- Topics Mentioned
- Certification(s):
- Cisco Certifications, CompTIA Certifications, Microsoft Certifications
- Exam(s):
- Cisco Exams, CompTIA Exams, Microsoft Exams
A lot has happened in the IT certification world over the past few weeks.
CompTIA has announced a brand new certification plus an update to one of their most popular certifications. The Linux Professional Institute is working on a new enterprise level exam and Cisco has just completed a major revision to many of its security and voice certifications.
Microsoft has also announced a new certification path for SQL Server 2008, HP is releasing a new line of networking certifications and the Project Management Institute is working on updating the popular PMP certification next year.
With so many updates, I’ll explain briefly what has changed from each certification provider and get you links to all the details you’ll need to read into them further.
CompTIA Announces a New Storage+ Certification
CompTIA is partnering up with the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) to create a new certification in storage networking and data management.
The new certification will be called CompTIA Storage+ Powered by SNIA and is scheduled for release in mid-late 2011, though an early 2012 release is probably more likely.
CompTIA and SNIA are currently looking for storage and data management Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to help create the structure and questions for the new exam. If you are an SME in storage and/or information and data management, then you may want to look into participating.
The SME workshop will be held January 31st through February 4th, 2011 at CompTIA headquarters in Illinois. See more details about the Storage+ SME workshop visit CompTIA’s exam development page and info sheet for the workshop.
CompTIA Updates Security+ Exam Objectives
Just recently, CompTIA officially released the new Security+ objectives for the coming 2011 refresh.
A lot has changed in this refresh, most notably the organization and hierarchy of the section domains. Here are the domain changes for the Security+ 2011 (SY0-301) exam objectives as compared to the current (SY0-201) objectives.
| New Security+ SY0-301 Exam Objectives | Current SY0-201 Exam Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Network Security (21%) | Systems Security (21%) |
| 2.0 | Compliance and Operational Security (18%) | Network Infrastructure (20%) |
| 3.0 | Threats and Vulnerabilities (21%) | Access Control (17%) |
| 4.0 | Application, Data and Host Security (16%) | Assessments and Audits (15%) |
| 5.0 | Access Control and Identity Management (13%) | Cryptography (15%) |
| 6.0 | Cryptography (11%) | Organizational Security (12%) |
As you can see, the sections have gone through some changes however, judging by the names of the domains the exam will very likely remain very similar to the original.
Get more information and download the new CompTIA Security+ 2011 exam objectives at CompTIA’s Security+ page (look for New Exam Objectives in the top right corner of the page).
Save 15% Off CompTIA Project+ Certification
Until December 31st, 2010 CompTIA is offering 15% off of their Project+ certification (Exam PK0-003) when you use the code PROJECTDAY. The exam is only 90 minutes long and consists of 100 questions that will test your knowledge and ability to manage projects from planning to closure.
You can view more details on CompTIA’s Project+ promotion page.
New Linux LPIC-3 Exam
The Linux Professional Institute is continuing development on the next LPIC-3 exam; exam 305 will focus on mail and messaging services and is geared towards LPI certified Level 3 Linux Professionals.
The current LPIC-3 exams are:
- 301: Authentication and naming, including: troubleshooting, integration with core network services, and capacity planning
- 302: Network file/print services, including: troubleshooting, and integration with core network services
- 303: Security
- 304: Virtualization and High Availability
The new LPIC-305 enterprise exam is currently on step 1 of a 7 step plan to release the new 305 exam. LPI is planning to launch the final exam in 2011, though an early 2012 release could be a possibility as LPI is still in the consulting stages and has yet to draft any official objectives.
Here’s a rough draft of items that are being considered for inclusion on the 305 exam:
Mail Services:
- E-mail Concepts and Troubleshooting
- MTA (Postfix and/or Sendmail and/or Exim)
- IMAP/POP services (courier and/or dovecot and/or uw-imap)
- Virus scanning (Amavis)
- Spam filtering (SpamAssasin)
- MUA (Mail User Agents aka e-mail clients)
- Secure POP, IMAP, SMTP (setting up certificates, configuration)
- Integration with LDAP and/or MySQL
- Greylisting
- Blacklisting and RBLs
Messaging Services:
- Messaging Servers (OpenFire and/or Jabberd)
- Messaging clients (Pidgin, Kopete)
- Messaging protocols (XMPP)
- Integration with LDAP and/or MySQL
- IRC clients and servers (maybe)
You can read more on the LPIC-305 exam and it’s progress on the LPI Wiki.
