CompTIA Certification Retirement Announcement!

The CompTIA Mobile App Security+ ADR & iOS (ADR-001 & iOS-001) certification exams will be retiring on June 26, 2015. CompTIA will not replace these exams. Therefore, anyone studying for these exams is encouraged to complete their studies and seek certification prior to the retirement date. Exam vouchers already purchased for these exams will be valid through June 26, 2015. Exam vouchers not used by the retirement date will expire and become void. Anyone who has received the certification will remain CompTIA Mobile App Security+ ADR & iOS certified, as the exam is retiring but the certification will stay valid.

Why Microsoft Lync 2013 Exams are Retiring in July 2015

Everything Lync is becoming Skype for Business. This means Microsoft is working on replacing their Lync exams with Skype for Business exams. Microsoft is still working on the availability date for the Skype for Business exams, but needed to announce the retirement of the Lync exams (July 2015) to give notice to those who are planning to take the exams soon or who are currently in-path. But don’t worry— Microsoft won’t pull the Lync exams out of market until the Skype for Business exams are available.

The new Skype for Business exams will count toward MCSE: Communication certification like the Lync 2013 exams currently do.

Stay tuned for more information on the new Skype for Business exams.

————

FAQ

Q: Should I hold off on taking exams until the Skype for Business exams are available?
A: Not at all. Skype for Business builds on Lync’s features and functionality. The Lync exams provide you with a solid foundation for your Skype for Business implementation. See what’s new in Skype for Business.

Q: Will there be an upgrade exam for those who have completed both Lync exams and want to move to Skype for Business?
A: No. Once you’ve earned your MCSE: Communication certification you cannot re-earn it. You can, however, keep it current through recertification.

Q: What about recertification?
A: Holders of the MCSE: Communication credential must recertify every three years. Recertification is a great way to ensure that you stay current in the latest technology, such as Skype for Business. Microsoft will be providing more information about recertification options for MCSE: Communication this summer.

Q: I’m a partner with the Microsoft Partner Network. I have the Communications Competency and just took the Lync exams to qualify. Do I still qualify?
A: Retirement of an exam from Microsoft learning does not retire it as a qualifying exam for a Competency. Lync Exams for the Communications Competency will still qualify for a period of time. Always check the Microsoft Partner Network competency requirements.

New Certification: MCSD Azure Solutions Architect

Microsoft is pleased to announce the release of a new certification entitled Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD): Azure Solutions Architect. This certification is awarded by passing three Microsoft Azure specialist exams, validating competence in the design, development, and administration of solutions powered by Microsoft Azure.

The new certification is earned by passing all three of the following exams:

• Exam 532: Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions
• Exam 533: Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions
• Exam 534: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions

With a focus on app development and deployment, this certification is classified under the MCSD suite of certifications and, as such, carries a two-year recertification requirement.

The MCSD: Azure Solutions Architect certification went live on June 1, 2015.

For more details on this new certification, please visit the Azure Certification landing page.

Microsoft Exams Scheduled to retire on July 31 2015

Find exams scheduled to be retired on July 31 2015, listed by technology. (The information that follows is subject to change.)

Lync and Lync Server:

• 74-322: Microsoft Lync Server 2010—Advanced Design and Deployment
• 74-335: Lync Network Readiness Assessment
• 70-336: Core Solutions of Microsoft Lync Server 2013
• 70-337: Enterprise Voice Online Services with Microsoft Lync Server 2013
• 74-338: Lync 2013 Depth Support Engineer

Project and Project Server:

• 70-177: TS: Microsoft Project Server 2010, Configuring
• 70-178: TS: Managing Projects with Microsoft Project 2010

SQL Server:

• 70-433: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Database Deployment
• 70-450: PRO: Designing, Optimizing, and Maintaining a Database Administrative Solution Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008
• 70-451: PRO: Designing Database Solutions and Data Access Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008

Visual Studio:

• 70-518: PRO: Designing and Developing Windows Applications Using Microsoft .NET Framework 4
• 70-519: PRO: Designing and Developing Web Applications Using Microsoft .NET Framework 4
• 98-363: Web Development Fundamentals
• 98-372: Microsoft .NET Fundamentals
• 98-374: MTA: Gaming Development Fundamentals

Windows:

• 70-681: Windows 7 and Office 2010, Deploying
• 98-349: Windows Operating System Fundamentals

Windows Server:

• 70-643: TS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuring
• 70-647: Pro: Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Administrator
• 70-649: TS: Upgrading Your MCSE on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008, Technology Specialist
• 70-659: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization
• 70-669: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization
• 70-693: PRO: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator

Other technologies:

• 70-158: TS: Microsoft Forefront Identity and Access Management, Configuring
• 70-595: TS: Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions by Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010
• 74-674: TS: Delivering Value Planning Services

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

Free Private Cloud Jump Start Training! Register Now!

