12/3/2003 -- Starting this week you may need to know Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 to earn your RHCE.

Red Hat previously confirmed via a Web Site FAQ post it that would be taking its RHCE from Red Hat Linux to Red Hat Enterprise Linux; however, several recent posts to the same FAQ confirm that the transition is now underway.

"With the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, Red Hat and its training partners will begin using it for Red Hat training classes and certification exams," the FAQ now states. "This change will take place at different times in different locales. All U.S. RHCE classes given by Red Hat will be conducted on Red Hat Enterprise Linux by December 1, 2003."

Because most candidates take the RHCE or RHCT exam at the end of a training session, this announcement should mean that the new RHCE exam is now live at all US testing locations. Presumably the RHCT is now Enterprise-focused as well, since the training and tests for the two certifications are related. International candidates for Red Hat certification should call their local testing center to verify what version of the RHCE and RHCT exams are currently being offered.

Red Hat also announced via the FAQ that it has changed the format of the exam with the Enterprise Linux 3 version. The 1-hour multiple-choice section has been dropped, replaced by an extra 30 minutes of the hands-on installation and configuration lab. To pass, candidates must now earn a score of 80 or higher on the extended section.

As to why Red Hat dropped the multiple choice section, the FAQ states: "After nearly five years of delivering RHCE exams, we have concluded that the time spent during the exam asking multiple choice questions would be better spent on performance-based tasks. Analysis of the data we have collected demonstrates that the performance-based sections of the exam were far more effective than the multiple choice section." The multiple choice section remains in the RHCE Red Hat 9 exam, where available.

In the FAQ Red Hat also announced a new schedule for how long its certification titles will remain current. "All RHCEs earned on Red Hat Linux 7.3 or prior will be considered current until the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4," the FAQ states. "All RHCEs and RHCTs earned on Red Hat Linux 8.0 and 9 will remain current until the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5."

CertCities.com will bring you more on this story as information becomes available. -Becky Nagel