RHCSA(17): All GNU/Linux Commands That an RHCSA Must Master (grouped by exam objectives)
Executive Summary
In this episode of the RHCSA Series Podcast, we'll go through an ASCII tree to summarize the GNU/Linux commands that an RHCSA must master.
Think of this ASCII tree as your treasure map to certification. It is a complete roadmap that shows you exactly what Red Hat expects you to know. We'll start with the absolute basics, the tools you'll be typing every single day, and build all the way up to the advanced skills that separate the pros from the beginners. By the end of this episode, you'll see the entire landscape of the exam and know exactly where to focus your energy.
First, we'll cover your daily toolkit. This is all about managing files, installing and removing software with dnf, and handling users and groups. We'll make sure you're comfortable controlling system services with systemctl, the heartbeat of a modern Linux system.
Then, we shift gears to something that trips a lot of people up: storage. We will demystify partitioning disks and show you the power of Logical Volume Management (LVM), so you can confidently create, resize, and manage your filesystems without breaking a sweat.
Finally, we tackle the skills that truly define an enterprise-ready administrator: security and automation. We'll walk through the essentials of writing simple shell scripts to make your life easier, locking down your server with firewall-cmd, and navigating the powerful world of SELinux. Mastering these commands goes beyond passing a test. It proves you have the practical, hands-on expertise to keep a system secure, reliable, and running smoothly. These are the skills that get RHCSAs hired.
Keywords: RHCSA, Red Hat, GNU/Linux, Linux Commands, Certification Prep, System Administration, Podcast, LVM, SELinux, firewall-cmd, systemctl, Storage Management, Automation, Security, Enterprise Linux
Abbreviations
|
+-- ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
+-- dnf (Dandified YUM)
+-- EX200 (RHCSA Exam Code)
+-- GNU (GNU's Not Unix!)
+-- LVM (Logical Volume Management)
+-- NFS (Network File System)
+-- RHCSA (Red Hat Certified System Administrator)
+-- RPM (RPM Package Manager)
+-- SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux)
\-- YUM (Yellowdog Updater, Modified)
All GNU/Linux commands that an RHCSA must master
|
+-- 1. Understand and use essential tools
| |-- File & Directory Management (1.8, 1.9)
| | \-- ls, cp, mv, rm, mkdir, rmdir, ln, touch, find
| |
| |-- Text Processing & Editing (1.2, 1.3, 1.7)
| | |-- vim, nano
| | |-- cat, less, more, tail, head
| | |-- grep, egrep
| | \-- Redirection: |, >, >>, 2>, tee, xargs
| |
| |-- System Access & User Switching (1.1, 1.5)
| | |-- su, sudo
| | \-- whoami, id, history, exit, cd, pwd
| |
| |-- Archiving & Compression (1.6)
| | \-- tar, gzip, gunzip, bzip2, bunzip2, xz
| |
| \-- System Documentation (1.11)
| \-- man, info, locate, updatedb
|
+-- 2. Manage software (2.1 - 2.4)
| |-- DNF/YUM Package Management
| | \-- dnf (install, remove, list, search, update, provides, config-manager)
| |
| |-- RPM Package Management
| | \-- rpm (-q, -i, -e, -V, --import)
| |
| \-- Flatpak Package Management
| \-- flatpak (remote-add, install, uninstall, list)
|
+-- 3. Create simple shell scripts (3.1 - 3.4)
| \-- Shell Scripting Constructs
| \-- if, test, [], for, while, read, echo
|
+-- 4. Operate running systems
| |-- System State & Boot Process (4.1, 4.2, 4.3)
| | \-- shutdown, reboot, poweroff, systemctl (isolate, set-default)
| |
| |-- Process Management (4.4, 4.5)
| | \-- ps, top, kill, pkill, nice, renice
| |
| |-- System Monitoring & Logging (4.7, 4.8)
| | \-- journalctl, dmesg
| |
| |-- Performance Tuning (4.6)
| | \-- tuned-adm
| |
| \-- Secure File Transfers (4.10)
| \-- scp, sftp, rsync
|
+-- 5. Configure local storage
| |-- Partitioning (5.1)
| | \-- fdisk, gdisk, parted, lsblk, blkid, partprobe
| |
| \-- Logical Volume Management (LVM) (5.2 - 5.6)
| |-- Physical Volumes: pvcreate, pvdisplay, pvremove, pvscan
| |-- Volume Groups: vgcreate, vgdisplay, vgextend, vgremove, vgscan
| \-- Logical Volumes: lvcreate, lvdisplay, lvextend, lvremove, lvscan
|
+-- 6. Create and configure file systems
| |-- File System Creation & Management (6.1, 6.4, 5.5)
| | |-- mkfs.xfs, mkfs.ext4, mkswap
| | |-- mount, umount, findmnt, swapon, swapoff
| | |-- df, du
| | \-- xfs_growfs, resize2fs
| |
| |-- Network File Systems (6.2, 6.3)
| | \-- showmount (plus autofs configuration and nfs-utils)
| |
| \-- File Permission Problems (6.5, 1.10)
| \-- ls -l, chmod, chown, chgrp, getfacl, setfacl
|
+-- 7. Deploy, configure, and maintain systems
| |-- Service & Target Management (7.2, 7.3)
| | \-- systemctl (start, stop, status, enable, disable, mask, set-default)
| |
| |-- Task Scheduling (7.1)
| | \-- crontab, at, atq, atrm
| |
| |-- Time Configuration (7.4)
| | \-- timedatectl, chronyc
| |
| \-- Bootloader Management (7.6)
| \-- grub2-mkconfig, grubby
|
+-- 8. Manage basic networking
| |-- Network Configuration (8.1, 8.2, 8.3)
| | |-- nmcli, nmtui, ip
| | \-- hostnamectl
| |
| \-- Firewall Management (8.4, 10.1)
| \-- firewall-cmd
|
+-- 9. Manage users and groups
| |-- User Management (9.1, 9.2)
| | \-- useradd, usermod, userdel, passwd, chage
| |
| \-- Group & Sudo Management (9.3, 9.4)
| \-- groupadd, groupmod, groupdel, gpasswd, visudo
|
\-- 10. Manage security
|-- SELinux Management (10.4 - 10.8)
| |-- getenforce, setenforce, sestatus
| |-- ls -Z, ps -Z
| |-- restorecon, chcon
| \-- semanage, getsebool, setsebool
|
|-- Default Permissions (10.2)
| \-- umask
|
\-- Key-Based Authentication (10.3, 1.4)
\-- ssh, ssh-keygen, ssh-copy-id