Red Hat Certificates of Expertise

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Red Hat Certificates of Expertise (previously called Endorsement Exams) are essentially individual ‘bolt-on’ credentials for those who already hold a current version of the RHCE. The Certificates of Expertise offer candidates the opportunity to enhance their RHCE credential and further specialize in a particular Red Hat area of interest.

Currently, the Certificates of Expertise on offer are:

• EX333 - Network Services Security
• EX401 - Deployment and Systems Management
• EX423 - Directory Services and Authentication
• EX429 - SELinux Policy Administration
• EX436 - Clustering and Storage Management
• EX442 - System Monitoring and Performance Tuning

RHCE holders can choose to do as many Certificates of Expertise as they wish, in any order, with each being a separate, stand-alone credential to complement their RHCE.

The individual exams vary in length from 3.5 to 8 hours depending on which track is taken and, like other Red Hat exams, the Certificates of Expertise are performance-based meaning candidates are tested in a ‘real world’ simulated environment. There are no multiple-choice questions in any of the exams. Exam results are e-mailed to candidates within three weeks from the exam date.

Red Hat offer training courses designed specifically for each of the different Certificates of Expertise, but these are merely optional rather than compulsory. Candidates may choose to self-study and simply book their exam when ready. Exams can only be taken at official Red Hat approved facilities, so candidates should check the Red Hat website for their nearest RH testing station.

Certificates of Expertise do not expire and are not tied to any particular release as is the case with Red Hat's foundation certifications, RHCT & RHCE.

Passing individual Certificates of Expertise counts towards obtaining other Red Hat certifications – specifically the RHCA, RHCSS and the RHCDS. For example the RHCA (Red Hat Certified Architect) requires 5 of the Certificates to be successfully completed, while the RHCDS requires three.

The table below demonstrates which Certificates of Expertise are required for each advanced Red Hat exam:

Certificate of Expertise	RHCA	RHCDS	RHCSS
EX333	x		x
EX401	x	x
EX423	x	x	x
EX429			x
EX436	x	x
EX442	x

x = required