Re: versions of Debian/Red Hat new exam based on

Ted Jordan wrote:

> I understand that the next release of the exam is coming up.  Which
> versions of Debian/Red Hat will the exam cover?

The LPI certifications are »vendor-neutral« and, as such, do not specify 
particular versions of distributions that they cover. Your best bet is to go 
to the LPI web site and look at the »objectives« published there to find what 
might actually be on the exams.

Having said that, the nature of the LPI exam development process leans toward 
not covering very new technology. For example, the current content review has 
identified the newfangled alternatives to SysV init (Upstart and systemd) as 
something to be aware of on a conceptual level but not to have to know in 
detail. It is safe to say that the next round of reviews, in 2,5 years or so, 
will require more extensive knowledge of those as they will by then be 
available in mainstream distributions. (Without wanting to start a SysV init 
replacement flame war here, in 2,5 years I'd personally be surprised to see 
Upstart covered at more than »awareness« level if at all, since by then it 
will very likely be a footnote to history, but I'm pretty sure we'll have to 
deal with systemd in reasonable detail by that time.)

Generally, since one of the goals of LPI is to improve Linux's outlook in the 
professional world (the »P« in »LPI«, after all), it makes more sense to look 
at enterprise-type distributions such as RHEL, SLES and Debian than consumer 
or geek-type distributions like Ubuntu or Fedora, which tend to include new 
stuff much more aggressively than LPI could keep up with. If I had to make 
suggestions I'd probably recommend looking at Debian GNU/Linux 6.x (make sure 
you get it with SysV init rather than Upstart) and something like CentOS 6 to 
get the benefit of both a dpkg-based and an RPM-based distribution. Virtual