OLE study guide
OLE · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Oracle Linux Engineer credential is aimed at administrators who run Oracle Linux in production and want independent evidence that they can install, tune, secure, and troubleshoot it without hand-holding. It suits sysadmins moving from another RPM-based distribution, database and middleware administrators who own the Linux layer under Oracle software, and cloud engineers operating Oracle Linux images. The OLE study guide has 10 sections and about 3,977 words.
01Oracle Linux Installation, Deployment, and System Configuration
This domain tests how Oracle Linux gets onto a machine and how the resulting system is shaped: the Anaconda installer, unattended deployment with Kickstart, kernel selection (UEK versus the Red Hat Compatible Kernel), and post-install configuration. Anaconda runs graphically or in text mode; boot-line options include inst.text , inst.graphical , inst.repo=<url , and inst.ks=<url or inst.ks=hd:LABEL=OEMDRV:/ks.cfg .
365 words, about 2 min02Package Management with RPM, DNF/YUM, Oracle Repositories, and ULN
This domain covers the two-layer packaging model on Oracle Linux: low-level RPM queries and verification, DNF transactions and module streams, and where packages come from - public yum.oracle.com repositories versus the Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN). Database lives in /var/lib/rpm .
442 words, about 2 min03Storage Administration: LVM, Filesystems, Mount Configuration, and Disk Management
Storage questions on this exam are practical: build an LVM stack, grow it without downtime, wire it into /etc/fstab correctly, and recover when a mount fails at boot. pvcreate /dev/sdb → vgcreate vg data /dev/sdb → lvcreate -n lv app -L 20G vg data ; inspect with pvs , vgs , lvs , pvdisplay .
406 words, about 2 min04Network Configuration and Service Management with NetworkManager and systemd
This domain tests whether you configure networking through NetworkManager rather than by editing files by hand, and whether you can manage services, dependencies, and unit overrides with systemd. Create a static profile: nmcli con add type ethernet con-name lan ifname ens3 ipv4.method manual ipv4.addresses 192.0.2.10/24 ipv4.gateway 192.0.2.1 ipv4.dns 192.0.2.53 .
364 words, about 2 min05User and Group Administration, Permissions, and Access Control
This domain tests account lifecycle management, the Unix permission model including special bits and ACLs, and privilege escalation with sudo. useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash alice , usermod -aG dev alice , userdel -r alice , passwd alice , chage -l alice , chage -M 90 alice .
416 words, about 2 min06Kernel and Boot Management: GRUB 2, Kernel Modules, and Boot Troubleshooting
This domain covers the boot chain on Oracle Linux: GRUB 2 configuration and how to change it persistently, kernel module loading, UEK versus RHCK kernels, and recovering a system that will not boot. BIOS systems read /boot/grub2/grub.cfg ; UEFI systems read /boot/efi/EFI/oracle/grub.cfg .
373 words, about 2 min07System Monitoring, Logging, and Performance Troubleshooting
This domain tests reading the right tool for the symptom, understanding journald and rsyslog, and knowing which metrics identify CPU, memory, disk, or I/O bottlenecks. CPU and load: uptime , top , mpstat -P ALL 1 , pidstat 1 .
375 words, about 2 min08Security Administration: SELinux, firewalld, and System Hardening
This domain tests the two access-control layers that most often break services on Oracle Linux: SELinux mandatory access control and firewalld zone-based filtering. Modes: getenforce / sestatus show Enforcing, Permissive, or Disabled.
397 words, about 2 min09Shell Scripting and Task Automation with cron and systemd Timers
This domain tests writing reliable non-interactive scripts and scheduling them correctly with cron, at, or systemd timers. Start with #!/bin/bash and set -euo pipefail : fail on error, on unset variables, and on pipeline failures.
403 words, about 2 min10Oracle Linux-Specific Technologies: UEK, Ksplice, Btrfs, and Oracle Cloud Tooling
This domain is what distinguishes Oracle Linux from a generic RHEL rebuild: the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel, zero-downtime patching with Ksplice, the btrfs filesystem, and tooling for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. UEK is the default kernel; uname -r shows an uek suffix (for example 5.15.0-...el9uek.x86 64 ), while the Red Hat Compatible Kernel shows a plain el9 build.
436 words, about 2 min