Linux Professional Institute to Change Linux Certification Programs

The Linux Professional Institute (LPI), a Linux certification organization, is making changes to its LPIC-2 and LPIC-3 certification programs..

KBZ Achieves Cisco Advanced Collaboration Architecture ...

This specialization recognizes KBZ as having fulfilled the training requirements and program prerequisites to sell, design, deploy and support the entire Cisco Collaboration Architecture solution including comprehensive Cisco Unified Communications.

Is there a disconnect between demand for security jobs and ...

New research claims the demand for skilled security professionals is outpacing the ... (CISSP) certification has jumped from 19000 to more than 29000..

QNAP Turbo NAS Supports VMware VAAI and vSphere Client Plug-in, Windows Server 2012, and Enhances AFP Performance

QNAP® Systems, Inc. today announced highly anticipated business features, including VMware VAAI and vSphere Client Plug-in for business virtualization enhancement, the official certification for Windows® Server 2012, and AFP performance enhancement on small file transfer..

Cisco Networking Courses Now Offered Through Accelerate by Westwood

The Cisco Academy: CCNA Essentials course is taught by Cisco-certified professionals who train students to install industry-relevant operating systems and apply industry-standard tools and techniques to manage networks.

Thursday 19 December 2013

Computer Warehouse Group Launches $10mn Data Centre in Lagos

ComputersLAGOS, NIGERIA: Nigeria’s Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) has launched a $10 million ultra-modern data centre in Lagos. The company said that the tier three grade data centre, which was constructed within 24 months, would provide services for its customers, banks and small to medium enterprises.
Speaking at the commissioning of the centre in Lagos, Austin Okere, chief executive officer of the company, said that the centre would primarily offer entrepreneurs the prerequisite connectivity for advancement. “Apart from offering services to our customers like banks, we are targeting about 17 million SMEs who we are going to offer connectivity for a token
“The idea is that through the process, about 1.6 million of them would have migrated from the low level they are now, repackaged themselves, and can obtain loans from banks,” he said.
According to Okere, the facility has incorporated state of the art power and environmental management infrastructure providing combined 0.7MVA generating capacity coupled with redundant and modular 200 KVA uninterruptible power supply to ensure incoming main power is conditioned and available 100% of the time.
Engineer Lanre Ajayi, who is president of the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), said CWG had proven its competency as an indigenous company in Nigeria.
“Due to their pragmatic efforts, CWG has motivated many other local firms. The launching of this data center is a big leapfrog,” he said.
He however urged the company to incorporate other stakeholders that host the .ng domain to ensure that the expected customers make use of this all important infrastructure. Ajayi added that with such data centres in the country, the rate of capital flight, connectivity (routing) and other issues that have bedeviled the industry could be minimised.


http://www.osundefender.org/?p=138834

November/December, 2013 WASSCE result is out

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released what its official called ‘a discouraging’ result for the November/December 2013 West African Senior School Certificate Examination.
The WAEC Head of the National Office, Mr Charles Eguridu said that there was worrisome decline in candidates’ performance in the examination when compared with students’ performance in 2011 and 2012.
“This year, 2013, we have a total of 86,612 candidates representing 29.17 per cent obtaining credits in five subjects and above, including English Language and Mathematics.
“In 2012, a total of 150,615 candidates representing 37.97 per cent obtained credits in five subjects and above, including English Language and Mathematics.
Students of a public school in Lagos: 2013 WASCE results discouraging
Students of a public school in Lagos: 2013 WASCE results discouraging

“In 2011, a total of 139, 827 candidates representing 36. 07 per cent also obtained credits in five subjects and above including English Language and Mathematics,” he said.Eguridu said that of the 308,217 candidates that registered and sat for the 2013 examination, 299,784 had their results fully released while 38,260 other had theirs withheld in connection with examination malpractice.
Giving further breakdown of the results, Eguridu said that 120,115 candidates obtained six credits and above, while 161,721 others recorded five credits and above.
He said that 198,832 candidates who sat for the examination obtained credits and above in four subjects, while 230,325 others obtained credits and above in three subjects.
The HNO also said that a total of 256,500 other candidates recorded credits and above in two subjects.
Eguridu said that 82 blind candidates registered and sat for the examination, adding that, of the figure, 17 candidates obtained credits in five subjects including English Language.
According to him, blind candidates do not take Mathematics and Science practical in the WASSCE.
Eguridu attributed the poor performance of candidates during major examinations to wrong values, lack of role models, poor incentives for teachers as well as lack of qualified teachers, among other challenges.
He said that the council was set to partner with any state government in providing strategies to teaching and learning processes.
He said that this would will help in effective curriculum delivery
He announced that the council will deploy cutting edge technology in the conduct of its examinations as from May, 2014, beginning with the May/June, 2014 WASSCE.
Eguridu said the council would use Radio Frequency Identification Smart Cards.
He said that the cards would be for easy and accurate identification.
Eguridu said that there would also be automated attendance registers, instant and accurate identification, instant malpractice reporting and effective post examination management.
“In view of the council’s zero tolerance for malpractice and increased use of mobile handsets during examination, the council has made it mandatory for all schools to provide serviceable metal detectors.
“This will be used to prevent candidates from smuggling mobile handsets into examination halls,” he said.
According to Eguridu, the council will continue in its quest to improve on service delivery through the deployment of information communication technology.
He said that the council had fully migrated from paper-based registration to electronic registration of candidates for its examinations.
Eguridu noted that in the November/December, 2013 WASSCE, the council deployed biometric technology in the registration of candidates, while data capturing was the basis of identifying candidates and taking attendance.
He said that reports from the field indicated a drastic reduction in impersonation of candidates.
He said that the reported cases were being investigated and the reports of the investigation would be presented to the Nigerian Examinations Committee of the council in due course, for consideration.
According to the HNO, a total of 8,433 other candidates have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some errors mainly traceable to them and cyber cafes in the course of registration or writing the examination.
“Such errors are being corrected by the council to enable the affected candidates to get their results soon,” he said.

 http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2013/12/19/waec-releases-poor-november-ssce-results/

Wednesday 18 December 2013

new A+ certification training materials


Total Seminars, a Houston-based computer training company, has recently announced the release of its new A+ certification training materials. A leading provider of educational materials designed to help professionals enter the field of information technology and pass exams to obtain necessary industry certifications, Total Seminars now offers the A+ training materials are the latest in the company's series of learning and training tools.
The A+ certification examination helps individuals looking to enter the field of information technology, or those hoping to advance the career they already have, prove to their employers that they have a specific skillset. The exam measures the candidates' understanding of computer hardware, peripheral devices and computing systems. The two separate exams that make up the certification, 220-801 and 220-802, cover a broad range of topics and form the foundation for the knowledge necessary for a successful career working with computers.
The new A+ certification training material developed by Total Seminars comes complete with a training manual that covers each of the objectives necessary to know for mastery of the examination. Additionally, the materials come with practice exams, video presentations on learning objectives and exam vouchers to help round out the studying experience and make sure the candidate is prepared for success on the exam.
With the completion of the A+ certification exam, a successful candidate can open the gateway to a career and the opportunities available as an information technology professional. Once established in the field, additional exams and certifications can be obtained in the areas of Network+ Certification, Security+ Certification, Strata Certification and Computer Literacy IC3 certification. All of the educational materials for these examinations are also available for purchase through Total Seminars and provide the same level of preparation and potential for success that the new A+ certification materials do

Tuesday 17 December 2013

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get a free microsoft exam on Server Virtualization with Windows Server Hyper-V and System Center

Are you responsible for designing, implementing, and managing a virtualization infrastructure? Looking for a way to validates your skills on current virtualization technologies? Wondering how you can improve the trajectory of your career? Now is your chance to do just that, with free online training and an exam voucher from Microsoft!
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Thursday 5 December 2013

The beta period will soon be closing for the Oracle Linux 5 and 6 System Administration

The beta period will soon be closing for the Oracle Linux 5 and 6 System Administration (Exam 1Z1-100). This is your last opportunity to take the certification exam at the greatly discounted rate of $50 USD, as well as be one of the first to hold this new certification.
The exam, leads to the Oracle Certified Associate, Oracle Linux 5 and 6 System Administrator (OCA) certification. This certification is designed to give you a solid foundation of knowledge to implement and administer the Oracle Linux Operating System. Oracle Linux's Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel delivers extreme performance, advanced scalability and reliability for enterprise applications. Oracle Linux combines the latest innovations in Linux with Oracle-specific capabilities such as dynamic tracing and performance optimization with Dtrace, and no-downtime patching with Ksplice.

The Oracle Linux System Administration course is highly recommended, as it provides a strong foundation for an Oracle Linux System Administrator. It also teaches candidates how to install Oracle Linux and provides an understanding of the benefits of Oracle's Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK).

