Red Hat RHCSA 10 Cert Guide

Sander van Vugt is an independent Linux trainer, author, and consultant living in the Netherlands. Sander is the author of the best-selling Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) Complete Video Course and the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Complete Video Course. He has also written numerous books about different Linux-related topics and many articles for Linux publications around the world. Sander has been teaching Red Hat, Linux+, and LFCS classes since 1994. As a consultant, he specializes in Linux high-availability solutions and performance optimization. You can find more information about Sander on his website at https://www.sandervanvugt.com.For more information about RHCSA certification and additional resources, visit the author’s Red Hat Certification page at https://www.rhatcert.com/.

• Introduction xxxPart I: Performing Basic System Management TasksChapter 1 Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 3Foundation Topics 6Preparing to Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6What Is Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Server? 6Getting the Software 7Using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7Using CentOS Stream 8Other Distributions 8Understanding Access to Repositories 8Setup Requirements 9Cert Guide Environment Description 10Performing an Installation 10Summary 21Exam Preparation Tasks 21End-of-Chapter Lab 22Chapter 2 Using Essential Tools 25“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 25Foundation Topics 28Basic Shell Skills 28Understanding Commands 28Executing Commands 28I/O Redirection 30Using Pipes 32History 33Bash Completion 35Editing Files with vim 35Editing Files with nano 38Understanding the Shell Environment 39Understanding Variables 39Recognizing Environment Configuration Files 40Using /etc/motd and /etc/issue 41Finding Help 42Using --help 42Using man 42Finding the Right man Page 43Updating mandb 45Using RHEL Lightspeed 46Summary 47Exam Preparation Tasks 47End-of-Chapter Lab 49Chapter 3 Essential File Management Tools 51“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 51Foundation Topics 54Working with the File System Hierarchy 54Defining the File System Hierarchy 54Understanding Mounts 55Managing Files 60Working with Wildcards 60Managing and Working with Directories 60Working with Absolute and Relative Pathnames 61Listing Files and Directories 62Copying Files and Directories 63Moving Files and Directories 64Deleting Files and Directories 65Using Links 66Understanding Hard Links 66Understanding Symbolic Links 67Creating Links 68Removing Links 69Working with Archives and Compressed Files 70Managing Archives with tar 70Creating Archives with tar 71Monitoring and Extracting tar Files 71Using Compression 72Summary 74Exam Preparation Tasks 74End-of-Chapter Lab 76Chapter 4 Working with Text Files 79“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 79Foundation Topics 82Using Common Text File–Related Tools 82Doing More with less 82Showing File Contents with cat 83Displaying the First or Last Lines of a File with head and tail 84Filtering Specific Columns with cut 85Sorting File Contents and Output with sort 85Counting Lines, Words, and Characters with wc 86A Primer to Using Regular Expressions 87Using Line Anchors 88Using Escaping in Regular Expressions 89Using Wildcards and Multipliers 89Using Extended Regular Expressions 90Using grep to Analyze Text 91Working with Other Useful Text Processing Utilities 92Summary 94Exam Preparation Tasks 94End-of-Chapter Lab 96Chapter 5 Connecting to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 99“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 99Foundation Topics 102Working on Local Consoles 102Logging In to a Local Console 102Switching Between Terminals in a Graphical Environment 103Working with Multiple Terminals in a Nongraphical Environment 105Understanding Pseudo Terminal Devices 106Booting, Rebooting, and Shutting Down Systems 107Using SSH and Related Utilities 108Accessing Remote Systems Using SSH 108Securely Transferring Files Between Systems 111Using scp to Securely Copy Files 111Using sftp to Securely Transfer Files 112Using rsync to Synchronize Files 113Configuring Key-Based Authentication for SSH 113Using Passphrases