2/25/2004 -- Novell recently announced that it is closing its Certified Directory Engineer (CDE) certification on April 1. Candidates will not be able to take the CDE exams after that date, although any CDE earned before then will remain valid, and CDEs will continue to recieve all benefits associated with the title.

The CDE, which debuted in 2000, is unique in the certification world in that it uses Novell's virtual machine technology to remotely test candidates' hands-on skills within a live application. This same technology will be used in the company's upcoming Certified Linux Engineer (CLE) title, set to debut worldwide in April after premiering at Novell's Brainshare conference in late March.

Ptarmi Kilgore, manager of certification and marketing for Novell Training Services, told CertCities.com today that although Novell's increasing focus on Linux is a factor in the cancellation of the CDE, it's not as simple as the CLE replacing the CDE.

"eDirectory is really integral to our Linux strategy, but it doesn't need a separate certification any longer," she explained. "[eDirectory has]just become more prolific, more of a core underlying technology that sews our technology together. We teach it at every facet, in every course...if you come through the core curriculum [now], you've just become a directory specialist."

Kilgore said that decisionto cancel the program was made last fall in consultation with the program's advisory board. It came up as part of a review of all of Novell's title in light of the SuSE acqusition, as well as plans to transition all of Novell's exams to the virtual testing technology. "It made sense at the time to review all the titles," she said. "We always look to align our resources [with] Novell's strategy."

Kilgore said that the program understands that many CDEs may be unhappy with the decision. "I think anytime you close a program people are disappointed," she said. "We do not want to mitigate that [CDEs] really are directory specialists. We will continue to recognize that."

According the Kilgore, the number of current CDEs is in the "high hundreds."

Kilgore also shared some new information about the planned delivery of the CLE exam. When launched worldwide in April, the title will be available only through Novell and its training partners. However, Kilgore said the program is working with Pearson Vue and Prometric to make the exam available through their testing centers by mid-summer.

More information about the CDE and its closure can be found here. More information on the upcoming CLE title can be found here. -Becky Nagel