Virtualization Certification Community Study Group–Kickoff 9-15-2011

We would like this to be a national initiative. We have people in the North East US that are participating. We can still use some help in the North East but we need even more help in other places. If you wish to volunteer your time to get this community driven effort off the ground please join the meeting or send an email to Dan Stolts dstolts@microsoft.com letting him know you are willing to help.

Kickoff meeting details...

Current vTeam Participants:

Dan Stolts - Microsoft IT Pro Evangelist

Heath Brinke

Tim Mangan

Dave Vantine

Kenneth Olson

Brian Grigg

Michael Clark

Mike Hall

Gallo, Stephen S.

John Baker (ATLANTA)

Others coming on board every day :)

Other possible contributors:

Edwin Guarin - Microsoft Academic Evangelist

Aimee Sprung - Microsoft Student Workforce Development

Blain Barton

Bob Hunt

Yung Chou

Marsee Henon

Organizations that should be invited to participate?

If you know organizations that may want to participate or sponsor this long term initiative, please invite them to attend or reach out to Dan Stolts dstolts@microsoft.com

Microsoft Virtualization and Cloud Certification Study Group(s)

Do you presently hold a certification in ANY virtualization or server technology? Are you interested in obtaining a virtualization certification? In either case, I want to help create a plan for you. I have had many people ask me about an "upgrade" path from a VMWare Certification to a Microsoft Virtualization Certification. As of now, we do not have one. I would love to put together a community study program to help people with upgrading their current skills to obtain a Microsoft Virtualization Certification. Does this sound of interest to you? If so, let’s start a dialog on creating a plan for execution in 2011/2012. Several logical community study group needs come to mind…

1. 70-659: MCTS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization
2. 70-400: TS: Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007, Configuring
3. VMWare => Microsoft Virtualization
4. Windows Server => Microsoft Virtualization
5. No Current Certification => Microsoft Virtualization
6. Any => Cloud
7. Any => Hyper-V
8. Are there others that you would like to see?

I have created a blog post to allow us to communicate needs and ideas for getting a program like this off the ground. Please visit Microsoft Virtualization And Cloud Certification Community Study Group to start the dialog. You can reply to these questions by sending me a message directly at ITProGuru@Microsoft.com or posting a comment to the study group blog post

Please answer the following questions…

1. What certifications do you currently hold (if any)?

1. What certifications are you most interested in?

1. Are you an MCT?

1. If you already have a virtualization or server certification; would you be interested in helping others in the community pass the test you already passed?

1. What is your preferred method of studying for certifications?

1. Do you currently have a "plan" to get your next certification? If so, what is it?

1. What reservations if any do you have in taking your next exam?

1. Do you know of any community groups (user groups or online groups) that might be interested in participating in a study group? If so, please provide group name, URL, contact information, etc.

Why get certified?

Earning a Microsoft Certification helps validate your proven experience and helps you build your career, whether you are new to technology or a seasoned professional. The benefits of achieving a Microsoft Certification provide you with opportunities to connect with a vast, global network of Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs). Research shows that certification is a value to you and your organization.*

*IDC, "Impact of Training on Network Administration: Certification Leads to Operational Productivity," Doc. # 220563, November 2009

What are Microsoft Virtualization Certification options?

MCTS = Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (TS is usually any ONE exam)

MCITP = Microsoft Certified IT Professional (3 exams 669+693+[659 or 652])

Server Virtualization certifications (2 options on server virtualization)

• MCITP: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator
  • This certification covers both server and desktop virtualization

• MCTS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization

Desktop Virtualization certifications

• MCITP: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator
  • This certification covers both server virtualization, and desktop and application virtualization

• MCTS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization

If you want to know more about the Microsoft Virtualization Certification check out the Microsoft Learning Homepage for Virtualization Certification

The MCTS certification is a prerequisite for the MCITP certification and helps validate your troubleshooting and deployment skills. The MCTS certification is for IT professionals with one or more years of experience. As an MCTS, you help validate your skills on implementing and troubleshooting a particular (usually one test) Microsoft technology. Learn more about the MCTS certification

The MCITP certification is for IT professionals with two or more years of experience. As an MCITP, you help validate your skills in deploying, designing, and maintaining Microsoft technology. Learn more about the MCITP certification you may also be interested in all MCTS options or FAQs.

Q. Many people have asked me how long certifications are good for. The answer to that can be found in the Certification FAQs ...

A. Today, most of our Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), and Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) exams retire when Microsoft discontinues mainstream support for the related technology. The certification will still appear on your transcript but will be listed in an inactive section with an expiration date. In most cases, an upgrade path, which allows candidates to earn the certification with fewer exams (usually one), will be available for individuals who hold the certification on the previous version of the technology.

The legacy Microsoft certifications, such as Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA), currently do not expire, but some may no longer be awarded because all exams are retired or because Microsoft has ended extended support for the technology. In most cases, individuals who hold the certification on the previous version of the technology can earn the certification on the next version of the technology with one upgrade exam.

To maintain the relevance and value of our certifications and ensure that candidates possess up-to-date skills on technologies that are constantly changing, recertification may be necessary for some certifications. In these cases, the certification will remain valid as long as the candidate continues to recertify at appropriate intervals.

Note that Microsoft reserves the right to retire exams and certifications as well as change our recertification policy at any time.

Browse Certification Catalog for additional certification options

More certification information that may be of value

• Getting Started in Certification – FAQ
• Preparing for and Taking an Exam – FAQ
• Exam Development and Release Cycle – FAQ
• Program Benefits and Member Sites – FAQ

More virtualization and cloud information that may be of value

• Did you miss the prior edition of the flash? If so, you can read it at Virtualization + Cloud = lots of buzz but what does it mean to IT Professionals
• You may also be interested in … How Big Will Cloud Really Be–Virtualization vs Cloud–Which Is Bigger