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Exam Information
Official specifications published by LPI
Exam Format
90 min
60
Not publicly disclosed
Advanced Professional (LPIC-3)
Registration
$200 USD
Pearson VUE or online proctoring
Validity
5 years
Pass the current version of the LPIC-3 306 exam; Earn a higher-level LPI certification; Participate in LPI continuing education programs
306-300 Exam Topics and Domains
306-300 is organized into 4 weighted domains. Expect to work with mdadm, Ceph, Corosync, crm, and more.
1
High Availability Cluster Management
37%
High Availability Concepts and Theory
Cluster ArchitecturesRecovery Mechanisms and AvailabilityDisaster Recovery and State Management
- Understand the properties and design approaches for high availability clusters
- Apply Site Reliability Engineering principles to HA systems
- Identify appropriate cluster architectures for specific use cases
- Understand recovery mechanisms and availability metrics
Load Balanced Clusters
LVS and IPVS ConfigurationKeepalived Configurationldirectord ConfigurationHAProxy Configuration
- Install, configure, maintain and troubleshoot LVS with keepalived
- Configure and manage ldirectord for automatic failover
- Deploy and configure HAProxy for load balancing
- Understand backend server networking requirements
Failover Clusters
Pacemaker ArchitectureResource Classes and AgentsResource ManagementCluster Configuration and ManagementCorosync ConfigurationSTONITH Configuration
- Install, configure, and maintain Pacemaker clusters
- Understand Pacemaker architecture and components
- Manage cluster resources with constraints and rules
- Configure quorum and fencing mechanisms
- Integrate Corosync with Pacemaker for cluster communication
- Create and manage Pacemaker clusters
- Configure resource agents and constraints
- Set up STONITH devices
- Troubleshoot cluster issues
- Monitor cluster health
- Misconfiguring quorum leading to split-brain
- Improper STONITH configuration causing node fencing failures
- Incorrect resource constraints causing unexpected migrations
- Not testing fence devices before production deployment
2
High Availability Cluster Storage
22%
DRBD
DRBD Architecture and ConceptsDRBD ConfigurationDRBD Management and RecoveryDRBD Pacemaker IntegrationLINSTOR
- Install, configure, and maintain DRBD devices
- Understand DRBD replication protocols and states
- Recover from split-brain and other failure scenarios
- Integrate DRBD with Pacemaker clusters
- Understand LINSTOR architecture and features
Cluster Storage Access
Storage Area NetworksiSCSI ConfigurationMultipathingClustered LVM
- Connect Linux nodes to remote block storage
- Configure iSCSI initiators and targets
- Implement multipathing for redundant storage access
- Manage clustered LVM with Distributed Lock Manager
- Understand SAN technologies and topologies
Clustered File Systems
Filesystem ConceptsGFS2 ManagementOCFS2 ManagementAlternative Clustered Filesystems
- Install, maintain, and troubleshoot GFS2 filesystems
- Install, maintain, and troubleshoot OCFS2 filesystems
- Understand Distributed Lock Manager functionality
- Recognize alternative clustered filesystem options
3
High Availability Distributed Storage
22%
GlusterFS Storage Clusters
GlusterFS ArchitectureGlusterFS Cluster ManagementGlusterFS High AvailabilityGlusterFS Recovery and MaintenanceGNFS Awareness
- Manage and maintain GlusterFS storage clusters
- Configure HA features in GlusterFS
- Scale GlusterFS clusters by adding/removing nodes
- Replace failed bricks and recover from outages
- Verify integrity after storage failures
Ceph Storage Clusters
Ceph ArchitectureCeph Storage BackendsCeph Block Storage (RBD)CephFSCeph Object Storage (RGW)Ceph Cluster ManagementCeph High Availability and ScalingCeph Recovery and Integrity
- Manage Ceph clusters including OSD, MON, MGR, and MDS components
- Create and manage RADOS Block Devices (RBD)
- Deploy and manage CephFS volumes
- Understand RADOS Gateway for object storage
- Configure placement groups, pools, and CRUSH maps
- Implement HA aspects and scale Ceph clusters
- Perform cluster updates and manage tunables
- Restore integrity after outages
4
Single Node High Availability
20%
Hardware and Resource High Availability
S.M.A.R.T MonitoringUPS ManagementResource Monitoring
- Monitor local nodes for hardware failures
- Configure S.M.A.R.T monitoring for disks
- Set up UPS shutdown procedures
- Detect and alert on resource exhaustion
Advanced RAID
Software RAID ManagementRAID Failure RecoveryRAID Metadata and Configuration
- Manage software RAID with advanced features
- Create and maintain RAID arrays with hot spares
- Recover from disk failures in RAID
- Understand RAID metadata formats and geometries
- Monitor and report on RAID status
Advanced LVM
LVM Volume ManagementLVM SnapshotsThin ProvisioningLVM RAIDLVM Configuration
- Configure LVM volumes including linear and striped
- Extend, reduce, and move logical volumes
- Create and manage LVM snapshots
- Configure thin provisioning with thin pools and volumes
- Set up LVM RAID functionality
- Manage LVM configuration and metadata backups
Network High Availability
Network BondingNetwork Configuration FilesVLAN ConfigurationSwitch Configuration for HABGP and External RedundancyTraffic Control Awareness
- Configure redundant network connections using bonding
- Understand and implement various bonding modes
- Configure switch settings for HA including RSTP
- Set up VLANs on regular and bonded interfaces
- Understand BGP principles for external redundancy
- Recognize traffic shaping and control concepts
How do I earn this certification?
Passing 306-300 earns the LPIC-3 High Availability and Storage Clusters certification. It sits in the Linux Professional Certification track.
Practice with Precision
The PlanetCert Simulator mirrors the real exam environment with authentic questions and timed pressure.
How to study for this exam?
The most effective way to prepare for 306-300 is by using the PlanetCert Simulator to practice questions and review detailed explanations.
What's changed on this exam?
Current Status
- ACTIVE
- Last content update: 2021-06-01
Updates
- Pacemaker 2.1.8 New resource agent features and improved STONITH handling relevant to exam objectives • Release date: 2025-11-15
- Ceph 19 (Squid) BlueStore improvements and CephFS enhancements align with exam topic 363.2 • Release date: 2025-10-20
- DRBD 9.2 Enhanced multi-primary support and LINSTOR integration relevant to exam topic 362.1 • Release date: 2025-09-12
- Corosync 3.1.8 Improved quorum handling and network transport options for exam topic 361.3 • Release date: 2025-07-30
- GlusterFS 11 Performance improvements and management enhancements for exam topic 363.1 • Release date: 2025-04-22
- HAProxy 3.0 New load balancing algorithms and ACL features relevant to exam topic 361.2 • Release date: 2025-03-15
Who should take this exam?
This exam is typically taken by Senior Linux System Administrators and Enterprise Linux Engineers.
Active LPIC-2 certification
- 3-5 years of enterprise Linux administration experience
- Experience with high availability systems
- Familiarity with clustering concepts
- Knowledge of storage technologies (SAN, iSCSI, RAID)
- Understanding of networking fundamentals