Citrix commits to maintaining the value of its certifications by routinely monitoring IT trends and business needs and adjusting accordingly. Sometimes this results in updating exams and certification requirements. Other times, it results in discontinuing, retiring or expiring exams and certifications to make room for newer, more relevant ones.
Since the Citrix Certified Integration Architect (CCIA) for Virtualization and Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer (CCEE) for Virtualization certifications were introduced in 2010, the IT landscape has undergone numerous material changes requiring broader skill sets. These skill sets are the focus of the new, solution-based certifications that Citrix introduced last year: Citrix Certified Expert – Virtualization (CCE-V) and Citrix Certified Professional – Virtualization (CCP-V).
Effective November 28, 2014, Citrix will:
- Retire the CCIA and CCEE for Virtualization certifications
- Expire a number of already retired certifications
|
Expiring Certification
|
Recommended New Certification
|
Recommended Exam
|
Recommended Training
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Citrix Certified Administrator for Citrix Access Gateway 8 Enterprise Edition | Citrix Certified Associate – Networking (CCA-N) | 1Y0-250 Implementing Citrix NetScaler 10 for App and Desktop Solutions | CNS-205: Citrix NetScaler 10 Essentials and Networking |
| Citrix Certified Administrator for Citrix Application Firewall 8 | Citrix Certified Professional – Networking (CCP-N) | 1Y0-350 Citrix NetScaler 10 Essentials and Networking | CNS-207: Implementing Citrix NetScaler 10 for App and Desktop Solutions |
| Citrix Certified Administrator for Citrix WANScaler 4 | Citrix Certified Professional – Networking (CCP-N) | 1Y0-350 Citrix NetScaler 10 Essentials and Networking | CNS-207: Implementing Citrix NetScaler 10 for App and Desktop Solutions |
| Citrix Certified Administrator for Citrix XenDesktop Enterprise Edition 2 | Citrix Certified Associate – Virtualization (CCA-V) | 1Y0-200 Managing Citrix XenDesktop 7 Solutions | CXD-203: Managing App and Desktop Solutions with Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop 7.5 |
| Citrix Certified Administrator for Citrix Provisioning Server 4 | Citrix Certified Associate – Virtualization (CCA-V) | 1Y0-200 Managing Citrix XenDesktop 7 Solutions | CXD-203: Managing App and Desktop Solutions with Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop 7.5 |
| Citrix Certified Administrator for Citrix EdgeSight 4 | Citrix Certified Associate – Virtualization (CCA-V)
OR |
1Y0-200 Managing Citrix XenDesktop 7 Solutions
OR 1Y0-A20 Basic Administration for XenApp 6.5 |
CXD-203: Managing App and Desktop Solutions with Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop 7.5 |
| Citrix Certified Administrator MetaFrame 1.8 for Windows | Citrix Certified Associate – Virtualization (CCA-V)
OR |
1Y0-200 Managing Citrix XenDesktop 7 Solutions
OR 1Y0-A20 Basic Administration for XenApp 6.5 |
CXD-203: Managing App and Desktop Solutions with Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop 7.5 |
| Citrix Certified Administrator MetaFrame for UNIX 1.1 | Citrix Certified Associate – Virtualization (CCA-V)
OR |
1Y0-200 Managing Citrix XenDesktop 7 Solutions
OR 1Y0-A20 Basic Administration for XenApp 6.5 |
CXD-203: Managing App and Desktop Solutions with Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop 7.5 |
| Citrix Certified Administrator MetaFrame XP for Windows | Citrix Certified Associate – Virtualization (CCA-V)
OR |
1Y0-200 Managing Citrix XenDesktop 7 Solutions
OR 1Y0-A20 Basic Administration for XenApp 6.5 |
CXD-203: Managing App and Desktop Solutions with Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop 7.5 |
So, what’s the difference between retired and expired Citrix certifications? Retired certifications are no longer attainable; however, they are valid until they expire. An expired Citrix certification is one that Citrix no longer considers valid and current.
The CCIA and CCEE certifications are three-year term-based certifications. That means if you hold an unexpired CCIA and/or CCEE certification, you will not be affected just yet by the retirement of these certifications since they will remain valid for three years from the date attained. However, once your certification’s three-year lifespan is over, you’ll need to recertify, but since the CCIA and CCEE certifications will be retired then, the update paths won’t be available, which means you will be required to take and pass multiple exams in order to attain CCP-V or CCE-V status.
Hold on. There’s a simpler way. If you have a current CCIA and CCEE credential, you can easily stay ahead of the retirement game by updating to the new CCE-V or CCP-V certification now. By acting now, current CCIA and CCEEs only need to pass one exam while the update paths are still available.
About the Author
Eric Kenney is a senior program manager for Citrix Education at Citrix.