You can get all preparation details, including exam objectives, number of questions, time allotments, and pricing on the Oracle Certification website.

Visit pearsonvue.com/oracle and register for exam 1Z1-100.

QUICK LINKS:

Monday 2 December 2013

Western Africa’s first Tier III data center has gone live in Lagos

Western Africa’s first Tier III data center has gone live in Lagos with 3,000 rack spaces and 6 Mva of power, making it the most powerful data center in the region.
Rack Centre, part of the Lagos-based Jagal Group, said it is the first Tier III-designed, neutral colocation data center facility offering services in Nigeria and Western Africa.
The company said it has set its sights on “positioning Nigeria at the center of the worldwide growth in disaster recovery, data storage and cloud-based data centre services”.
The data center is expected to cover more than 6,000 sq m once complete, and is located at the centre of Ikeja – the capital of Lagos State - on a 20,000 sq m site.
The site is 23m above sea level and within a private estate, with eight levels of physical security to ensure “uncompromized security”.
Steve Brookman, Rack Centre’s managing director, said the “revolutionary” data center would “out Nigeria at the heart of the global growth in disaster recovery and applications development”.

CBT Nuggets announces a new training course

CBT Nuggets announces a new training course, “Cisco CCNP Data Center 642-999 DCUCI.”
Trainer and Cisco expert Anthony Sequeira created this video training course, which guides viewers through the implementation of Cisco’s Unified Computing System (UCS). Sequeira covers C- and B-series servers, the UCS chassis, Fabric Interconnects, and much more.
This 20-video course also maps to objectives for the 642-999 exam, one of the exams required to earn CCNP Data Center certification.
"Cisco CCNP Data Center 642-999 DCUCI" is available, along with hundreds of other IT training videos, as part of a CBT Nuggets IT training subscription. Monthly and annual options are available, as are enterprise and LMS solutions.
About CBT Nuggets: CBT Nuggets is a computer-based technology company specializing in cutting-edge online IT, project management and office productivity training.

Saturday 30 November 2013

Entry Software announces the release of version 7.0,

Building on the success of its flagship product, TeamHeadquarters, Entry Software announces the release of version 7.0, which will allow the company to expand into the IT Service Management marketplace.

"TeamHeadquarters v.7 will definitely change the way IT views a request. They are not just individual work tasks, but integral to the big picture – the total needs of an enterprise," said Mark Donais, CEO and founder of Entry Software.

Donais added that the newest version of TeamHeadquarters goes beyond the traditional contribution of IT and focuses on ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library), which is a compilation of best practices for ITSM. TeamHeadquarters v.7 has been carefully developed to provide companies with a greater array of tools to manage projects and realize maximum benefit from ITIL.

TeamHeadquarters was originally developed as a consolidated app that includes Service Desk, Project Management, Resource Management and All-in-One Scheduling. Such a tool is essential to IT’s successful management of service and help requests, scheduling, completing project tasks effectively and allocating resources.

Various universities, colleges, school boards K–12 and private schools utilize TeamHeadquarters to streamline their IT departments while still maintaining a high level of service to students and faculty members. TeamHeadquarters also helps many healthcare companies and facilities with hundreds of daily support requests and thousands of customers to expand their capacity and reduce the number of IT work silos.

Bill Lewkowski, EVP/CIO, Metro Health Hospital, said, "It is critical that we are able to prioritize and respond in a timely manner. TeamHeadquarters has allowed me to structure my support organization by area of expertise, so my call coordinators can easily and effectively allocate tickets to the resources with the best skills and with time available. TeamHeadquarters allows my team to manage effectively their operational and project work as well. It is the one consolidated tool that our department relies on to run our business."

About Entry Software Corporation

Entry Software Corporation is a leader in providing effective work management solutions to various industries around the globe. Its product, TeamHeadquarters, is a fully integrated palette of unique solutions for IT, Product and Service Departments. TeamHeadquarters creates value through cost reduction improved operating efficiency and enhanced customer communications.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/11/prweb11376231.htm

Thursday 31 October 2013

Oracle FLEXCUBE expands capabilities to support

Today's financial services landscape calls for seamless, rich and individualized online and mobile experiences for consumers, new ways to meet increasing regulatory pressures and the ability to continually drive improved performance.
Oracle FLEXCUBE has expanded capabilities to support these areas including new contactless payment and rich, personalized portal enhancements as well as new Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) certification and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) compliance.
Oracle Financial Services Software Limited today introduced new Oracle FLEXCUBE capabilities that help financial institutions to support regulatory compliance, offer richer and more personalized customer experiences, improve perfromance and streamline their IT environments.
Supporting Regulatory Compliance
With FATCA provisions set to take effect in July 2014, Oracle FLEXCUBE provides new features to help facilitate compliance and reduce risk. These features include support for due diligence for new customer onboarding and existing customers to identify United States (U.S.) individuals and U.S.-owned foreign entities.
Enhancing Customer Experience
Oracle FLEXCUBE Mobile Banking now supports contactless payments, including near field communication (NFC), quick response (QR) code support, person-to-person (P2P) and social media payments, enabling banks to offer a new level of convenience and flexibility for customers.
Oracle FLEXCUBE Direct Banking enables banks to provide more comprehensive, flexible and consistent service as well as greater customer convenience with end-to-end multi-channel, multi-step and multi-device collaborative originations capabilities for retail and corporate customers. It also provides expanded customer self-subscription and onboarding features and enables full-scale straight through processing (STP) and support for offline processing.
Corporate banking users of Oracle FLEXCUBE can now take advantage of the enhanced bulk payment capability to help streamline operational efficiency and reduce risk.
Oracle FLEXCUBE has been named a SWIFT Certified Application for Payments 2013.
The enhanced Oracle FLEXCUBE platform also integrates more easily with multiple channels, such as call centers, ATMs and kiosks to quickly and effectively enable customers to access their accounts.
Improving Operational Performance
To help financial institutions better divide and compare transactional data while managing profitablity, cost and performance, Oracle introduces Oracle FLEXCUBE Information Server.
This new capability enables users to simply and rapidly analyze products, review current profitability data and trends to better optimize business decisions and manage competitive pressures, and review standard reports and enhance accountability by monitoring branch-level performance.
Reducing IT Complexity
Oracle FLEXCUBE Development Workbench will now support R10 and R11 versions of FLEXCUBE, enabling financial institutions to transfer exisiting customizations from one FLEXCUBE release to another to help speed upgrades and help reduce cost and resource requirments.
To ease testing of upgrades, patches and fixes on Oracle FLEXCUBE, Oracle today announced the availability of Oracle FLEXCUBE Testing Workbench for Universal Banking, which enables banks to record user and branch transactions, extract subsets of production data, re-run data in test environments and receive immediate diagnostics on errors, which can substantially reduce testing efforts.
To help banks better manage production environments and data compliance, Oracle FLEXCUBE now also ships with a new archiving and purging utility.
Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking now runs on Oracle Database Appliance X3-2 to deliver mid-size banks a compelling banking-in-a-box solution. With this certification, banks can benefit from a low-IT-footprint, high-performance, full-scale banking technology that is engineered to support end-to-end business requirements.
In a recent performance test of Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking on Oracle Database Appliance X3-2, the system managed more than 2.6 million online transactions in 60 minutes.
This equated to 744 transactions per second with an average response time of 156 milliseconds for 98 percent of the transactions.
The solution completed end-of-month batch processing for 10 million customer accounts in 123 minutes during the perfromance test.
"Financial institutions are grappling with evolving customer and regulatory requirements and the need to reduce IT complexity," said Chet Kamat, CEO & Managing Director, Oracle Financial Services Software. "The latest enhancements to Oracle FLEXCUBE help banks to provide an enhanced customer experience, meet industry standards, such as FATCA regulations and SWIFT standards, as well as streamline compliance, reduce risk and minimize IT complexity."

http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=52502

Monday 28 October 2013

WebCenter Portal 11.1.1.8 is part of Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 Version 11.1.1.8.

Oracle WebCenter Suite is an integrated suite of Fusion Middleware 11gR1 tools used to create web sites and portals using service-oriented architecture (SOA). Applications adapters are also available.
WebCenter Development Framework
WebCenter Portal 11.1.1.8 is now certified with Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2. This complements our existing certifications of WebCenter Portal 11.1.1.8 with EBS 12.0 and 12.1. WebCenter Portal 11.1.1.8 is part of Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 Version 11.1.1.8.0, also known as FMW 11gR1 Patchset 7.
Certified Platforms
Oracle WebCenter Portal is certified to run on any operating system for which Oracle WebLogic Server 11g is certified. For information on operating systems supported by Oracle WebLogic Server 11g and Oracle WebCenter Portal, refer to the 'Oracle Fusion Middleware on WebLogic Server - System Certification' in the Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.x) Certification Matrix.
Integration with Oracle WebCenter Portal involves components spanning several different suites of Oracle products. There are no restrictions on which platform any particular component may be installed so long as the platform is supported for that component.
Migrating to Oracle WebCenter
If you're currently using Oracle Portal, you should be aware that Portal is now in maintenance mode. Updates with bug fixes will continue to be produced, but you should consider migrating to Oracle WebCenter for ongoing new features.

