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Part of your decision is recognizing that there are two types of certifications. One is a more general type that says you are knowledgeable in a specific area of infrastructure. The tests check for skills that work independent of specific vendors, which is important. Computing is frequently heterogeneous. |
Then there are the vendor-specific certifications, created and administered by the vendors themselves. Often, they can be self-serving. |
"Every vendor is going to find a way to keep you as a captive customer so you cannot leave them," Agarwal said. Ones with greater market share—Cisco in networking is a great example—want to keep professionals close at hand because those are the people who have a lot of influence in what equipment and software companies will purchase going forward. |
But the certifications continue to expand, making decisions difficult. "There are nine CCNA exams [now]," said Kimberley Parsons Trommler, now a product evangelist but formerly a senior systems engineer also involved in certification and training for Paessler, a provider of network and IT monitoring products. "It makes it very difficult for someone just starting out to know what they should do. And it makes it complicated for the employer. They probably need routing and switching and security, but people applying will probably have only one of those. Which is more relevant to the position they're trying to fill?" |
What if you want to keep your options open and be able to work for a company that uses networking equipment from a different vendor—for example, Jupiter or Brocade? Trying to cover all possibilities is wildly impractical. There are also entirely new types of certifications coming out that you may need to consider, even though they initially don't seem to be about infrastructure. |
"As we move toward software-defined everything, the capabilities that companies require are more aligned with dev practices and less aligned with operational practices," said Chris Ciborowski, CEO of Nebulaworks. And yet developers don't understand all the needs of deployment at scale. "If you're going to be a scripting or tool developer, you have to understand those things and translate the tools and monitoring solutions the developers need to use," he said. |
For example, Jenkins is a popular open-source continuous integration automation tool that can merge all development work into a mainline body of code. CloudBees offers a platform-as-a-service delivery of Jenkins and created the first certification for the technology. |
"Some products are so important for the market that it means something for them to be certified," said Francois Dechery, CloudBees' vice president of customer success. "You cannot be certified on our certification without being knowledgeable and having hands-on experience with Jenkins." |
Then there are technologies that may not currently have certifications but might soon. Docker, for example, automates application deployment inside of software containers in a virtual hosting environment. |
Developing your certification strategy: Seek balance |
In short, this is a game with a bewildering number of choices and high personal stakes. Your decisions have to depend on developing a personal strategy in the context of technology and market trends. However, here are some principles that will come into play: |
You need a balance between vendor-specific certifications and those that cover concepts in a vendor-neutral way. |
Another balance you need is between proven areas that have become a baseline requirement for many employers and those that represent the future and can act as competitive differentiation in the market. |
A third type of balance to seek is across the spectrum of resource types. You're looking at your future as an infrastructure pro, so be sure you can navigate from an in-house data center, across whatever network architecture you might face, to a cloud, and then across cloud services if necessary. |
Remember that software increasingly controls configuration of infrastructure hardware, including virtual resources, so don't neglect important development skills. (Check out my guide to coding bootcamps.) |
What follows are some of the top certification categories for the expanding concept of infrastructure along with specific ones for in-demand technologies. Popularity was largely the driving factor in choosing specific certifications, with more advanced versions of certification taking precedence over lower-level ones. However, remember that a less-sought certification can still be the difference between an interview invitation and radio silence on the company's part if that business has standardized on a given vendor's technology. |
Also remember that a given certification may require that a candidate has previously passed other specific tests. Prices are in US dollars; testing costs in other countries may vary. |
Cloud certifications |
Cloud is the future of computing—not all computing, but so much that you won't be able to avoid it. |
Certification: AWS Certified Solution Architect - Professional (AWS-CSA) |
Vendor: Amazon |
Structure: Multiple-choice and multiple-answer questions in a 170-minute exam available in English or Japanese. Amazon sets passing scores by statistical analysis and does not make those scores public. |
Recertification: Two years |
Cost: Practice exam, $40. Exam, $300 |
Description: Shows advanced skills and experience designing distributed applications and systems on Amazon's AWS cloud platform. Should have the AWS-CSA - Associate certification and at least two years of hands-on experience designing and deploying cloud architecture. Understand best practices on design across applications and projects. |
Certification: CompTIA Cloud+ |
Vendor: CompTIA |
Structure: Ninety-minute test with 100 multiple-choice questions. Passing score is 750 on a 100-to-900 scale. |
