Red Hat Inc. provides open source software solutions to more than 90% of the Fortune 500 companies, including internet service providers, airlines, healthcare companies and commercial banks. The company has been around for more than two decades and is well known for its Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) distribution. Red Hat provides a fully open technology stack, which you can alter to suit your needs – you’re not locked into the vendor’s vision of the software or stack components. Red Hat’s portfolio of products and services also include JBoss middleware, cross-platform virtualization, cloud computing (CloudForms and OpenStack) and much more.

Red Hat offers numerous professional certifications based on its software products, including operating systems, virtualization, storage and cloud-based solutions.

Red Hat certification program overview

The Red Hat certification program aims at system administrators, engineers, architects, enterprise developers, and application administrators, as well as cloud and virtualization administrators, who use RHEL in their IT infrastructures. The certification program aims to ensure that candidates are proficient in RHEL by requiring them to pass performance-based certification exams. Whereas many certification exams ask multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank questions about specific technologies, Red Hat requires you to perform and complete real-world tasks using Red Hat technologies to pass its exams.

Red Hat traditionally offered certification exams only upon completion of a training course. Now you can take a Red Hat test on your own schedule, outside of training, if you like. Each test session is performed on a secured system in a professionally proctored testing center. These centers are located in select cities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

Once you earn a Red Hat certification, you become a Red Hat Certified Professional. This gives you access to Red Hat Certification Central, which allows you to connect with potential employers, join the Red Hat community, create study groups and collaborate on projects. In addition, you can explore Red Hat’s training options and easily schedule individual test sessions. Discounts on recertification exams are offered there as well.

Red Hat Administrator, Engineer and Architect certifications

The largest group of Red Hat certifications is geared toward system administrators, engineers and architects. Some of the most popular and sought-after Red Hat certifications reside in this category, such as the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA), Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA).

The RHCA is probably Red Hat’s most versatile credential. In 2018, Red Hat implemented several changes to the RHCA program. The most notable change is that Red Hat now offers two separate RHCA credentials: the Red Hat Certified Architect in Enterprise Applications and the Red Hat Certified Architect in Infrastructure. Over the past year, Red Hat has retired a great many of its credentials, as you can see from the long list of “Retired Certifications” on the company’s All Certifications page. Candidates who have previously passed certification exams that are now retired may still be able to apply those retired certifications to current certification tracks. Check the certification overview page for each certification to find more details.

RHCSA: Red Hat Certified System Administrator

The RHCSA certification is designed for experienced Red Hat administrators and is required by some organizations to meet U.S. Department of Defense Directive 8570. It’s also a prerequisite credential for the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE).

Red Hat recommends three training classes to prepare for the RHCSA certification. The Windows admin classes are Red Hat System Administration I (RH124) and Red Hat System Administration II (RH134). Candidates may also take a Linux/UNIX admin class – RHCSA Rapid Track Course RH199 – to prepare for the RHCSA exam.

To obtain RHCSA certification, candidates must pass the 2.5 hour RHCSA test (EX200).

RHCE: Red Hat Certified Engineer

The RHCE certification is geared toward experienced senior system administrators and fulfills requirements of U.S. Department of Defense Directive 8570.

To obtain the RHCE certification, you must first become RHCSA certified. The recommended training for the RHCE certification is based on your skill level. Windows admins with minimal Linux experience should take the Red Hat System Administration I and II (RH124 and RH134) courses, along with the Red Hat System Administration III (RH254) course to prepare for the exam.

Linux or UNIX admins with one to three years of experience should take both the RHCSA Rapid Track Course (RH199) and the Red Hat System Administration III (RH254) courses to prepare for the exam. RHCEs looking to recertify, or candidates who’d like the opportunity to engage in a lab-based review before taking the RHCE exam, should take the RHCE Certification lab (RH299). The certification lab is a four-day, instructor-led opportunity to work through all of the labs from the Red Hat System Administration I, II and III courses, along with the Rapid Track course.

To complete the RHCE certification, you must pass the 3.5-hour RHCE test (EX300), which is currently based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.