or Not? 114Using Cockpit 114Understanding Cockpit 115Performing Common Tasks with Cockpit 115Summary 116Exam Preparation Tasks 117End-of-Chapter Labs 118Chapter 6 User and Group Management 121“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 121Foundation Topics 124Understanding Different User Types 124Users on Linux 124Working as Root 124Using su 125sudo 126PolicyKit 128Creating and Managing User Accounts 129System Accounts and Normal Accounts 129Creating Users 132Modifying the Configuration Files 133Using useradd 133Home Directories 133Default Shell 134Managing User Properties 134Configuration Files for User Management Defaults 135Managing Password Properties 135Creating a User Environment 136Creating and Managing Group Accounts 137Understanding Linux Groups 137Creating Groups 138Creating Groups with vigr 138Using groupadd to Create Groups 139Managing Group Properties 139Summary 140Exam Preparation Tasks 140End-of-Chapter Labs 142Chapter 7 Permissions Management 145“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 145Foundation Topics 148Managing File Ownership 148Displaying Ownership 148Changing User Ownership 149Changing Group Ownership 149Understanding Default Ownership 150Managing Basic Permissions 151Understanding Read, Write, and Execute Permissions 151Applying Read, Write, and Execute Permissions 152Managing Advanced Permissions 155Understanding Advanced Permissions 155Applying Advanced Permissions 157Setting Default Permissions with umask 159Working with User-Extended Attributes 160Summary 161Exam Preparation Tasks 162Review All Key Topics 162End-of-Chapter Lab 163Chapter 8 Configuring Networking 165“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 165Foundation Topics 168Networking Fundamentals 168IP Addresses 168IPv6 Addresses 169IPv4 Network Masks 169Binary Notation 170MAC Addresses 171Protocol and Ports 171Managing Network Addresses and Interfaces 172Validating Network Configuration 173Validating Network Address Configuration 173Validating Routing 176Validating the Availability of Ports and Services 177Managing Network Configuration with nmtui and nmcli 178Required Permissions to Change Network Configuration 179Configuring the Network with nmcli 180Configuring the Network with nmtui 182Working on Network Configuration Files 184Setting Up Hostname and Name Resolution 185Hostnames 185DNS Name Resolution 187Summary 189Exam Preparation Tasks 189End-of-Chapter Lab 191Part II: Operating Running SystemsChapter 9 Managing Software 193“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 193Foundation Topics 196Managing Software Packages with dnf 196Understanding the Role of Repositories 196Registering Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Support 197Managing Subscriptions 197Specifying Which Repository to Use 198Understanding Repository Security 200Creating Your Own Repository 202Using dnf 204Using dnf to Find Software Packages 204Getting More Information About Packages 206Installing and Removing Software Packages 207Showing Lists of Packages 209Updating Packages 210Using dnf History 214Managing Software Packages with rpm 215Understanding RPM Filenames 216Querying the RPM Database 216Querying RPM Package Files 217Managing Software with Flatpak 219Understanding Flatpak 219Installing Flatpak 220Managing Flatpak Applications 220Summary 221Exam Preparation Tasks 222End-of-Chapter Lab 223Chapter 10 Managing Processes 227“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 227Foundation Topics 230Introducing Process Management 230Managing Shell Jobs 230Running Jobs in the Foreground and Background 230Managing Shell Jobs 231Understanding Parent–Child Relations 233Using Common Command-Line Tools for Process Management 233Understanding Processes and Threads 234Using ps to Get Process Information 235Understanding Process Priorities 237Exploring Relations Between Slices 237Managing Process Priorities 238Sending Signals to Processes with kill, killall, and pkill 239Killing Zombies 241Using top to Manage Processes 242Using tuned to Optimize Performance 244Summary 245Exam Preparation Tasks 246End-of-Chapter Lab 247Chapter 11 Working with Systemd 249“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 249Foundation Topics 252Understanding Systemd 252Understanding Systemd Unit Locations 252Understanding