For System Administrators looking for ways to bolster their skills or to get ahead of the competition when job hunting, data center management training and certifications could be the answer. Experienced and educated data center designers, managers and facilities personnel have a lot of opportunities to advance by earning certifications.
Certifications are broken up into multiple categories to reflect the specific duties that fall under that certification and what products it is tailored for. Here are 8 data center certifications to help you learn and earn like a professional.
The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Data Center certification is a great introductory certification that all networking professionals should receive at the beginning of their career. Earning this certification requires a basic knowledge of data center practices, such as addressing schemes, troubleshooting and configuring switches, network and server virtualization and storage and load balancing.
The certification consists of two modules: Introducing Cisco Data Center Networking (DCICN) and Introducing Cisco Data Center Technologies (DCICT).
Check out this CCNA practice exam.
Another popular certification from the same vendor is Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Data Center. The CCNP certification is geared toward architects but lets you choose between either a design or troubleshooting track.
This certification demonstrates that the individual is capable of implementing Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) rack-mount servers; installing, configuring and managing Cisco Nexus switches; and implementing and deploying automation of Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI). The CCNP is best suited for those with three to five years of experience.
Check out this CCNP practice course.
The VMware Certified Professional 6 – Data Center Virtualization (VCP6-DCV) certification is one of VMware’s most popular certifications. This is an increasingly valuable certification to have as cloud computing and virtualization technology become more widely adopted. VCP6-DCV is specifically geared toward the VMware vSphere product.
The certification requires a thorough understanding of the Domain Name System (DNS), routing and database connectivity techniques and how to deploy, configure, manage and scale VMware vSphere environments and storage. The company recommends having at least six months of experience working with vSphere 6.
Pass the VMWare test with this practice test!
Schneider Electric’s Data Center Certified Associates (DCCA) is a vendor-neutral certification. It’s a great entry-level certification for team members who design, build and manage data centers.
The course covers many of the basic concepts of data center operations, including Data Center Tier Levels, cabling, cooling, security, fire suppression system, electrical supply and more. This certification is a great way to get a leg up when searching for entry-level data center positions.
The BICSI Data Center Design Consultant (DCDC) is another vendor-neutral certification but is meant for more experienced engineers, architects and designers with at least two years of experience designing, planning and implementing data centers.
The course is primarily centered around data center design and physical infrastructure. At least two years of experience in data center design and construction is required to obtain this certification, and the experience must be current within the past six years.
The Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) from BICSI is specific to telecommunications and data communications technology. It’s meant to show competence in the design, implementation, integration and project management of communications-related infrastructure.
This certification requires a minimum of two years of experience in telecommunications and data communications. You can also add a specialty to this certification that requires you to pass another exam.
CNet is based in the UK, so their Certified Data Center Management Professional (CDCMP) certification isn’t as common on job postings in the U.S. as others on this list, but it’s still a great learning opportunity. It’s best for data center managers, operations managers, facilities managers and IT and network managers.
This certification will professionals manage, control, and improve the operational effectiveness of the data center infrastructure. CNet recommends at least two years of experience in a technical IT or operations role. The company also requires a pre-class study program, which is supported by a dedicated online Tutor.
In EMC’s courses, you learn about storage, virtualization and architecture all based on EMC’s technologies. No surprise there. It might surprise you to know, however, that every data center in the world uses EMC’s products.
They might use VMware, a SAN, EMC’s other software and hardware solutions or a combination. But as an EMC Proven Professional, you’ll walk into any data center with the right knowledge to manage those systems from day one. EMC offers certifications for all levels from System Administrator to Architect.
Ken Hess is an Enable SysAdmin Community Manager and an Enable SysAdmin contributor. Ken has used Red Hat Linux since 1996 and has written ebooks, whitepapers, actual books, thousands of exam review questions, and hundreds of articles on open source and other topics. Ken also has 20+ years of experience as an enterprise sysadmin with Unix, Linux, Windows, and Virtualization.
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