RHCA: Red Hat Certified Architect

The RHCA certification is the pinnacle cert in the Red Hat Certification program. Red Hat has changed the RHCA program to be more flexible that previous incarnations of the program, depending on the candidate’s particular areas of interest and expertise. Currently, Red Hat offers two RHCA credentials:

• RHCA in Infrastructure for Red Hat Certified Engineers (RHCE); and
• RHCA in Enterprise Applications for Red Hat Certified Enterprise Microservices Developer (RHCEMD) or Red Hat Certified JBoss Developers (RHCJD)

Red Hat recommends certain specific certification combinations to achieve the RHCA in Infrastructure or RHCA in Enterprise Applications. Candidates are free to follow the recommended path or select their own certifications based on their professional interests and requirements.

The RHCA in Enterprise Applications has three recommended certifications combinations: application acceleration, and integration; application automation; or DevOps, containers, and OpenShift. While not required, Red Hat recommends that all candidates obtain the Red Hat Certified Specialist in OpenShift Application Development and Red Hat Certified Specialist in Enterprise Application Server Administrations.

There are four recommended certification combinations for the RHCA in Infrastructure: open hybrid cloud; DevOps, containers, and OpenShift; Red Hat OpenStack Platform; and Linux mastery.

RHCA Exams

The number of recommended training courses varies for each RHCA concentration (RHCS means “Red Hat Certified Specialist” in the preceding table). At present only candidates who’ve already taken the retired exams in the DevOps category can earn RHCA: DevOps (hopefully, Red Hat will rectify this situation, or retire the credential). There is also some overlap in training course recommendations as shown in the table below.

Red Hat Cloud and Virtualization Administrator certifications

Formerly, Red Hat offered certifications geared toward IT professionals familiar with Red Hat virtualization and cloud technologies. In addition to the RHCA: Cloud (mentioned previously in this article), one could find the Red Hat Certified Virtualization Administrator, Red Hat Certified System Administrator in Red Hat OpenStack and the Red Hat Certified Engineer in Red Hat OpenStack. Today, that last item – namely, RHCE in Red Hat OpenStack – is the only remaining member of this category still available.

The Red Hat Certified Engineer in Red Hat OpenStack focuses on IT professionals who possess the skills necessary to install, deploy, and work with Red Hat Ceph Storage, including creation of block devices for Ceph and integration of services with Ceph Storage devices. In addition, Certified Engineers in Red Hat OpenStack can create and manage devices for virtual networks and use the OpenStack Neutron Service. Candidates must possess the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) in Red Hat OpenStack Platform 8 to qualify for the credential. In addition to the RHCSA test (EX210), candidates must also pass Red Hat Certified System Engineer in Red Hat OpenStack (EX310), a three-hour performance-based exam. Red Hat recommends that candidates take the Red Hat OpenStack System Administration Red Hat OpenStack Administration I (CL 110), II (CL210) and III (CL310) courses to prepare.

With the majority of Fortune 500 companies currently using Red Hat open source solutions, the value of IT professionals well-versed in Red Hat Linux technologies has long been recognized. Trained Red Hat professionals are a key ingredient to the successful creation and maintenance of Red Hat solutions that deliver enduring value.

Regardless of the type of Red Hat technology deployed, there is a consistent, established ongoing requirement for IT professionals qualified to serve as administrators, system engineers and architects.

System administrators are the foundation of deploying Red Hat Linux solutions. As operating system experts, system administrators possess an in-depth knowledge of essential Linux tools, as well as file systems and storage. Typical responsibilities include creating, configuring, deploying, and maintaining Linux systems along with performing software updates and maintaining system security.

Red Hat Linux system engineers are the next logical next step in the career ladder for Red Hat professionals. Not only do system engineers possess the same skills as administrators, but they are masters at setting runtime parameters and automating system maintenance through shell scripting. Linux system engineers are also experts at configuring system and remote logging, static routes (including packet filter and translation of network addresses), Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) initiators, and network services such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Network Time Protocol (NTP), secure shell (SSH), and more.

