-Specific Logs
      5. Exercise 9-3: Learn the Log Files
      6. View systemd Journal Log Entries
      7. Certification Summary
    6. Two-Minute Drill
    7. Q&A Self Test
      1. Lab Questions
      2. Self Test Answers
      3. Lab Answers
  21. 10 An Introduction to Containers
    1. Fundamentals of Container Technology
      1. The Rise of Container Technologies
      2. Virtualization and Containers
      3. Understanding Container Architecture
      4. Docker and Podman
    2. Getting Started with Containers
      1. Installing Container Tools
      2. Running Your First Container
      3. Rootless and Rootful Containers
    3. Building and Using Container Images
      1. Image Registries
      2. Building Container Images: A Primer
      3. Exercise 10-1: Building and Running a Container Image
      4. Exercise 10-2: Uploading an Image to Quay.io
    4. Managing Containers
      1. Podman Commands
      2. Running a Container as a SystemD Service
      3. Exercise 10-3: Running a Container as a Service
      4. Persistent Storage
      5. Exercise 10-4: Attaching Persistent Storage to a Container
      6. Certification Summary
    5. Two-Minute Drill
    6. Q&A Self Test
      1. Lab Questions
      2. Self Test Answers
      3. Lab Answers
  22. A Prepare a System for the Sample Exams
    1. Sample Exam System Requirements
  23. B Solutions to RHCSA Sample Exam 1
    1. RHCSA Sample Exam 1 Discussion
  24. C Solutions to RHCSA Sample Exam 2
    1. RHCSA Sample Exam 2 Discussion
  25. D About the Online Content
    1. Single User License Terms and Conditions
    2. Downloadable Book Resources
      1. Lab Files
      2. Appendix A: Prepare a System for the Sample Exams
      3. Sample Exams
    3. Technical Support
  26. Index

Product information

  • Title: RHCSA Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Certification Study Guide, Eighth Edition (Exam EX200), 8th Edition
  • Author(s): Michael Jang, Alessandro Orsaria
  • Release date: December 2023
  • Publisher(s): McGraw-Hill
  • ISBN: 9781260462081