Microsoft Certified System Administrator

MCSA certification helps IT professionals to advance their career by having much needed skills to manage and troubleshoot networks in Windows environment. MCSA professionals are hired as manager in organizations to configure, manage and troubleshoot the Windows Server. MCSA is considered a reliable credential for promotion and hiring. MCSA on Windows Server 2003 certification will not retire.

MCSA certifies a possessor’s ability to "implement, manage, and maintain the typically complex computing environment of medium and large-sized organizations”. This certification helps professionals advance your career by showing employers that you have the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively manage and troubleshoot network environments running on Windows server systems. Like MCSE, MCSA is also available on Windows Server 2000.

It is recommended by Microsoft that a, MCSA candidate should have one to twelve months of experience in working with a desktop operating system, a network operating system, and an existing network infrastructure.

To earn MCSA certification for Windows Server 2003, candidate must pass four exams:

• Two Core Networking System
  
• One Core Client Operating System
• One Elective exam

Core Networking Exams (Compulsory)

1. 70-290 : Managing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Environment
2. 70-291 : Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure

Client operating systems (choose one)

1. 70-620 : Configuring Windows Vista
2. 70-270 : Installing, Configuring, and Administering Windows XP Professional

Elective Exam (Choose one)

1. 70-284:Implementing and Managing Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
2. 70-431:Microsoft SQL Server 2005 – Implementation and Maintenance

All MCSA exams are taken by Prometric, at various Prometric test Centers all over the globe. MCSA professional work in various job roles like; Network Administrator, System Administrator, Information Technology Engineer, Information Systems Administrator, Network Technician. An average salary of MCSA professional is Rs. 2.5LPA. As per the latest analysis, MCSA comes under Top 15 IT Certifications in demand.

HP Certifications - A Reliable Choice

The HP Certified Professional program is a top-grade certification program. This aims to certify the technical and sales proficiency as well as expertise needed to plan deploy, support and service HP technology and solutions. The technical credibility you gain from your certification and experience will drive you to further in your career.

There are various benefits of HP Certifications; HP Software Certified Professional Program prepares you to meet today's challenges with the business and technical skills you need.
• Gain the skills you need for handling HP technologies
• Get connected to the latest HP technology, experts and continuing education opportunities
• Earn cool rewards - discounts to HP Software events, HP Software Certified Professional merchandise, networking events and more
• Prove your value - demonstrate a higher level of performance, knowledge and expertise
• Join a global network - more than 130,000 HP Certified Professionals worldwide

The scope will become wider and there'll be utility available for you to ponder over and make it fit according to your needs. The tools and methods you use will come straight out of your certifications and may build up as you grow in your career. There are several tracks available including HP Operations, HP Quality Center, HP NonStop Systems, HP Blade and ProCurve Networking, among others. The average salary of HP Certified Professional having an experience of less than 1 year is around Rs. 3 Lacs per annum.

HP Software Certification

Accredited Integration Specialist (AIS)
The AIS (Accredited Integration Specialist) is designed for individuals working in Enterprise Network environments and serves to prove their competencies in planning and the integration and support of technical solutions in business class, networked environments.

Accredited Systems Engineer (ASE)
ASE (Accredited System Engineer) is a medium grade certification is designed for individuals working in Enterprise Network environments and serves to prove their competencies in design support and integrate platform, operating system, storage, network and option components to solve business needs. It is required to have HP's AIS certification for the ASE track you wish to pursue. The additional requirements vary widely depending on your choice of track.

Master Accredited Systems Engineer (MASE)
Master ASE requires an individual to gather customer business requirements, and design, integrate and support a full solution including application, middleware, platform, operating system, storage, and network and option components. There are several tracks to choose from including ProLiant, SAN, ProCurve and NonStop. It is required to have HP ASE certification. Additional requirements vary widely depending on your choice of track.

IBM DB2 Certification

DB2 is one of IBM's families of relational database management system (RDBMS) software products within IBM's Information Management Software line. There are several editions and versions of DB2, which operate on devices ranging from palmtops to mainframes. Frequently DB2 refers to the DB2 Enterprise Server Edition, which runs on UNIX, Windows, Linux and z/OS servers.

DB2 completely dominates on mainframes. IBM is one of the top two commercial database vendors for both UNIX and Linux systems. On Windows servers, Microsoft's SQL Server leads in market, in spite of that DB2 presents a reasonable presence nonetheless. Currently IBM offers various training and certification paths on DB2. The average salary for IBM certified DB2 DBA is approx. Rs.93,000.

There are three levels; entry, intermediate and advanced in IBM DB2 Certification hierarchy.
1. IBM Certified Database Associate - DB2 9 Fundamentals

This Certification is an entry level DBA. To earn this certificate, candidate must have knowledge about the fundamental concepts of DB2 9 through applied experience or formal education. Database Associate must have in-depth knowledge of basic SQL, understand how to install, create databases and its various objects. To attain IBM Certified Database Associate - DB2 9 Fundamentals certification, candidate must pass 1 test i.e. Test 730.

2. a). IBM Certified Database Administrator - DB2 9 DBA for Linux, UNIX and Windows

IBM Certified Database Administrator is the prime Database Administrator for DB2 on Linux, UNIX and Windows Servers. This DBA has significant experience on DB2 9, especially the new features and functionality related to DB2 9. To achieve this certification candidate has two paths: either passes 2 tests or 3 tests.

1. Two Tests - Test 700 or Test 730 and Test 731
2. Three Tests - Test 700 or Test 730, Test 701 and Test 736.

b). IBM Certified Database Administrator - DB2 9 DBA for z/OS

IBM Certified DBA has significant experience as DBA and possesses broad experience of DB2 9 including all the new features and functionality related to version 9. This specialist is capable of performing the intermediate to advanced tasks related to database design and implementation, operation and recovery, security and auditing, performance, and installation and migration/upgrades specific to the z/OS operating system. Candidate must possess two years of experience in Database Administrator on z/OS system, knowledge about Java and C++. This Certification requires 2 tests. Any 1 of following tests: Test 700 or Test 730 and Test 732.

3. IBM Certified Advanced Database Administrator - DB2 9 for Linux, UNIX and Windows

IBM Certified Advanced Database Administrator is the senior DBA for the DB2 products on one or more of the following platforms: Linux, UNIX and Windows. This individual has vast experience as a DBA and extensive knowledge of DB2 9. This person is capable of performing the complex tasks for instance; performance, high availability, security and networking. This Certification has 2 paths:

Path 1 requires 3 tests:

a) Choose 1 from following:

1. Test 700 - DB2 V8.1 Family Fundamentals.
2. Test 730 - DB2 9 Family Fundamentals

b) Test 731 - DB2 9 DBA for Linux UNIX and Windows
c) Test 734 - DB2 9 Advanced Database Administrator for Linux,UNIX and Windows

Path 2 requires 4 tests:

a) Choose 1 from following:

1. Test 700 - DB2 V8.1 Family Fundamentals
2. Test 730 - DB2 9 Family Fundamentals

b) Test 701 - DB2 V8.1 for Linux UNIX and Windows Database Administration
c) Test 736 - DB2 9 Database Administrator for Linux UNIX and Windows Upgrade
d) Test 734 - DB2 9 Advanced Database Administrator for Linux UNIX and Windows


All IBM DB2 Test are conducted by Prometric at various Prometric Test Centers all over the world.