The RHCDS (Red Hat Certified Datacenter Specialist) certification from Red Hat is targeted toward individuals who wish to demonstrate the skills and knowledge necessary to build reliable, available, scalable, and manageable solutions in mission-critical datacenter environments.
To gain the RHCDS certification, candidates must already hold a current version of the RHCE certification and then successfully pass the following three ‘Expertise’ exams:
- EX401 - Deployment, Virtualization, and Systems Management
- EX423 - Directory Services and Authentication
- EX436 - Clustering and Storage Management
As with all Red Hat certifications, the RHCDS exams are all performance based, meaning candidates will be tested in a ‘real world’ environment. The exams can be taken in any order the candidate chooses, but Red Hat suggest that EX401 should be taken first as this offers a good foundation for the remaining two exams. The length of each exam and the passing score varies (click on the respective links above for more information).
Candidates will be e-mailed their results normally within 10 US business days if successful. Unsuccessful candidates may retake the exam as many times as they wish, with payment of the applicable fee.
The RHCDS is lab-based meaning exams can only be taken at Red Hat authorized facilities (consult the Red Hat website for information on facilities in your area) and only during specific times.
Red Hat offer various course and exam packages tailored to each of the individual expertise exams. These courses are not compulsory however, and candidates can simply opt to self-study and take the exam when ready.
An RHCDS certified individual is considered ‘current’ for as long as that individual’s RHCE is considered current (i.e. through two releases). Once their RHCE lapses, so too does the RHCDS. In order to stay current, an RHCDS certified individual needs only to retake a current version of the RHCE.
