LPI Certification

In the previous article I talked about Linux+ certification and why it is a good certification path to follow. As with everything with Linux, you have a choice as to which way is best for you. There also is a Linux Professional Institute (LPI) certification which offers its own advantages. While the Linux+ track is better for those involved in a mixed environment, the LPI track is better suited for those involved in a *nix environment.

The path for the LPI certification follows a similar path as the Linux+ exam. When looking at which certification path to take technicians need to look at what environment they are involved with. Those looking to pass the LPI exam should have about 6 to 12 months of experience working in a Linux environment and the person can run a stand-alone Linux system and perform basic administrative jobs. One of the bigger differences between the two tests is that there seems to be a larger international community supporting the LPI exam.

Novell is keeping with the idea of using the LPI exams as a preferred requisite for the Novell exams, the LPI exam has been a requirement with the SuSE track of certifications. This follows the idea we covered in the previous article of having two tracks for Linux certification, one for an introduction and the other which allows technicians to specify which products they will focus on. The concept of modularity is a key principle to Linux development and this includes when you plan your career development. One of the ideas evolving is to use a vendor-neutral certification to get your start in the industry and expand from there to specific vendor-specific certifications depending on which systems you primarily work with.

LPI has two levels (LPIC-1 and LPIC-2) with a third in the development stage. Each of the two levels is made up of two tests. The first test for the LPIC-1 has two options based on the different package managers which are available, one for red Hat’s RPM and the second for Debian’s DPKG. When you register for your first test you will choose between one of the two options and there will be a number of questions covering that particular package manager. The LPIC-1 101 test is made up of 65 questions with a small number of questions concerning the package manager you chose to be tested on. The LPIC-1 102 test is made up of 73 questions. Grading for each test is on a scale of 200 to 800with a passing score of 500. Both tests need to be passed in order to qualify for the LPIC-1 certification.

The objectives covered for the LPIC-1 101 exam include: Hardware and architecture, Installation and Package Management, Unix Commands, Devices, Linux File System Hierarchy standard, and the X Window system. The LPIC-1 102 exam objectives include: Kernel, Boot, Initialization, Shutdown and Run levels, Printing, Documentation, Shells, Scripting, Programming and Compiling, Administrative Tasks, Networking Fundamentals, Networking Services, and Security

LPI uses several methods to ensure the materials on their exams are appropriate for those taking the exam. This process results in using a range to judge each test individually and verify that a minimally qualified candidate taking the exam should be able to answer each question. This ensures that the questions on the exams are appropriate for the level of the exam and sets a minimum standard for when changes are made to the exam the new questions will be appropriate. Recently LPI has started a new policy where they are adding beta questions on the exam. The beta questions are not included in the scoring for the exam. The beta questions will allow LPI to add to their question pool faster rather than going through a beta phase before reorganizing their exam.

When preparing for a LPI exam there are a number of options available which LPI has identified and which other companies have made available for someone to use.

LPI has identified several companies which are providing resources for the LPI exams, Bradford Learning, Linux Certified, Linupfront.de and several others. These companies usually provide sample chapters of their courseware on their sites. The advantage these companies provide is hands-on training with experienced instructors who you can ask questions of during the course.

There are several sites which have posted their Linux training material as Open source material. LinuxIT has published their course and make it available as a free download. The courses can be found in .sxw format on the nongnu site. IBM has developed an area within their site which they offer up tutorials on preparing for Linux certification. David Horton has published an LPI exam study guide on the internet which is good to use. All of these sites offer up a framework from which one can study on their own for the exam.

If you want to ask someone who is actively studying for one of the exams another good site to visit is the LPIForums.com site. There are a number of active discussions which are focused on any questions you might have in regards to LPI certification.

To help familiarize testers to the environment of an LPI exam there are several sites which offer sample test questions. The linux-praxis.de site and ph-home.de site focuses on offering LPI questions and answers in a format which is similar to what you will find on the actual test. The Question of the Day site offers up a daily email with a question which is directed towards on of the two first level tests.

Finally, there are a couple of books which have helped people prepare for the exams, they are LPI Linux certification in a Nutshell by Jeffrey Dean and LPI Exam Cram 2 by Ross Brunson.

