Posted on 17-06-2010 | By: admin
Category : Uncategorized
Tags: Projects, Technology
When I finished up in college I swore that I would never again sit any type of formal educational exam again. Well it looks as though I’m about to make a liar out of myself!
I’m part of the Irish Linux Users Group mailing list and recently there was a discussion on LPI exams and official accredetation for Linux users. I’ve been a Windows user for many years and I never felt the inclination to get an MCSE or any other Microsoft certification. So why now?
As you may have seen from previous posts I am a Linux advocate. I think that the Linux OS is far superior to Windows and as it is free it is possible to get experience with any type of computing protocols that interests you. A big example of this for me was learning about DNS and web protocols. Instead of having to pay Microsoft for a Windows Server licence so that I could use their DNS and IIS packages I used the FOSS BIND and Apache. Since both BIND and Apach are predominantly command line I found that I learned much more about how they work than if I was pointing and clicking.
Sorry, I took off on a bit of a tangent there! So I’ve taken the first steps in my Linux certification. If any of you out there are thinking of doing the same here’s an excerpt of the ILUG Mailing list that caught my imagination …
Details about the certifications can be found at:
http://www.lpi-uk.org/certification.html. There are links back to the
objectives. When you look at the objectives, take note of the weights as
this will identify the more important topics.
For study you have the route of self study or using an Approved Training
Partner. In Ireland the Approved Training Partner is Howe Systems
(http://www.howesystems.com/). For self study, there is a number of
resources (http://www.lpi.org/eng/training__1/study_materials). The
preferred book of LPI-UK is the Sybex LPIC 1 book (ISBN
978-0-470-40483-6).
Finally for the exams – firstly you will need a LPI Number
(https://cs.lpi.org/caf/Xamman/candidate_area). You then need to decide
if you would like to take the exam electronically (Prometric or Pearson
VUE) or wait for a paper exam. Electronic route – more available,
results available immediately. Paper – I am trying to do paper once
every six months but depends on demand, cheaper than electronic (about
50%) and you have to wait two weeks (approximately) for your results.
Finally there is a number of people on ILUG who have completed the LPIC
1, and attempted LPIC 2 – ask for their advice or pointers.
It looks as though I’ve found my project at last!!!
