Important NetApp Certification Program Updates

In May, NetApp will deliver updates to NetApp certification exams to extend training and certification opportunities for the latest NetApp Data ONTAP technology. NetApp will also implement changes to the NetApp Certification Program (NCP), designed to increase market recognition and protect the validity of the NetApp certifications that you work so hard to achieve.

New Exams: 
On May 15 2015, NetApp will launch the following new exams:

• NS0-157 NetApp Certified Data Administrator, Clustered Data ONTAP. Passing this exam will earn you the NetApp Certified Data Administrator, Clustered Data ONTAP (NCDA cDOT) credential.
• NS0-506 NetApp Certified Implementation Engineer – SAN, Clustered Data ONTAP. Passing this exam, and holding an active NCDA cDOT certification, will earn you the NetApp Certified Implementation Engineer – SAN Specialist, Clustered Data ONTAP (NCIE SAN cDOT) credential.
• NS0-511 NetApp Certified Implementation Engineer – Data Protection. Passing this exam, and holding an active NCDA cDOT certification, will earn you the NetApp Certified Implementation Engineer – Data Protection Specialist (NCIE Data Protection) credential.

Protecting the Value and Validity of NetApp Certifications: 
Following industry best practices, NetApp is implementing Provisional Exam Scoring. Candidates who achieve a passing score will receive a “Provisional Exam Score Report” after completing their NCP exam at a Pearson VUE testing center, or private testing event. Final exam results will be confirmed once a validity check is complete, as defined by the NCP exam security policies, and will be made available in CertCenter within three (3) business days of the exam.
Certification Program Policy Changes.

In addition to the above changes, NetApp is implementing other minor policy changes effective May 15. For example, you can now retake an exam after a 24-hour waiting period with additional retakes following a 14 calendar-day waiting period. Passed exams may be retaken after 18 months.

NetApp is excited about these upcoming changes to the NCP, and the added value that they will deliver to you, as a certified NetApp Professional. Please watch for other enhancements to the NCP in the coming months including new certifications and tools to help you manage your certifications better.

NetApp in a SnapShot!

Data Storage: NetApp at 20: ‘Nice Little File Server Company’ Grows Into $6B Storage Giant

NetApp has come a long way from being known as a “nice little file server company” years ago, in the words of its Chairman and former longtime CEO Dan Warmenhoven. Since its birth 20 years ago, it has blossomed into one of the world’s most successful independent data storage companies. NetApp is now the second-largest independent network-attached storage (NAS) maker/seller in the world behind EMC, and is No. 3 only to EMC and IBM in external disk storage, according to industry researcher IDC. NetApp’s data storage products have won the respect of midrange and small and midsize business generally; larger enterprises are also buying NetApp’s wares for various applications. NetApp has been instrumental in shaping how the storage industry looks today. This year, the company’s 20th in business, marks a major milestone for NetApp. What began in 1992 as an idea sketched on a placemat has grown into a “model company,” ranked as a top global place to work, with more than $6.2B in revenue and more than 11,500 employees. Here are some highlights of those 20 years.

1992: Hitz Parade Begins

NetApp founder Dave Hitz writes the first storage operating system with the Write Anywhere File Layout (WAFL), improving storage performance and efficiency.

1993: First NAS Appliance Boots Up

NetApp launches the first network-attached storage appliance, the FAServer 400, which provides shared file storage and simplified data management.

1993: SnapShot Data Protection

NetApp pioneers the industry’s storage efficiency technology with Snapshot, the first and only disk space saving, no-performance-impact data protection technology. Over the next 14 years, NetApp adds new features to the storage efficiency catalog with the industry’s first virtual writable copies with FlexClone, followed by the first deduplication system on primary storage in 2007.

1995: NetApp Goes Public

NetApp goes public in 1995, and four years later, the company was added to the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500. In 2001, NetApp sales hit $1 billion in sales, and 11 years later, NetApp hit $6.2 billion in sales. In 2012, NetApp debuted on the Fortune 500 list at No. 474.

2002: First Unified Storage System

NetApp pioneers the world’s first unified storage platform. Over the years, NetApp has innovated in storage efficiency, processes, data management and data protection as well as enterprise and midsize business customer segments.