Monday 21 October 2013

nigeria set to host Oracle Day 2013

Oracle Nigeria will hold its third Oracle Day in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja on November 5, offering delegates the chance to learn how businesses can leverage disruptive technologies.
In addition to Abuja, Oracle Day events will also be held in more than 30 cities in other parts of Africa, Middle East and Europe, under the theme “Converge. Connect. Empower the Modern Enterprise”.
“Oracle Day events offer stories of innovation across multiple industries, geographies and disciplines, with the discussion focused on real-world business results,” Oracle said.
“Each event will be a powerhouse combination of business- and technology-focused tracks, all dedicated to one goal: showing Oracle customers and prospects how the power of simplicity can change IT to a force that drives business innovation: Empowering modern business, Big data at work, Cloud computing, Mobilising business, The modern datacenter.”
Adebayo Sanni, country manager of Oracle Nigeria, said: “Oracle OpenWorld is the showcase for our newest technology; this year’s event in San Francisco demonstrated how Oracle can simplify IT and drive innovation in business.
“Bringing the major OpenWorld announcements to countries beyond the US gives Oracle an opportunity to expose the power of hardware and software engineered to work together at Oracle Days. We believe these new technologies bring unmatched benefits to businesses everywhere. Now in its third year in Nigeria, Oracle Day 2013 promises to be the best yet, with industry experts and customers delivering a content-rich agenda.”

Friday 18 October 2013

Effects of new support dates on Java upgrades for EBS environments

Java Runtime Environment 7u45 (a.k.a. JRE 7u45-b18) and later updates on the JRE 7 codeline are now certified with Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i and 12.0, 12.1, and 12.2 for Windows-based desktop clients. Effects of new support dates on Java upgrades for EBS environments
Support dates for the E-Business Suite and Java have changed. Please review the sections below for more details:
  • What does this mean for Oracle E-Business Suite users?
  • Will EBS users be forced to upgrade to JRE 7 for Windows desktop clients?
  • Will EBS users be forced to upgrade to JDK 7 for EBS application tier servers?
All JRE 6 and 7 releases are certified with EBS upon release
Our standard policy is that all E-Business Suite customers can apply all JRE updates to end-user desktops from JRE 1.6.0_03 and later updates on the 1.6 codeline, and from JRE 7u10 and later updates on the JRE 7 codeline. We test all new JRE 1.6 and JRE 7 releases in parallel with the JRE development process, so all new JRE 1.6 and 7 releases are considered certified with the E-Business Suite on the same day that they're released by our Java team.
You do not need to wait for a certification announcement before applying new JRE 1.6 or JRE 7 releases to your EBS users' desktops.
What's needed to enable EBS environments for JRE 7?
EBS customers should ensure that they are running JRE 7u17, at minimum, on Windows desktop clients.

Of the compatibility issues identified with JRE 7, the most critical is an issue that prevents E-Business Suite Forms-based products from launching on Windows desktops that are running JRE 7.
Customers can prevent this issue -- and all other JRE 7 compatibility issues -- by ensuring that they have applied the latest certified patches documented for JRE 7 configurations to their EBS application tier servers.
These patches are compatible with JRE 6 and 7, production ready, and fully-tested with the E-Business Suite. These patches may be applied immediately to all E-Business Suite environments. All other Forms prerequisites documented in the Notes above should also be applied.
Where are the official patch requirements documented?
All patches required for ensuring full compatibility of the E-Business Suite with JRE 7 are documented in these Notes:

For EBS 11i:
For EBS 12.0, 12.1, 12.2
EBS + Discoverer 11g Users
JRE 1.7.0_45 is certified for Discoverer 11g in E-Business Suite environments with the following minimum requirements:
Worried about the 'mismanaged session cookie' issue?
No need to worry -- it's fixed. To recap: JRE releases 1.6.0_18 through 1.6.0_22 had issues with mismanaging session cookies that affected some users in some circumstances.
The fix for those issues was first included in JRE 1.6.0_23. These fixes will carry forward and continue to be fixed in all future JRE releases on the JRE 6 and 7 codelines. In other words, if you wish to avoid the mismanaged session cookie issue, you should apply any release after JRE 1.6.0_22 on the JRE 6 codeline, and JRE 7u10 and later JRE 7 codeline updates.
Implications of Java 6 End of Public Updates for EBS Users
The Support Roadmap for Oracle Java is published here:
The latest updates to that page (as of Sept. 19, 2012) state (emphasis added):
Java SE 6 End of Public Updates Notice
After February 2013, Oracle will no longer post updates of Java SE 6 to its public download sites. Existing Java SE 6 downloads already posted as of February 2013 will remain accessible in the Java Archive on Oracle Technology Network. Developers and end-users are encouraged to update to more recent Java SE versions that remain available for public download. For enterprise customers, who need continued access to critical bug fixes and security fixes as well as general maintenance for Java SE 6 or older versions, long term support is available through Oracle Java SE Support .
What does this mean for Oracle E-Business Suite users?
EBS users fall under the category of "enterprise users" above. Java is an integral part of the Oracle E-Business Suite technology stack, so EBS users will continue to receive Java SE 6 updates from February 2013 to the end of Java SE 6 Extended Support in June 2017.
In other words, nothing changes for EBS users after February 2013.
EBS users will continue to receive critical bug fixes and security fixes as well as general maintenance for Java SE 6 until the end of Java SE 6 Extended Support in June 2017.
How can EBS customers obtain Java 6 updates after the public end-of-life?
EBS customers can download Java 6 patches from My Oracle Support. For a complete list of all Java SE patch numbers, see:
Will EBS users be forced to upgrade to JRE 7 for Windows desktop clients?
This upgrade is highly recommended but remains optional while Java 6 is covered by Extended Support. Updates will be delivered via My Oracle Support, where you can continue to receive critical bug fixes and security fixes as well as general maintenance for JRE 6 desktop clients.
Java 6 is covered by Extended Support until June 2017. All E-Business Suite customers must upgrade to JRE 7 by June 2017.
Coexistence of JRE 6 and JRE 7 on Windows desktops
The upgrade to JRE 7 is highly recommended for EBS users, but some users may need to run both JRE 6 and 7 on their Windows desktops for reasons unrelated to the E-Business Suite.
Most EBS configurations with IE and Firefox use non-static versioning by default. JRE 7 will be invoked instead of JRE 6 if both are installed on a Windows desktop. For more details, see "Appendix B: Static vs. Non-static Versioning and Set Up Options" in Notes 290807.1 and 393931.1.
Applying Updates to JRE 6 and JRE 7 to Windows desktops
Auto-update will keep JRE 7 up-to-date for Windows users with JRE 7 installed.
Auto-update will only keep JRE 7 up-to-date for Windows users with both JRE 6 and 7 installed.
JRE 6 users are strongly encouraged to apply the latest Critical Patch Updates as soon as possible after each release. The Jave SE CPUs will be available via My Oracle Support. EBS users can find more information about JRE 6 and 7 updates here:
The dates for future Java SE CPUs can be found on the Critical Patch Updates, Security Alerts and Third Party Bulletin. An RSS feed is available on that site for those who would like to be kept up-to-date.
What do Mac users need?
Mac users running Mac OS 10.7 or 10.8 can run JRE 7 plug-ins. See this article:
Will EBS users be forced to upgrade to JDK 7 for EBS application tier servers?
JRE is used for desktop clients. JDK is used for application tier servers
JDK upgrades for E-Business Suite application tier servers are highly recommended but currently remain optional while Java 6 is covered by Extended Support. Updates will be delivered via My Oracle Support, where you can continue to receive critical bug fixes and security fixes as well as general maintenance for JDK 6 for application tier servers.
Java SE 6 is covered by Extended Support until June 2017. All EBS customers with application tier servers on Windows, Solaris, and Linux must upgrade to JDK 7 by June 2017. EBS customers running their application tier servers on other operating systems should check with their respective vendors for the support dates for those platforms.

CompTIA Addresses Growing Mobile Security App Needs

The worldwide mobile device market continues to soar in both the consumer and business realms. This is making mobile device integration, management and application security some of the most needed services among organizations and critical skillsets for solution providers.