Evan Leibovitch the President of LPI was kind enough to conduct a phone interview after he had finished a Linux conference in Senegal Africa for four French speaking nations focusing on training people to proctor Linux exams. Evan is actively involved in the international community to bring Linux certification to anyone who needs it.

The Exam LPI 101 provides a choice to the candidate depending upon their expertise; either in additional questions in the Redhat or the Debian package manager. There are only a small number of questions that focus on the package managers and this is due to LPI’s stance on providing a distribution neutral program. These package managers have been the standard for Linux installation of software for sometime now.

When asked about when the LPI was going to add newer topics into the LPI exams, Evan mentioned that LPI uses the Linux Standard Base as a guide for what a Linux system will universally use. The Linux Standard Base is still on version 2.0.1 and doesn’t change often. LPI is focused on providing a standard on which candidates can prove their knowledge for various levels of Linux support and administration. A technician holding an LPI certification will be able to work on any flavor of Linux.

LPI is constantly adding new questions into the pool which are focused on the current objectives. There is an exact process which must be followed before a question can be added to the exam and considered a score able question. Normally there is no flexibility when adding questions to a question pool on a certification exam. LPI choose this process to enable their exam to stay live. One of the ways LPI collects statistics on questions is to include them as beta questions on the live exams. These beta questions are not score able but they are not separated form score able questions. This will also stop people from producing braindumps on the exam, which limits the integrity of an exam.

I asked Evan what he is doing in regards to working with other groups and Evan reminded me that LPI is strictly Vendor Independent. SuSE has used the LPI exams as a prerequisite for the exams and Novell recommends applicants for their Novell Linux exams have passed the LPI exams before attempting the Novell exam. Also LPI does work with several firms and is sponsored by several firms throughout the Linux community.

LPI is also reaching out through Local Linux Users Groups, Novell User International, and various Linux trade shows to promote LPI testing events. The next LPI event will be in Boston at LinuxWorld in February 2005 as well as at other LinuxWorld events across the country. LPI is also involved with CeBIT events in Germany and Linux.Conf.Au events in Australia. Evan just finished an event in Africa that helped four French speaking countries in proctoring Linux exams.

I asked Evan what LPI does to help direct people to what to study for the exam, while LPI does not prepare or sell training material, they do offer some guidelines for others who do have material on their website http://www.lpi.org/latm.html Evan said they encourage candidates to follow the LPI objectives and take their own path towards certification which may or may not include formal education.

Finally, Evan mentioned that LPI is actively reviewing the new LPI level III certification and in 2005 he expects to make a big formal announcement regarding a new level III certification that will be radically different from the two other LPI certifications.

There should be some very big moves done in 2005 in regards to Linux certification and it will be an exciting year for Linux overall.

Links:
LPI: http://www.lpi.org/en/lpic.html

LPI Forums: http://www.lpiforums.com/

NonGNU site: http://www.nongnu.org/lpi-manuals/downloads.html

IBM Developer Works: http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/views/linux/tutorials.jsp?sort_order=desc&expand=&sort_by=Date&show_abstract=true&view_by=Search&search_by=%28release+2%29&S_TACT=104AHW03&S_CMP=ZHP

David Horton site: http://www.happy-monkey.net/LPI/LPI-Self-Study-Guide.html

Linux-praxis.de site: http://www.linux-praxis.de/lpisim/lpi.html

Ph-home.de site: http://www.ph-home.de/linux-test/lpi-1/index.php

Questions of the Day: http://qod.us/

Linux jobs increasing, outsourcing showing signs of weakness

Linux jobs increasing, outsourcing showing signs of weakness Linux IT has an interview with David Foote of Foote Partners. In the interview David talks about how Linux and open Source has been one of the hottest skills in demand during the last 12 months.

Also noted during the interview David points out that the supply of people trained in Linux has been catching up to the demand, The good news is that the demand for Linux skills has continued increasing. Now if I can just get more of these jobs to come to the Chicago land area I can look at getting a better job where I actually am able to work with what I write about.

A final note that David makes is that he believes certification is the best argument for keeping or hiring someone.

Tectonic -- The Real Value of Certification

Tectonic -- The Real Value of Certification Alan McKinnon writes a good article about the value of certifications in a job environment. His main point is that competency is an ability and it is hard to measure an ability.

