10/1/2000 -- It was several years after NetWare achieved a strong market position before the Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) training and testing program arrived on the scene in 1986. Microsoft also sold products for years before deciding that certification was a good idea. Of course, some employers and many technical wizards disparage certifications as worthless pieces of paper, proving nothing but the ability to memorize a list of information in a testing manual and recite it back on a multiple choice test. Nevertheless, the continuing emphasis on certification by academic institutions and major employers ensures that technical certification is likely to be a growing force as employees try to prove their skill sets and employers try to cull applicants from thousands of resumes.

With this sort of enthusiasm, it's no surprise that someone decided a while ago that Linux needed its own certification.

The goal of Linux certification efforts is straightforward: By having a professional certification program in place, employers can be assured of a certain level of expertise in the people they hire. As with every other certification, some of the true gurus are offended by the very notion that someone can claim equality, or superiority, based on a few hours of testing. Dee-Ann LeBlanc, author of several Linux books, including General Linux I Exam Prep from The Coriolis Group, sums up the reaction of both groups: "I find that most experienced Linux folk tell me they do not like certification programs. There is a strong suspicion in the community over whether these programs will actually be useful or not... No test makes up for experience. [But] when new Linux users find out that I do Linux certification work, it's all they want to talk about."

Employers, eager to make use of Linux technology, are scrambling for qualified people. Though Linux has been used in the back rooms of the enterprise for some time, its arrival in the mainstream press has been so sudden that academic and training facilities are not in a position to turn out the numerous Linux workers that industry demands. To see examples of this demand, visit www.dice.com, a technically oriented job site hosting over 150,000 positions from all over the U.S. In the last eight months, the number of job entries with Linux mentioned has spiraled from just over 1,000 to nearly 6,000. For something less technical, visit careers.wsj.com (part of the online Wall Street Journal), where over 4,700 job listings mention Linux, including marketing, sales, training and technical positions.

Despite this rising tide of interest in Linux, Linux certification is inherently different than those from Novell, Cisco or similar companies. Because no single company owns Linux, no one company controls how a person can vouch for Linux knowledge or become certified. The result has been no less than three major Linux certification efforts springing up in the last 24 months. More are on the way (for example, CompTIA's Linux+, expected later this year). The rest of this article describes the three established programs: Where each originated, what their strengths and weaknesses are from different perspectives, and what the future may hold.

SAIR/GNU Linux Certified Administrator
The first Linux certification to appear was developed by Dr. Tobin Maginnis, associate professor of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Mississippi. Maginnis founded the SAIR/GNU organization, created a list of certification levels, wrote test objectives, and began in earnest to develop materials to teach for those tests.

The plan of the SAIR/GNU organization is to provide three distinct levels of certification:

• Linux Certified Administrator (LCA)
• Linux Certified Engineer (LCE)
• Master Linux Certified Engineer (Master LCE)

Each of these certification levels requires passing four tests, with the tests increasing in complexity with each level:

• Installation and Configuration
• System Administration
• Networking
• Security, Ethics and Privacy

Maginnis worked closely with free software pioneers like Richard Stallman to make the SAIR/GNU program effective and far-reaching. He also secured the cooperation of the Sylvan/Prometric testing centers, which administer hundreds of different standardized tests, including other technical certification tests. With this exclusive arrangement and the support of leaders like Stallman, SAIR/GNU was off to a good start.

Though Maginnis' 20 years of teaching experience gave him a wealth of knowledge about Linux, creating a complete certification program in a short time proved to be a challenging task for a single small company. As a result, the original "knowledge matrix" and test objectives supplied by SAIR/GNU were not up to the standards expected by many in the professional training community. Test completion also appeared to be more work than initially supposed, as several delays hampered delivery of the Linux tests in Sylvan testing centers. Despite these hurdles, all four tests for the first-level certification, LCA, made it to the Prometric testing centers by March 2000. Work continues apace on the LCE objectives and tests.

