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Exam Review

Key Facts: EX436 Exam

3 hours

Performance Lab Duration

Red Hat EX436 page

$500

Individual Exam Fee

Red Hat 2026

210/300

Passing Score (70%)

Red Hat scoring policy

RHCSA

Recommended Prerequisite

Red Hat EX436 page

RHCA

Counts Toward Architect

Red Hat RHCA program

RHEL 8/9

Targeted RHEL Versions

Red Hat HA Add-on docs

EX436 is a 3-hour, hands-on Red Hat exam scored out of 300 points with a 70% (210) cut score. There are no multiple-choice questions; candidates must build and debug a working RHEL HA Add-on cluster. Topics include Pacemaker/Corosync setup, resources and constraints, STONITH fencing, quorum, iSCSI/multipath/GFS2 shared storage, and HA services such as Apache and NFS. The exam fee is $500 and EX436 counts toward the Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA) credential.

Sample EX436 Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the EX436 exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which two software components form the core of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux High Availability Add-on cluster stack?

A.Pacemaker and Corosync

B.Heartbeat and CMAN

C.Keepalived and HAProxy

D.systemd and rsyslog

Explanation: In modern RHEL HA Add-on (RHEL 7/8/9), Pacemaker is the cluster resource manager that decides where resources run, while Corosync provides the messaging and membership/quorum layer. The pcs (or pcsd) command-line wraps both.

2Which user account must exist on every node and share the same password before running pcs host auth (or pcs cluster auth) to authenticate cluster nodes?

A.root

B.pacemaker

C.hacluster

D.clusteradmin

Explanation: The pcs/pcsd authentication model uses the dedicated hacluster account, which is created automatically when the pcs package is installed. You must run passwd hacluster on every node and use the same password, then authenticate with pcs host auth node1 node2 ...

3On a RHEL 8/9 system, which command enables and starts the daemon that pcs uses to communicate between nodes for cluster setup and management?

A.systemctl enable --now pacemaker

B.systemctl enable --now pcsd

C.systemctl enable --now corosync

D.systemctl enable --now cluster

Explanation: pcsd is the daemon that listens on TCP/2224 on every cluster node and is what pcs talks to remotely. It must be enabled and running on all nodes before pcs host auth and pcs cluster setup will work.

4Which command creates a new cluster named webcluster with three nodes after the hacluster user has been authenticated?

A.pcs cluster create --name webcluster node1 node2 node3

B.pcs cluster setup --name webcluster node1 node2 node3

C.pcs cluster setup webcluster node1 node2 node3

D.pcs cluster init webcluster --nodes node1,node2,node3

Explanation: On RHEL 8 and 9, pcs cluster setup takes the cluster name as a positional argument followed by the node names: pcs cluster setup webcluster node1 node2 node3. The legacy --name flag from RHEL 7 is no longer required and is deprecated.

5Which firewalld service must be allowed on every node so that pcsd, Corosync, and the HA Add-on can communicate?

A.high-availability

B.cluster

C.pacemaker

D.corosync

Explanation: firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=high-availability opens all ports needed by the HA Add-on: 2224/tcp (pcsd), 3121/tcp (Pacemaker remote), 5403/tcp (corosync-qnetd), and 5404-5405/udp (Corosync totem). Reload firewalld after adding it.

6Which UDP port range does Corosync use by default for the totem multicast or unicast (UDPU) ring?

A.5404-5405

B.6789-6790

C.2224-2225

D.3121-3122

Explanation: Corosync listens on UDP 5404 and 5405 by default for ring0 totem traffic. The high-availability firewalld service opens this range automatically.

7After creating a cluster, which command starts Corosync and Pacemaker on all nodes and enables them to start automatically at boot?

A.pcs cluster start --all && pcs cluster enable --all

B.pcs cluster boot --all

C.systemctl enable --now cluster.target

D.pcs cluster up --all --persist

Explanation: pcs cluster start --all starts the cluster services on every node now; pcs cluster enable --all configures them to start at boot. Both are required because by default pcs cluster setup leaves the cluster disabled at boot.

8Which file is the authoritative Corosync configuration written by pcs cluster setup?

A./etc/corosync/corosync.conf

B./etc/cluster/cluster.conf

C./etc/pacemaker/cib.xml

D./var/lib/pacemaker/cib/cib.xml

Explanation: pcs cluster setup writes /etc/corosync/corosync.conf with the totem, nodelist, and quorum sections, and distributes it to all nodes. Manual edits are usually replaced by re-running pcs cluster setup.

9Which directive in the totem section of corosync.conf selects between unicast (UDPU) and multicast cluster traffic?

