Linux/Unix - Which Cert Is Better? Unix or Linux?

Author

Which Cert Is Better? Unix or Linux?

jagooch

2002-02-28, 8:41 pm

I am building a study system and network and am almost at the point where I need to decide which OS to go with. Since the systems are Intel it looks like either FreeBSD Unix or RH Linux, but I am wondering which would be more valuable in the market place. I definitely want to leave the M$ world and need experience and certification in the 'nix world, so this is an important decision. Anyone have an opinion on this?

Btw, I originally selected the hardware that was certified for FreeBSD, but as far as I can tell RH Linux supports it as well,
so my options are open.

THx in advance.

wildscribe

2002-02-28, 9:49 pm

If possible, I'd build a network with Windoze and Unix/Linux. It's a Windows world and probably will be for sometime, but it is definitely worth knowing Unix/Linux.

And between FreeBSD (or some other BSD varient) and RH Linux, I would go with RH. I can think of numerous companies that are using Red Hat Linux, whereas the only folks I know that are using BSD are small ISPs, web hosting companies, and individuals like myself who like to fool around with different distros.

Good Luck with your network!

- Wild

ccieToBe

2002-02-28, 11:58 pm

I suggest running FreeBSD and Linux. They're both great OSs and each has its place. It would probably be a good idea to have Windoze running somewhere too. I don't care much for it but it's something that most people have to deal with. If you have a lot of boxes available you may even want to look into running Solaris on one of them.

For most people in this industry I would say that RedHat would be distro that they're most likely to run into but in your case, being a CCNP and persuing the CCIE track it seems very likely to me that you'd run into FreeBSD boxes. ISPs use FreeBSD extensively and since you appear to be into the WAN side of things it seems likely to me that you either already are or are likely to work for an ISP in the future. I really think you'll run into both though, you're just likely to run into more FreeBSD IMO.

The VMS Kid

2002-03-01, 6:10 am

Red Hat is a must to know nowadays, but the BSD family is more robust, so you would do well to learn both. Although in terms of certifications, RHCE is worth more than any Unix certs as far as I know . . . not because Red Hat is better, but because they market their cert better and more people know about it. BSD is actually harder to use and get used to, though, so if you can master it, most of what you need to know to use Linux (including Red Hat), you will already know, so I'd go with full-blooded Unix. Still, it wouldn't hurt using both. You can set one up maybe as your primary server and use the other as a failsafe or use it as an NFS export system to your main machine.

jagooch

2002-03-01, 10:14 am

Ok, let me clarify my question. It was if you were looking to get a career related (i.e. certification / skills with the most resume value ) certification in a Linux Or Unix operating system, and could only load one or the other, but not both ( exclusive OR for you boolean algebra geeks ), which one would you choose? Both would be nice but between work and school I am barely going to be able to fit one in. Considering the constraints that this OS must run on AMD Athlon XP, and must support such popular services and applications as Apache Web Server, TomCat JSP server, SSH, C++ compiler, Java 2 Compiler, DNS, DHCP, Software Router, Software Firewall, FTP, and maybe a VPN layer.

Excuse me if I was vague in my first post, I was very tired when I posted it but was hoping that the difficulty of this decision was due to my lack of familiarity with each OS, and that hopefully someone with experience with each one would read my post and say "That one for sure, this other one you should do, but do it second."

Despite the fact that I don't have an convincing argument to choose one OS over the other yet, I do greatly appreciate the replies I have received so far. Its just that I need an answer other than "both".

Respectfully,

John A. Gooch
MCSE, CCNP, and a 'nix wanna-B

TW2001

2002-03-01, 10:45 am

" ( exclusive OR for you boolean algebra geeks )"..very funny..fitting for this board to

For your Question i would say either HP-UX,AIX or Solaris certs would be something to look at.They are the big names and the enterprise standards.

As was stated the only well known and respected Linux cert is the RHCE.This may change but for now...Even then a lot of people dont know what it is.(HR...CIO,CTO)

Most Unix people dont have much trouble picking linux up.The reverse is different i think.Linux has more distro specific nuiances than other Nix`s.Not to say there isnt any there.The linux newbie will get further faster than the complete newbie on a Nix box but it can be much different(ie..redhat network config dirs and files).

