By taking exam 70-648 (TS: Upgrading Your MCSA on Windows Server 2003 to MCTS on Windows Server 2008), MCSAs earn not one, but two MCTS accreditations:

• MCTS: Windows Server 2008 -- Active Directory Configuration
• MCTS: Windows Server 2008 -- Network Infrastructure Configuration

MCSEs must take exam 70-649 (TS: Upgrading Your MCSE on Windows Server 2003 to MCTS on Windows Server 2008). When they take this exam, they not only earn the two MCTS accreditations given to former MCSAs, but a third one as well: MCTS: Windows Server 2008 -- Application Platform Configuration.

More information on these certifications and exams can be found here.

LPI Exams Covered by VA
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced recently that the education benefits available to veterans and active service personnel will now cover exams in the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) certification programs.

The benefits are retroactively effective back to July 1, 2006. The reimbursement will be available for the Level 1 and Level 2 tracks -- where exams are priced at $150 each -- as well as the $250 LPI 301 exam.

Are All Test Scores Equal?
There's an old joke about what you call the person who graduates at the bottom of their class in medical school. The answer, of course, is "doctor." But the more serious question is: Do you want that to be the person examining you when you can't lift your right arm above your head?

On that note, do you want an "expert" who has all the right certifications but passed every exam on the fourth attempt -- with the minimum passing score -- working on your network?

In academia, there are ways of differentiating between those who just get by and those who excel. In addition to such recognitions as "summa cum laude" and "magna cum laude," every graduate's transcript shows -- among other things -- their GPA. On the other hand, most certification "transcripts" show only what the candidate has passed, not what they score.

I propose that certification transcripts include test scores. If you blew the exam away, you should be proud of it. If you just squeaked by, then you should be honest about it and admit that it's not one of your strongest topics, or say that you've worked to become stronger in that area. In order for this to work, however, the scores would need to be reported in a standard scale: percents. After all, it would be meaningless to have one vendor show that you got an 85 on a scale of 0-100, and another show that you got 150 on a scale of 120-180.

If pass/fail were sufficient, then vendors would have never embraced the numerical scoring that they use on score reports. Given that it's not enough for them, it shouldn't be enough for employers, either. A change is needed.

Virtualization Bonanza
Articles on the recent VMware IPO caught me completely by surprise. The Wall Street Journal began an article on Aug. 13 -- the day before it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange -- with, "A company that is expected to become the top initial public offering of the summer -- and possibly of the year -- makes its debut this week."

The top IPO of the year? From a company that's been around for as many years as I can remember?

I read further and fumbled for my highlighter when I read, "VMware's clients include every firm in the Fortune 100 and more than 84% of the Fortune 1000."

Every firm in the Fortune 100! Outside of Microsoft, I can't think of another software company that you can say that about. This was followed up with, "...yet analysts believe there is an enormous untapped market for virtualization."

They already have 100 out of 100 of the biggest players! Slightly beneath that, they have 840 out of the 1,000, and analysts believe there's room to grow?

Apparently, investors believed it, as well. On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that, "VMware's shares soared by 76 percent in their stock market debut" That means the stock started at $29 on Monday and ended at $51 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it went even higher.

So what took me by surprise? The fact that virtualization is suddenly the hot thing. Isn't that what Xen (open source) is all about? Isn't that what other companies are also doing? VMware is big, but it certainly doesn't have a monopoly on this market. Could this be the start of another real bubble -- or just a virtual one?

Book of the Week: 'CCNP ISCW Official Exam Certification Guide'
One of the most popular Cisco exams is Implementing Secure Converged Wide Area Networks, better known as ISCW, or 642-825. The 650-page CCNP ISCW Official Exam Certification Guide by Brian Morgan and Neil Lovering does an outstanding job of covering all the materials you need to pass this exam.

Divided into 23 chapters and four parts, it covers everything from remote connectivity best practices to device hardening, and does so with plenty of figures and other features that make the topics easy to follow. And the "Do I Know This Already?" quiz at the beginning of each chapter lets you know whether you can save time and skip a few pages, or if you need to hunker down and read carefully.