If system administrators are the foundation of deploying Red Hat solutions, architects are the authors and finishers when it comes to implementing, deploying, and maintaining Red Hat solutions. Architects define Red Hat Linux programs and are involved in all phases of Red Hat design projects – creation, development and testing of proposed solutions, integration with existing systems, defining the overall solution architecture, and providing support as the solution moves into production. As subject matter experts, Red Hat Linux architects formulate and deliver RHEL technology recommendations, create required documentation, and provide installation guidance and assistance.

Red Hat training and resources

Red Hat offers an extensive training program: in-classroom, online, virtual, remote classroom, onsite team and online learning lab formats are available. Most courses are three to five days in length, depending on delivery format. A remarkably helpful resource is the Red Hat Training Resource Center, which contains links to online tools, references, student guides, a skills assessment and more.

Red Hat now offers the Red Hat Learning Subscription, which gives certification candidates access to a multitude of online, on-demand classes and test prep videos for an annual subscription fee that varies depending on the specific certification you seek. In addition, Red Hat offers multiple ways for you or your company to save on certification and training costs. Browse the Red Hat Ways to Save page for training bundles and success packs.

You can also find lots of third-party study guidebooks to prepare for certification exams. Just search for “Red Hat Certification” on Amazon and be prepared for a lot of results.

Some people still insist that OpenStack, the open-source Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud, is dead. They are so, so wrong. By Statista's count, OpenStack is the most popular open-source cloud of all. And what's more important for Red Hat is that telecoms, such as Verizon cellular and 5G networks, live and die by OpenStack. So, it comes as no surprise when Red Hat rolled out Red Hat OpenStack Platform (RHOP) 17 at Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas Wednesday, the company talked up how OpenStack and telecom work hand-in-hand. 

I mean, when you're talking about over 2.5 billion mobile users running on RHOP, you're talking real money.  

With this release, Red Hat also emphasized how it's working ever closer with its Kubernetes-based OpenShift release. Some people labor under the delusion that OpenStack and Kubernetes are rivals. They're not. They can, as Red Hat is showing, work together to get the benefits of both virtual machines and containers. 

Maria Bracho, OpenStack's principal product manager, explained, "We have found over the last couple of years that the conversation is not a religious dispute between the two platforms but rather where their workloads are served best." So, OpenStack 17 now supports a virtualized control plane that runs with OpenShift. This enables users to run both Kubernetes-based cloud-native services and virtual machines (VMs) on the same cloud. 

Also: What's what in the Securing Open Source Software Act

At the same time, if you want to run OpenShift on bare metal, then work with OpenShift and OpenStack together when that works better for your workloads, you can. Bracho added, "We've done a ton of work to make sure that the platforms can be used together. In addition, you can run both virtual network functions (VNFs) and cloud-native network functions (CNFs) on the paired platforms. There is also an open virtual network (OVN) migration tool to validate migrations between Open vSwitch (OVS) and OVN and offload support for smartNICs. There's also a tech preview of role-based access control (RBAC) with increased enforcement across OpenStack services for more security." 

The updated OpenStack 17 also boasts dynamic resource allocation to support "lighter" deployments. These are deployments, such as for edge computing, that don't require as many services. 

While the new RHOP will appeal mostly to telecoms, it remains a solid platform for other use cases. These include private clouds, public clouds, and edge deployments. Indeed, anyone who wants to control their own cloud rather than trusting their services to one of the hypercloud companies, such as Amazon Web Services, Azure, or Google Cloud, should consider RHOP. 

Related stories:

Red Hat is the Linux distro security leader. And with its latest Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) beta releases, RHEL 8.7 and 9.1, the Linux powerhouse company is continuing to stake out its security claims.

Red Hat is releasing both of these betas at once because while RHEL 9 includes the existing features, there are not a lot of practical differences between the two RHEL distros. Eric Hendricks, RHEL's operations advocate, added that some companies prefer sticking to the tried and true. 

In any case, RHEL 8 will continue to be fully supported with new features until May 2024. Afterward, RHEL 8 goes into maintenance support mode. There, it will still get critical and important security patches -- and if Red Hat so decides, other patches. 

