12/3/2003 -- A spokesperson for Novell told CertCities.com today that the company's upcoming Certified Linux Engineer (CLE) title will go live in the first quarter 2004.

The title's hands-on practicum exam, modeled after the company's virtual, hands-on Certified Directory Engineer exam, is currently in closed beta testing, the spokesperson said.

Novell announced its acquisition of SuSE Linux last month, bringing some to speculate that the CLE might may be delayed to update the exam in light of the purchase. The spokesperson said that the timeline for the exam to go live "hasn't been -- and shouldn't be -- affected by the SuSE Linux deal."

Novell announced the high-level, hands-on CLE in April.

More information on the certification can be found here. -Becky Nagel