NetApp certs - comparable to Cisco?

fmitawaps

I just recently found out about the NetApp certs, like the NCIE and NAIP and NCDA, and was wondering if they are to be taken seriously, or are they like CompTIA certs compared to Cisco?

I'm not even sure what NetApp is or does. Time to get out google and research, but this is the first time I've ever heard them mentioned. I'd think that if they were worth having, I'd have read about it from the variety of esteemed professionals here.

Anyone have any of these?

joelsfood

Netapp certs are worth having, but not without actual experience.

Verities

NetApp is a large provider of storage virtualization. When you setup a virtualized environment, you have a setup of something like NetApp products or something similar like EMC, creating a storage area network (SAN). There's more to it in a sense that you have different tiers of storage (faster or slower disks), SAN fabric (interconnecting all the storage devices and switches), there's a large focus on availability and input/output operations (I/O).

Storage in IT is a field of its own and can be extremely complex, which is often why the demand as well as salary is so high for storage admins. Ditto with what Joelsfood said, without experience the certifications are worthless. However, the NCSA and NCDA cover a lot of material for junior level people so if you're interested in pursuing that field, start there.

Muhammed H

Yes I also agree. Without real life hands on experience, those certs don't hold enough value. However, both Netapp and EMC offer simulator pf their products and using those Sim software you can really gain some valuable knowledge about how storage system works.

Chinook

NetApp = Enterprise level storage. It's a high end product, expensive & used in the Enterprise. They use an interface which is called ONTAP is feels very Linux like. If you want a career in the Storage side of things these are definitely the certifications to get. I took their training years ago and it's expensive (lucky I didn't pay). I never got to use much of what I learned but I can say it's pretty kick ass. I think they offer some free training online but you might need to be employed by a partner first. It'll get you into the look and feel of ONTAP.

blargoe

Netapp Experience >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Netapp Cert. But having both would be golden.

Muhammed H

Isn't EMC more dominant than Netapp in storage domain? Specially in US?