Systemd Service Units 253Understanding Systemd Mount Units 254Understanding Systemd Socket Units 255Understanding Systemd Target Units 256Managing Units Through Systemd 257Managing Dependencies 260Managing Unit Directives 262Summary 265Exam Preparation Tasks 265End-of-Chapter Lab 266Chapter 12 Scheduling Tasks 269“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 269Foundation Topics 272Understanding Task Scheduling Options in RHEL 272Using Systemd Timers 272Configuring cron to Automate Recurring Tasks 274Managing the crond Service 274Understanding cron Timing 276Managing cron Configuration Files 276Understanding the Purpose of anacron 279Managing cron Security 280Configuring at to Schedule Future Tasks 281Summary 281Exam Preparation Tasks 282End-of-Chapter Lab 283Chapter 13 Configuring Logging 285“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 285Foundation Topics 288Understanding System Logging 288Understanding the Role of systemd-journald and rsyslogd 288Reading Log Files 290Understanding Log File Contents 291Live Log File Monitoring 292Working with systemd-journald 292Using journalctl to Find Events 292Preserving the Systemd Journal 296Configuring rsyslogd 298Understanding rsyslogd Configuration Files 298Understanding rsyslog.conf Sections 298Understanding Facilities, Priorities, and Log Destinations 298Rotating Log Files 302Using logger 304Summary 305Exam Preparation Tasks 305End-of-Chapter Lab 306Chapter 14 Managing Storage 309“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 309Foundation Topics 312Understanding MBR and GPT Partitions 312Understanding the MBR Partitioning Scheme 312Understanding the Need for GPT Partitioning 313Understanding Storage Measurement Units 314Managing Partitions and File Systems 315Creating MBR Partitions with fdisk 316Using Extended and Logical Partitions on MBR 318Creating GPT Partitions with fdisk 320Creating GPT Partitions with parted 322Creating File Systems 323Changing File System Properties 325Managing Ext4 File System Properties 325Managing XFS File System Properties 327Adding Swap Partitions 327Adding Swap Files 328Mounting File Systems 329Manually Mounting File Systems 329Using Device Names, UUIDs, or Disk Labels 330Automating File System Mounts Through /etc/fstab 331Using Systemd Mounts 334Summary 335Exam Preparation Tasks 335End-of-Chapter Lab 337Chapter 15 Managing Logical Volumes 339“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 339Foundation Topics 342Understanding LVM 342LVM Architecture 342LVM Features 343Creating LVM Logical Volumes 344Creating the Physical Volumes 346Creating the Volume Groups 350Creating the Logical Volumes and File Systems 351Understanding LVM Device Naming 352Resizing LVM Logical Volumes 354Resizing Volume Groups 354Resizing Logical Volumes and File Systems 354Reducing Volume Groups 356Summary 357Exam Preparation Tasks 357End-of-Chapter Labs 359Part III: Performing Advanced System Administration TasksChapter 16 Basic Kernel Management 361“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 361Foundation Topics 364Understanding the Role of the Linux Kernel 364Understanding the Use of Kernel Threads and Drivers 364Analyzing What the Kernel Is Doing 366Working with Kernel Modules 368Understanding Hardware Initialization 368Managing Kernel Modules 370Checking Driver Availability for Hardware Devices 373Managing Kernel Module Parameters 374Upgrading the Linux Kernel 375Summary 375Exam Preparation Tasks 376End-of-Chapter Lab 377Chapter 17 Managing and Understanding the Boot Procedure 379“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 379Foundation Topics 382Managing Systemd Targets 382Understanding Systemd Targets 382Working with Targets 382Understanding Target Units 383Understanding Wants 384Managing Systemd Targets 384Isolating Targets 385Setting the Default Target 387Working with GRUB 2 388Understanding GRUB 2 388Understanding GRUB 2 Configuration Files 390Modifying Default GRUB 2 Boot Options 390Summary 391Exam Preparation Tasks 391End-of-Chapter Labs 393Chapter 18 Essential Troubleshooting Skills 395“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 395Foundation Topics 398Understanding the RHEL 10 Boot Procedure 398Passing Kernel Boot Arguments 400Accessing the Boot Prompt 400Starting a Troubleshooting Target 