5/26/2004 -- Oracle recently announced on its Web site that it is launching a new Linux certification: Managing Oracle9i on Linux.

Oracle describes the title as the "first" specialty for those holding its Oracle Certified Professional Database Administrators (OCP DBA) certification, hinting that more may be on the way.

A beta for the title's one exam (#1Z1-036) is currently underway. It is available through Prometric online registration at www.2test.com. The price of the beta is $50 (U.S.).

To encourage participation in the beta -- scheduled to end this week -- the company is offering qualified participants a free voucher to participate in its upcoming "Oracle Database 10g: New Features for Administrators" beta -- an upgrade exam for Oracle 9i DBAs. Oracle has yet to release details on this exam, although an announcement of the full Oracle 10g certification track is expected within weeks.

The company did not say when the new specialty would go live.

For more information on this announcement, go here. -Becky Nagel