Popular Certifications In Cloud Computing And Virtualization

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With organizations realizing the advantages of cloud computing, there is great demand for professionals with relevant experience.

Many companies are using consultants to implement virtualization initially; however, system administrators will have to upgrade their cloud computing skills eventually. In a few years, it could even be a standard skill set because it touches different aspects of IT. Hence, virtualization certification is one of the skills in great demand now.

Before looking at certifications, we should be clear about the concepts of cloud computing and virtualization. Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

Virtualization is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as an operating system, a server, a storage device or network resources. It is the pooling of physical storage from multiple network storage devices into what appears to be a single ...
... storage device that is managed from a central console. Storage virtualization is commonly used in a storage area network (SAN).

Cloud computing does not center on virtualization or any one technology. Virtualization is simply one of the elements of cloud computing. That is, cloud computing can happen without virtualization.

Virtualization vendors, including VMware, Citrix and Microsoft, offer vendor-specific virtualization certification programs that can help networking professionals who know they will be dealing with these specific technologies. Red Hat also offers virtualization certification at administrative and engineering levels for Linux-based environments.

While there are no completely vendor-neutral, all-encompassing virtualization certifications, Dice Learning offers a course that covers Hyper-V, VMware HyperVisor, Citrix XenSource, and QEMU, claiming to prepare candidates for all related certifications. The offering is quite expensive, weighing in at around $1,000 per day of classroom time.

3Tera Certifications
3Tera's cloud computing training and certifications programs are accessible to IT professionals who are either evaluating or using the AppLogic cloud computing platform. Certifications are awarded upon successful completion of the training coursework and online testing.
Certified Cloud Operator: This program is targeted at those who deploy the service. It includes enterprises, service providers, operation professionals, and system integrators.

Certified Cloud Architect: This program is aimed at system architects, application developers, IT operations professionals, and system engineers, who deploy, manage, design, and integrate applications.

VMware Certifications
VMware offers a product-centric virtualization certification programs. It offers different complementary tracks to tap into specific technical skill sets.

VMware Certified Professional (VCP): The VCP program helps to gain expertise in virtual infrastructure. This certification is designed to teach how to successfully install, manage, and deploy VMware vSphere 4. A VMware authorized instructor-led course is required.

VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX): The VCDX is the highest level of VMware certification. It is designed for veteran professionals who want to validate and demonstrate their expertise in VMware virtual infrastructure. This certification makes you highly skilled in VMware enterprise deployments.

Certified Virtualization Expert® (CVE®): The CVE® is a vendor-specific, third-party certification course tailored to VMware, not a general examination of various virtualization products and platforms. It conveys that the individual who achieves the certification possesses the in-depth knowledge related to virtual design, maintenance, and infrastructure management, is a subject matter expert in the field of virtualization, and that his/her training is current, relevant, and complete.

Certified Advanced Professional Program - Cloud Computing Certification: The VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP) program recognizes individuals who demonstrate technical mastery of advanced Administration and advanced Design disciplines for VMware vSphere solutions. This certification will enable organizations to transform IT environments through virtualization to help them better realize the greater value from flexible, agile IT-as-a-Service and cloud computing models.

Citrix Certifications
Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer (CCEE) for Virtualization: The CCEE certification is designed to certify knowledge across Citrix virtualization solutions. It validates the ability of IT professionals to combine the coordination of operational planning efforts with tactical design expertise and integration know-how.

Citrix Certified Integration Architect (CCIA) for Virtualization: The CCIA certification focuses on best practices for analysis and design of Citrix virtualization technologies. It certifies the knowledge required for successful deployments, while providing recognition and credibility to IT professionals.

Citrix Certified Administrator (CCA) for XenDesktop and XenServer: The CCA spans Citrix solutions, validating the skills necessary to implement specific Citrix products, such as XenDesktop and XenServer. The Citrix XenDesktop certification certifies IT professionals in end-to-end solutions and tests this knowledge in an examination that covers installation, configuration, and administration within an enterprise environment. The CCA certification for XenServer examines similar skills but applies to XenServer in enterprise environments.

Microsoft Certifications
Unlike Citrix and VMware, Microsoft builds its virtualization expertise into other platform certifications rather than specifically around its virtualization technology.

Virtualization competency is validated as part of the Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) on Windows Server 2003 training and examination.
In addition, the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) includes virtualization-specific aspects of IT professionals working in medium- to large-scale computing environments.

The MCTS: System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM), Configuring certification validates skills needed to configure SCVMM in a Windows Server infrastructure.

Red Hat certification
Red Hat Certified Virtualization Administrator (RHCVA): Launched recently, the RHCVA certification is designed to equip IT professionals with cloud computing infrastructure deployment skills.

Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge From Cloud Security Alliance
The Industry's first examination of cloud security knowledge was launched by the company 'Cloud Security Alliance'. The launch of CSA's CCSK program is an important step in improving security professionals' understanding of cloud security challenges and best practices and will lead to improved trust of and increased use of cloud services. The Cloud Security Alliance's User Certification is a big step forward in ensuring that IT professionals considering deploying applications into the cloud understand security issues.

Storage virtualization certifications
Organizations, such as the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), EMC Corporation, and Brocade Communications Systems provide industry-standard storage certifications that uniformly examine skill sets encompassing the wide variety of technologies across virtual and physical storage types.
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