← Back to All Roadmaps

🐧 Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) EX200 Roadmap

Master Red Hat Enterprise Linux system administration with this comprehensive 8-week roadmap. Learn essential system management, networking, security, and automation skills required for the performance-based RHCSA exam.

8 Weeks to Complete
350+ Practice Questions
65 Flashcards
3 Hands-on Projects

📋 Certification Overview

The Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) is an entry-level certification that validates core Linux system administration skills. Unlike multiple-choice exams, the RHCSA is entirely performance-based, requiring candidates to perform real system administration tasks on live systems.

🎯 Exam Code

EX200

⏱️ Duration

3 hours (180 minutes)

📝 Format

Performance-based (hands-on tasks)

💰 Cost

$400 USD (includes one retake)

✅ Passing Score

210/300 (70%)

🔄 Validity

3 years

📚 RHEL Version

RHEL 9 (current)

🌐 Delivery

Test center or Remote exam

🗺️ 8-Week Study Roadmap

1

Essential System Tools & File Management

Week 1
  • Access shell prompt and run commands using correct syntax
  • Use input-output redirection (>, >>, |, 2>, &>)
  • Use grep and regular expressions to analyze text
  • Access remote systems using SSH
  • Log in and switch users in multi-user targets
  • Archive, compress, unpack, and decompress files (tar, gzip, bzip2)
  • Create, delete, copy, and move files and directories
  • Create and manage hard and soft links
  • List, set, and change standard file permissions
2

User & Group Management

Week 2
  • Create, delete, and modify local user accounts
  • Change passwords and adjust password aging for user accounts
  • Create, delete, and modify local groups and group memberships
  • Configure superuser access (sudo, visudo)
  • Understand and use /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/group
  • Set default file creation permissions with umask
  • Configure Access Control Lists (setfacl, getfacl)
  • Manage special permissions (SUID, SGID, sticky bit)
3

Networking & Services

Week 3
  • Configure networking using NetworkManager (nmcli, nmtui)
  • Configure static and dynamic IP addresses
  • Configure hostname resolution (/etc/hosts, DNS)
  • Start, stop, and check the status of network services
  • Start and stop services with systemctl
  • Enable and disable services at boot
  • Configure time service (chrony)
  • Diagnose and manage network connectivity (ping, traceroute, ss, netstat)
4

Storage Management & File Systems

Week 4
  • List, create, and delete partitions (fdisk, parted)
  • Create and configure file systems (ext4, xfs)
  • Mount and unmount file systems
  • Configure persistent mounts using /etc/fstab
  • Configure and manage swap space
  • Create and configure logical volumes (LVM)
  • Extend logical volumes and file systems
  • Create and use Stratis storage (RHEL 8+)
  • Configure systems to mount file systems at boot time
5

SELinux & Security

Week 5
  • Set SELinux modes (enforcing, permissive, disabled)
  • List and identify SELinux file and process contexts
  • Restore default file contexts with restorecon
  • Use SELinux booleans (getsebool, setsebool)
  • Diagnose and troubleshoot SELinux policy violations
  • Configure basic firewall settings (firewalld, firewall-cmd)
  • Configure SSH key-based authentication
  • Set enforcing and permissive modes for individual domains
6

System Management & Automation

Week 6
  • Schedule tasks using cron and anacron
  • Schedule tasks using at and batch
  • Manage system services and daemons with systemd
  • Boot, reboot, and shut down a system normally
  • Boot systems into different targets manually
  • Locate and interpret system log files (journalctl, rsyslog)
  • Preserve system journals (persistent journald logging)
  • Analyze and troubleshoot boot process
7

Package Management & Containers

Week 7
  • Install, update, and remove packages using DNF/YUM
  • Configure repositories (yum.repos.d)
  • Install Red Hat signed packages from RPM
  • Work with package module streams
  • Pull container images from registries
  • Run containers with Podman
  • Perform basic container management (create, start, stop, inspect)
  • Attach persistent storage to containers
  • Configure containers to start automatically as systemd services
8

Advanced Topics & Exam Preparation

Week 8
  • Interrupt boot process to gain access to a system
  • Reset root password
  • Identify CPU/memory intensive processes
  • Adjust process scheduling priorities (nice, renice)
  • Manage tuning profiles with tuned
  • Configure NFS mounts and autofs
  • Practice full-length mock exams
  • Review all objectives and weak areas
  • Time management strategies for the exam

💼 Career Paths After RHCSA

Entry Level: Linux System Administrator

Start your career managing Linux infrastructure in enterprise environments.

