EX342

Exam Description 

Prove your skills in analyzing common problems with Red Hat Enterprise Linux

The performance-based Red Hat Certified Advanced System Administrator in Enterprise Linux exam tests your ability to analyze Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® systems for common issues that may cause degradation or loss of performance and either correct the issues or gather forensic information that can be passed along to a third party for support as appropriate.

By passing this exam, you become a Red Hat Certified Advanced System Administrator in Enterprise Linux that also counts towards earning a Red Hat Certified Architect in Enterprise Linux.

This exam is based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 10.2.

Earning a passing score on this exam is a requirement to attain the Red Hat Certified Advanced System Administrator in Enterprise Linux certification. 

Exam Delivery

This is a hands-on, practical exam.  Rather than answering multiple-choice questions, you are required to perform routine system tasks on a live system to meet specific objective criteria.

The tasks are based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 10.2  Relevant product documentation is provided during the test, but you must complete the tasks without outside assistance.

Exam results are reported via email from Red Hat Certification Central.  Red Hat does not authorize examiners or training partners to report results to candidates directly. Scores on the exam are usually reported within 3 U.S. business days.

Exam results are reported as total scores. Red Hat does not report performance on individual items, nor will it provide additional information upon request. 

Multiple versions of this exam are in use. Please navigate directly to the Learning Management System (LMS) to view and complete your designated exam version at Red Hat Certification Exam Objectives by Version.

Exam Format

Be sure to review the Red Hat Certification Program Guide to ensure you are familiar with all official policies and exam procedures before booking your session.

 The time limit for this exam is 4 hours.

Exam Objectives

• Understand and employ general methods for troubleshooting
  • Consult documentation resources to aid in troubleshooting
  • Monitor systems for vital characteristics
  • Monitor systems with the RHEL Web console
  • Configure systems using Ansible
  • Configure systems to send log messages to a centralized host
  • Configure systems to monitor files and directories using AIDE
• Diagnose and troubleshoot system startup issues
  • Identify and resolve service failures affecting boot
  • Regain root control of a system
  • Troubleshoot boot issues
  • Identify hardware and hardware problems
  • Manage kernel modules and their parameters
• Diagnose and troubleshoot file system issues
  • Recover corrupted file systems
  • Recover misconfigured or broken LVM configurations
  • Recover data from encrypted file systems
• Resolve package management issues
  • Resolve package management dependency issues
  • Recover a corrupted RPM database.
  • Identify and report changed files
• Troubleshoot and fix network connectivity issues
  • Use standard tools to verify network connectivity
  • Identify and fix network connectivity issues
  • Inspect network traffic to aid troubleshooting
• Diagnose application issues
  • Identify library dependencies for third-party software
  • Identify if an application suffers from memory leaks
  • Use standard tools to debug an application
  • Identify and fix issues related to SELinux
• Identify and fix authentication issues
  • Identify and fix pluggable authentication module (PAM) issues
  • Identify and enforce local user account policies
• Gather information to aid third-party investigation of issues
  • Create kernel crash dumps
  • Collect system information to aid in troubleshooting

Target Audience

• System Administrators responsible for diagnosing, troubleshooting, and resolving complex system failures, storage issues, and network connectivity problems in RHEL environments.
• Site Reliability Engineers focused on deep-dive root cause analysis, application debugging, memory leak detection, and gathering forensic diagnostic data for enterprise workloads.
• Certification Candidates: Current Red Hat Certified System Administrators (RHCSAs) seeking to earn their Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) or Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA) credential.

Performance Rule

As with all Red Hat performance-based exams, configurations and services must persist and remain functional across the normal lifecycle of the platform without requiring manual intervention to restore or start them. 

Recommended Preparation

• Red Hat recommends that candidates for Red Hat Certified Advanced System Administrator in Enterprise Linux have:
• Taken Red Hat Enterprise Linux Diagnostics and Troubleshooting (RH342) or have similar experience troubleshooting Red Hat Enterprise Linux deployments.
• Earned Red Hat Certified System Administrator or have equivalent systems administration experience.
• Take our free assessment to find the course that best supports your preparation for this exam.

We recommend completing our no-cost skills assessment before enrolling in any Red Hat Training or Certification.  Learn more.

Find your path forward. Explore recommended courses and certifications tailored to your experience level and career goals. View skills paths.

A Red Hat Certified Technologist has proven, in a live environment, the foundational skills to install, configure, and maintain Red Hat technology within a specific Red Hat product family, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, OpenShift, or Ansible. For employers, this credential signifies the holder has demonstrated the baseline competency required to support Red Hat environments reliably from day one. This individual is typically on a defined path toward becoming a Red Hat Certified System Administrator or Red Hat Certified Developer.

Scores and Reporting

Official scores for exams come exclusively from Red Hat Certification Central.  Red Hat does not authorize examiners or training partners to report results to candidates directly.  Scores on the exam are usually reported within 3 U.S. business days.  Exam results are reported as total scores.  Red Hat does not report performance on individual items, nor will it provide additional information upon request.