Mind you, this isn't the number of exams taken (many certifications require multiple exams), nor is it the number of attempts or anything else equally reasonable. Rather, this is the number of certifications actually issued -- and it's a number I find astounding.

Not only is 1 million greater than the population of many small countries, but out of that 1 million, "nearly 20,000" are for CCIE -- the Ph.D. of Cisco certifications. This means that 2 percent of all those holding Cisco certifications hold the highest certification from that vendor (it's not clear how many of those certifications are current).

As large a number as 1 million is, it's not the frontrunner. According to Microsoft, 2,254,381 certifications have been issued since the certification program began in 1992, which averages to over 140,000 a year. Of those, 185 are certified as Microsoft Certified Architects (MCAs), currently the highest level of Microsoft certification. Among those with the second-highest level of certification -- the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) -- 113,454 are certified in Windows Server 2003, and over 685,000 are certified in older technologies.

If you add together just those who've held either a Microsoft or Cisco certification, then factor it by the approximately 6 billion people in the world, that means that on average, one of out every 1,800 people has been certified. Add to that the "more than one million CompTIA certifications [that] have been earned worldwide," the half-a-million certifications that have come from Novell, the 50,000 from LPI and so on. Before you know it, the supply of certifications issued is immeasurable.

Given this type of increase in supply, is it any wonder that when viewed in even the most simplistic, "Econ 101" perspective, the value of certification has gone down?

Windows Server 2008 MCITP Exams Available
Two key Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) exams on Windows Server 2008 became available this month. Those enrolled in Microsoft's "First to Know" program received registration/savings information through e-mail on:

• 70-646: Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator
• 70-647: Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Administrator

Domains and objectives can be found here.

New Oracle Enterprise Linux Exam
Late last month, the Enterprise Linux Fundamentals exam from Oracle (exam 1Z0-402) went live. Consisting of 87 questions that must be answered in 120 minutes (with 57 correct to pass), the exam is administered through Prometric testing centers and costs $195.

The exam topics include shell basics, messaging, multi-user concepts, printing, process management and more. The complete list of topics and objectives can be found here.

LPI Creating Security Exam
The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) has announced that it's creating an upper-level, vendor-neutral security exam to become an elective in the LPIC-3 (enterprise) certification track. The exam will go through beta testing at the end of this year and is expected to go live at the end of February 2009.

Those interested in taking the beta exams when they become available, or in being a part of the exam's development, can sign up here.

Symantec Updating Exams
To keep the Symantec Certified Specialist certification current, many of the exams are in the process of being updated. Currently, becoming certified requires passing a single exam in a specific area. Plans are for the Specialist certification to continue in that manner are in the works, and upper-level certifications are being added.

Among the first of the new exams, Veritas Storage Foundation 5.0 Administration for Unix (exam 250-250) is now available. It consists of 60 questions that must be answered within 90 minutes with a minimum score of 61 percent correct.

The exams are administered through Prometric testing centers and typically cost $150. More information on the planned exams can be found here.

(ISC)2 Scholarship Deadline Approaching
April 30 marks this year's deadline for applying for the Information Security Scholarship.

Up to eight full-time post-graduate students can receive one-year scholarships of up to $12,500 to help fund information security research projects. To qualify, you must be pursuing an advanced degree in information security at an accredited university.

This year's winners will be announced in June. According to an (ISC)2 press release, last year's winners funded projects involving "access control; policy; network threat detection, analysis and mitigation; risk analysis; and cryptography."

More information on the scholarship can be found here.

Book of the Week: 'Network Security Technologies and Solutions'
There can be little doubt that security is the word of the year, as indicated by the influx of new exams the updates to others.

One of the vendors with the most experience in this field is Cisco, and Network Security Technologies and Solutions, the new CCIE book from Cisco Press, is worth more than a gander.

Coming in at just under 800 pages, it's an impressive digest that traverses the line between tutorial and reference book. The 25 chapters run the gamut of such topics as cryptography and network access control. Particularly strong are the chapters on group encrypted transport VPN, dynamic multi-point VPN, secure socket layer VPN and multi-protocol label switching VPN.

If you're looking for a book that will help you pass the CCIE Security exam, look no further. And if you're looking for a book for any lower-level security certification (Security+ from CompTIA, for example), you'll also find this text to be exactly what you need.