To help address this CompTIA has introduced a new skills certification for solution providers and developers designed to raise security awareness and preparedness around mobile application development. CompTIA Mobile App Security+ is vendor-neutral and validates the skills required to securely create a mobile application and ensures secure network communications and backend web services, according to the non-profit IT association.
CompTIA realizes that mobile device management and security are growing service opportunities for the channel. In fact, for the first time in history, mobile device shipments are surpassing PC shipments. Going forwared, the gap is only going to widen.
To put things in perspective, worldwide PC shipments are expected to decrease to 315 million this year from 341 million in 2012 and then continue to decline to 302 million in 2014 and to approximately 271.6 million in 2017, according to a research report issued earlier this year by Gartner.
By comparison, mobile devices (including ultra-mobile notebooks, tablets and phones) are expected to rise to just more than a combined 2 billion shipments this year, increasing in 2014 to 2.3 billion and 2.7 billion in 2017, according to Gartner.
"While there will be some individuals who retain both a personal PC and a tablet, especially those who use either or both for work and play, most will be satisfied with the experience they get from a tablet as their main computing device," said Carolina Milanesi, Research vice president at Gartner, at the time the report was issued. "As consumers shift their time away from their PC to tablets and smartphones, they will no longer see their PC as a device that they need to replace on a regular basis."
On the operating system front, Google (GOOG) Android, Apple (AAPL) iOS/Mac OS and Microsoft (MSFT) Windows will continue to be the top three, the research firm said.
As a result, the two new unique certification exams launched by CompTIA will be for native Android and iOS mobile applications, according to the company.
“Mobile apps numbering in the millions are downloaded daily on smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices,” said Terry Erdle, executive vice president, skills certification, CompTIA, in statement. “But too often, in the dizzying race to bring new apps to market quickly, security considerations are an afterthought. With these new certifications we aim to bring the security focus back to where it belongs—in the starting blocks of mobile app development.”
CompTIA said candidates for the CompTIA Mobile App Security+ credential will come from mobile app developers, software developers, applications development managers and network security developers. Complete exam objectives are available on the CompTIA Certification website.
Areas covered in the exams include:
  • Principles of secure application development
  • 
Security models of Android and iOS devices

  • Common threats to mobile app security
  • 
Web services security models and vulnerabilities
  • 
Secure coding techniques

  • Common implementations of cryptography

  • Encryption for storage and communications
The mobile revolution, as I have stated before, has just begun. Mobile application development and security is a critical skill for solution providers moving forward.

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Data centre training for Africa

Data centre design and data centre management has, over the past decade, evolved into a profession that requires formal training and development. The need for exposure to recognised data centre standards, guidelines and best practices has become self-evident due to the evolution of the data centre professional.


Gone are the days where individuals must handle the complexities of myriad data centre components through traditional engineering methods, gut feel, and trial and error. Annually, the data centre fraternity can serve up a fair quantity of examples where mission-critical environments experienced spectacular failures and incidents resulting in unplanned downtime, loss of data, loss of productivity and revenue, and reputational impact. The demand for accredited and certified skills within the data centre environment has grown significantly during the past five to 10 years.

The training division of Dee Smith & Associates (DS&A) was established as a result of demand for these skills in the South African data centre market. Subsequently, this demand has also come from the larger African continent. There is a quantifiable need for training and development that results in the formal recognition and accreditation of data centre design and management professionals.

Through its partnership with EPI in Singapore, DS&A's objective is to deliver internationally certified and accredited data centre training in Africa. It strives to expand and nurture these skills by creating sustainability and depth. Formal training in this field also provides an improved understanding of the complexity of data centre design and management, paramount to building the knowledge base. Its training framework demonstrates the impact of a single decision impacting myriad components or disciplines within the data centre environment.

DS&A focuses on education, experience and the continued evolution of data centre design and management as sciences in their own right. Its training programmes are aligned to international best practice, standards, guidelines and trends.



Since introducing this suite of data centre training courses in late 2010, more than 200 candidates have attended and graduated from the training in South Africa. The candidates come from a wide range of industries, such as financial services, telecommunications, information technology, healthcare, property development, project management and product suppliers. Several candidates have travelled from countries like Nigeria and Kenya to attend the training courses presented in South Africa.

Each course is concluded with a mandatory certification exam. All delegates must obtain a minimum percentage ranging between 67% and 75% (depending on the course taken) in order to obtain a professional certification and internationally recognised accreditation. The philosophy is simple – all candidates must prove their ability to grasp the subject matter at a theoretical level before certification can be awarded.

As Lee Smith, director of data centre services and training at DS&A, states clearly: "Anybody can attend a course for a few days, learn nothing and then walk away with unfounded claims of knowledge and professional growth. A certification exam is a simple but effective way to ensure that knowledge is transferred by the instructor and assimilated by the candidate during the course." EXIN is the international certification body that conducts the accreditation for each qualifying candidate.

All certifications are valid for three years where-after a candidate must renew the accreditation through a recertification exam or by providing proof of his or her growth within the data centre profession.

The course curriculum is updated annually to ensure relevance and the incorporation of the latest developments within the international data centre fraternity. DS&A continuously strives to improve and expand on its course curriculum. Only relevant, well-designed and practical courses are selected.

The course offering for 2014 incorporates the following internationally accredited training programmes:

The suite of courses on offer through Dee Smith Associates.

The suite of courses on offer through Dee Smith Associates.
The entry point is the Certified Data Centre Professional (CDCP) course. It is aimed at all persons who are involved in data centres. It provides candidates with a common understanding of the generic components within a data centre facility and the critical design aspects such as power, cooling, fire detection and suppression, EMF, operations and security, to name but a few.

For further course details and the entire training schedule for 2014, please visit

Cisco CCNA v2.0 120-200 Certification

There has a been a lot of discussion and confusion surrounding what the Cisco CCNA exam changes will mean to students who are currently studying for their CCNA certification. So hopefully this can make it very easy for readers to understand while assisting in obtaining the CCNA certification.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjgTPyxJM0Y


The first thing one may notice is that the name of the certification has changed from simply Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) to CCNA Routing & Switching to signify a switch in Cisco’s new certification structure. What do they mean by this? Well specifying the particular discipline one has their Cisco certification in marries up with the structure that was first put in place at the CCIE level. There one will note they offered CCIEs in different disciplines such as Routing & Switching, Voice, Security, Wireless, Service Provider and Data Center. This then filtered down to the CCNP certification with the same designations of Routing & Switching, Voice, Security, etc. These have been in place the past few years. Now after 5 plus years Cisco has updated the CCNA certification and the new name is CCNA Routing & Switching. This also compliments the CCNA Voice, Wireless, Security, etc certifications that have been in place for the past year or two. So now exam takers can see why it is not a surprise that the name was changed as it makes total sense!
What has stayed the same is that exam takers can either take two separate exams that break the material up to obtain their CCNA R&S certification or they can take the single composite exam covering all the material in one exam.
What has changed is the exam numbers and the content on each exam. If one goes with the two exam option they will take the new ICND1 exam number 100-101. Upon passing this exam, they will obtain their CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician) certification. Previously there was not much prestige in this certification as it was viewed as nothing more than a stepping stone to the CCNA certification. But Cisco has really changed that now! Why is that? Well Cisco has made the CCNA certification process much harder now! They did this by taking approximately 75% of the historical ICND2 exam content and put it in the new ICND1 exam. So now to get the CCENT and pass the ICND1 exam it is required to know almost all the material from the ICND1 and ICND2 exam. So what changed?
Removed from the new ICND1 exam are RIP, SDM, Shared LANs, Wireless and Security as the latter two are now fully covered in the CCNA Wireless and CCNA Security exams.
Added to the ICND1 exam is a TON of IPv6 questions. Know the IPv6 basics, theory and how to properly configure a router to support IPv6. Also moved over to the ICND1 exam is VLSM, VLANs, Inter-VLAN Routing, Trunking, ACLs, NAT, and OSPF Area topics.
So why did Cisco cram all this information into the ICND1 exam? Simply because it is now the new prerequisite for the second level CCNA certifications discussed before such as CCNA Routing & Switching, CCNA Voice, CCNA Security, and CCNA Data Center. See how it is all starting to fall into place? But don’t worry, as stated before, Cisco has retained the option to obtain the CCNA Routing & Switching certification in a single composite exam number 200-120. But more on that in a minute.
So what were the changed to the ICND2 200-101 exam? Well Cisco moved NAT, VLSM and Inter-VLAN Routing into the ICND2 exam. Cisco also removed the Security concepts that are now covered in the CCNA Security track. They also added a plethora of new topics such as OSPFv3 and Multi-Area OSPF, EtherChannel, Layer 3 Redundancy, Syslog, Cisco NetFlow, Cisco Licensing, and Troubleshooting of VLANS, EIGRP, IPv4 and IPv6. This is very similar to the TSHOOT troubleshooting exam in the CCNP track, just condensed at the CCNA level.
So it should go without saying if exam takers go with the single composite 200-120 exam option it will include all the changes to the exam noted above. Hopefully this overview was able to provide great insight on the changes to the Cisco CCNA certification exam!