A.transport

B.ring_mode

C.cluster_protocol

D.membership_type

Explanation: The totem { transport: ... } directive selects the transport. RHEL 8/9 defaults to knet (multipoint TCP/SCTP); older deployments used udpu (unicast UDP) or udp (multicast UDP).

10You want a redundant cluster heartbeat path. Which pcs flag adds a second knet link when running pcs cluster setup?

A.addr=ip1,ip2 per node entry

B.--ring1

C.--redundant

D.--secondary-ring

Explanation: On RHEL 8/9 with the knet transport, you provide multiple addresses per node: pcs cluster setup mycluster node1 addr=192.0.2.1 addr=10.0.0.1 node2 addr=192.0.2.2 addr=10.0.0.2. Each addr= creates an additional knet link.

About the EX436 Exam

EX436 is Red Hat's performance-based specialist exam validating the ability to design, deploy, and maintain RHEL High Availability Add-on clusters. Candidates work hands-on with Pacemaker, Corosync, STONITH fencing, shared storage, and clustered services on live systems for three hours.

Exam sponsor: Red Hat. The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Questions

12 questions

Time Limit

3 hours

Passing Score

210 of 300 (70%)

Exam / Certification Fees

$500

Exam sponsor website

Reported exam pass rate: Not published. Red Hat does not publish public pass rates for EX436 Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Official sources

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

~22%

Cluster Architecture and Setup

Install the HA Add-on, authenticate the hacluster user, run pcs cluster setup with knet links, open the high-availability firewalld service, and start/enable Corosync and Pacemaker.

~26%

Resources and Constraints

Create primitive, group, clone, and promotable resources; manage location, colocation, and ordering constraints; tune resource-stickiness, migration-threshold, and monitor operations.

~17%

Fencing and Quorum

Configure STONITH with fence_xvm, fence_scsi, fence_sbd, or fence_ipmilan; build fence levels; tune two_node and no-quorum-policy; add corosync-qdevice/qnetd as a tiebreaker.

~14%

Shared Storage

Connect iSCSI initiators, enable device-mapper-multipath, create shared VGs with lvmlockd/dlm, and format and mount GFS2 cluster filesystems on every node.

~9%

Highly Available Services

Build HA-Apache, HA-NFS, HA-PostgreSQL, HA-MariaDB, HA-Samba, and DRBD-backed services using ocf:heartbeat and ocf:linbit resource agents.

~12%

Monitoring and Troubleshooting

Use pcs status, crm_mon, /var/log/pacemaker/pacemaker.log, pcs cluster cib/cib-push, and crm_simulate to inspect and debug cluster behavior.

Preparing for the EX436 Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 210 of 300 (70%)
Exam length: 12 questions
Time limit: 3 hours
Exam / certification fees: $500 Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

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EX436: Suggested Study Strategy

1Build a 3-node KVM lab with shared iSCSI storage and rehearse pcs cluster setup, fencing, and GFS2 end to end at least three times.

2Memorize the high-availability firewalld service and the ports it opens (2224/tcp, 3121/tcp, 5403/tcp, 5404-5405/udp).

3Practice configuring fence_xvm with fence_virtd on the host and fence_ipmilan against simulated BMCs so you are comfortable with both classes of agents.

4Drill the lvmlockd workflow: dlm and lvmlockd clones, vgcreate --shared, vgchange --lockstart, then GFS2 mkfs.gfs2 -p lock_dlm -t cluster:fs -j N.

5Always run pcs cluster verify before finishing a task; it catches missing fence devices when stonith-enabled=true and other common misconfigurations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EX436 still available in 2026?

Yes. Red Hat lists Red Hat Certified Specialist in High Availability Clustering as an active certification in 2026, and the EX436 exam page remains live on redhat.com. The exam continues to count toward the Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA) credential.

What is the EX436 exam format?

EX436 is a 3-hour, performance-based exam. There are no multiple-choice questions. Candidates work on real RHEL systems and configure a high-availability cluster end to end. Configurations must persist across reboots without manual intervention.

How much does the EX436 exam cost?

Red Hat lists individual exams at $500 USD. EX436 can also be bundled into the RH437 course (Red Hat High Availability Clustering with exam) or covered by a Red Hat Learning Subscription.

What is the passing score for EX436?

Red Hat exams are scored out of 300 points and the standard passing score is 210, equivalent to 70%. Red Hat does not publish a separate per-objective cut score for EX436.

What are the prerequisites for EX436?

RHCSA-level Linux system administration skills are required. Red Hat strongly recommends the RH436 course or equivalent hands-on experience with the RHEL High Availability Add-on before attempting EX436.

What RHEL version does EX436 target?

Red Hat states the exam tracks the most recent RHEL product version available, which currently means RHEL 8 and RHEL 9 with pcs 0.10+, knet transport, and lvmlockd-based shared LVM.

Free Practice Questions for EX436

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