Trainers certifications

CompTIA CTT+

Whilst most NIIT'ians would remember CompTIA as a company best known for its A+ and N+ certifications offered to its Hardware and networking students the CTT + is a relatively unknown certification in INDIA.

Training students ids becoming more and more important with the growth of technologies and the newer techniques used for teaching.

NIIT itself has been a pioneer in introducing new training techniques and methods to Indian consumers, and at the same time having standards that keep faculties upto date with the technologies they teach.

Many faculties across India have now begun certifying themselves as Certified Instructors for products. Mostly Microsoft Certified Instructors. This ensures that the students are getting the best in the industry from the best.

However a certification that would definitely boost an aspiring faculties resume or add great strength to a current faculty is the CompTIA CTT +.

Relatively unheard of in India, this certification is a must for many large companies if an individual wishes to become a certifies instructor for their products. e.g. A required certification for becoming an Adobe Certified Instructor.

Visit their site

http://www.comptia.org/certifications/listed/ctt.aspx

My trip to SCJP

SCJP(Sun Certified Java Programmer) is a foundation exam for those who are interested in showing their proficiency in java.

SCJP as of now has 2 versions of certification i.e.

• Sun Certified Programmer for the Java Platform, Standard Edition 5.0 (CX-310-055)
• Sun Certified Programmer for the Java Platform, Standard Edition 6.0 (CX-310-065)

There are as such no prerequisites for the exam.The exam is a Multiple choice and drag and drop type exam.The exam has some 60 questions out of which for clearing the exam you need to get 35 questions correct which get you a 58.33% .Time limitfor the exam is some 180 minutes.

Talking about SCJP, I cleared SCJP5.0 in June 2008 and the experience for the exam was mind -blowing. I took almost a year to prepare for the exam.

I started my studies from the recommended book for SCJP5.0 i.e.

Sun Certified Programmer For Java 5 Scjp (310-055) By Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates

I took some 2 readings of this book, and also went through all the exercise questions given at the end of each chapter.

The two minute drill given at the end of each chapter helped me to do my last minute revisions.

Talking about the question format:

• Question format is multiple choice, including some drag-and-drop questions.
• The number of correct answers is given in case of multiple choice questions with multiple answers.
• There are hardly any questions with true/false answers.
• There are a lot of questions with three (or sometimes two) correct answers.
• Question with radio button answers means that only one answer is correct.
• Questions vary from very easy to very difficult, but mostly difficult.
• No credit is given for partially correct answers in case of questions with multiple answers.
• No Negative markings are there.

The objectives for the exams include:
1. Declarations and Access Control
2.Flow Control
3.API Contents
4.Concurrency
5.OO Concepts
6.Collections / Generics
7.Fundamentals

Talking about some Do's and Dont's for the exam:

• In the Drag and Drop type questions, the answer gets reset if you try to review it. So, always complete and double check your answer before moving away from a Drag and Drop question.
• It would be helpful to solve Drag and Drop questions on a sheet of paper before actually attempting them in the test.
• The revised exam has more performance-based questions than knowledge-based questions requiring memorization of API details. So spend more time on hands-on practice, especially of commonly used methods, and avoid trying to memorize each and every API detail simply by reading.
• Read the choices properly; don't get confused between 'import' statements and 'import static' statements.
• Remember that immutable string objects are returned by the String class. String Builder and String Buffer both return mutable strings; the only difference between them is that String Buffer is thread-safe, while the other is not.
• Be clear about the classes implementing the Collection types like List, Set, and Map. Be aware of which of these types support sorting, which allow duplicates, which give the best performance, and so on.
• When you see the usage of var-args in a method, ensure that the ellipsis is appearing as the last argument to the method.
• Remember that the super type of generic Collection objects is Collection and not Collection.
• Remember that since the wildcard (?) stands for an unknown type, you cannot add to generic types using wildcards.
• Know the distinction between Comparable and Comparator and the methods defined by these interfaces.

Finally talking about some important references:

A Site that gives you a very good forum wherein you can ask any of your queries about java.
http://www.javaranch.com

A Site that answers all the frequently asked questions about SCJP

http://faq.javaranch.com/java/ScjpFaq

A Tutorial on java

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/

A site providing you with good number of mock tests on java

http://www.javabeat.net/javabeat/scjp5/

A site that would help you to test your knowledge on java as well as allows you to even provide some good questions on java

http://www.javablackbelt.com

Finally if you require the Kathy Sierra ebook write me to koshaa.d@gmail.com

Certified Business Analysis Professional

Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) is for professionals who analyze business processes and are responsible for defining business requirements throughout the development cycle. Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) designation is an awarded from the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) made to experienced Business Analysts who have verified their expertise in their field. This is done by detailing hands-on work experience in business analysis through the CBAP® application process, and passing the IIBA® CBAP® examination.