Tuesday 15 October 2013

IAITAM & APMG-International Begin Accreditation Partnership

APMG-International will begin accrediting training organizations to deliver the IAITAM Courseware effective immediately. This announcement was made today at IAITAM’s Annual Fall ACE Conference by Dr. Barbara Rembiesa, CEO of IAITAM, to the attendees. This partnership will allow wide spread adoption of the IAITAM Courseware and meet the growing demand for IT Asset Management Training.
“IAITAM is very excited about making this move to allow training organizations around the globe to start teaching the IAITAM Courseware. One of many benefits of this partnership is the additional focus IAITAM will garner to create new and critical content initiatives for the profession,” said Dr. Rembiesa. “Finding an organization such as APMG-International, which shares the same business philosophy and excellent reputation as IAITAM, made making this move easy.”
For APMG-International, the IAITAM Courseware is a natural fit due to the synergies that exist between the IAITAM Courseware and the other best practices that APMG has under its umbrella, most notably ITIL® and Cobit® 5. “With the speed at which technology changes we are excited to have a best practice in IAITAM that focuses on the technical aspects of IT as well as business practices to manage that IT across the entire organization,” said Richard Pharro, CEO, APMG-International. “With ITIL being so wide spread and adopted globally, now having the authority in IT Asset Management in IAITAM to compliment ITIL and Cobit 5 training will allow us to have the most robust IT Management offerings to bring to training organizations.”
During Dr. Rembiesa’s remarks to the audience she said:
“IT Asset Management has grown to the point where global wide spread adoption is eminent. The demand for the IAITAM certification is such that it forced IAITAM to make a decision. We had two choices, to become a training organization or an organization that will continue to lead the profession with expert and practical content and strong and innovative leadership. IAITAM always has been, and will continue to be, thought leaders for the IT Asset Management professions. In partnering with APMG we brought two world class reputations and skillsets to work together to set the course for how IT Asset Management will be taught and viewed moving into the future.”
APMG-International CEO Richard Pharro states, “Expert IT Asset Management is essential for any organization. APMG was impressed with the levels of professionalism and support that IAITAM gives its members. We are delighted to join forces with an organization whose objectives for raising skills and competency are similar to ours. APMG’s existing global network of Accredited Training Organizations (ATOs) plus IAITAM’s leadership on developing personnel who work in this important area, will together make a significant difference to IT Asset Managers everywhere.”
About IAITAM
The International Association of Information Technology Asset Managers, Inc. (“IAITAM”) the professional association for individuals and organizations involved in any aspect of IT Asset Management (“ITAM”), Software Asset Management (“SAM”), Hardware Asset Management, Mobile Asset Management, IT Asset Disposition and the lifecycle processes supporting IT Asset Management in organizations of every size and industry across the globe. IAITAM certification is the only IT Asset Management certifications that are recognized worldwide. For more information, visit: www.iaitam.org.
About APMG-International
APMG-International is a global examination institute. Its portfolio of qualifications includes COBIT 5, CESG’s Information Assurance Scheme, ITIL®, and PRINCE2®. Its Accredited Training Organizations have undergone the most rigorous assessment process in the industry. Its examinations are available globally and it works with 21 languages. APMG was granted a Queens’ Award for International Trade in 2012. For more information, visit: www.apmg-international.com.

Common Linux Questions Answered

There are several questions that crop up in one’s mind when opting for a career in IT. These questions are critical to their long-term growth in the chosen profession and worth considering. Here are some questions answered for those of you who are in the midst of making a career choice.





As cited on linfo.org, here are a couple of them answered.

1. What is the advantage of studying Linux when a number of jobs are being outsourced to developing countries to save cost?
A. The main reason to opt Linux is that you enjoy studying it. Linux does not assure job guarantee. Acquiring skills in Linux will only prove valuable in the long term, as it is known to be more valuable than Microsoft Windows skills. More importantly you must keep in mind that every job is not outsourced and there are a number of them that need to be performed locally which include, systems administration, security and help desk.

2: How good is a Linux certificate in comparison to an MCSE?
A: It is quite difficult to get a Linux certification with better compensation as there are lesser number of Linux specialists than MCSEs who have higher skill levels.

3: What is the significance of acquiring a Linux certification?
A: There is a lot of debate that run over this issue. Some feel that certification is essential for getting a specific job while others feel that experience is a must. Nonetheless, Linux is the best option for gaining certification in certain IT specialties.

4: How would the Linux job market appear in five or ten years from now?
A: The job market appears to be quite bright for Linux as it is predicted to grow swiftly with an increasing number of companies discovering its benefits. Also, Unix has been present for over three decades with various operating systems having come and gone. This has resulted in making it the oldest operating system being in use. You need to spend considerable time and effort in required to gain proficiency in Linux, hence the value of your investment should prolong over the long term.

5: What is the extent of knowledge that one must acquire to get a Linux-related job and the time invested to attain that level?
A: This will depend on what you wish to do. Whether you want to simply use Linux as many people use Microsoft Windows for word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, etc. In such cases, you don’t need to study. In case you wish to be a system administrator or a security expert, it might require many years of deep study in the event you do not have a sound IT background.

6: IT jobs appear to have a dull outlook with the all time increase in outsourcing to low wage countries. There are people who have over ten years of Unix experience and desperate to get any kind of job. What makes you think the situation will improve?
A: Apart from outsourcing, many factors determine growth. These include the collapse of the Internet bubble, the ending of the huge IT expenditures for dealing with the Y2K problem and the extreme slump in the economy. With these factors diminishing over time, there is bound to be an upswing in the IT expenditures. The other factors that will have a positive impact on IT expenditures are the growing advancement of technology and the importance to businesses of using IT effectively for staying competitive.

7: In what fields can Linux skills help me in acquiring a good job when compared to the computer field?
A: There are several and they include many aspects of business, research, education and engineering. Nearly anything, that makes use of computers.

8: Is the employment situation for Linux experts the same as it is for Unix experts?
A: This is a tricky question as the skill sets for both these languages are highly transferable and the situation is likely to change with time. As per a latest search on monster.com, there were over 5,000 jobs with the "Unix" keyword and 2794 with the "Linux" keyword.

But a point worth nothing here is that even though Unix has a greater demand than Linux, the use of the latter in businesses is seeing a greater increase than Unix.

9: Is it good to mention Linux on your resume if you have been studying it over time on your own? In the absence of any job experience, is it good to mention Linux on your CV?
A: Yes you must as many Linux experts have never taken classes in it and began at a point of time with no on-the-job experience. Classroom experience is not a must and it is good to study at home. You must be clear about your qualifications on your resume and in interviews.

10: I can’t get a job in Linux even though I am really good at Linux. Companies won’t offer me job without prior job experience?
A: This situation will gradually change but in the meantime, you can gain experience by doing voluntary work at schools, church or small business in maintaining a Linux system. This will not only look good on your CV but also prove to be a valuable learning experience for you as you will be assisting others. 


http://www.efytimes.com/e1/fullnews.asp?edid=118258

Oracle Still Hates Open Source Software

It's no wonder that Google, Red Hat and others have been abandoning Oracle's most visible open-source project, MySQL. After all, Oracle has a highly conflicted relationship with open source. Nowhere is this conflict more apparent than in a new white paper Oracle released for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in which Oracle suggests open source costs more and is less reliable.
Unfortunately for Oracle, the DOD has its own white paper on open source—several, actually—which directly contradicts Oracle's key arguments.

Oracle's Love-Hate Relationship With Open Source

Oracle is an odd beast. Throughout the whitepaper, Oracle somewhat accurately proclaims itself "one of the biggest proponents and contributors to open source within the industry," and points to ways that it improves open source. Much of this is true: Oracle does significantly contribute to open source.
But given how much of Oracle's business depends upon a steady stream of big, upfront license deals with eternal maintenance fees, it's not surprising Oracle damns open source with faint praise: "Oracle is embracing and offering open source solutions as a viable way to complete simple software projects and as an adjunct to the development and deployment of more complex projects that are based on commercial software."
In other words, Oracle loves open source ... to a point.