He also talks about how certification holders who use brain dumps as their main means of passing an exam actually dimminish the quality of the certification.

I believe there are two kinds of certificaiton exams the first kind of certificaiton is a begining level certification similar to the CompTIA or LPI level 1 or the CCNA. Each of these certifications looks to measure a basic understanding of certain concepts. These certs are designed to help get your foot into a company's door and then allow you to build your career from there with experience and additional certifications.

The second kind of certification is designed to mesure an advanced competency level. These certifications only have value when they are combined with the appropriate level of experience. Having one without the other is meaningless.

In his next article Alan promises to talk about some of the Linux certifications which do a better job of measuring competency than other OS certifications.

NOVELL: Linux Quick Reference Guide

NOVELL: Linux Quick Reference Guide Continueing on Novell's path to be involved in the Linux community they are offering a free Quick Reference Quide for anyone who wants to download the .pdf file.

The topics which are covered are Console Usage Tips, Boot Information, Mount Options, Important Directories, X Window Keystrokes, and Linux commands with DOS/ Windows equivalents.

For anyone who doesn't have all the commands at the forefront of their thinking this is an excellent quick reference guide.

Shun Linux and kiss your job security good-bye,

Shun Linux and kiss your job security good-bye This is the first part of a two part series on Robin Miller's book "Point and Click Linux: Your guide to Trouble-Free Computing"

Robin's book focuses on how to build Linux skills and help lead a company and it's users into using Linux.

I like the general idea in that Admins who have focused solely on Microsoft and if they have any Microsoft certifications they will find themselves lost in the upcoming switch over to Linux. I personally don't think there will be a massive switch to Linux on the desktops anytime soon but I do believe that with Microsoft's move away from Win NT 4.0 there will be more of a move on the back end towards Linux due to the inherent security features that Linux has over Windows.

Companies who have held onto a system as long as they have with Win NT 4.0 have to like the idea of Linux in that it is easier to upgrade, secure and expand. Linux is a networking Operating System and this is where Linux will initially excel.

LPI News - November/December 2004 Newsletter

LPI News - Nov/Dec 2004 Newsletter LPI has published their Nov/ Dec newsletter.

In Dec Evan Leibovitch, the President of LPI, was in Senegal Africa training proctors for Linux exams. Evan took some time out during this time to talk with me about LPI certification. I should be posting this LPIcertification article next week. The article will be in a similar pattern to the Linux+ article I posted last week.

Some other dates to keep in mind are LinuxWorld coming to Boston in mid-Feb and Linux Desktop Summit in San Diego during about the same time. If you happen to be in either area, either event should be good to walk through. LPI will be at both events ofereing up LPI certification exams.

Free self-study guide from Novell

Novell Linux Desktop 9 – FREE self-study guide Novell is offering a free self-study guide for the Linux desktop. The guide is being distributed in an acrobat format so it should be fairly easy to move between systems and through email. The guide is 247 pages long and covers about anything you might need covered to install and use a SUSE system. It will be a good guide to keep in your library for future use.

You have to go through the Novell subscription to get a copy but it is your option if you put in legitimate information or not. Have fun

LPIC I Exam Cram 2

LPIC I Exam Cram 2 Exam Cram has updated their book for the LPIC1 series certification. This should be a good resource for anyone who is preparing for the LPI level 1 exam. When I have a chance I will try and find a review of the book and post it. This book also covers both the 101 and 102 exams.

Linux+ Certification

During the next couple of weeks I am going to post a series of four articles which will try and explain what to expect with the different Linux certifications that are available for one to choose from.

Open Source projects are having a deeper impact on business than which systems we use. The move towards more open source projects is also changing the way people prepare themselves for their careers. One certification will not suffice for pushing your career forward. Technicians will need core knowledge and skills to start with and then use additional certifications to justify new technologies or skills. Programmers are able to prove their worth by which programs they make available through open source projects. Technicians have a more difficult time of proving their knowledge and certifications are one way to do this. Some of the questions that we need to start off with are which certification does one start and which paths are the best ones to take.

