One of the oldest Linux certification providers is the very well-known Red Hat Linux organisation, which was also an early Linux commercial success. Possibly capitalising on the recognition given Microsoft’s MCSE, Red Hat produced the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) designation in 1999. Three years later they announced a lower-level Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT) title. They have since added Red Hat Certified Security Specialist (RHCSS) and Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA) – this last one being a premium title which demonstrated advanced mastery of the OS. The RHCA is attained by holding an RHCE then taking a further five exams which range in duration from two to eight hours. It really is not for the faint of heart.

Having been in operation for eight years, Red Hat’s training and certification is highly evolved and as such is too complex to describe in an article like this. It is worth checking out Red Hat’s site directly for the multitude of exams and courses. Training can be readily found throughout North America but the rest of the world does not fare as well. Fortunately, many subjects can be taken online.

Red Hat’s certifications expire after the second major release since your credential was earned; so, if you are certified today against Red Hat 7, your qualification is recognised until the release of Red Hat 9.

Due to its rigorous testing process, and despite its partiality to one vendor, the Red Hat certification process is arguably the most prestigious of the Linux qualifications; by passing, the individual has demonstrated their genuine ability to configure and administer Linux servers. Anyone serious about proving their mettle would do well to genuinely consider the challenge offered by Red Hat.

Unfortunately, the specific exam locations – as well as the lack of training options, let alone the price – may not be practicable for everyone.

CompTIA, LPI and Red Hat are not the only certification providers by any means. Novell have introduced two streams – Novell Certified Linux Professional and Novell Certified Linux Engineer. Despite the generic “Linux” in the title, these focus on SUSE Linux.

Similarly, Ubuntu fans may like to consider our old friend LPI. Somewhat oddly, and juxtaposed against their stated vendor-neutrality, LPI offer an Ubuntu certification which consists of a single $US 100 exam taken on top of the two LPIC-1 exams. Successful completion of all three grants the title of Ubuntu Certified Professional.

Another early Linux cert, along with Red Hat, was the SAIR Linux/GNU certification. Despite its early footing it never reached the same level of prestige largely due to its several changes of ownership and associated lack of sustained consistent development.

Finally, BrainBench.com offer cheap Linux assessment exams. These do not proffer to confer any title upon the test taker, but do give printable certificates which can be included with resumes and which do meet the goal of independently measuring competency to a specific standard. However, the biggest downfall of BrainBench.com is that the examinations are administered online and there are no checks that the exam was undertaken within a controlled environment. There is absolutely nothing stopping a person achieving a BrainBench.com certificate with the site open in one browser window and Google in another. This greatly distils any value the site may offer, because it is inherently untrustworthy.

While not Linux, it also must be mentioned that MySQL offer certification examinations also. There are two streams (developer and DBA) which both are achieved through successful completion of two exams. There are other Linux-sympathetic paths that can be followed, like Java development, or networking or even other variations of UNIX like Sun Microsystem’s Solaris admin certs.

And that’s Linux certification in a nutshell! My recommendation is, if it is feasible for you, to strive for Red Hat’s accolades. Failing that, LPI is the next best thing and has a lot of respect.

CompTIA’s Linux+ is reputable by association with a trusted brand but falls short of really proving you know your stuff; I can’t escape the feeling it instead shows the potential of a junior Linux admin wanting to go further, rather than the worth of a true pro. And if you want a certificate the easiest way possible, go with BranBench – just don’t expect anyone to really treat it too seriously.

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