The DOD's Long-Term Relationship With Open Source

It's not surprising that Oracle would try to dampen the DOD's enthusiasm for open source. The DOD has demonstrated a long-standing willingness to entrust serious, mission-critical applications to open source. (See here and here and here.)
First memorialized in an official memo back in 2003, the DOD has continually agitated for more open source within the U.S. military. The DOD has even sponsored its own open source conference, and has published a list of lessons learned from its many years using open source.
As such, if any organization is intimately familiar with both the promise and pitfalls of open source, it's the DOD. And yet open source adoption at the DOD remains rampant and robust.

DOD: Sorry, Oracle, Open Source Costs Less

In fact, the DOD has authored an FAQ that answers Oracle's myth-making white paper point for point.
Oracle argues that open source is more expensive than its proprietary software:
Focusing on the easily identifiable and predictable hard costs, such as software licensing and annual support, can obscure the total lifecycle cost of a program. Technology DoD and Open Source Software decisions based on short-term or up-front savings only consider 10 to 20 percent of total program costs. The best value to the government comes through optimizing developer productivity, providing reliable and scalable infrastructure, and reducing these soft costs. 
In many cases, the commercial alternatives [to open source] lead the market because they have far superior capabilities to the open source projects. In those circumstances, adoption of open source has proven to actually increase the overall cost of the project, thereby resulting in program cost overruns.
In other words, Oracle wants the DOD to believe open source costs more (and that it somehow delivers enhanced developer productivity, which surely must seem comical to the overwhelming majority of developers who have embraced open source). To this the DOD offers this response:
Proprietary COTS [commercial off-the-shelf software] ... typically trades off flexibility; the government typically does not have the right to modify the software, so it often cannot fix serious security problems, add arbitrary improvements, or make the software work on platforms of its choosing.  If the supplier attains a monopoly or it is difficult to switch from the supplier, the costs may skyrocket.  What is more, the supplier may choose to abandon the product; software escrow can reduce these risks somewhat, but in these cases it becomes GOTS [government homegrown code] with its attendant costs.
OSS [open-source software] COTS is especially appropriate when there is an existing OSS COTS product that meets the need, or one can be developed and supported by a wide range of users/co-developers.  OSS COTS tends to be lower cost than GOTS, in part for the same reasons as proprietary COTS: its costs are shared among more users.  It also often has lower total cost-of-ownership than proprietary COTS, since acquiring it initially is often free or low-cost, and all other support activities (training, installation, modification, etc.) can be competed. 
Or, as the DOD writes elsewhere, "DOD needs a more efficient software development ecosystem—more innovation at lower cost. [Open source] squeezes financial waste out of the equation by reducing lock-in and increasing competition."

DOD: Sorry, Oracle, Open Source Can Be Highly Reliable

Oracle's other big myth is that open source is inherently not reliable. Oracle tries to position open source as a bit of a play thing: "Open Source tends to be used successfully in simple, low-risk projects." But such an argument flies in the face of the hundreds of thousands of mission-critical, open source-based IT projects within the DOD and elsewhere. Nevertheless, Oracle persists with its argument:
Perhaps the most important issue in a major DoD system is reliability, which includes the ability to scale under heavy load as well as a system’s security and information-assurance features ... Load testing, system performance tuning, and system optimization are also expensive tasks. Commercial software companies have developed highly refined methodologies to perform these tasks. Don’t underestimate the difficulties associated with testing open source software and incorporating required changes into the main development stream, especially when it comes to testing for robustness and reliability under load.  
Of course not, concludes Oracle, declaring that "for mission-critical functionality, commercial software wins the day."
The DOD, however, disagrees:
[Proprietary software] lock-in tends to raise costs substantially, reduces long-term value (including functionality, innovation, and reliability), and can become a serious security problem (since the supplier has little incentive to provide a secure product and to quickly fix problems found later)...
Continuous and broad peer-review, enabled by publicly available [open] source code, improves software reliability and security through the identification and elimination of defects that might otherwise go unrecognized by the core development team. Conversely, where source code is hidden from the public, attackers can attack the software anyway...
That said, the DOD goes on to note that neither proprietary software nor open-source software is a good fit where the slightest error could result in fatalities: "Software that meets very high reliability/security requirements, aka 'high assurance' software, must be specially designed to meet such requirements.  Most commercial software (including OSS) is not designed for such purposes."

Advantage, Open Source?

This isn't to suggest that open source is perfect. Rather, it simply shows that the DOD, with over a decade's worth of experience running open-source software in mission-critical projects at scale, doesn't need Oracle to help it understand how to save money and improve reliability. For some applications, Oracle's technology is almost certainly a great fit at the DOD. For many other applications, however, open source is perfect, and these aren't just the "simple applications" Oracle dismisses.
As such, expect to see open source continue to boom within the DOD ... and Oracle to continue to wish it didn't.

http://readwrite.com/2013/10/15/oracle-opens-both-barrels-on-open-source-software-in-military-whitepaper#awesm=~okoK5q2azPE6sH

9-Year-Old Nigerian Becomes World’s Youngest Microsoft Certified Professional

Nigeria has come on the global scene in the information communication technology sector, as 9-year-old Jomiloju Tunde-Oladipo joined the community of achievers when he became one of the world’s youngest 2013 certified Microsoft Office specialists for Office Word 2010.
Jomiloju, a primary 6 pupil of Role Model School, owned by DayStar Christian Centre, Oregun, Ikeja Lagos, broke the record created in 2012 by 10-year-old JSS1 student, Seyi-Ojo Anjolaoluwa, who was adjudged the youngest Nigerian and one of the youngest people in the world to have become a Microsoft certified professional.
Jomiloju took the July 2013 examination while in primary 5, after passing all the preparatory stages leading to the final examinations following intense teachings in school and trainings he received from United Global Resources Ltd, an accredited ICT training firm.
Odion Oyakhire, the center manager in charge of the school noted that his firm, “encourages pupils to learn ICT and get certified.”
Oyakhire explained that his firm coordinates the certification examinations for several schools and was proud to associate with Jomiloju and Role Model School on this feat. He said that the certification examination is an online, real-time test.
Before setting this new record in Nigeria for the certification examination, Jomiloju led his school to glory in June 2013, when they won an ICT quiz competition with 15 participating school in Lagos. The competition was put together by United Global Resources.
The examination report showed Jomiloju scored 769 points, 69 points higher than the required 700 to be recognized as a Microsoft Office Specialist.

Monday 14 October 2013

Understanding Cisco®‘s new Certification Path

Cisco® announced their new certification paths on March 25th, 2013. The CCNA is no longer a prerequisite to all other certification paths; however, the CCENT (ICND1) is now the prerequisite to most tracks. At first, the CCENT would seem to provide an inadequate foundation, but Cisco® has really up’d their technology in the CCENT area! No longer is it an easy introduction to networking with some Cisco® routing and switching. We’re talking about a serious update to the CCENT!
The new CCENT exam covers the usual OSI, TCP/IP, subnetting, etc… but the depth of knowledge is much greater after that! VLANs, IVR, IPv6, EIGRP and OSPF are all new CCENT objectives and were covered previously only on the CCNA!
Cisco® has removed the following from the CCENT:
  • Securing the network
  • Understanding challenges of shared LANs
  • Solving Network Challenges with Switched LAN Technologies
  • Wireless LAN’s
  • Using Cisco® SDM
  • Configuring Serial Encapulation
  • Enabling RIP
Topics Added to the ICND1 Exam:
  • Implmenting VLSM
  • Scaling the Network wtih NAT and PAT
  • Managing Traffic Using ACL’s
  • Implementing VLAN’s and Trunks
  • Routing between VLAN’s
  • Implementing Single Area OSPF
  • Introducing Basic IPv6
  • Understanding IPv6
  • Configurating IPv6 Routing
     
    this means 
http://www.lammle.com/blog/3335/understanding-ciscos-certification-path/

Monday 30 September 2013

newest and most advanced datacenter enters final commissioning. Curaçao Technology Exchange (CTEX)