Some of these changes have been detailed in a study conducted by CRN magazine. In the article, they discuss a new certification model which is emerging where solution providers are looking for vendor-neutral certifications first, followed by vendor-specific/ technology certifications as needed. According to the survey this move is being driven by three factors 1) a shift by vendors to multi-vendor solution options, 2) the cost of maintaining an escalating number of certifications and 3) the Return on Investment for the current model.

Corporations use certifications to validate engineers’ skills and experiences, act as proof of professional achievements, enhance job opportunities and justify bonuses.

According to the CRN study, the CompTIA Linux+ certification is the fastest growing vendor-neutral certification. CompTIA’s Linux+ certification fits nicely into this new certification model whereby vendors can have people who have a general knowledge of Linux followed later with specific certifications that fit a career path. The target audience for a Linux+ exam is anyone with 6 to 12 months of experience with Linux. CompTIA also recommends that you have the A+ and Network+ certifications to help round out your credentials. Once the test has been passed the user is certified for life.

There are certain advantages in going through CompTIA for your vendor-neutral certifications. The first is that CompTIA offers up a suite of vendor neutral products which someone can use as a basis for their career. For those who work in environments with multiple platforms the Linux+ has more visibility for them within their company. If anything would happen to change they would be well situated to adapt to whichever way their career takes them. Also, CompTIA also provides the CompTIA TechCareer Compass (TCC) which offers up a career center that applicants can use to take advantage of their certifications and focus on jobs that best suit their abilities.

For a Linux+ certification it requires one test which is a 94 question test that you are given 90 minutes to complete. The questions are either situational multiple-choice or identification questions. The test is graded on a scale from 100 to 900 with a passing score of 655. The cost of the exam is normally $155.

The exam has recently been updated and is currently going through a beta phase. The beta exam has 145 questions while the beta exam is out the price is only $75. The Linux+ beta exam has been finished on December 31, 2004. The new test changes 75% of the objectives previously covered, the new objectives are being amended to reflect the changing environment for those involved in help desks, support technicians, network administrations or database and application development jobs.

While Linux+ is going through their beta exam, testers will have to rely on the current study material and focus on the topics for the new objectives. The books I’ve found in the past to be the most useful for preparing for a Linux+ exam have been the Linux+ Study Guide by Roderick Smith and the Linux+ Certification Bible by Trevor Kay. Another option for testers is to take each objective and use material which is readily available on the internet.

There are also a number of tutorials on the internet that focus on different aspects of Linux. To help prepare for the exam take a look at LinuxCertified’s free Linux+ tutorial on their web site.

Colleges are getting more involved in teaching Linux courses. A quick scan of colleges in the Chicago–wide area shows at least 3 courses focusing on Linux in every college and a Linux lab available for studying at most of the colleges. CompTIA has also worked with several colleges to enable their certifications to act as credit towards a college degree.

Another good place to start preparing for the exam is the Man pages. This is where you will go for your instant access information when you are working on a Linux system. The one thing which everyone mentions that helps prepare them prepare for the exam is to work on a Linux system, set up a small network at home, set up a system to dual boot between Windows and Linux or even use one of the portable systems like Knoppix to run from your current system. The experience will go a long way towards improving your knowledge of Linux and preparing you for the exam.

I believe that to fully prepare for a certification test you need to go through similar tests that help you familiarize yourself with the environment that a test will be like. There are a couple of sites that focus on providing test engines for preparing for the test. Some of the better know engines are Boson, Transender. They do offer up free trials that I would recommend taking advantage of.

Following is an interview with Yvonne Keith, CompTIA Linux+ program manager; she was kind enough to answer some questions regarding Linux+ and the future of the Linux+ exam:

1. With the Linux+ beta exam out, is there a timeline when the full CompTIA Linux+ exam will go live?
The results of the beta exam will determine the exact timeline; once exam results are reviewed and beta takers’ comments and questions are addressed, the exam will be adjusted as necessary and then final launch date determined and announced. The exam is expected to launch during first quarter 2005.

2. CompTIA has been refocusing several of their exams, what was the reasoning for refocusing the question matrix of the Linux+ exam?
Exam content must reflect knowledge appropriate to the marketplace – a marketplace that is requiring an expanding range of Linux job tasks.
The new version of the exam comprises 19 percent installation, 20 percent configuration, 26 percent management and maintenance, 21 percent security, six percent documentation, and eight percent Linux hardware.