Average Salary $60,000 - $80,000/year
Responsibilities Server maintenance, user management, backup operations, basic troubleshooting
Next Certifications RHCE, Linux+ , LFCS

Mid-Level: Senior Linux Administrator / DevOps Engineer

Advance to automation, orchestration, and cloud infrastructure management.

Average Salary $90,000 - $130,000/year
Responsibilities Infrastructure automation (Ansible), CI/CD pipelines, containerization, cloud migration
Next Certifications RHCE (EX294), CKA, AWS Solutions Architect

Senior Level: Cloud Architect / Site Reliability Engineer

Design and manage large-scale Linux infrastructure across hybrid and cloud environments.

Average Salary $140,000 - $200,000+/year
Responsibilities Architecture design, performance optimization, capacity planning, disaster recovery, mentoring
Next Certifications RHCA, CKS, AWS/Azure/GCP Professional certifications

🎯 Last 4 Weeks: Intensive Exam Preparation

With 4 weeks until your exam, shift focus to intensive practice and exam simulation. The RHCSA is 100% hands-on, so keyboard proficiency and time management are critical.

Week -4: Build Muscle Memory

  • Practice all Objective Tasks 3 times each
  • Set up 2 VM environments (RHEL 9 or CentOS Stream 9)
  • Memorize common commands without referencing notes
  • Focus on: LVM, SELinux, firewalld, systemd
  • Daily: 2 hours of command-line practice

Week -3: Timed Lab Scenarios

  • Complete 3 full mock exams under timed conditions (3 hours each)
  • Practice break-fix scenarios (intentionally misconfigured systems)
  • Master troubleshooting: boot issues, SELinux denials, network problems
  • Review /etc/fstab, /etc/default/grub, /etc/sysconfig/ configurations
  • Focus on weak areas identified in mock exams

Week -2: Speed & Verification Drills

  • Practice each task objective in under 5 minutes
  • Build verification checklists (how to confirm each task is complete)
  • Practice common exam scenarios: user creation, LVM extension, service configuration
  • Learn to use man pages efficiently during the exam
  • Practice exam environment simulation (no Internet, only man pages)

Week -1: Final Review & Mental Preparation

  • Complete 2 final mock exams (aim for 85%+ score)
  • Review all flashcards daily
  • Practice emergency scenarios: Reset root password, boot into rescue mode
  • Read through all exam objectives (ensure nothing is missed)
  • Rest well the night before - hands-on exams require sharp focus
  • Day before exam: light review only, no new material

📝 Exam Day Tips

  • Read all questions first: Spend first 10 minutes reading all tasks to understand scope
  • Do easy tasks first: Build confidence and secure early points
  • Verify after each task: Always test your work (restart services, check mounts, etc.)
  • Use man pages: You have access to full documentation - use 'man -k' to search
  • Reboot is your friend: Test persistence by rebooting the VM
  • Time management: Allocate ~10 minutes per major objective, leave 30 min for review
  • Don't panic on errors: SELinux denials and permission errors are common - use troubleshooting skills
  • Save partial credit: Even if you can't complete a task perfectly, do what you can

🚀 Practice Resources

Available on PrepKloud

  • 350+ Practice Questions: Command-based questions covering all EX200 objectives
  • 65 Flashcards: Quick review of essential commands and concepts
  • 3 Hands-on Projects: Real-world enterprise scenarios requiring multi-step solutions
  • Progress Tracking: Monitor your preparation and identify weak areas
Start Practicing RHCSA EX200

📚 Additional Learning Resources

Official Red Hat Resources

  • Red Hat Training: RH124 (System Administration I) and RH134 (System Administration II)
  • Red Hat Learning Subscription: On-demand access to all courses and hands-on labs
  • Red Hat Exam Prep: RH200 (RHCSA Rapid Track) - combines RH124 and RH134

Free Lab Environments

  • VirtualBox/VMware: Install RHEL 9 or CentOS Stream 9 for practice
  • Red Hat Developer Subscription: Free RHEL license for development use
  • Rocky Linux or AlmaLinux: RHEL-compatible distributions for practice
  • Katacoda/KillerCoda: Free browser-based Linux environments

Community Resources

  • r/redhat, r/linuxadmin: Reddit communities for RHCSA discussions
  • Red Hat Learning Community: Official forums for certification candidates
  • GitHub: RHCSA practice exam repositories and study guides