Questions about getting ready for your Red Hat remote exam?

[Deanna]

This thread is dedicated to connect you with Red Hat subject matter experts who can help answer your questions regarding Red Hat remote exams. Please see the following resources for Red Hat Remote Exams below:

• Remote Exams Announcement
• Technical Documentation for "Getting ready for your Red Hat remote exam"
• Remote Exams FAQ

For questions on scheduling or redeeming your exams,  please use the Red Hat Certification team comment form here. 

**Our subject matters experts in the Red Hat Learning Community will not be assisting with tasks related to scheduling exams. 

[enthuguy]

thanks @shefeeqyr  @JS_Learning , have written my exam today.

as you suggested surface 2 laptop didnt help, we had connectivity issues. I end up using DELL laptop with wired mouse and external webcam.

I must thank redhat support team. They were so helpful guiding me through over phone. They had lot of patience too :)

you guys awesome ! :)

[shefeeqyr]

It's a genuine pleasure to read your feedback @enthuguy. Most appreciated!

Best Regards,

Shefeeq

[dukesam]

Hi,

I followed all the instructions to prepare the remote exam bootable Live USB. It initially brings up three options 
1. Start exam
2. Test the devices setup & start the exam

3. Troubleshooting

The option 2 automatically starts after 5 to 6 secs but I am getting attached error.

error

Is that something issue with my laptop? I do not have CD disk-drive. But it complains about that. Is that something you could advise how to fix?

[JS_Learning]

Hi @dukesam ,

What do you get when doing:

"sha256sum rhrexboot.iso"?

Could you try downloading the .ISO again?

That error could be indicating a corrupted ISO...

Also it could be how you flashed the ISO, it appears in some case Win10 remount the iso and alter some files:

Extract:

Unfortunately, Win10 finishes the dd command and then
immediately automounts the drive.  This, of course, triggers a whole bunch
of system indexing tools, restore point tools and so on, writing some data into efi partition and this, in turn, changes the drive data sum as the dd command saw it. 

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1282244 

If so, I'd suggest you try an alternative method to flash the ISO to your USB drive.

Cheers,

[Sarang]

Good initiative in this pandemic times. 

I have couple of questions:

1. Regareding Camera:

- I want to buy a camera for Remote exam. However, I am not sure on how to check compatibility. Is there a list of compatible external cameras?

- What is the OS used in 'live USB ISO' or 'rhrexboot.iso' that will be used to setup exam environment.  

2. Regarding Network:

I have two internet connections,  a wired broadband connection and 4G mobile internet . Both meet the speed requirements i.e. Download speed requirements of 768Kbps and
upload speed requirements of 512Kbps

If the primary network connections (broadband)  goes down during exam. Lets say for 15 min.

- Will I be able to switch to my mobile 4G connection?

- Will I be able to connect back again after 15 min if switching to mobile internet is not allowed?

- Will I be able to reschedule the exam if above two are not allowed?

[JS_Learning]

Hi @Sarang ,

1.1 There is no such list officially. What is officially requested is an external webcam with at least 1m cable. Unofficially, some candidates are sharing their experience here:

https://learn.redhat.com/t5/General/RedHat-Remote-Exam-supported-hardware-cameras-mice-keyboards/m-p... 

1.2 The OS is Fedora 32.

2. I think, it's a difficult topic to answer and something that the proctor will have to evaluate with all variables at hand and discuss with the candidate. In general, it also depends when the interruption occurs. See the FAQ and Getting Ready documents, links available in the supported hardware camera topic link I shared above.

As for the actual 4G, it also depends on it's connected, the only supported method are wifi and ethernet cable. Therefore, it it's connecting to a 4G hotspot, and using wifi for the Remote Exam Laptop, I guess it's ok. If it's about using a 4G modem directly, it's not in the officially supported hardware.

Cheers,

[Sarang]

Hi @JS_Learning 

Thank you for the answer.

1. Can I say that external Webcam that works well with Fedora 32 will also work with live USB ISO ? 

Of course, I will consider other factors,  1m cable length  and Camera clarity. 

2. 4G internet will be available as wifi hotspot ( lets say "Vodafone-4G"). I think that should not be a problem as 'live USB ISO' will treat it as any other wifi hotspot.

The broadband connection can also be made available through wifi hotspot( lets say "airtel-wired").

The  important point for me is to know if I can switch between hotspots "airtel-wired" and "Vodafone-4G" if one goes down during exam. Can you help me on this or direct me to any useful discussions? 

[JS_Learning]

Hi @Sarang ,

I need to clarify something practical with the teams about your question.
For now, this is in the FAQ:

"Answer: If network connectivity problems arise within the first 30 minutes of the exam and you are unable to resolve them, you can request to discontinue and reschedule your exam attempt. If you are able to resolve the issue quickly, you will be able to resume where you left off once you boot to the live USB and connect to the exam environment."

Source:

https://www.redhat.com/cms/managed-files/tr-certification-remote-exams-FAQ-f24596pr-202007-en_0.pdf 

I understand the core question now is if you can switch wifi hotspot during the exam. I will check on that and let you know.

Cheers,

[Sarang]

Hi @JS_Learning 

I will wait for the response.

[shefeeqyr]

Hello @Sarang,

If there is an internet issue, you will have to reboot the laptop to the RE image, go to the wireless network settings and connect to the back up connection. Rebooting will not impact your exam. The Proctor will suspend your exam session till you are back.

Nevertheless, I am highly doubtful if a 4G connection will be sufficient to have a smooth exam experience. The performance may be significantly impacted.

Best Regards,

Shefeeq