Are you interested in attending two (2) days of free Cloud Training?

Over 4,000 global IT Professionals registered for the February 21-22, 2012 offering! To accommodate demand, Microsoft is running this course again on April 3-4, 2012. You don’t want to miss it, so register now!

Microsoft Learning and the Microsoft System Center 2012 team are partnering to bring provide IT Professionals an exciting opportunity to learn what they need to know to deploy, manage and maintain Microsoft’s private cloud solution. Leveraging the popular Jump Start virtual classroom approach, the industry’s most gifted cloud experts will show attendees why this new private cloud solution, based on System Center 2012 and Windows Server, has garnered so much attention. Here are the details:

• Course: “Creating and Managing a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 Jump Start”
• Date/Time: April 3-4, 2012 from 9:00am – 5:00pm PST | NEWLY ADDED
  IMPORTANT: The Feb. 21-22, 2012 class is fully booked and closed to new registrations
• Where: Live virtual classroom (online from wherever you are)
• Cost: FREE!
• Target audience: IT Professionals (IT Implementers, managers, decision makers)

REGISTER NOW

COURSE OUTLINE

Day 1: Deployment & Configuration
Part 1: Understanding the Microsoft Private Cloud
Part 2: Deploying the Infrastructure Components
Part 3: Deploying the Private Cloud Infrastructure
Part 4: Deploying the Service Layer
Part 5: Deploying the Applications & VMs

Day 2: Management & Operations
Part 6: Managing the Infrastructure Components
Part 7: Managing the Private Cloud Infrastructure
Part 8: Managing the Service Layer
Part 9: Managing the Applications & VMs

INSTRUCTOR TEAM
Students have the opportunity to learn from and interact with the industry’s best cloud technologists! This high-energy, demo-rich learning experience will help IT Professionals understand why Microsoft private cloud solutions are making a splash in the industry. Here are the instructors for this two-day event!

• Symon Perriman, Microsoft Technical Evangelist
• Kenon Owens, Technical Product Manager, System Center Cloud and Datacenter Infrastructure
• Adam Hall, Senior Technical Product Manager, System Center Application Management
• Sean Christensen, Senior Technical Product Manager, System Center Service Delivery & Automation
• Anant Sundaram, Senior Product Manager, System Center Cloud and Datacenter Management

What’s a “Jump Start” Course?
Training specifically designed for experienced technologists whose jobs demand they know how to best leverage new, emerging Microsoft technologies. These advanced courses assume a certain level of expertise and domain knowledge, so they move quickly and cover topics in a fashion that enables teams to effectively map new skills to real-world situations. Check out recordings of the Office 365 Jump Start and the Microsoft Virtualization for VMware Professionals, too!

Register now for the Private Cloud Jump Start

Source: Microsoft Learning – Born To Learn

Sneak Peek: SQL Server 2012 learning products in development!

SQL Server 2012 is coming! Microsoft has already started developing some of the exams, courses, and books that will help our customers to learn SQL Server 2012 and to showcase their new skills. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s in the works.

The quick view

Title	Course	Book*	Exam
Querying Microsoft SQL Server	10774	Training Kit	70-461
Administering a Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Database	10775	Training Kit	70-462
Building Data Warehouses with Microsoft SQL Server 2012	10777	Training Kit	70-463
Developing a Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Database	10776	Exam Reference	70-464
Designing Database Solutions for SQL Server 2012	10778	Exam Reference	70-465
Implementing Data Models and Reports with Microsoft SQL Server 2012	TBD	Exam Reference	70-466
Designing Business Intelligence Solutions with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Platform	TBD	Exam Reference	70-467

*There will be several other great SQL Server 2012 books as well, which won’t have corresponding exams and courses. More news on those later.