401Using a Rescue Disk 403Restoring System Access Using a Rescue Disk 403Reinstalling GRUB Using a Rescue Disk 405Re-creating the Initramfs Using a Rescue Disk 405Fixing Common Issues 406Reinstalling GRUB 2 406Fixing the Initramfs 406Recovering from File System Issues 407Resetting the Root Password 407Summary 409Exam Preparation Tasks 409End-of-Chapter Lab 411Chapter 19 An Introduction to Automation with Bash Shell Scripting 413“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 413Foundation Topics 416Understanding Shell Scripting Core Elements 416Using Variables and Input 418Using Positional Parameters 418Working with Variables 420Using Conditional Loops 422Working with if … then … else 422Using || and && 423Applying for 424Understanding while and until 425Understanding case 426Bash Shell Script Debugging 427Summary 428Exam Preparation Tasks 428End-of-Chapter Lab 429Part IV: Managing Network ServicesChapter 20 Configuring SSH 433“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 433Foundation Topics 436Hardening the SSH Server 436Limiting Root Access 436Configuring Alternative Ports 437Modifying SELinux to Allow for Port Changes 437Limiting User Access 438Using Other Useful sshd Options 439Session Options 440Connection Keepalive Options 440Configuring Key-Based Authentication with Passphrases 441Summary 442Exam Preparation Tasks 442End-of-Chapter Lab 444Chapter 21 Managing Apache HTTP Services 447“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 447Foundation Topics 450Configuring a Basic Apache Server 450Installing the Required Software 450Identifying the Main Configuration File 450Creating Web Server Content 453Understanding Apache Configuration Files 454Creating Apache Virtual Hosts 456Summary 458Exam Preparation Tasks 458End-of-Chapter Lab 459Chapter 22 Managing SELinux 463“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 464Foundation Topics 467Understanding SELinux Working Modes 467Understanding Context Settings and the Policy 471Monitoring Current Context Labels 471Setting Context Types 473Finding the Context Type You Need 476Restoring Default File Contexts 477Managing Port Access 479Using Boolean Settings to Modify SELinux Settings 479Diagnosing and Addressing SELinux Policy Violations 481Making SELinux Analyzing Easier 483Summary 485Exam Preparation Tasks 485End-of-Chapter Lab 486Chapter 23 Configuring a Firewall 489“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 489Foundation Topics 493Understanding Linux Firewalling 493Understanding Previous Firewalling Solutions 493Understanding Firewalld 493Understanding Firewalld Zones 494Understanding Firewalld Services 495Working with Firewalld 496Summary 500Exam Preparation Tasks 500End-of-Chapter Lab 502Chapter 24 Accessing Network Storage 505“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 505Foundation Topics 508Using NFS Services 508Understanding NFS Security 508Setting Up NFS 508Mounting the NFS Share 509Mounting Remote File Systems Through fstab 510Mounting NFS Shares Through fstab 510Using Autofs to Mount Remote File Systems 511Understanding Autofs 512Defining Mounts in Autofs 512Configuring Autofs for NFS 512Using Wildcards in Autofs 513Summary 514Exam Preparation Tasks 514End-of-Chapter Lab 515Chapter 25 Configuring Time Services 517“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 517Foundation Topics 520Understanding Local Time 520Using Network Time Protocol 521Managing Time on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 521Using date 522Using hwclock 522Using timedatectl 523Managing Time Zone Settings 525Configuring Time Service Clients 527Summary 528Exam Preparation Tasks 529End-of-Chapter Lab 530Chapter 26 Final Preparation 533General Tips 533Verifying Your Readiness 533Registering for the Exam 533On Exam Day 534During the Exam 535The Nondisclosure Agreement 536Chapter 27 Theoretical Pre-Assessment Exam 539Part V: RHCSA Practice ExamsRHCSA Practice Exam A 541RHCSA Practice Exam B 543Appendix A Answers to the “Do I Know This Already?” Quizzes and Review Questions 545Appendix BRed Hat RHCSA 10 Cert Guide: EX200 Exam Updates 579Glossary 581Online Elements:RHCSA Practice Exam CRHCSA Practice Exam DAppendix C Memory TablesAppendix D Memory Tables Answer KeyAppendix E Study PlannerGlossary9780135576663    TOC    4/24/2026