Yes, there's now a joint Microsoft Linux certification. Who would have imagined this even a year ago?
Posted on 12/11/2015 3:23:58 AM PST by ShadowAce
Right after Microsoft releasing MS-Linux, a few years ago I would have said the next most unlikely thing for Microsoft to do would be to offer a Linux certification. Guess what? They are. Yes, there's now a joint Microsoft Linux certification. Who would have imagined this even a year ago?
On December 9, Microsoft released a Linux certification: Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) Linux on Azure. You know what's even more amazing? Microsoft created this certifcation with the help of the The Linux Foundation. Maybe dogs and cats can live together!
This important step in broadening the technology integration between Microsoft and the open-source community is another sign that this is not your or Bill Gates' Microsoft. Why would Microsoft do this? Well, it's not because Microsoft has become Google+ buddies with Linus Torvalds.
As Mark Russinovich, CTO of Microsoft Azure, Microsoft's cloud program, said recently, "It's obvious, if we don't support Linux, we'll be Windows only and that's not practical." He continued, "last fall one in five instances on Azure were Linux. Today, about a year later, one in four instances are Linux." In short, Microsoft fully supporting Linux on the cloud is simply good business.
To get this new Linux on Azure certification, you'll need to pass both the Microsoft Exam 70-533 (Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions) and the Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS) exam. The certification will be issued by Microsoft. To pass the pair you'll need both Linux administration and Microsoft Azure implementation skills
"The Linux Foundation is the leading organization representing stakeholder interests in the open source ecosystem. That, combined with its proven commitment to professional, distribution-flexible and performance-based certifications, makes it a natural choice for our partner for Linux on Azure certifications," said Steven Guggenheimer, Microsoft's chief evangelist in a statement.
Microsoft expects, as do I, that many people will be trying for this certification.
Microsoft now offers support for eight Linux distributions running on Azure. Those are: Canonical Ubuntu, CentOS, CoreOS, Oracle Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise, and openSUSE. Recently Microsoft also added support for Debian GNU/Linux (Did anyone expect to see Microsoft GNU Linux?) and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Azure users can also provision their own Linux distributions from the command line, besides the vendor-backed, endorsed distros and Azure Marketplace pre-packaged Linux distributions.
"Today's IT environments demand more from professionals than ever before, and the ones equipped to manage this new landscape look to professional certifications to rise above the rest," said Jim Zemlin, The Linux Foundation's executive director in a statement. "A Microsoft-issued certification that includes the Linux Foundation Certified SysAdmin exam will most definitely allow professionals to stand apart from their peers and allow them the opportunity to work on the most interesting technologies of our time."
More information about this new Microsoft certification can be found on Microsoft's Linux certification page. Candidates can register for the LFCS exam and the Microsoft Exam 70-533 immediately.
Who knows? Maybe we will see a Microsoft Linux distribution sometime in 2016.
I noticed that the other day and did a double-take.
Ping for later.
My son might be interested.
Cooperate. Co-opt. Control.
If you want a Linux cert, go get a real one--from Red Hat, or another Linux-based organization.
Given that Linux is a giant pool of open source, why dismiss Microsoft’s offering?
Besides, I know MS' history. I judge based on that. If they play nicely this time, then good for them.
But I'm not holding my breath.
Understand that the certification they’re offering is not for a Microsoft-branded version of Linux but Linux on Azure in general. They have full end-to-end support for Linux on the Azure cloud platform now, something they didn’t have when they launched. It could be RHEL, Ubuntu, FreeBSD, CentOS, Fedora... doesn’t matter. Linux is Linux at its core.
FreeBSD is not Linux, BTW.
And maintaining/admin Linux is quite different across some distros. That is why some software will run under Ubuntu, but not RHEL, will run under Fedora, but not Debian.
My RHCE does not transfer seamlessly to Ubuntu.
6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. 7Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox...I think we all know who the "little boy" is.
Dialogue, deceive, dominate.
Is Linux+ worth bothering over?
If I was hiring for a position, I would take it as a positive, but not as something that the prospect would be an expert. It would indicate a desire to learn, but would not be a senior level position.
Time will tell what kind of change it is. Microsoft has not earned any kind of trust from me.
I pretty much thought the same. At times I thought about getting on certification horse again.
When I had active MS certs, no one cared and I couldn’t get the time of day for an interview. They ran out and people would talk to me. For some reason trends tend to operate in reverse for me.
I knew educated idiots who could take tests well and not much else get offers.
I am looking at Security+ and got a study guide and book on the Kindle app. Beats toting around a book. Add Atlas Shrugged and that makes all of the Kindle I’ve bought so far. All in the past few days.
There are no multiple guess, fill-in-the-blank questions.
When you pass, people *know* that you know what you're are talking about.
Security is big right now. Get certified in that, and you should be able to get lots of offers.
Understood. I sit between two RHCEs, but they’re both fluent in Debian-based Linux as well. And while I’m getting strong in Bash, I’m teaching them Powershell, and they love it. The opportunities for crossover are immense in IT.
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