Please point me in the right direction (Oracle & Storage)

ehnde

Hey guys, I'm a little over my head right now. Our storage and virtualization engineer left the company and I've inherited some of his responsibilities. We have a HUGE gap in knowledge right now with both enterprise storage, virtualization, and oracle. This is an opportunity for me to advance further.

I maintain the linux/unix servers that our Oracle databases run on, and I'm not expected to administer them (this is contracted out when necessary)...but any knowledge I could gain would help. My company will not pay for the overpriced Oracle RAC training.

What certifications will help me most to get a better handle on storage, virtualization, and oracle? I'm hoping for self-study type stuff that is affordable for me to pay out of pocket.

We use vmware ESXi and EMC.

ehnde

I think I've decided to stay away from Oracle. They insist on official training from an approved training provider.

The VCP is the same way but it's looking like others on this forum took a class at a community college and got their VCP. And for storage I'm looking at EMCISA.

If I'm missing something or you've been there, done that...let me know!

Asif Dasl

Yes, you are on the right track there. EMCISA or EMCCIS are what you will want to start off with for EMC storage certifications. EMCISA is about storage and storage networks whereas there is a slight emphasis towards vSphere on EMCCIS as far as I understand. I am doing EMCISA at the moment but I will be doing EMCCIS at some stage later this year.

There is a EMCCIS class at Dallas County CC starting March 24th if you wanted to jump aboard that. Check the Dallas County CC thread - especially post #10 if you are signing up (it should cost $208 there + $100 for the exam). Alternatively you could get the DVD's from Amazon for EMCISA or EMCCIS.

As for vSphere, the best place to start is the Mastering vSphere 5.5 book. I don't know what version of vSphere you are working with but the VCP course will likely be 5.5 - If you go on the Stanly CC or Dallas County CC waiting lists for the Install, Configure, Manage course then expect a lenghty wait - the book will get you started anyways.

HTH

ehnde

That does help quite a bit, thank you.

If I'm reading all of this correctly, the EMCISA, EMCCIS, and VCP all require some type of formal training before being authorized to sit for the exam. Is that right?

I'll hold back for a little bit and see if my employer will pay for the training. At these lower prices it might be easier to convince them.

EDIT: I found out a little more about the EMC ISA here: https://education.emc.com/content/_common/docs/exam_descriptions/e10_001_Information_Storage_Management_exam.pdf

It doesn't look like there is a required training course to take this exam. Also this book comes highly recommended for the EMCISA http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0086I263W/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title

Asif Dasl

There is no course requirement for the EMC exams, you can just use the EMC ISM v2 book for EMCISA. I'm not sure what book is used for EMCCIS. But the course would help with understanding if you can fit in the labs and lectures that you would have to go through. With the DVDs you could go at your own pace but they are a little more expensive.

The VCP definitely needs a course to achieve the certification. But they are all reasonably cheap to go through - hopefully you can swing it with your employer.

hameed22

Dear Friends,

I have not done much certification other than MCSE and having 15+ years of Experience in the IT Industry and more into the IT Management. Currently I am looking for good position, and planning to do the course EMCCIS or VCP. Please suggest which is good for my careeer. Appreciate your positive feedback to decide the best course from Experts like you.