Meb: Is there a single place where one can find a listing of all of these certifications and what technologies/products they cover? Say a directory of some kind?

Patrick_Regan: Look at CramSession. I find it very helpful.

Servergal: Are there any Linux certs that are worthwhile?

Patrick_Regan: The Red Hat Engineer cert is always a good one and would be equivalent to the MCSE for Microsoft. There are a couple other ones but Red Hat still has the biggest share of the market.

Karra: Do you recommend CCVP over the CCNP?

Patrick_Regan: I am not up on the CCVP, but any professional certification is worth having from Cisco. CCNP focuses on switches and routers.

Apeterson: Doesn't the CISSP require five years now of security experience?

Patrick_Regan: Yes, something like that. That is why I recommend taking the Security+ until you get that experience.

lyr9144: This may be a tad off topic -- but thoughts on the value of project management certs? I've read (recently here on NW and elsewhere) they are in vogue, and that the demand is waning for hardware- and software-oriented certifications.

Patrick_Regan: The PMI is the one to go for. It is the granddaddy of them all and the only one that I know that is worth having. However, it also requires a certain amount of documented experience.

Rocky: I noticed the breadth of topics of the books you authored. Once you know the technology is it hard to keep all the info both separate and cohesive at the same time?

Patrick_Regan: It is a challenge and sometimes I look back and need to take a double-look at what I have written. I am constantly rewriting. It is often like a doing jigsaw puzzle, putting the pieces together.

Rocky: I noticed you haven't mentioned video training, yet. What's your opinion?

Patrick_Regan: Video training is good as long as you get someone who knows what they are doing from a visual standpoint.

Karra: Are there any certifications for network management?

Patrick_Regan: None that stick out. Cisco has a simple technology one aimed at management, but nothing else that I know.

BartKnight: What are the trickiest Microsoft lab portions of any certification and what's the secret to doing those portions well?

Patrick_Regan: People see the Microsoft lab portion as an opportunity to show that you actually know how to use and configure the software component being tested. As long as you have worked with the technology, you will most likely breeze through the lab portion questions. However, if you have not dealt with software component, you can find this a huge time sync which may prevent you from answering later questions in the exam if you run out of time. One of the biggest tips to give for these types of questions is to follow exactly what they are asking for, do no less, do no more, since the end result is being graded and if the end result does not match the correct answer, you get it wrong.