getting started with red hat and the RHCSA

[Tajeshwar_Khara]

Hi,

I am new to RedHat and want to start preparing for the RHCSA and learn the basics of linux along  the way. I would appreciate if someone could guide me towards learning resources that may have been helpful to you while you were starting your own journey.

I am trying to setup a home lab environment on a spare laptop i have. Any suggestions on how to do that properly would be great as well.

Thank you.

[marisadean]

This exam isn't really for total beginners but if you want to try anyway I suggest getting Asghar Ghori's book and following his steps to create a home lab using vbox, then take the redhat official courses and maybe also Sander's courses and books from O'Reilly. 

[Tajeshwar_Khara]

Thanks Marisa.

I was able to setup a lab environment on a PC I had laying around.

https://developers.redhat.com/rhel8/install-rhel8#system_registration

Just putting this here in case someone else comes looking.

Just a quick follow up. Have you taken any of the official red hat courses? How do they compare to Sander Van Vugt's courses?

Thanks.

[charith1994]

Dear friend,

I have used sander van vugt's courses as well as red hat's official courses ,for me there is no  difference  between them.If any course you follow full fill the exam objectives then it's enough for you consider as a support material for the exam.I suggest you to give more attention to the exam objectives and practice continuously until you get a confidence about your knowledge if you haven't any previous experience on the subject.Hope this will help you.good luck.

[Tajeshwar_Khara]

Thanks Charith. I appreciate that. Going to go through and study for the exam now.

Are there any books apart from Asghar Ghori's book that you would recommend?

Thank you.

[charith1994 · Accepted solution]

Dear friend,

Well best option is the official redhat student workbook.As it can only
obtain through redhat partner institutions course or redhat learning
subscription as a alternative you can use any redhat exam guide book.but if
you try some google search you can find the scan copy of the original
redhat guide book also.Hope this helps you.

[marisadean]

I have taken the official RedHat fast-track course via remote delivery, and watched Sander's videos.

Being honest I found them both really rushed, trying to fit too many topics into each section, talking really fast and piling on the pressure! 

I much prefer the Cloud Guru courses in short 10minute sections, even then I pause every couple of minutes to make a note and check I can remember it, then practise in the playground labs.

The big benefit of the official RedHat course is they give you access to a lab envirnement that sets you challenges then runs a script to test if you got it right or not, these felt great for exam practise.

I really recommend starting by using a book and going at your own pace rather than digital delivery and paid for videos, use that for revision when a bit more confident or you will just be pausing every few seconds and frantically looking through the books or handouts to find out what they are talking about!

As context I have been a RedHat engineer on RH5 & 6 for many years and use it everyday as a sysadmin, RH7/8 was a big knowledge jump and it has felt like learning to walk all over again, to then be expected to run a marathon for the exam!

[Tajeshwar_Khara]

This is great information Marisa. Thank you.

I have felt the same way in the past. You're right the key is to pace it out. I do have a cloud guru subscription and will go through the courses and take my time with them.

I am going through Sander's study guide now and that is more relaxed than the quick paced videos. And the review questions etc give me a chance to see if I remember what was covered in the chapter.

For books then do you recommend I go for this one: Asghar Ghori's book or was there another book that I should consider?

I have found an downloaded the official redhat student workbook as well.

I want to have a good base and be confident before the exam. 

From what I've seen the red hat courses are very expensive. Do you mind sharing how much you paid for the fast track course?

Maybe I'll start with studying on my own via a book and videos and then take a fast track course for revision and to practice the labs...

The training and subscription from what i can see is a bit expensive. I dont work for a company and am just starting out.

I've found this as well:

https://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/learning-subscription

Does this cover the RHCSA exam as well? Im not sure...

[charith1994]

Dear friend,

Learning subscription is a full package of redhat courses,5 exam  and 2 repeats with the lifetime of one year .For my opinion it's not good for a starter and it was there for experience people who have lack of time to study to refresh their knowledge and gain certifications they want quickly.So I suggest you to have  some hands on experience first with the material you have now.For the labs , why build your own lab ?...it will be a good experience to you too.google it ...you will find lot of blog posts their teaching how to make your own labs for redhat exams.....if your too hurry just spin up two centos servers in VMware.....and experiment on.nothing better than learn your own.Use red hat officials docs for  their products (in your case it's rhel 8).They provide those docs in their exam.It's better to families with them early.Give your self some time.Nothing comes in easy.wish you a happy ride 👌

[Tajeshwar_Khara]

Hi Charith,

Thank you.

That makes sense. I will go slow and steady thanks for that good advice.

Yes I have enjoyed installing RHEL 8 on a laptop I had lying around. It is fun to be able to use it now.

Charith can I please ask you one more, maybe unrelated, question?

I am based in India and trying to get my first job in IT. I live in a city in the north called Chandigarh. 

I have been enjoying working with linux so I thought I would do the RHCSA as a starting point in my journey.

Do you think that is a good entry point and could that lead to a remote job?

Or, is there something else I should focus my time on?

I have experience in python and javascript (nodejs) as well. But, apart from generally learning programming and hoping to find a job my hunch was that Red Hat and related certifications seem to have a definite goal - a certification that I can try and achieve and show to potential employers.

I know this is a general question, but it would be nice to get your input on it.

Thanks.