What’s different about the courses and books this time

• 1:1 mapping between exam, course, and book (no more two-course mapping!)
• An exam preparation book for each exam
• More real-world scenarios and business context

What’s different about the exams and certifications this time

• More community involvement in identifying the skills to be tested (over 300 people participated!)
• Higher expectations of skill level and experience for the successful candidate
• More direct focus on core skills such as querying and on business context
• Recertification required every three years at the Pro level

Wait just a minute. Did you say recertification?

Why yes, I did. In order to ensure that our certifications remain a meaningful and valuable indicator of candidate’s skills, SQL Server 2012 Professional-level certifications will require recertification every three years. Initially, the recertification requirement will be one or two exams. You can find out more by viewing the frequently asked questions about recertification on our web site.

Source: Krista Wall (Microsoft) via Born to Learn Blog!

Best practices for search in #SharePoint Server 2010 #TechNet Library

This article is one of a series of Best Practices articles for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. This article describes the best practices for enterprise search. Unless otherwise noted, this article applies to both SharePoint Server 2010 and Microsoft Search Server 2010. For more articles in the series, see Best practices (SharePoint Server 2010). For additional information about best practices for SharePoint Server 2010, see Best practices (SharePoint Server 2010) and Performance and capacity management (SharePoint Server 2010).

In this article:

• 1. Plan the deployment
• 2. Start with a well-configured infrastructure
• 3. Manage access by using Windows security groups or by using role claims for forms-based authentication or authentication using a Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) security token
• 4. Defragment the search database
• 5. Monitor SQL Server latency
• 6. Test the crawling and querying subsystems after you change any configuration or apply updates
• 7. Review the antivirus policy
• Acknowledgements

Read full article at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc850696.aspx

Jump Start Videos: Microsoft Office 365 Overview for IT Professionals | #Office365 #Lync #SharePoint #Exchange

The Microsoft Office 365 Overview provides an excellent perspective of the overall value Office 365 provides to modern organizations in terms of productivity, access, familiarity, security, control and reliability. This section will help IT Pros better understand the options and advantages organizations have by taking this approach.

• Office 365 Jump Start (01): Microsoft Office 365 Overview for IT Pros
• Office 365 Jump Start (02): Deploying Clients For Office 365
• Office 365 Jump Start (03): Microsoft Office 365 Administration & Automation Using Windows PowerShell™
• Office 365 Jump Start (04): Microsoft Office 365 Identity and Access Solutions
• Office 365 Jump Start (05): Microsoft Office 365 Directory Synchronization
• Office 365 Jump Start (06): Exchange Online Overview for IT Pros
• Office 365 Jump Start (07): Microsoft Exchange Online Administration
• Office 365 Jump Start (08): Microsoft Staged Exchange Online Migration
• Office 365 Jump Start (09): Hybrid Options with Exchange Server & Exchange Online
• Office 365 Jump Start (10): Exchange Online Archiving & Compliance
• Office 365 Jump Start (11): Lync Online Overview & Configuration for IT Pros
• Office 365 Jump Start (12): SharePoint Online Overview
• Office 365 Jump Start (13): SharePoint Online Administration
• Office 365 Jump Start (14): SharePoint Online Extensibility & Customization
• Office 365 Jump Start (15): Office 365 Deployment Overview

Happy Learning!

Put your knowledge to the test | #70-640 #70-536

Are you already certified and want to explore branching out into another area? Are you curious about certification, but have never taken an exam? Here is your opportunity to put your knowledge to the test by signing up to receive a series of practice exam questions that can help you prepare to earn a certification.

Why not give it a try? There is no cost to participate!

After you register, each week for seven weeks you will receive test questions by e-mail. The questions are from MeasureUp, a leading provider of high-quality practice tests for Microsoft Certified Professionals.

Starting the second week, you also will receive a link to a video. The video features a Microsoft Certified Trainer who answers the questions from the previous week and discusses the technology. The questions and videos are designed to help pinpoint gaps in your skills and knowledge so you can determine where to focus your training.

Register now to test your knowledge.

Register	Topic	Audience	Details
Register	Windows Server 2008	IT professionals	Seven sets of test questions and six videos that can help you prepare to take Exam 70-640: TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory – Configuring Learn about Exam 70-640
Register	Microsoft .NET Framework	Developers	Seven sets of test questions and six videos that can help you prepare to take Exam 70-536: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation Learn about Exam 70-536