While the test objectives may not be as carefully drawn as some would like, the tests are a reasonable method of judging competency with many aspects of Linux. Full details are available at the SAIR/GNU Web site: www.linuxcertification.org.

The LCA exams are vendor neutral, though they tend to use the Debian version of Linux when any distro-specific issues must be addressed. Maginnis is authoring a set of four books through John Wiley & Sons, one book to cover each exam, all of which are scheduled to be released by the end of this year. Other books have been published or are in the works, including a set of textbooks covering the LCA objectives from Course Technology (see www.course.com--the first of these volumes was written by this author). SAIR/GNU also has a trainer program with an academic focus. Several hands-on courses have appeared to train students for the SAIR/GNU certification.

From these comments, one might conclude that the SAIR/GNU organization started with a good idea but rapidly found itself in over its head. (Trying to write four books at once can do that.) Fortunately, SAIR/GNU was acquired in early 2000 by technology courseware developer Wave Technologies International (see www.wavetech.com). Wave has made several announcements indicating its commitment to Linux, including statements about working with CompTIA (the purveyor of the A+ hardware certification, the i-Net+ and Network+ certifications as well as the upcoming Network+ and entry-level Linux+ certifications) on possible Linux certification programs.

In addition, in March 2000, Wave Technologies was acquired by International Thomson, a publishing and education conglomerate that also owns Course Technology, a technology provider to colleges; The Coriolis Group publishing house; and Sylvan Prometic testing centers, now called simply Prometric, a division of Thomson Learning. Confused yet? The fallout of tying these companies together remains to be seen, though Thomson certainly has a strong reputation in the education field.

Linux Professional Institute Certification
A second Linux certification program comes from the Linux Professional Institute (LPI). LPI is organized as a type of Linux industry consortium whose sole purpose at this point is to manage the creation of a high-quality Linux certification program. LPI has some differing philosophies than SAIR/GNU, but neither these philosophical points (outlined in the online LPI FAQ) nor the LPI exam objectives differ greatly from those of SAIR/GNU. The larger differences stem from the implementation that LPI has pursued. (See www.lpi.org for details.)

LPI has a list of sponsors that includes all the stars of the Linux corporate world (Caldera Systems, TurboLinux, LinuxCare and SuSE), plus a host of heavyweights like IBM, SGI, HP and major computer industry publishing houses. (Note that Red Hat Software is missing from this list--it's discussed in the next section.) While the cynics among us will say that all these people are simply attempting to further their own ends, it may well be that their ends equate to those of many technically minded people seeking employment in the Linux field.

The LPI program also consists of three levels. To obtain the first certification, called Level I certification, a person must pass two tests. Both vendor-neutral tests--currently administered at VUE testing centers--have been the last to become available among all the Linux certification efforts. This stems from the method by which the LPI tests were developed: in committee. LPI surveyed hundreds of working system administrators, queried for fair objectives, debated among board members from different companies, and eventually came to a comfortable list of competencies required for the Level 1 exams. The result is quite impressive, if limited in scope compared with the four tests of SAIR/GNU's first level of certification.

But if LPI's Level I exams lack complexity, their plans for Level 2 certification should make up for it. In development at the time of this writing, LPI Level 2 certification covers over 360 tasks in 6 areas such as networking and security (see www.lpi.org/l2tasks). Level 3 certification will follow when Level 2 is completed.

Several computer trade books and textbooks have already been published to help students prepare for LPI exams (including LeBlanc's book, mentioned previously). LPI also anticipates that many of the Linux vendors that participate as LPI sponsors will provide hands-on training courses aimed at LPI certification. These courses are normally taught using one vendor's products, but teach to the vendor-neutral objectives of the exams.

Red Hat Software and the RHCE
Linux companies like SuSE, TurboLinux and Caldera Systems didn't really get into the certification game until the LPI program was underway, so it was natural for them to join LPI rather than invest in a new program specific to their version of Linux. Red Hat Software took a different approach. As the market leader in the U.S., Red Hat devised its own certification track, called the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) program. They refer to their program as the "most mature and respected training in the Linux space," and although needs differ among Linux test takers, one would be hard pressed to disagree with their statement.

