Networking certification tables

Tables 1 and 2 provide look-up points for certification programs from 29 vendor and nine non-vendor organizations (the latter are a mix of training companies and industry associations of various kinds). Those who are interested in learning more about these programs can follow the instructions to find them from the company root URL (at least in most cases -- for a few programs that "defied navigation" we include absolute URLs, knowing that these will surely change over time). Those who want to learn more about these and other certifications could certainly do worse than to consult some of my favorite resources in this area as well:

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  • Certification Magazine: a magazine that covers IT certification in general (for which publication I am also the technology editor).
  • GoCertify: Anne Martinez' outstanding and ever-changing database of available certifications is a great place to looking for information about certification programs and individual credentials.
  • CramSession: a Web site that hosts an active certification community and also makes its living by offering study guides and practice tests for a wide variety of certification credentials.

Table 1: Vendors who sponsor certification programs

Vendor URL (instructions, where applicable)
3Com www.3com.com/ (3Com University, Certification)
Adaptec www.adaptec.com (support, certification)
Alcatel http://eservice.ind.alcatel.com/edservices/certification.cfm
Aprisma www.aprisma.com/ (training, professional certification)
Avaya www.avaya.com/certification
BMC www.bmc.com (education, certification program)
Computer Associates (CA) www.ca.com (services, education, certification)
Check Point www.checkpoint.com (services, certification & training)
Cisco www.cisco.com/go/certification
Citrix www.citrix.com (support, certifications)
Dell www.dell.com (search on "Dell Training and Certification")
Enterasys www.enterasys.com (training, certifications)
Extreme Networks www.extremenetworks.com (education, technical education, certification)
Foundry Networks www.foundrynetworks.com (services, training, certification)
IBM www.ibm.com (training, certification from "Related links")
Infovista www.infovista.com (services, education services, certification program)
Juniper Networks www.juniper.net (education, certification)
Legato www.legato.com (services, education, EMC Proven Professional program)
Lucent www.lucent.com (use GoCertify, or search on site, very difficult)
Marconi www.marconi.com (education, training services, product-based courses...)
McData www.mcdata.com (training & certification, certification)
Microsoft www.microsoft.com/mcp/ (Microsoft certifications)
NetApp www.netapp.com (services, NetApp University, NAC credentials)
Network General www.networkgeneral.com (services, Sniffer Certification program)
Nokia www.nokiausa.com (business, services and support, training & certification)
Nortel www.nortel.com (support & training, training & certification)
Novell www.novell.com (training, certification & testing)
Riverstone www.riverstonenet.com (support, certification)
Sun Microsystems www.sun.com (training, certification)

Please notice that Table 1 lists vendor organizations that sponsor networking-related certification programs. Many of these outfits offer vendor-neutral, or at least putatively vendor-neutral credentials, in addition to covering their own proprietary products and platforms. Table 2 contains information about non-vendor organizations that sponsor networking related certifications; the vast majority of these outfits sponsor vendor-neutral programs and credentials.

Table 2: Non-vendor certification program sponsors

Name Decode, URL (instructions)
BICSI Building Industry Consulting Services International - www.bicsi.org (credentialing, RCDD (Registered Communications Distribution Designer))
CompTIA Computing Technology Industry Association - www.comptia.org (quick links: pick from CompTIA certifications)
CWNP Certified Wireless Networking Professional/Planet 3 Wireless - www.cwnp.com (program specific site)
Learning Tree www.learningree.com (certification)
netperformance.com Formerly Pine Mountain Group - www.netperformance.com (NetAnalyst training)
NACSE National Association of Communications Systems Engineers - www.nacse.com (certifications)
NARTE National Association of Radio and Telecommunications Engineers - www.narte.org (certification)
NPA Networking Professionals Association Certified Network Professional (CNP) - www.cnp.org (program-specific site)
SNIA Storage Networking Industry Association - www.snia.org (education, certification)

Ed Tittel created the best-selling Exam Cram series of cert prep books, and is Technology Editor at Certification Magazine. He also follows certification topics for numerous TechTarget sites, and has written numerous books on IT certifications of many kinds. E-mail Ed at etittel@techtarget.com.

This was first published in January 2006

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