Major Cisco Security and Voice Certification Changes
According to a recent press release, Cisco has completed a major revision to many of its security and voice certifications. Many certifications have changed, while others are completely new.
Cisco’s current CCSP (Cisco Certified Security Professional) certification will be replaced by a new CCNP Security (Cisco Certified Network Professional) certification. While the CCVP (Cisco Certified Voice Professional) certification will now be CCNP Voice.
Additionally, the new CCNP Voice exams are available now, while the new CCNP Security exams will be available starting this Friday, November 26, 2010.
The fact that Cisco has renamed the CCVP and CCSP certifications shows an alignment across the three levels of Cisco certifications: CCNA, CCNP and CCIE. Hopefully this will reduce some confusion around the different certification paths and levels for aspiring Cisco professionals.
With the launch of the new CCNP Voice and CCNP Security exams, a number of Cisco exams will be retiring next year, including:
Cisco Certified Voice Professional Exams Retiring on February 28, 2011:
- 642-436 CVOICE (Cisco Voice over IP v6.0)
- 642-446 CIPT1 (Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Manager Part 1 v6.0)
- 642-456 CIPT2 (Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Manager Part 2 v6.0)
- 642-426 TUC (Troubleshooting Cisco Unified Communications Systems v1.0)
- 642-642 QoS (Quality of Service)
Cisco Certified Security Professional Exams Retiring on April 8, 2011:
- 642-504 SNRS (Securing Networks with Cisco Routers and Switches)
- 642-524 SNAF (Securing Networks with ASA Foundation)
- 642-515 SNAA (Securing Networks with ASA Advanced)
Cisco Certified Security Professional Exams Retiring on May 31, 2011:
- 642-533 IPS v6.0 (Implementing Cisco Intrusion Prevention System v6.0)
New Path to SQL Server 2008 Certified Master
Microsoft has officially announced a new MCM (Microsoft Certified Master) SQL Server 2008 certification path. Changes to the certification path were made in order to lower the price and add more flexibility without lowering the bar on quality.
Here are the changes to the SQL Server 2008 MCM Certification as outlined on Born to Learn:
- The 3-week training requirement has been removed, and will now rely on experience
- You will earn the MCM title in SQL Server 2008 by passing two exams in the following order:
- Exam 88-970: SQL Server 2008 Microsoft Certified Master: Knowledge Exam (now available)
- Exam 88-971: SQL Server 2008 Microsoft Certified Master: Lab Exam (available in Q1 2011)
- The new exams are being written with the help of 25 SQL Server industry experts, both internal and external to Microsoft
- Several training and preparation resources will be made available, including a recommended reading list, skills being measured, several hours of free online video instruction by top SQL Server experts, and soon, four new instructor led courses covering the exams
For more information on the SQL Server 2008 MCM see Microsoft Learning.
HP Releases ExpertONE Certifications
HP recently released ExpertONE, a new line of networking certifications for IT professionals in job roles such as administration, integration, sales and support.
The certifications focus on not only the technical knowledge needed in networking careers, but also the business and financial aspects involved.
HP is hoping to be a contender to current networking certification providers such as Cisco, and even offers a “fast-track” program to give those who already hold Cisco certifications credit towards HP ExpertONE certifications.
Learn more about the new HP ExpertONE certifications.
New PMP Certification
The Project Management Institute (PMI) has announced that it will be updating it’s popular Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification in 2011. These changes reflect what was recently found in PMI’s Role Delineation Study (RDS.) The RDS is a study done every five to seven years to ensure that all credentials stay relevant and evolve to meet current standards and professional needs. The study involves over 3,000 PMP credential holders who provides feedback to PMI about what may need to be changed or refined.
According to the recent RDS results, about 30% of the PMP exam’s content will change, but the education and experience requirements will remain the same. Among the changes, the “Professional and Social Responsibility” content area (domain 6) will be spread out across all other domains, rather than having it’s own separate domain.
For more details on what changes are in store for the PMP exam, you can view the official updates page.
November Certification Recap
That’s all for this month, check back next month for more IT certification updates. Have any questions? Did I miss something? Feel free to leave your questions or comments below.
- CompTIA Storage+ SME Workshop
- New Security+ Exam
- 15% Off Project+ Exam
- New LPIC-305 Exam
- Cisco Security and Voice Certification Changes
- New Path to SQL Server 2008 Certified Master
- HP ExpertONE certifications
- PMP certification changes
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