Also: The 5 best linux distros for beginners: You can do this 

In these beta releases, for its older RHEL 8.x and its new RHEL 9.x distros, Red Hat is implementing new built-in security features and profiles. These include:

• RHEL identity access management (IAM) now incorporates new Ansible, Red Hat's DevOps program, tooling to configure smart card authentication across their entire business.  

• On the other hand, RHEL can now use other IAM services, such as those provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and others. RHEL has long supported Active Directory (AD) as a third-party IAM resource.

RHEL 9.1 also supports multilevel security (MLS) to match government classified security classifications with IAM. An RHEL 9.1 administrator can also remotely verify the integrity of the remote operating systems' boot environment for extra low-level security.

Red Hat is also improving its Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) with Secure Software Supply Chain methodologies. Red Hat did this by adopting Sigstore, the well-regarded open-source software signing service for its build pipelines and tools. This, in turn, makes RHEL and programs built with it much more trustworthy. 

The company is also incorporating Sigstore into its Podman, its Open Containers Initiative (OCI) rival to Docker. Since Podman works natively with Kubernetes, the incredibly popular cloud orchestration tool, it's become very popular in its own right. 

As usual with RHEL updates, both betas include the latest coding tools, container tools, computer languages, compilers, open-source databases, and web and cache servers. These include:

• GCC-toolset 12, and the GCC 12 compiler to RHEL 8.

• New Rust-toolset, LLVM-toolset, and Go-toolset updates.

• Ruby 3.1, Maven 3.8. .NET 7, and Node.js 18. 

• RHEL 8.1 also includes Mercurial 6.2, the existing Mercurial distributed source control management tool.

• While RHEL 9.1 includes the major PHP 8.1 language update. This is not your dad's PHP.

Also: These are the absolute best linux distros for pros 

Put it all together, and you get Linux distros that are ideal for both system and cloud administrators, and programmers. They deserve your attention. In particular, if you work a lot with PHP, RHEL 9.1 will help you get started with the latest, greatest PHP release.

“The 360” shows you diverse perspectives on the day’s top stories and debates.

What’s happening

For much of modern American history, debates have been seen as a more or less essential part of any major political campaign. As much as candidates might squabble over the details ahead of time or claim they were mistreated after the fact, it was broadly assumed that they would at some point — or, frequently, more than once — meet in a formal face-off in front of the voters.

But that tradition has eroded over latest election cycles to the point where it’s become a genuine question whether some of the most important races in this year’s midterms might feature any debates at all. In state after state, candidates have been squabbling over the timing, circumstances and number of debates.

The debate over debates has been a central theme in Senate races in two of the most closely watched current contests. In Pennsylvania, Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz has repeatedly accused his Democratic opponent, John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May, of trying to avoid debates. A similar dynamic is happening in Georgia, but with the party affiliations reversed. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock had called out GOP challenger Herschel Walker for “dodging” several debate opportunities before the two campaigns came to an agreement on a single date next month. Both Fetterman and Walker eventually agreed to debate at least once.

The debate issue has emerged in a number of other races across the country. In Missouri, the Republican Senate candidate was a no-show at a candidate forum last week. It’s still unclear whether there will be any debates in the race for Pennsylvania governor. GOP candidate Doug Mastriano, who was at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 assault, has refused to participate in a traditional debate with an independent moderator. One key contest that definitely won’t include a debate is for governor of Arizona. Democrat Katie Hobbs has said she won’t debate “conspiracy theorist” Kari Lake, a Republican who has enthusiastically endorsed former President Trump’s lies about the 2020 presidential election.

Why there’s controversy

There are a number of theories for why candidates have become increasingly skeptical of debates, including a belief that the potential risks of gaffes greatly outweigh the rewards of a strong performance and the lack of perceived consequences for skipping them. Some also point to the GOP’s general rejection of the mainstream media, which typically provides a platform for political debates.

