Best way to study for linux certs?

Hello all. I seek your council once again.

I am trying to study for the suse sys admin certification, then the linux + certification, and finally the two Lpic tests.

I have some books and some websites that I am reading though, but they aren't doing me too many favors. I need to get some hands on experience moving files around serves and configuring stuff like NTP.

In your opinion, what is the best way to setup a small cheap server that I can use to get hands on experience with these topics.

If you have a spare box I would recommend proxmox. You can use it to spin up differnt containers or vm's. I use linuxacadamy personally to study for linux certs. They have the vm's included with the courses to play with