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The latest in Novell Linux certifications
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CommentsAt BrainShare 2008 in March, Novell introduced a set of Linux certifications for administrators. Rather than being directed at higher-end Linux managers, like the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) or Novell's own Novell Linux Certified Engineer (NLCE), the new certifications are meant for entry-level Linux administrators, one step above the Linux Professional Institute's entry-level LPIC-1.
The first of the SUSE Linux-based certifications is the Certified Linux Administrator (CLA). This, according to Jim Henderson, Novell's global manager of instructor programs, in a blog posting, measures your Linux knowledge but not necessarily your skill at applying that knowledge.
Henderson says, "The CLA is a test designed to let the candidate demonstrate knowledge, not skills. The primary focus is to let people know that Linux isn't hard -- that's a myth. It's just different than what they may be used to (NetWare, Windows, Mac, etc.)."
The other certifications are more useful for actually getting a Linux job. The Novell Certified Linux Desktop Administrator (CLDA) also measures knowledge rather than hands-on skill, but it's pointed straight at the growing field of Linux desktop administration.
The Novell Certified Administrator (NCA) is a high-level Linux version of the venerable Certified NetWare Administrator (CNA) certification. Like its ancestor, this certification focuses on administering network and server resources and services. In contrast to the CNA, the NCA, as Henderson says, "focuses on a wider range of products, but with fairly shallow knowledge in each (after all, it is a five-day course; how much depth can [students] get for four or five complex products in that time period?)." Like the others, this is a forms-based test rather than one that measures how well you'd do with a smoking server and 20 calls stacked up on the help desk.
The final new certification, the Novell Certified Engineer - Enterprise Services (NCE-ES -- focuses on the Linux side of Novell Open Enterprise Server 2. Here, Henderson says, the focus is "on doing rather than on knowing." As such, this certification is the one that's most likely to prove helpful for someone looking for a high-end Linux administrator job.
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was the operating system of choice for PCs and 2BSD Unix was what the cool kids used on their computers.
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Re: The latest in Novell Linux certifications
Posted by: Anonymous [ip: 137.65.61.48] on June 02, 2008 05:54 PMWhile I'm not the one to answer this question officially, it's my personal belief that it doesn't change Novell's relationship at all - LPI provides vendor-neutral Linux certification, whereas our certifications are Novell-specific. As a major Linux player, we've historically supported many things that help advance the adoption of Linux, and I don't see that changing.
Jim Henderson
The LPI has probably the best direction in being distro neutral and focusing on C/L/console approach to working with Linux. This is because the command line removes many if not most of the differences between gui's across distros. There are still some things that will separate the distros, such as package managers, etc but over all, it's the C/L that unifies Linux across the board.
If anything, perhaps it would be best to work with the LPI in asserting "specialist" cetificates on top of the "base" certifications. such as a Novell/Suse certificate that certifies gui familiarty and ability in the Suse environment. Certificates similar for RH and ubuntu, Gentoo, Debian, etc could be offered as well, using the current LPI C/L platform. This would bring present Linux as a more unified OS rather than an each distro for itself thing we seem to have now.
Big Bear
> Professional Institute's entry-level LPIC-1.
There's already a certification one step above LPIC-1... It's called LPIC-2.
The latest in Novell Linux certifications
Posted by: Anonymous [ip: 198.182.208.51] on May 31, 2008 03:57 PM#