So have at it

Oh yeah Suse is a nice distro too!

onoski

2002-03-01, 11:33 am

In contribution to what most of the guys/gals have said about this issue of which is a better cert to attain Linux or Unix. In my opinion and experience I think you'd be better off going for Linux RHCE as it it beginning to have a big impact in the Server enterprise side of networks and if you want to more adventuous then mention open source.

As you already know Linux is a variant of Unix and Linux is a easier nut to get to grabs with in a short space of time that again depends on the distro you'd go for. I personally would go with Red Hat and dive into knowing how to use root access using the terminal to learn the basic commands.

I don't want to deviate from the point you wanted mentioned, in this case you'd be better off with Linux which is a variant of Nix so knowing a bit of Linux you'd know a bit of Nix. Certification wise I'd opt for RHCE as it's not easy to attain if you get the gist. I hope this helps you a bit in making up your mind, all the best in your quest and aspirations. One last thing and am out, M$ still rules so it would help not to rule the OS out in the decisions you decide to make. Best off wishes. Am out, nuff said.

The VMS Kid

2002-03-01, 11:36 am

OK, if you are asking for which, I guess I would pick Red Hat at this time. By learning Red Hat you will feel confortable on most other flavours of Unix, as long as you remember that certain tools will be different. In my opinion, BSD is a stronger OS, but from what I have seen, linux is taking off like wildfire, and the BSDs, although technically superior, are not as popular and are not likely to become so since they do not have Red Hat's marketing muscle. How's that?

ccieToBe

2002-03-01, 11:52 am

Boolean algebra, huh? The applications you're describing make FreeBSD sound ideal but infortunately there are no *BSD certs out there. Like TW2001 said, RHCE is really the only well known Linux certs so if certs are your primary concern, I suggest going for either the Linux path, or one of the commercial Unix variants. I think Solaris is the only commercial Unix that both runs on x86 hardware and has certifications. RHCE is much more involved then Solaris certification so here's my boolean advice

if "cert value" > "application value"; then
if "time" = "little"; then
./solaris
else
./redhat
fi
else
./freebsd
fi

jagooch

2002-03-01, 12:31 pm

After looking at the replies, at the market, and at some apps I want to run, it looks like the scales are tipped in Red Hat's favor at least for the short term. If I want to mess with FreeBSD before I get my RHCE then I can run it under VMWare.

Btw, I did try out Solaris 8 on Intel and it was a bear with my hardware. I purchased a Sun SparcStation and couldn't get the networking to run correctly plus remote control via XWindows was a bear. Since Solaris has temporarily pulled it support for Solaris for Intel I decided to give that route up and go with a more popular, better supported, and more Intel-centric version of 'nix. Some of my friends swear by FreeBSD, others by Linux, but I want get my system administrative skills and software development ( C++, Java 2 Apps & Servlets ) skills built on a platform that is in demand and has a future, plus meets my budget and hardware platform restrictions.

Btw, notice I didn't try to flame anyone for being indecisive, I can see this IS a difficult decision, especially with most of my goals being supported by both OS's.

Once again I thank everyone for their help. Now I just need to decide the best training materials to buy for my learning. I have seen good reviews of the Linux+ Bible here but haven't yet done a search on RHCE specific training materials. These can be books, training software, practice tests, and web sites.

Any advice will be appreciated, I will reward suggestions with a smiley face away. Here is an example of what the reward will look like -

Hehe, take care and thanx again for the help. I am sure things will continue to get clearer as I press forward with my studies.

The VMS Kid

2002-03-01, 1:09 pm

The best way to learn Linux is to install it and play with it. there is a good bit of material out there for the RHCE, but I think that Red Hat also offers some training courses that lead up to the exams. You may want to llok into that as you could hardly have better preparation than from Red Hat themselves. Be warned that this is an exam that requires you to pass some labs as well, though, so I would think that you would really have to know your stuff. Good luck.

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