It is a great regret of mine that I have allowed such an extended period to pass with no updates whatsoever on the various things I’ve been working toward. An international move, helping my wife raise our young child, and a busy professional life have all conspired to delay my updates. I haven’t really stopped my work toward professional development. I’ve just delayed writing about any of it as I find a lot of the topics I learn can be rather time-consuming to shape into something worth sharing!

So I guess the question might be what I am currently working on. Right now, the first order of business is finishing a required certifications for work, which happens to be a Linux Certification: the Red Hat Certified System Administrator. I’m using some RHEL VMs I host here at home and am simply going through Ashghar Ghori’s RHEL 8 Book, which I hope to review in some future update after I’ve passed or horrifyingly failed the certification test. The interesting part about this particular test is that one is given access to a RHEL box and are simply given a number of system administration tasks that are based upon the test blueprint. I am a big fan of the idea of a completely practical test where one doesn’t need to fill their brain with trivia and presumably has access to apropos and man“`.

The next stop after Linux will be a progression of Cisco tests. Because I am spending a lot of time professionally managing Cisco Data Center technologies, I’ve shooting for the CCNP Data Center certification which requires the DCCOR core test and one elective exam to complete. I’ll be choosing DCAUI (Implementing Automation for Cisco Data Center Solutions). In preparation for this automation exam, I’ll also be working toward the Cisco DevNet Associate and the Cisco DevNet Professional certifications. DCAUI can also be used as an elective for the CCNP Data Center certification. I believe this will be a two-year path to complete fully, given my current workload.