Somewhere deep in the Southwest Caribbean, right in front of the Latin America coastline, the world’s newest and most advanced datacenter enters final commissioning. Curaçao Technology Exchange (CTEX), together with Schneider Electric, CISCO Systems and others for close to two years has pursued one of the most ambitious technology projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. CTEX is turning on the first of four 72,000 square feet Uptime Institute certified Tier-IV datacenter. The CTEX datacenters have already been recognized for several industry awards including the 2012 LATAM Datacenterdynamics award for incorporating the most advanced design and engineering standards throughout the region.
Industry veterans with significant experience in the datacenter space direct this young and innovative company. Their CEO, Anthony de Lima and the rest of their team with noted track records at companies such as Telefonica, KPMG, Google, Terremark, Global Crossing, and others is slowly gaining prominence throughout the region. CTEX’s vision from the start was to create the most advanced and reliable datacenter in Latin America and the Caribbean, leveraging years of lessons learned from datacenter projects across the world. Too, the company was committed from the start to obtain Tier-IV certification, which they achieved in June this year together with the ISO9001:2008 certification. While many datacenter providers talk about being at a particular Tier level, few are certified. Certification by the Uptime Institute requires an immense level of design detailing and in the case of a Tier-IV certified facility, this means that nothing is left to chance and that all critical parts in many ways incorporate double redundancy. Downtime is not an option. This October the company will undergo final inspection of CU-1, the first of its four facilities. Successful certification will make the CTEX datacenter one out of 13 datacenters worldwide to be certified at the Tier-IV level for design as well as constructed facility and the first of its kind in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The selection of the island nation of Curaçao as the host country for the region’s most advanced datacenter seemed initially to be an unconventional choice. However, Curaçao may very well have the best mix of ingredients to support such a high-end technology project. For starts, the island is located outside the traditional hurricane belt and major seismic zones. Being part of the Dutch kingdom means Curaçao benefits from European privacy laws, with a court of highest recourse located in The Hague, the Netherlands. The island is not a fiscal paradise and conforms to strict transparency regulations by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). For international companies Curaçao offers excellent fiscal benefits through its EZONE ruling, which means international companies establishing computing infrastructures at the CTEX datacenter, are exempt from import duties and VAT taxes. This alone can be a huge benefit when compared to similar fiscal conditions in neighboring countries. Curaçao also has five major submarine cables connecting the island to the rest of the world, with two additional cable systems planned for the first half of 2014. The island also boasts a multi-cultural and multi-lingual workforce. Finally, by being part of the Dutch kingdom, companies leveraging the CTEX datacenter to conduct business worldwide benefit from over 95 bilateral investment treaties, providing added peace of mind when delivering services across international boarders.
CTEX’s datacenters incorporate some of the most sophisticated technology design principles, including the ability to accommodate computing platforms with varying operating characteristics ranging from low to high-density in specialized zones. Each zone incorporates the appropriate power and cooling infrastructure for the relative computing density within a rack. An innovative power distribution system for powering server racks provides specific power metering details for a customer’s computing instance. CTEX has also incorporated an advanced intelligent building management system (BMS), which automates many of the tasks traditionally managed by datacenter personnel. The system also provides advanced web portals through which customized views can be provided to customers to monitor their equipment located in the CTEX datacenter. The company takes security very serious. While they were apprehensive to talk about their physical and logical security fabric, a high-level view of the facility’s schematics shows a comprehensive layered security approach that is typical of a major top-level security installation.
Aside from delivering traditional datacenter services, the company last year partnered up with VCE™ and is running advanced private cloud solutions for companies throughout the region. VCE’s VBLOCK platform supported by CISCO Systems, EMC®, and VMWARE is recognized as one of the most redundant and fault tolerant Cloud platforms in the world. And indeed CTEX boasts a zero down time service log for its Cloud platform. Customers run their critical application on CTEX’s Cloud platform without making capital expenditures in technology. Billing for infrastructure, software and platform services is based on a subscription model.
Tier-IV datacenters aren’t for everyone. But if your critical business systems just cannot go down, ever, then you may want to take a close look at this brand new datacenter.
Company Contact: http://www.ctexpartners.com

CBT Nuggets announces the release of a new video training course



CBT Nuggets announces the release of a new video training course, “Cisco R&S Troubleshooting Mastery.”
In this 20-video course, co-instructors Keith Barker and Anthony Sequeira cover the ins and outs of troubleshooting various Cisco routing and switching technologies. Some of the topics in this course include VLAN troubleshooting, solving EIGRP adjacency failures, and routing redistribution.
Sequeira said demand from the IT industry has resulted in much more emphasis on troubleshooting in certification training.
"As organizations depend on the network more and more every quarter, even the shortest outages are causing major losses of productivity and revenues," he said. "We wanted to address this push in the industry and Cisco certification head on."
The "Cisco R&S Troubleshooting Mastery" course, which contains more than 8 hours of content, is available as part of an IT training subscription from CBT Nuggets.

The Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) has projected the global Internet Protocol (IP) traffic to reach 413 million between 2012 and 2017.

The Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) has projected the global Internet Protocol (IP) traffic to reach 413 million between 2012 and 2017.
Announcing the forecast recently, General Manager Cisco, in charge of Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Mr. Dare Ogunlade, said the Middle East and Africa (MEA) would continue to be the fastest growing IP traffic region from 2012 - 2017, with a 5-fold growth, at 38 per cent compound annual growth rate over the forecast period. MEA was the fastest growing region last year.
According to the forecast, in the Middle East and Africa, IP traffic would grow 5-fold from 2012 to 2017; IP traffic in 2017 would be equivalent to 10 billion DVDs per year, 866 million DVDs per month, or 1 million DVDs per hour; Consumer Internet traffic grew 83 per cent in 2012 and business Internet traffic grew 63 per cent in the same year; In 2017, the gigabyte equivalent of all movies ever made will cross Middle East and Africa's IP networks every 2 hours.
He noted that 10 per cent of consumer Internet traffic was mobile in 2012, but that 31 per cent of consumer Internet traffic will be mobile in 2017. He also said 5 per cent of business Internet traffic was mobile in 2012, but that14 per cent of business Internet traffic will be mobile in 2017. Consumer fixed Internet traffic, he said, grew 80 per cent in 2012 and had 53 per cent of total IP traffic in 2012, but predicted it would be 48 per cent of total IP traffic in 2017.
Internet-Video-to-TV traffic increased 3-fold in 2012, and the average broadband speed grew 20 per cent from 2011 to 2012, from 3.1 Mbps to 3.7 Mbps.
Fixed/Wi-Fi was 54 per cent of total Internet traffic in 2012, but is estimated to grow 54 per cent of total Internet traffic in 2017.
Given statistics on the global IP traffic drivers, Ogunlade said there would be more global Internet users in the future.
He said by 2017, there would be about 3.6 billion Internet users, which would be more than 48 per cent of the world's projected population of 7.6 billion.
The statistics also showed that in 2012, there were 2.3 billion Internet users, which is about 32 per cent of the world's population of 7.2 billion.
Ogunlade said by 2017, there would be more than 19 billion global network connections for fixed/mobile personal devices, M2M connections, among others.
Globally, the average fixed broadband speed will increase 3.5-fold from 2012 - 2017, from 11.3 Mbps to 39 Mbps, he said, adding that the average fixed broadband speed grew 30 per cent from 2011 - 2012, from 8.7 Mbps to 11.3 Mbps.
For increased global use of video services/applications, the statistics revealed that global network users would generate 3 trillion Internet video minutes per month, which is 6 million years of video per month, or 1.2 million video minutes every second or more than two years worth of video every second.

APBN boss also asked the Federal Government to correct the imbalance in the nation’s budgeting system



The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria, APBN, has taken up the Federal Government on the need to reduce the escalating domestic debt of the nation which stands at $43.99billion (N6.5 trillion).
Speaking during the Annual General Meeting/ Awards for Professional Excellence organised by the association in Lagos yesterday, its President, Alhaji Bawa Bala Kaoje, urged the Federal Government to reduce the swelling domestic debt considerably in order to provide succour to local contractors and consultants.
Bemoaning the high local debt profile, Kaoje said the nation’s debt ratio locally stood at 88 per cent currently, while the foreign debt ratio stood at 12 per cent. He pointed out that the appropriate debt ratio is 60 per cent for domestic borrowing and 40 per cent foreign loan; urging the government to, as a matter of urgency, strike a balance in the interest of the nation.
Besides, the APBN boss also asked the Federal Government to correct the imbalance in the nation’s budgeting system where about 70 per cent of the budget is for personnel and recurrent cost while a paltry 30 per cent or less is left for capital development.
Some of the highlights of the meeting are the induction of new body into its fold and Awards for Professional Excellence on financial, environment, engineering/construction, management/ communication, health/ medical categories to Hajia Maryam Ladi Ibrahim, Mr Nweke Umezuruke, Mr. Josiah Okoronkwo, and Professor Innocent Ujah respectively.
APBN is made up of more than 28 professional bodies in Nigeria. Kaoje, the APBN boss noted that the nation is currently facing challenges and uncertainties characterised by activities of various forces with the resultant effect of socioeconomic and political tension. He, therefore, enjoined government to find solution the challenges of insecurity, unemployment, Boko Haram insurgency, kidnapping and epileptic power supply among others.
He also urged the federal authorities to settle the impasse between it and the Academics Staff Union of University , ASUU so that the nation’s tertiary institutions can reopen quickly to avoid production of half baked university graduates.
He added, “Today oil theft and bunkering is more than seven per cent of total production daily which is at least 150,000 barrels per day, the Federal Government must try harder to stop oil bunkering and fish out these crude oil thieves soonest.”
http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/professional-bodies-task-fg-on-n6-5trn-domestic-debt/

Tuesday 10 September 2013

Top Paying Certifications for 2013

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Having earned an IT certification, many individuals think they are automatically entitled to a huge raise. The truth is that several factors, including geography, industry, experience, and yes, certifications, combine to play a major role in determining an individual's salary. However, certain certifications do have greater impact on the earning potential of an individual. Here, we take a look at the 15 certifications with the highest earning potential for 2013.
Note: The rankings below are derived from certifications that received the minimum number of responses to be statistically relevant in the Global Knowledge annual salary survey completed in October 2012. Certain certifications pay more, but are not represented due to their exclusive nature. These include CCIE: Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert and VCDX: VMware Certified Design Expert, for example.