2003: Virtualization Crosses Vendor Barriers

NetApp virtualizes other vendors’ storage arrays, enabling the company’s Data ONTAP efficiencies and data protection in its V Series arrays. The offering provided the first data management features for other storage vendors. The V-Series product line is unique in its ability to unify storage array products from Hitachi, HP, IBM, Fujitsu and EMC.

2008: ‘Less Storage-Capacity-Used’ Guarantee

NetApp is the first in the industry to offer customers a guarantee that they will use 50 percent less storage in their virtual server/desktop environments with NetApp, compared with traditional storage, or NetApp will provide additional capacity at no charge.

2011: An ‘Innovative’ Company

NetApp is named one of the world’s most innovative companies by Forbes magazine as one of the few major storage vendors to make the list at No. 34.

2009: Best Company to Work For in the World

NetApp is ranked No. 1 on the Fortune “Best Companies to Work For” list. 2012 marked the sixth consecutive year the company was ranked in the top 15. NetApp was also named the No. 3 best place to work on the Great Places to Work Institute’s first annual “Top 25 Global Places to Work” list for 2011.

2012: NetApp Steps Up Move to the Cloud

NetApp’s FlexPod data center platform, which includes NetApp unified storage systems, Cisco Unified Computing System servers and Cisco Nexus switches, is accelerating the transition to the cloud for more than 850 customers in nearly 33 countries globally to date. FlexPod is designed from the ground up as a channel sale.

Source: eWeek

NetApp certification – The NCDA | #NetApp #NCDA #Storage #Certification #ANCDA

BY Edward Grigson

I’ve been asked by a few people over the last few weeks about the Netapp Certified Data Administrator certification, better known as the NCDA. I was only exposed to NetApp technology a few years ago so definitely don’t claim any real expertise – I don’t know if these requests are due to an increased demand for engineers with NetApp knowledge or whether I’ve just surrounded myself with like minded people pursuing similar goals. Hopefully both!

When I took my exams a couple of years ago I considered putting together a study guide as there wasn’t much available and it suits the way I learn new material. Hanging out on the Netapp forums I picked up quite a few hints and tips along with some great links to example questions, web based learning and some documents produced by NetApp which summaries the knowledge you need for the exams. I never found the time (or motivation if truth be told) to put together my own study notes but maybe there’s still enough demand to make a collection of resources useful. As always real world, hands on experience is invaluable but the below are worth your time;

NOTE: I took two exams (ns0-153 and ns0-163) whereas you can now take a single exam (ns0-154) instead which covers ONTAP 8 – 7 mode.

• The official Netapp study guide for ns0-154 – this is a great .PDF doc which forms the basis for study. Essential reading!
• Netapp Basic Concepts quickstarts guide
• Netapp Technical Reports
• Web based learning on High Availability (for ns0-163). I believe this used to be free online (I took one course which was very helpful for the exams) but is now one training unit (or around $150). It’s only 110 mins so it’s a bit harsh to charge!
• Take the sample exams at Netapp’s site. They’re pretty basic and only offer 20 (always identical) questions but better than nothing – ns0-153, ns0-163, or ns0-154
• Fast Lane also offers some test questions
• Netapp’s YouTube channel
• Brendan Higgins has a done a good blogpost on NCIE study materials but much of it is relevant to the NCDA
• Greg Porter has a good overview
• The Netapp SysAdmin guide (354 pages!)
• If you don’t have NetApp’s that you use on a day to day basis then get the NetApp Simulator. This lets you gain ‘real world’ experience as it runs the same ONTAP as the real controllers (just with performance and capacity restraints). Unfortunately you need to be a NetApp customer to download it.

In terms of difficulty the NCDA is an entry level exam – I’d put these exams nearer the VCP standard than the VCAP, more like an MCP than an MCSE. They’re multiple choice and while some questions require enterprise design knowledge (I got one on Metrocluster cabling) most are much more basic. Like the Cisco exams your certification expires after two years so I should be retaking the exams if I want to stay current but as not much has changed (ONTAP v8 is out but running in cluster mode means it’s almost the same as v7) it would be a paper exercise only and hence not worth it. Besides there’s SRM, vSphere5, vCD 1.5, Chef, Puppet and more to learn should I find any free time…

Source: http://www.vexperienced.co.uk/2011/10/18/netapp-certification-the-ncda/