9/22/2004 -- As part of a larger Solaris 10 OS announcement yesterday, Sun Microsystems officially unveiled several Solaris 10 training offerings as well as its certification plans for the track.

Although Solaris 10 is not scheduled to be released until later this year, Sun has already launched a free, Web-based training course overviewing the features of 10. The company is also prepping an "early advantage" training program that will debut Oct 18. This program will feature a five-day course focused on new features as well as a two-day course devoted to Solaris 10's dynamic tracing capabilities.

According to Sun, this is the first time the company has offered training prior to a release of a Solaris operating system.

In a pre-briefing for the announcement Friday, Sun Certification Product Manager Jim Vonick told CertCities.com that the certification exams for Solaris 10 will debut in "late March" 2005, with betas coming in January.

The company currently has plans for four Solaris 10 exams:

• CX-310-200 Sun Certified System Administrator for Solaris 10 OS, Part I 
• CX-310-202-Sun Certified System Administrator for Solaris 10 OS, Part II
• CX-310-302-Sun Certified Network Administrator for Solaris 10 OS
• CX-310-203-Sun Certified System Administrator for the Solaris 10 Operating System Upgrade Exam

Sun is considering adding exams for a Sun Certified Security Administrator for Solaris 10 title, but has yet to make a final decision on a new version of this credential, which debuted with Solaris 9 track.

Vonick told CertCities.com that the program is working on adding simulation questions to its Solaris 10 exams -- something not yet seen on any Sun exam. According to Vonick, if simulations are added, they will be mixed in with standard-format questions. Vonick said that the company is working with a vendor to develop these questions, but could not provide further details by press time.

Information on the Solaris 10 certification track will be posted on Sun's Web site in the coming months. In the meantime, for more information on upcoming Solaris 10 training opportunities from Sun, go here. -Becky Nagel