3. Why does CompTIA use a scoring scale instead of using a percentage scale, and any plans to change this?
There are no plans to change this; this scaled scoring method is routinely used on many high stakes public exams in a number of fields and allows for question weighting, more accurately testing a wide range of knowledge areas. It helps organizations like CompTIA maintain psychometric validity of the exam across groups of candidates and over time.

4. CompTIA has a number of vendor-neutral products; where does CompTIA see itself in relation to vendor specific certifications and any plans to form a relationship with someone?
Generally speaking, CompTIA exams serve their specialty area as a broad-based vendor neutral foundation on which to build. Many CompTIA certifications are recognized as electives toward, or recommended in preparation for, higher level vendor specific exams.

5. Where should someone go to find material to prepare for a CompTIA Linux+ exam?
In preparation for the CompTIA Linux+ exam, candidates should first review the exam objectives, available at http://www.comptia.org/certification/linux/objectives.aspx and ensure that study materials cover all these areas. This is always the first step in exam preparation but especially so if you plan on taking a newly updated or beta version of an exam, for which specific training materials may not yet be available. CompTIA Authorized Quality Curriculum is listed at http://www.comptia.org/certification/linux/get_CAQC.aspx

6. Any work being done with Linux User Groups?
CompTIA advisory committee members and subject matter experts who participate in maintenance and development of the exams come from a wide range of organizations and industry groups globally.

Links:
CRN survey: http://www.crn.com/sections/special/certification/certification.jhtml?articleId=42700081
CompTIA’s Linux site http://www.comptia.org/certification/linux/default.aspx

Boson’s practice tests: http://www.finaldownload.com/education_teaching_tools_linux_practice_tests_from_boson.html

Transender Practice test: http://www.componentsource.com/catalog.asp?fl=&bc=&sc=CS&PO=512185&option=5795&bhcp=1
LinuxCertified http://www.linuxcertified.com/e-learning/linuxplus/

The Linux Documentation Project: http://www.tldp.org/

InfoWorld: Red Hat readies Enterprise Linux update

InfoWorld: Red Hat readies Enterprise Linux update Infoworld is carrying a story about Red Hat's next upgrade, RHEL 4.0. This upgrade should roll out Feb 14. Maybe Red Hat is hoping for a Valentine's kiss this year!!

A couple things which will be important with this roll out will be the change in the way that the virtual memory system handles writing data to disk, Logical Volume Manager 2 which better integrates with the operating system and eliminates the 1T byte file system size limit with the current Red Hat version, the complete upgrade to the 2.6 kernel, and the improved "security enhancements derived from the U.S. National Security Agency's Security Enhanced Linux project, as well as improved device and power management capabilities."

Another thing to keep in mind is anyone who was certified under RHEL 2.0 will now have an obsolete certification and will have to be recertified. This time frame will be important for people to keep in mind when dealing with their certifications.

It looks like Red Hat is sticking to a 16 or 17 month release cycle for their Enterprise editions. RedHat Enterprise Edition 2.1 was released on May 6, 2002 and the RedHat Enterprise Edition 3.0 was released Oct 22, 2003.

Novell Certified Linux Professional - CertMag

Novell Certified Linux Professional - CertMag CertMag is starting the New Year off with a new article on what it takes to become a Novell CLP. The article does a good job of listing the different courses which Novell offers up for their CLP exam.

The article partially reads like a promotion for Novell, but that is due to the author is Novell's worldwide IT certification program manager. This still doesn't stop the article from being a good article overall about what it takes to become a CLP.

Linux, security projected hot skills for 2005

Linux, security projected hot skills for 2005 This TechTarget article references the Certmag article which I talked about back on Dec 12th.

One thing to point out though is they do have some nice comments from David Foote of Foots Partners and Tony Lams of D.H. Brown and Assoc Inc which adds to what the previous article talks about.

One of the ideas which is starting to go around is the talent wars are arming back up. those with the talent, experience, and certification will be in high demand. Remember, any one who worked on their IT skills throughout the 90's was paid very well by teh end of the decade, either in an outright paycheck or by staying with one company throughout most of the time and growing from within the company.

Anyone who thinks they can sit on their laurels and advance through attrition should find themselves falling further behind those who work on their skills.

2005 will be an exciting year.