Sample Questions from Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA / EX200)

Preview a few questions below — answers are revealed when you take the exam.

  1. A team needs to implement a secure file transfer solution for their Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers. The solution should support encrypted data transfer and authentication. What approach should they take?

    • Implementing SFTP using OpenSSH and configuring it to use strong encryption algorithms and key-based authentication.
    • Using FTPS with TLS encryption and configuring it to use self-signed certificates for authentication.
    • Setting up a Samba share with encrypted file system and using SMB signing for data integrity.
    • Configuring rsync over SSH with AES-256 encryption and using password-based authentication for simplicity.

  2. Consider the situation where a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server is experiencing high CPU load due to a runaway process. Which method solves it best?

    • Using the `top` command to identify the process, then using `kill -9` to terminate it immediately.
    • Identifying the process with `ps aux | grep <process_name>`, then using `renice` to lower its priority before terminating it with `kill`.
    • Stopping the process temporarily with `kill -STOP <PID>`, investigating the cause, and then resuming it with `kill -CONT <PID>`.
    • Rebooting the server to terminate all processes and resolve the high CPU load issue.

  3. What strategy should be applied when configuring a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server to ensure high availability for a critical web application?

    • Setting up a load balancer in front of multiple web servers, using heartbeat and pacemaker for failover, and configuring automatic application restarts.
    • Using RAID 10 for the web server's storage, ensuring regular backups, and configuring automatic application restarts.
    • Configuring the web server to use a content delivery network (CDN) for static assets and ensuring regular application updates.
    • Deploying the web application in a containerized environment using Docker, ensuring regular container updates, and using a reverse proxy for load balancing.

  4. How would you decide the best method for securing a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server that hosts a database?

    • Configuring SELinux in enforcing mode, using firewalld to restrict access to the database port, and regularly updating the system and database software.
    • Disabling all unnecessary services, using iptables to block all incoming traffic except from trusted IP addresses, and regularly backing up the database.
    • Enabling AppArmor for the database service, using TCP wrappers to restrict access, and regularly monitoring database logs for suspicious activity.
    • Implementing a VPN for all database connections, using SSH tunneling for remote access, and regularly reviewing and updating the server's security policies.

  5. What configuration is most appropriate for a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server that needs to serve static web content efficiently?

    • Installing and configuring Nginx with caching enabled, using Gzip compression, and optimizing the server's network settings for low latency.
    • Using Apache HTTP Server with mod_cache and mod_deflate enabled, and configuring the server to use a reverse proxy for dynamic content.
    • Setting up a lightweight HTTP server like Caddy with automatic HTTPS and HTTP/2 support, and optimizing the server's disk I/O for high throughput.
    • Deploying the static content in a containerized environment using Docker, ensuring regular container updates, and using a content delivery network (CDN) for global distribution.