1. PMP: Project Management Professional - $105,750

The Project Management Institute's (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) credential is recognized as the most important certification for project managers. It is globally acknowledged, in heavy demand, and highly sought after by corporations and individuals alike. A Project Management Professional designation demonstrates that you have not only the experience but also the education to successfully lead and direct projects. The PMP credential is for experienced project management professionals, as the qualifications and testing for this certification are rigorous, as are the required continuing education requirements. All of these factors ensure that the PMP credential is widely respected. The PMP experience and exam requirements focus on five process groups: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Controlling, and Closing.

2. CISSP: Certified Information Systems Security Professional - $103,299

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) credential is primarily intended for security managers and profes¬sionals who develop policies and procedures in information security. The CISSP certification has become the gold standard in information security certifications and education. Earning and maintaining a CISSP certification is required for many government, military, and civilian security positions. The CISSP was the first credential in the field of information security, accredited by the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) to ISO (International Organization for Standardization) Standard 17024:2003.

3. MCSD: Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer - $97,849

The Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer is the new Microsoft developer certification that replaces the old Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer certification. The new certification validates a candidate's ability to design and build application solutions. These solutions may span multiple versions of a single technology or integrate multiple technologies. Developers are expected to analyze and design enterprise solutions using different Microsoft languages and development tools.
Currently, there are three separate certification tracks for those seeking to earn this certification: MCSD: Windows Store Apps, MCSD: Web Applications, and MCSD: Application Lifecycle Management. Each MCSD track requires anywhere from three to six separate exams. Microsoft has introduced a recertification requirement for the new MCSD. Current certification holders will have to recertify every two years, ensuring that they remain current on the base technology that will have changed due to service packs, revisions, and new product releases. (Those holding MCSE certifications will have to recertify every three years).

4. MCDBA: Microsoft Certified Database Administrator - $95,950

Access to information is critical in today's fast-paced, global environment. Corporations are even more dependent on quick and reliable systems to process and retrieve information. This means they must operate their own database servers and business intelligence software to access this information in order to grow and become more successful, and Microsoft Certified Database Administrators (MCDBA) are the ones who provide this expertise. An MCDBA-certified individual has proven his or her ability to design, implement, and manage SQL Server 2000 databases. This certification was retired on September 30, 2012, though if you achieved it before that date it will still appear on your transcript as a legacy certification. There are two new MCSE certifications for SQL 2012: Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE): Data Platform and Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE): Business Intelligence.

5. CCDA®: Cisco Certified Design Associate - $94,799

The Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA) indicates that the certified individual has a strong foundation and apprentice knowledge of network design for Cisco converged networks. A CCDA certification is for network design engineers, technicians, and support engineers, who enable efficient network environments. The CCDA-certified individual has the skills to design a routed and switched network infrastructure and services involv¬ing LAN, WAN, and broadband access for businesses and organizations.

6. MCAD: Microsoft Certified Application Developer - $93,349

The Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) credential provides industry recognition for professional developers who build powerful applications using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and Web services. Responsibilities include implementing requirements, developing, testing, deploying, and maintaining department-level applications components, Web or desktop clients, or back-end data services by using Microsoft tools and technologies. The MCAD certification is appropriate for Programmers, Analysts, Software Engineers, Software Application Specialists and Application/Software Developers.

7. VCP-DV: VMware Certified Professional Datacenter Virtualization - $92,400

Virtualization, and those who are knowledgeable on virtualization products, are in heavy demand, especially those professionals with datacenter virtualization skills. In the highly competitive virtualization market it is essential to distinguish yourself with a certification that validates your technical capabilities. VMware is one of the leading vendors of virtualization products and earning a VMware certification is the first step toward gaining industry-recognized expertise in virtual infrastructure. Earning the VCP-DV certification demonstrates that you have not only completed a VMWare-authorized training course but also have the necessary experience and training to successfully install, deploy, scale, and manage VMware vSphere environments.

8. CNE: Certified Novell Engineer - $91,350

The Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) shows that those certified individuals have the expertise and knowledge to solve advanced company-wide support problems and high-level network problems. They perform planning, installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and upgrade services for networks. The Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) has been recognized as one of the IT industry's leading certifications for advanced networking and troubleshooting professionals.

9. ITIL v3 Foundation - $90,900

The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITILv3) is a foundational process that provides for quality IT Service Management. The success of ITIL is through the use of documented and proven processes that cover the entire Service Lifecycle. The ITIL Expert level is the third of four levels. The ITIL Expert level certification is aimed at those individuals who are interested in demonstrating a superior level of knowledge of ITIL Version 3 (v3) in its entirety. Once you have achieved ITIL Expert level you will also satisfy the pre-requisite entry criteria for the ITIL Master Level; the highest level of certification within the ITIL v3 scheme, though the Master level is still under development.

10. CCA: Citrix Certified Administrator - Citrix XenServer 6 - $90,850

The Citrix CCA is an entry-level certification. Earning this certification validates the candidate's skills with one of 11 specific Citrix products, the most popular being XenApp, XenDesktop, and XenServer. The Citrix Certified Administrator (CCA) for Citrix XenServer 6 certification validates the certified individual's ability to effectively install, configure, administer, troubleshoot, and maintain XenServer 6.0 Enterprise edition and Provisioning Services 6.0 in an enterprise environment.

11. MCITP: Database Administrator - $90,200

The MCITP certification validates that the IT professional is capable of deploying, building, designing, optimizing, and operating technologies for a particular job role. MCITP certifications builds on the technical proficiency measured in the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications. In order to earn the MCITP: Database Administrator you must first pass the Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist certification in SQL Server 2008 (by passing the 70-432 exam) and then pass the 70-450 exam. The MCITP Database Administrator demonstrates knowledge of SQL Server instances and database solutions, database server security solutions, high availability databases, backup and recovery solutions, monitoring strategies, database management and maintenance strategies, and data distribution strategies.

12. MCTS: SQL Server 2005 - $90,100

Those who have earned the MCTS: SQL Server 2005 certification are IT professionals who may pursue careers as database administrators, database developers, or business intelligence developers. They may also be people who do not work with Microsoft SQL Server as a part of their primary job functions but who want to show their breadth of technology experience, such as developers, systems administrators, and others. This certification validates that the IT professional can implement and maintain databases by using specific instructions and specifications.

13. MCT: Microsoft Certified Trainer - $89,949

Those holding the Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCTs) certification are the premier technical and instructional experts on Microsoft technologies. An MCT has earned at least one premier certification on a Microsoft product and maintains that certification. Some of the benefits of earning and maintaining an MCT include access to the complete library of Official Microsoft Learning Products; substantial discounts on exams, books, and Microsoft products; members-only newsgroups and online community resources; and invitations to exclusive events and programs. MCT's must renew each year by completing an online application, pay an annual fee, and meet a number of program requirements to renew your certification for the coming year.

14. CCNP®: Cisco Certified Network Professional - $89,749

There are two tracks available at the Associate and Professional levels - Designing and Networking. The Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) demonstrates that you have the ability to plan, implement, verify, and troubleshoot local and wide-area enterprise networks. A CCNP-certified individual is expected to work collaboratively with other Cisco specialists on advanced products such as security, voice, wireless, and video solutions.

15. CCA: Citrix Certified Administrator - Citrix XenDesktop 5 - $89,499

The Citrix CCA is an entry-level certification. Earning this certification validates the candidate's skills with one of 11 specific Citrix products, the most popular being XenApp, XenDesktop, and XenServer. The CCA for Citrix XenDesktop 5 certifies the expertise required to install, administer, and troubleshoot an enterprise environment containing a XenDesktop implementation, including Provisioning Services, XenServer, XenApp and the Desktop Delivery Controller

Summary

Earning a certification does not guarantee that you will walk into a higher paying job. Certification counts, but employers look at several factors, including experience. There was a time when certification holders were reasonably assured of landing a job. Today it is more of a qualifier - not having a certification means you may not even get an interview.