certifications,  Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment

Snow Leopard Certifications

Apple has released the Snow Leopard certification information and site. To make a long story short, for those who are ACSA inclined, you basically have the Apple Certified Support Professional, which is just one exam based on the Snow 101 course. You then have the Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC), which is the Support Essentials Exam along with the Server Essentials Exam, based on the Snow 201 course.

Now for where the changes come into play. First and foremost security has returned, although it’s been lumped in with mobility, likely to focus the syllabus on settings through managed client (ie – automated FileVaulting). Therefore, I guess the SANS course will no longer be needed (I wrote it following the cancellation of the Apple security course), so this can be a pseudo-announcement that it is going away.

You can take Directory Services, Deployment or Security + Mobility (these are Snow 301, 302 & 303 respectively) in conjunction with the aforementioned Server Essentials Exam and then have an Apple Certified Specialist in that category. If you take all three then you will be an Apple Certified Systems Administrator. Overall, for most, not a lot of changing up in the program, but adding the additional specialist certifications is interesting and similar to how Microsoft added the MCTS which given the number of products Microsoft makes has a lot of potential choices for exams, each with its own unique identifier.