4/19/2001 -- On Wednesday, Infinity I/O and the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) announced a new vendor-neutral certification program for storage networking professionals: Fibre Channel Storage Area Network (Fibre Channel SAN).

"The certification program will provide a single uniform standard by which   individual knowledge of vendor-neutral, open system network storage technologies may be judged," Mike Alvarado, chairperson of the SNIA Education Committee, said in a printed statement.

The new program will feature four levels of certification: Professional, Consultant, Specialist and Expert. The exams for the first two levels will be available   in the U.S. and Europe by mid-summer, and by year-end for levels three and four. Although complete details on these exams have yet to be released, the companies indicated that some will be lab-based.

Infinity I/O is a U.K-based supplier of vendor-neutral training for the storage networking industry. The SNIA is a not-for-profit organization for storage networking companies and professionals.

For more information on the new certification, visit Infinity I/O's Web site. -B.N.