The mission of IIBA is to develop and maintain standards for the practice of business analysis and certification of its practitioners. Certified Business Analysis Professionals are experts in identifying the business needs of an organization in order to find out the best solutions, a role that is more and more seen as a vital element of any successful project. More and more companies are acknowledging the CBAP® designation and the value and expertise that these professionals bring to their organizations.

Before applying for CBAP, a Business Analyst must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Work Experience Requirement
Approx five (5) years (i.e., 7500 hours) of business analysis work experience in the last ten years engaged in tasks specifically related to the knowledge areas as defined within the BABOK®. The ten (10) year timeframe is based on the application date.

Knowledge Areas Requirement
Demonstrated experience and expertise (i.e., a minimum of 900 hours (i.e., 6 months) of business analysis work experience occupied in tasks specifically related to the knowledge areas as defined within the BABOK in at least four of the six knowledge areas.

Education Requirement
The minimum education requirement is high school or equivalent.

Professional Development Requirement
21 hours of professional development in the last four years. The professional development content must be directly related to business analysis or its essential competencies and must be completed by the application date.

Reference Requirement
Two references from a career manager, client (internal or external) or Certified Business Analysis Professional are required. These references must indicate that you are a suitable candidate for the CBAP® certification.

After your application is approved, you are eligible to write the CBAP exam at any time within 1 year from the date of application approval. The final step in the certification process is to write and pass a comprehensive examination.

An Overview of exam 640-802 CCNA

In a fast paced environment, being a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) will not only bring you great opportunities for entry level networking jobs in the IT field, but also give you the information that you need in order to do your job competently.

The exam 640-802 is conducted to award the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification to successful candidates. The syllabus for the exam includes a wide range of topics, such as WAN connections, network security implementation, types of network, details of network media, basics of routing and switching, understanding the TCP/IP and OSI models, IP addressing.

It is highly recommended that candidates should develop their skills and knowledge in the following areas prior to attempting 640-802 exam:

Thorough understanding of the purposes and functions of different network devices;

Practical knowledge of components required for specific networks;

Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) and TCP/IP models along with their protocols in a network;

Understanding of networking and web applications;

Interpretation of network diagrams;

Identifying and troubleshooting common problems in networks;

Knowledge of network segmentation and traffic management;

Verification of network status and usage of basic utilities like ping, telnet, SSH, and ipconfig;

Routing concepts and operation of routers; CLI basics;

Good knowledge of VLANs, VTP, RSTP, VLSM, LAN, WAN to name a few.

It is recommended that candidate must have at least around one year experience, in the networking field before he attempt to take the CCNA certification test. This experience will not only allow you to learn more about the hardware involved, but it will also allow you to learn about the different information that you will need to know on the test.

The process of getting the CCNA Certification test is complex, but it is manageable and many people are doing it every year. However confident you may be, it is not possible for you to master the entire syllabus without proper guidance.

The following practice exam questions are for the Cisco CCNA 640-802 exam and will definitely help you towards your certification efforts.

Q1. Which statement about MAC addresses is correct?
a. The MAC address can never be changed.
b. A MAC address is represented by binary digits that are organized in pairs.
c. A MAC address is a number in hexadecimal format that is physically located on the NIC.
d. It is not necessary for a device to have a unique MAC address to participate in the network

Q2. Which of the following is an IOS command that can be used to increase the security of unused switch ports?
a. Port security
b. Mac-secure
c. Firewall
d. Shutdown

Q3. IP addresses are represented by ?
a. 16-bit decimal numbers
b. 32-bit binary numbers
c. 8 sets of 4-bit decimal numbers
d. 8-bit binary numbers

Q4. What does the command IP route 192.168.50.0, 255.255.255.0, 10.2.1.3 specify?
a. The router should use network 192.168.50.0 to get to address 10.2.1.3.
b. Both 192.168.50.0 and 10.2.1.3 use a mask of 255.255.255.0.
c. You want the router to trace a route to network 192.168.50.0 via 10.2.1.3.
d. The router should use address 10.2.1.3 to get to devices on network 192.168.50.0.

Q5. Which of the following protocols is an example of an exterior gateway protocol?
a. BGP
b. RIP
c. EIGRP
d. OSPF

Difference between Oracle 10g and Oracle 9i Databases

Oracle Database 10g is the first database designed for grid computing, the most flexible and cost-effective way to manage enterprise information. It cuts costs of management while providing the highest possible quality of service.

In addition to providing numerous quality and performance enhancements, Oracle Database 10g significantly reduces the costs of managing the IT environment, with a simplified install, greatly reduced configuration and management requirements, and automatic performance diagnosis and SQL tuning.

