Red Hat · 2026 Edition
A complete preparation guide written by Red Hat-certified engineers. Covers the exam format,all 9 blueprint domains, a week-by-week study plan, and proven tips for passing first time.
2–4 months
Prep time
Intermediate
Difficulty
Hands-on lab
Format
Exam code
EX200
Full name
Red Hat Certified System Administrator
Vendor
Red Hat
Duration
180 minutes
Exam format
Performance-based lab (no multiple-choice)
Domains covered
9 blueprint domains
Recommended experience
Familiarity with Linux command line; prior Linux administration experience strongly recommended
Typical prep time
2–4 months
RHCSA is Red Hat's entry-level system administration credential and the prerequisite for RHCE. It is a performance-based exam taken entirely in a live RHEL environment — one of the most technically rigorous entry-level IT certifications.
Job roles this opens
Domain percentage weights are not currently available for this exam. The checklist below is still useful for planning your study.
Performance-based exam
The real RHCSA (EX200) exam is entirely performance-based — you complete practical Linux system administration tasks in a live Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment. There are no multiple-choice questions. Courseiva practice questions reinforce the concepts and commands tested, but hands-on lab practice with users, storage, SELinux, systemd, and networking on RHEL is still required.
Weeks 1–3
Essential Tools and System Management: bash, vim, file permissions, processes, SELinux
Tip: Set up a RHEL 9 (or CentOS Stream 9 / Rocky Linux 9) VM and practise everything by doing, not reading. EX200 is entirely hands-on — there are no multiple choice questions. Every objective must be completed in a live system under time pressure.
Weeks 4–5
Users, Groups, and Local Storage: useradd/usermod, LVM, partitioning, file systems
Tip: LVM management is heavily tested on EX200. Know: pvcreate (initialise physical volume) → vgcreate (create volume group) → lvcreate (create logical volume) → mkfs (format) → mount (mount and /etc/fstab persist). Also know how to extend a logical volume online: lvextend -r (resize filesystem with the LV).
Weeks 6–8
Networking and Services: nmcli/nmtui, SSH configuration, systemctl, cron, firewalld
Tip: Network configuration with nmcli is tested. Know: nmcli connection add (create a connection), nmcli connection modify (change settings), nmcli connection up/down (activate/deactivate). Know how to configure a static IP address and make it persistent. Time management is critical — practise until you can do it in under 3 minutes.
Weeks 9–12
Containers, Scripting, and Complex Configuration Tasks
Tip: RHCSA added container management objectives in RHEL 9. Know how to: pull a container image (podman pull), run a container as a service (podman generate systemd --new), enable the service with loginctl enable-linger (allow user containers to run after logout). These objectives are new and frequently missed.
EX200 is 3 hours in a live RHEL 9 environment with multiple tasks. There is no partial credit for uncompleted tasks — a service configured incorrectly scores zero for that objective. Completeness and persistence (survives reboot) are both assessed.
After completing every task, test that it survives a reboot. Configuration that works but disappears after reboot is a common failure point: systemctl enable (not just start), /etc/fstab entries for mounts, firewall-cmd --permanent (not just the runtime rule), and semanage port -a (not just setenforce 0).
SELinux is tested directly on EX200. Know how to: check SELinux status (getenforce, sestatus), set a file context (chcon -t type file, or semanage fcontext + restorecon for persistence), allow a non-standard port for a service (semanage port -a -t http_port_t -p tcp 8080), and troubleshoot denials (ausearch -c service, sealert).
Time management on EX200: most candidates do not struggle with knowledge, they struggle with time. Build speed through repetition — set a timer and practice completing full objective sets. Know which tasks take 2 minutes and which take 10, and budget accordingly.
RHCSA is valid until the RHEL major version it was taken on reaches end of life. Red Hat recommends recertifying to stay current — a RHCSA EX200 on RHEL 7 does not carry the same market value as one on RHEL 9.
Apply everything in this guide with adaptive practice questions, detailed answer explanations, and domain analytics.
Deep-dive explanations of the key topics tested on EX200 — with exam key points and common misconceptions.