There’s also disagreement over whether this trend really matters. Debate advocates say the events offer a critical opportunity for voters to learn about the candidates and their policy positions outside of hyper-calculated campaign ads and stump speeches. They say debates can serve as a proving ground for those who voters may have questions about the aspiring politicians’ fitness for office. Many also worry that the decline in debates is a troubling symptom of a much broader shift in which lawmakers increasingly feel they don’t have to be accountable to the people they represent.

But others make the case that it doesn’t really matter whether candidates debate in person. They point to a significant body of research that suggests debate performance has little to no effect on the results of even close races. Some also argue that skill at debating is in no way representative of how someone will perform in public office.

What’s next

Debates have been scheduled in many of the high-profile Senate races across the country, all of them set to be held in October. It remains to be seen whether those events actually take place and whether they’ll play any role in deciding which party controls Congress for the next two years.

Perspectives

Healthy debates make a healthy democracy

“The value of debating in a democracy shouldn’t be understated. It’s a proven part of the process that helps voters become informed and make decisions on who is best to represent them in government. Voters deserve to know where candidates stand on certain issues, and debates and candidate forums are one of the best tools we have.” — Geoff Foster, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, to WGBH

Debates aren’t as enlightening for voters as many seem to think

“There’s not a lot of evidence we learn that much from debates in terms of policy content because the people who tend to watch debates are those who know a lot about the candidate and are tuning in to see their candidate win the same way you watch a sports game.” — Megan Goldberg, political scientist, to KCRG

Voters deserve a chance to see candidates as they really are

“The knock on debates is no one cares about them except the press. That they’re purely platforms for media outlets and media members. But they are more than that. They can show a candidate’s demeanor and temperament. How a candidate responds when challenged. They deliver voters the chance to hear candidate views. In their own words. In real time. Not through handlers. Not with press or pundit interruptions.” — John Baer, Penn Live

Good debaters don’t necessarily make good leaders

“There is campaigning, and there is governing. Two different things. … Campaign choices make a big difference, and the public cannot be expected to follow issues as closely as political professionals. And yet … in the end, it is governing that really matters.” — Nelson Morgan, Arizona Republic

Most debates are unimportant, but they can occasionally be decisive in close races

“General-election debates are usually dry affairs for which the competing camps have spent weeks preparing each candidate on how to avoid walking into political traps and rehearsing a few zingers that they hope the media will focus on in their post-mortem stories. But in very close races, small mistakes can prove decisive, or at least knock a campaign in the wrong direction for a few days.” — Paul Kane, Washington Post

Without real punishment for skipping them, a lot of candidates will see debates as unnecessary

“I like debates. I think candidates should do them & they risk bad press by not doing them. But from a campaign's perspective: 1. Debate prep takes a LOT of time 2. On an event with your opponent that rarely moves the needle 3. unless you screw up. So … if it's the case that you can skip debating, and the bad press doesn't matter because voters don't really care, then campaigns have every reason to skip them and spend more time on their own campaign activities.” — Bill Scher, political analyst

The debate over debates allows candidates to distract from issues that really matter

“The debates themselves are shaping up to be major campaign issues. It’s tedious, and it does not serve the voters.” — Editorial, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The decline of debates is a sign of how badly partisanship has splintered the country

“I don’t know how much utility they have … on the other hand, I do think it’s just a sad symptom of where we are in terms of polarization and candidates willingness … to even be in the same space with each other and talk about the same issues. It feels a little depressing to me.” — Amelia Thomson-Deveaux, FiveThirtyEight

Debates could play an important role in helping restore civility to U.S. politics

“I am hopeful we can get back to the ideal of debate, which allows citizens to be informed on the issues they need to confront. We are in a serious crisis of democracy, and we need to be able to figure out how to disagree without moving into the language of civil war.” — Tom Hollihan, political communication researcher, to U.S. News & World Report

Is there a syllabu you’d like to see covered in “The 360”? Send your suggestions to the360@yahoonews.com.

Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images

Red Hat is set to launch the beta of the latest version of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) platform, dubbed the 8.7 and 9.1 milestones. 

Both RHEL 8.7 and 9.1 add new features and capabilities designed to help organizations more effectively use its Podman containers.