The RHCE program is different from both SAIR/GNU in that it is vendor-specific, as might be expected. Even so, looking objectively, an RHCE certification is relatively hard to obtain compared to both SAIR/GNU and LPI. Both SAIR/GNU and LPI rely on standardized multiple-choice tests. You can use some of the available books or online study materials to prepare for these tests, or you can take a course from someone like LinuxCare or Caldera Systems that are aimed at preparing a novice Linux user to pass the exams. The RHCE exam is more like what technical people usually think a certification exam should be. You sit in a room for six hours at a computer. The test has three parts:

1. Install the operating system according to a specifications sheet.
2. Answer a series of multiple-choice questions on both general and specific knowledge of Red Hat Linux.
3. Troubleshoot a system that has been "broken" in several ways.

At the end of the six hours, a Linux expert looks over the machine and evaluates (subjectively) how clever you were in installing the machine as requested and in fixing the "errors" in the third part of the test. As RHCE-certified author LeBlanc says, "You cannot pass the Red Hat exam if you do not honestly have an understanding of the material."

Red Hat Software does its best to encourage adequate preparation by promoting the full series of courses leading to the RHCE test. The path for beginners would be:

• Course 033, Introduction to Red Hat Linux, 4 days, $1,998
• Course 133, System Administration, 4 days, $2,098
• Course 253, Networking and Security, 4 days, $2,198
• Course 302, RHCE Exam only, 1 day, $749

Alternatively, you can take the five-day Course 300, RHCE, which includes the exam, for $2,498. Or, if you're really a whiz, take course 302 cold and see how you do. But, for most of us, it's a risky way to spend $749. Course objectives for each of the Red Hat classes are included on the Red Hat Software Web site (www.redhat.com).

There is little question that the RHCE certification carries the most weight among those who are familiar with all three of the major certification programs. Someone who can pass a six-hour hands-on test is more likely to be qualified than someone who can answer 75 percent correct on a one-hour multiple-choice test. And although it is vendor-specific, approximately 80 percent of the knowledge gained in studying Red Hat Linux is directly applicable to other Linux distributions. Still, most Linux users would prefer to follow the easier path if it will land them a job. Whether this is the case or not will be seen in the coming year or two as employers become more familiar with the available Linux certifications and see how their adherents perform on the job. For many employers unfamiliar with Linux, an LCA or LPI Level I certification is likely much better than simply taking your word for it that you know Linux.

Consolidation in the Future?
With three major programs already in place, it's natural to consider the possibility of consolidation. It seems unlikely that Red Hat would feel any need to join forces with either of the other two programs unless they become much stronger forces than they are now. And even then, Red Hat would be unlikely to give up their model of hands-on performance-based testing and the revenue that goes with a set of week-long hands-on courses.

The SAIR/GNU and LPI organizations are another matter. While SAIR/GNU had a head start in deploying tests, LPI has an advantage in the large number of corporate sponsors that have adopted it as a standard. This means that companies like HP, Caldera Systems, IBM and TurboLinux will be offering or encouraging courses that prepare for LPI certification, rather than SAIR/GNU. The acquisition of SAIR/GNU by larger companies may lead to a dilution of the spirit that got it off the ground (though Maginnis is still heavily involved), and thus may lead to an atmosphere in which the two groups could consolidate their efforts or even their tests in the coming 12 to 24 months in order to reduce duplicated efforts or a fragmented market.

Even looking at the three programs together, the stated objectives and knowledge base required to pass these certifications are not at all dissimilar. An RHCE may be harder to get, and you may see a different set of initials after your name once you've completed one program versus another, but the continued interest in professional technical certification, as well as the huge growth in interest in Linux, ensure that these programs, in one form or another, will be around for years to come.

Reprinted with permission from the July 2000 issue of Enterprise Linux Magazine. Updated in September 2000 for CertCities.com by the author. For more information on Enterprise Linux Magazine, please visit www.enterpriselinuxmag.com.

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