Oracle 9i Database provides efficient, reliable, secure data management for high-end applications such as high-volume on-line transaction processing (OLTP) environments, query-intensive data warehouses, and demanding Internet applications. Oracle also offers several additional optional database products that enhance the capabilities of Oracle9i Database for specific application requirements.

Additional features in 10g over the 9i:

Transparent Data Encryption

Grid computing - an extension of the clustering feature (Real Application Clusters)

Manageability improvements (self-tuning features)

Performance and scalability improvements

Automated Storage Management (ASM)

Automatic Workload Repository (AWR)

Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitor (ADDM)

Flashback operations available on row, transaction, table or database level

Ability to UNDROP a table from a recycle bin

Ability to rename table spaces

Ability to transport table spaces across machine types (E.g Windows to Unix)

Proactive Performance Monitoring

Improved Flashback Technology

Automatic Storage Management (ASM) and hence better RAC

Data Pumps

The Enterprise Manager (EM)

Clearly Oracle 10g is a positive change over its predecessor and therefore the OCA 10g Certification will draw more demand than Oracle 9i.

What is PRINCE2 Project Management?

PRINCE2 (Projects in Controlled Management) is a process-based certification for effective project management, providing an easily customized and scalable project management methodology for the management of all types of projects. The method is the de-facto standard for project management in the UK and is practiced worldwide.

PRINCE2 is flexible, adaptable and as much as a Project method can be, friendly. PRINCE2 pull together common names and descriptions into a structure that anyone familiar with PRINCE2 can understand, regardless of background and industry. PRINCE2 is designed to be generic and can be used for projects of any nature.

The major attribute of PRINCE2 are:

• Its focus on business justification.
• Its product-based planning approach.
• Its emphasis on dividing the project into manageable and controllable stages.
• Its flexibility to be applied at a level appropriate to the project.

APM is the governing body for PRINCE2 worldwide; they look after the accreditation, exams and licensing of PRINCE2. Most organizations around the world recognize PRINCE2as a standard methodology. There are two qualification levels: PRINCE2 Foundation and PRINCE2 Practitioner.

PRINCE2 Foundation level is for those who wants to learn the basics and terminology of PRINCE2. The PRINCE2 Foundation examination is aiming to measure whether a candidate would be able to act as an informed member of a project management team using the PRINCE2 methodology within a project environment supporting PRINCE2. Currently, Prince2 2009 Foundation Examination format is available. Prince2 2005 Foundation Examination Format is also available till December 31st, 2009.

PRINCE2 Practitioner is the highest level qualification and is appropriate for those with the need to manage projects within a PRINCE2 environment. This objective is to measure whether a candidate could apply PRINCE2 to the running and managing of a non-complex project within an environment supporting PRINCE2.

Prince2 Exams can be taken at any accredited training company. These exams run only on certain days and places are pretty much booked in advance, sometimes there is a 4-6 weeks waiting list. If you are based outside the UK and wish to complete a PRINCE2 exam, it is usually possible to sit them in a British Council office. Please contact the APM Group directly for more information on public exams. Price list of Prince2 Exams:

Foundation = £200 including VAT
Practitioner = £370 including VAT
Both = £540 including VAT

Levels in IT Certification

If you are looking into IT Certifications, there are several levels of certification that you can prepare for yourself for. These will be divided according to the vendor and will also be different in relation to the type of IT Certification you are trying to go for.

IT Certification programs will be planned by levels of complexity, allowing you to first learn the basics of a technology, and then move into problems of higher complexity.

Entry Level Certification
The first set of IT Certification levels that you will have to go through are the entry level Certifications.
The first level that several certification programs offer is known as the specialist program. This allows you to study one of the programs and know the details about what this program is. It often times includes knowing how to maintain as well as troubleshoot with the program. You can also get training at an associate level. Depending on the types of programs you are using, entry level may also include the ability for you to become a developer on specific technologies.

Intermediate Level Certification

In the intermediate level IT Certification, there are more tools that you will be able to learn at the advanced level, which can help you in using effective tools and developing specific programs faster.
If a certain program isn’t working, then you will learn how to fix or develop the program. This can be done not only for things such as web development and software, but also for becoming a systems expert. People certified with intermediate level certifications, usually become administrator for databases, systems, or certification. With intermediate level training, an individual also has the possibility of becoming an advisor for security and technology based programs.

Advanced Level Certifications
Generally, these types of IT Certifications will include a variety of programs that are combined together. By doing this, one can become an expert in the particular information technology program that they were interested in. Developers, Administrators, Advisors, and Technical experts all become a part of this particular IT Certification area. At this point, one will also be able to advance into understanding the entire infrastructure of the system that they are working with. They will also be able to work with deployment, meaning that they can effectively use the security programs as well as the storage areas that are available in systems.