SNIA Certification FAQs

1. When can I expect to receive my certificate from SNIA? You can expect to receive a .pdf certificate along with the appropriate SNIA credential logo in an email about 3 weeks after you have completed the exam at the Prometric Testing Center.
2. How do I register to take a SNIA exam? You can register by going to the individual credential webpage (e.g., SCSP, SCSE, SCSA) and clicking on the Exam Registration link. It will bring you right to the Prometric website.
3. Do I get a paper certificate? SNIA promotes "green" processes whenever it can. Our SNIA certificates come in the form of a pdf. Along with that, you get the SNIA logos to put on your business cards, stationery, or badges.
4. What if my name is spelled incorrectly on my certificate? The name that will appear on your certificate is the name that you put into the Prometric system when you register for your first test and get your student ID. If you need to change the name on your certificate for a misspelling, SNIA will change it in our records, but you must also contact www.prometric.com and change your student ID information as well.
5. What if I don't receive my certificate in the 3 week window? Your certificate will be sent to the email address that you entered into the Prometric system. So, if your certificate does not appear, please check the email account that you gave to Prometric. Also, please look in your SPAM, or check with your email provider to see if attachments are blocked. Many times Yahoo customers have problems receiving our attachments. If you want a different email associated with your certification, please send us the alternate email at snia_certification@snia.org. You also must change it in your Prometric Student Profile.
6. Do I have to take training in order to take a SNIA certification exam? As in all other certification exams, training is NOT required. However, it is recommended that you review the exam blueprint and assess your readiness. At that point, you may feel that you need training to increase your knowledge and skill levels. If so, please go to the Certification Courses link on the left menu to see the training options available to you.
7. Are there any online or self-study materials available? At this time, two of our SNIA Authorized Training Partners will be coming out with blended learning solutions that will make it easier for you to get the storage network training you need. Please check www.knowledgetransfer.net or www.infinityio.com for more details.
8. Is there courseware that will provide me with a hands-on component in order to practice my skills? Yes, if you go to the Training at the SNIA Technology Center, there are courses that support the SNIA Storage Networking Foundations Course that have a hands-on component. Also, training from our Authorized Training Providers may provide a hands-on component as well. You can communicate with the providers directly. Visit the links to the training provider websites on http://www.snia.org/education/training_tc/ or the list of authorized SNIA Training Partners http://www.snia.org/education/education_continuum/. Here is our SNIA Course Schedule for 2009 SNIA Tech Center Courses for 2009
9. Do you have a Practice Exam or a Self-Assessment? Yes, we do. Right now it is for the SNIA Foundation Exam SNIA Storage Self Assessment. Please click here and take our S10-101 Storage Self Assessment.
10. What is your Re-Take Policy? If you take a SNIA exam and do not pass it, SNIA requires that you wait 24 hours before taking it again. If you do not pass the exam a second time, you must wait seven (7) days. If a SNIA Exam is taken three (3) times without a passing score, you must wait 30 days to take it again.
11. What is your Exam Security Policy? It is the policy of SNIA to revoke or refuse a credential to any person suspected of using unauthorized materials obtained using websites that advertise exact copies of SNIA exams. Psychometric data from a person's testing session will isolate patterns of cheating and gives SNIA the right to take legal action.
12. I am located in India. What are the training opportunities for me? SNIA/India is our Authorized Regional Affiliate. They have an exciting new program that provides training in support of the SNIA Storage Networking Foundation exam. Please see their website at Training Providers in India for details about schedules and cities. Also, for other questions concerning SNIA Certification and Training in India, please contact Tripti Karekar tripti_karekar@xserves.com or Guna Bala Guna.Bala@lsi.com directly for more information.
13. How do the product vendor certifications (Hitachi Data Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Brocade, EMC, NetApp, and Cisco) and SNIA certifications fit within my storage education as a whole? SNIA certifications address the vendor-neutral baseline storage networking knowledge and skill that is vendor-neutral. SNIA certifications will prepare you to put the individual product nuances for each vendor into a context in the industry. To be successful in your career, it is necessary to understand how the storage products fit together in a multi-vendor environment. SNIA Education provides the framework for a general understanding of storage networking concepts, troubleshooting, management and administration and architecture. The knowledge and skills the you receive from the vendor training and certification makes you better prepared to architect and deliver a full multi-vendor solution. So, SNIA certifications PLUS the select vendor Certifications give you the expertise to become a SNIA Storage Networking Expert (SCSN-E).
14. What is the process for obtaining my SCSN-E credential? Once you have fulfilled the requirements for the SNIA Expert credential (SCSN-E) www.snia.org/education/certification/scsne , you must email a .pdf copy or scan a paper copy of your SNIA Certification Partner credential to snia_certification@snia.org. It will be processed by SNIA and you will receive a .pdf of your SCSN-E certificate.
15. If my background is in general IT skills, how can I grow my skills to include storage networking? SNIA would suggest that you start out by taking a storage networking class by one of our authorized training partners http://www.snia.org/education/education_continuum/ . Also, please look at the Storage Networking and Information Primer http://www.snia.org/education/storage_networking_primer/ on our website to get you started with some resources that will aid your learning. From there, you can take a look at the www.snia.org/education/certification/scsp and click on the SNIA Storage Network Foundations exam. You MUST take the SNIA Storage Network Foundations Exam to earn your SNIA Certified Storage Professional credential. This is also a pre-requisite for our higher level credentials. You will find an outline of what is covered on the Storage Networking Foundations exam as well as a list of references and study material. We have included an article that appeared in our newsletter from a Storage Professional that works at Specta Logic in the US. Farsighted Article I think it will give you a perspective from your side of the "universe"!

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