Linux Professional Institute Certification Programs

Exam Format

LPI exams are delivered onsite at Linux and open source events, or through the network of the test centres such as Pearson VUE. The exams are made up of multiple choice questions with a single response, multiple choice question with multiple responses, and fill in the blank questions. Linux Essentials is a 60-minute exam with 40 questions, while all other exams are 90 minutes with 60 questions. LPI offers exams in the following languages: English, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish (Modern), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional) and Japanese, although not all exams are available in all languages.

Exam Objectives

The wider community of Linux professionals plays an important part in the objective development process for LPI exams. Once the LPI staff has developed a structure and description for a certification, community input is collected through a Job Task Analysis. The purpose of the JTA is to poll a large group of Linux professionals about the tasks a candidate would be expected to complete in a certain field. The responses are compiled and have significant influence on the shape the exam objectives.

Relevance and Certification Updates

As part of the certification maintenance and quality assurance, LPI does the review and revision of the objectives for each certification every three years. The exam items are written and screened by writers and supervisors, respectively. To assure the exam items are accurate and relevant, they are put through a technical review by a group of Linux experts. The following are the current version numbers for each of LPI’s certifications. The version numbers reflect which certifications have been around for the longest, and thus have required more updates over time.

Certification Validity

LPI is frequently updating its exams to keep pace with the ever-changing open source environment. For this reason, the validity of a LPI certification is 5 years. For example, if it has been over 5 years since candidate passed the LPIC-1, candidate would need to pass it again before receiving a potential LPIC-2 certification. Certifications can be renewed by certifying at a higher level (e.g. acquiring the LPIC-2 certification will renew your LPIC-1 for an additional 5 years). Acquiring an LPIC-3 certification will renew the LPIC-1 and LPIC-2, but not other LPIC-3 certifications. The exception is the Linux Essentials certificate, which has lifetime validity.

Linux Essentials

Linux Essentials is an entry level certification that was introduced in 2012. This certification requires only one exam. It tests the candidate’s ability to use a basic command line editor and demonstrate an understanding of processes, programs and components of the Linux operating system. The Linux Essentials certification is not part of the LPIC and Open Technology certification program.

LPIC-1

LPIC-1 Certified Linux Administrator was first published on 11 January 2000 and was originally called Linux Server Professional (LPIC-1).^[1] The certification was revised in 2005, 2012 and February 2015.^[1]

To be awarded the LPIC-1 certification the candidate must successfully pass two exams, 101 and 102. These can be taken in any order.

LPIC-1 certified professionals have the ability to perform maintenance tasks with the command line, install and configure a computer running Linux and be able to configure basic networking.

Previously the 101 exam was split into two alternative exams, one including questions on the RPM Package Manager, and the other on Deb (file format). After the update in 2005 these have been merged into a single exam, and candidates are expected to know about both topics.

LPIC-2

LPIC-2^[4] is the second certification in LPI’s multi-level professional certification program. This certification was first published on 29 November 2001 under the name Linux Network Professional (LPIC-2). The LPIC-2 certification was revised 2013 and February 2017.

LPIC-2 certified professionals have the ability to administer small to medium–sized mixed networks, supervise assistants and advise the upper management.

Prerequisites: The candidate must have an active LPIC-1 certification to receive your LPIC-2 certification, but the LPIC-1 and LPIC-2 exams may be taken in any order.

LPIC-3

The LPIC-3 Certification program represents the culmination of LPI's Linux Certification Program. LPIC-3 is designed for the enterprise-level Linux professional. The LPIC-3 program consists of a single exam for each area of specialty; LPIC-3 300 Mixed Environment, LPIC-3 303 Security and LPIC-3 304 High Availability and Virtualization.

In order to receive the LPIC-3 certification, candidate must have an active LPIC-2 certification, but the LPIC-2 and LPIC-3 exams may be taken in any order.

Passing at least one of the 300 series specialty exams (300, 303 or 304) leads to the LPIC-3 certification.

DevOps Tools Engineer^[13]

Linux Professional Institute DevOps Tools Engineer (or DevOps Tools Engineer for short) is the latest certification developed by LPI.

DevOps Tools Engineer was published October 16, 2017. The certification tests proficiency in open source tools such as configuration automation and container virtualization, which are used to implement the DevOps collaboration model.