Recertification: Three years |
Cost: $285 |
Description: Shows vendor-neutral expertise in implementing and maintaining cloud services. "[C]overs competency in cloud models, virtualization, infrastructure, security, resource management and business continuity." Should have two to three years of networking, storage, or IT data center administration and be familiar with any hypervisor technology. |
Certification: MCSD: Azure Solutions Architect |
Vendor: Microsoft |
Structure: A series of three tests. An exam can contain any of a number of question types, including short answer, multiple choice, case studies, and more. Microsoft regularly introduces new testing techniques and updates content. |
Recertification: Two years |
Cost: $495 (three tests, $165 each) |
Description: Certifies the ability to manage the "full breadth of architecting, developing, and administering Azure solutions." |
Certification: MCSE: Private Cloud |
Vendor: Microsoft |
Structure: A series of five tests. An exam can contain any of a number of question types, including short answer, multiple choice, case studies, and more. Microsoft regularly introduces new testing techniques and updates content. |
Recertification: Three years |
Cost: $825 (five tests, $165 each) |
Description: Certifies that the person can manage and implement Microsoft private cloud computing technologies. |
Certification: Certified OpenStack Administrator (COA) |
Vendor: OpenStack Foundation |
Structure: A hands-on, 2.5-hour test. Candidates must provide own hardware running a Chrome or Chromium browser and should have at least six months of OpenStack experience. |
Recertification: Three years |
Cost: $300 |
Description: Demonstrates that a person who passes "has the skills required to provide day-to-day operation and management of an OpenStack cloud." |
Data center |
Even with companies taking advantage of public clouds, there are still data centers for processes considered mission-critical or too sensitive to run on shared services. |
Certification: MCSE: Server Infrastructure |
Vendor: Microsoft |
Structure: A series of five tests. An exam can contain any of a number of question types, including short answer, multiple choice, case studies, and more. Microsoft regularly introduces new testing techniques and updates content. |
Recertification: Three years |
Cost: $825 (five tests, $165 each) |
Description: Holder has the skills "to run a highly efficient and modern data center, with expertise in identity management, systems management, virtualization, storage, and networking." |
Certification: Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) |
Vendor: Red Hat |
Structure: Two tests that are hands-on, practical exams. |
Recertification: Generally three years, but requirements can change depending on version of Red Hat used in original certification and current version. |
Cost: $800 (two tests, $400 each) |
Description: Highest level of Red Hat certification. |
Certification: CompTIA Server+ |
Vendor: CompTIA |
Structure: Ninety-minute test with 100 multiple-choice questions. Passing score is 750 on a 100-to-900 scale. |
Recertification: No required recertification. |
Cost: $285 |
Description: Addresses such topics as system hardware and software, disaster recovery, configuration, documentation, best practices, and troubleshooting. |
Certification: Data Center Design Consultant (DCDC) |
Vendor: BICSI |
Structure: Two-hour exam with 100 multiple-choice questions. |
Recertification: Three years |
Cost: $645 for non-members for application and exam fees ($395 for members) |
Description: Covers mechanical, electrical, and telecommunications systems in addition to data center requirements, including reliability, security, and building requirements. |
Network certifications |
You have to tie together various parts of a company's infrastructure, and that requires networking. |
Certification: Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) |
Vendor: Cisco |
Structure: Two-hour written exam (between 90 and 110 questions) and eight-hour practical exam. |
Recertification: Two years |
Cost: $2,000 (written exam, $400; practical exam, $1,600) |
Description: Demonstration of wide-ranging and high-level skills in all aspects of network engineering. Multiple specialty variations are available. |
Certification: Juniper Networks Certified Expert Enterprise Routing and Switching (JNCIE-ENT) |
Vendor: Juniper |
Structure: Hands-on practical exam. |
Recertification: Three years |
Cost: $300 |
Description: Requires JNCIP-ENT certification as a prerequisite. Designed to "validate the networking professionals’ ability to deploy, configure, manage and troubleshoot Junos-based enterprise routing and switching platforms." |
Certification: CompTIA Network+ |
Vendor: CompTIA |
Structure: Ninety-minute test with maximum of 90 multiple-choice questions, drag-and-drops, and performance-based assessment. Passing score is 720 on a 100-to-900 scale. |
Recertification: No required recertification. |
Cost: $285 |
Description: Examines the "the essential knowledge and skills needed to confidently design, configure, manage and troubleshoot any wired and wireless networks." Requires a CompTIA A+ certification and nine months of networking experience. |
Virtualization certifications |
Server and desktop virtualization have become popular ways to centralize administrative control of resources. |
Certification: VMware Certified Professional 6 – Data Center Virtualization (VCP6-DCV) |
Vendor: VMware |
Structure: Depends on background. If you are new to VMware certification, you would need to attend a training course and pass two examinations: the 90-minute, 65-question vSphere 6 Foundations Exam, and the 100-minute, 85-question VMware Certified Professional 6 – Data Center Virtualization Exam. |
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