Latest Virtualization Certification for IT Pros to Boost their Career

If you want to compete with your peer IT professionals, you need to enhance your skills on a regular basis. Among the latest trends in IT, virtualization ranks very high. To get noticed among your competent peers, getting a certification in virtualization is a great option to consider. Although we see ups and downs in IT sector and related jobs, Virtualization jobs have remained stable throughout. In fact, Virtualization and Cloud computing is the most popular and top paying jobs across the globe. There is a tremendous increase in use of virtual environment in both small and medium scale businesses and large enterprises. The companies are looking for IT professionals with virtualization certification in one or more platforms. So whether you are a fresher and wish to pursue a career in virtualization or an experienced IT pro who intend to learn a new in-demand technology, virtualization is no doubt the best bet.

Top 4 virtualization Certifications

The leading virtualization players who offer training and certification in virtualization are VMware, Microsoft, Citrix, and Red-Hat.

1 VMware Certification

VMware is the market leader in virtualization technology service provider. VMware offers four different technology areas and you can go for various certification levels in these technology-tracks. There are five levels you can achieve with VCDX6-DCV as the highest expert level which only a few have managed to achieve. The most popular certification is VCP6-VCD (VMWare Certified professional).

You need to pass the lower level exam in order to appear for the higher level. Check the info-graphics below to know the different levels.

Exam Fees VCP6-VCD: $250

Training:

• Online Link:   VMAware training
• Book:   Buy a VMWare Cert Guide

2 Microsoft

Presently, Microsoft might not be number one in virtualization solutions as far as enterprise level virtualization is concerned. Having said that, Microsoft’s Hyper-V Server has been gaining popularity among SMBs over the last few years. IT professionals can undergo certification in MCITP (Microsoft certified IT Professional). Just as VMware is based on VSphere, Microsoft Virtualization is based on Windows Server Hyper-V.

Certification Name: Hyper-V Server Virtualization

Exam Code: 409

Training:

• Online Link: Online Virtualization Training,
• Book:  Step-By Step Guide on Hyper V Virtualization

Exam Cost: $165 in the US.

3 Citrix

Citrix, which started its operations way back in 1989 offers enterprise solutions in Networking, Cloud computing, Collaboration, and Virtualization. There are more than four lac companies that run Citrix solutions securely around the world.

To meet the needs of this large number of organizations, Citrix has designed various certifications for IT professionals to achieve excellence in Virtualization services. Presently, Citrix offers certifications at three levels. These are Associate, Professional and on the top is Expert-level certification.

Citrix offers certifications in App and Desktop Virtualization, Networking, and certification in Enterprise Mobility Management.

Certification Name: App and desktop virtualization

Level-1 CCA-V Citrix certified Associate

CCA-V is designed to enhance the skills in managing and monitoring the XenDesktop Solutions.

Exam Code: 1Y0-202

Pre-requisites: Nil

Level-2 CCP-V

This virtualization certification is designed for IT engineers who want to enhance their skills installation and configuration of XenDesktop 7.6 solutions

Exam Code: 1Y0-301

Pre-Requisites: Pass CCA-V exam

Level-3 CCE-V Citrix Certified Expert

CCE-V is an expert level certification for experienced IT engineers and architects who aim to design and perform advanced administration of XenDesktop 7.15.

Exam Code: 1Y0-311

Pre-Requisite: Pass the CCP-V Exam

Training:

• Online: Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop
• Books:  Getting Started with XenDesktop 7.x,  Getting Started with Citrix XenApp 7.6

Exam Fees: $200 for Associate and $300 for Professional and Expert level

Red Hat Virtualization Certification

Those IT professionals who have expertise on Linux servers can go for RHCVA (Red Hat certified Virtualization Administrator). RHCVA is designed to build your skills on installing and managing hypervisors on Linux server. After this certification, you will be able to create data centers, pools and guests using Red Hat Virtualization Manager.

Exam Code: EX318

Pre-Requisite: RHCSA (Red Hat certified System Administrator) level or system administration skills on any other platform.

Training:

• Online Link: Red hat Virtualization
• Books: Getting Started with Red Hat Enterprise virtualization

Exam Fees: $400

So you have learned about different paths to earn certification in virtualization and have a competitive edge over other IT professionals in the current IT job market. Do share this information with your colleagues or friends who wish to pursue their careers in virtualization.